Ashley’s Chunky Tater Soup
Baked Onion Soup
Chicken and Rice Soup
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Cream of Potato Soup
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Kitchen Sink Beef-Vegetable Soup
Onion Soup
Taco Soup
Zucchini Soup

Soups

Ashley’s Chunky Tater Soup
To cut the calories (and creamy-ness) of the soup, you can substitute some chicken stock for some of the half-and-half and milk.

3 lbs. red potatoes
Chicken stock (enough to cover potatoes)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups half-and-half
4 cups milk
16 oz. Velveeta cheese melted
3 cans Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
2 tsp Black pepper more or less, to taste
2 tsp Garlic powder more or less, to taste
Salt to taste
3-4 tsp hot sauce (or more)
1/2 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Fresh chives chopped

Wash and scrub potatoes. Dry, and dice into 1/2" cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are 3/4 of the way cooked. Drain and set aside.

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter over MED heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Let flour mixture cook about 1-2 minutes.

Carefully pour in half and half and milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until liquid is smooth and starts to thicken slightly.

Add in melted Velveeta cheese and whisk to combine. Add in the cans of cheddar cheese soup and whisk until everything is smooth.

Stir in hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder.

Add in boiled potatoes, stir, and place lid on pot. Cook over LOW heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then hurry and get a bowl before the rest of the folks eat it all!

Baked Onion Soup
This makes 4 servings.

3 medium onions, sliced in thin rings
2 teaspoons oil
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 quart Chicken or Turkey Broth
4 slices whole wheat bread
1 Tbsp. Parmesan or cheddar cheese

In large nonstick fry pan, cook onion rings in oil for 5 - 7 minutes or until onions are tender. Add soy sauce and broth. Cover and bake in a 250º oven for 1 hour. Or, cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Top with a slice of whole wheat bread and a sprinkle of cheese.

Chicken and Rice Soup
3 to 4 cups water
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/3 cup shaved carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 dashes hot sauce
1 chicken bouillon cube

Combine all ingredients to medium sized sauce pot and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Cream of Asparagus Soup
1 pound asparagus
4 cups chicken stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup cream

Snap asparagus at breaking point. Rinse and cut into 1-inch lengths, reserving tips. Simmer tips in small amount of water just until tender. Set aside. Place stalks in 3 quart saucepan with stock, onion and celery. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Pour soup into blender and puree at high speed about 30 seconds. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add asparagus stock and heat through.

In small bowl, combine egg yolks and cream. Add about 1/2 cup of hot soup to egg mixture; stir well. Slowly add to soup, stirring constantly over low heat. Do not let soup boil. Add asparagus tips. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in soup bowls and garnish with chopped hard-cooked egg (ewwww). Serves 6 to 8.

Cream of Potato Soup
Mommaw gave me this recipe.

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons enriched flour
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups diced, cooked potatoes
2 or 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Melt butter; cook onion until tender. Add flour and blend. Add milk, salt and pepper; cook until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Add potatoes and bacon to white sauce. Serve with crackers or croutons.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
The broth from baking a chicken (with bones) adds collagen which soothes achiness, and the bit of hot sauce helps with stuffy noses. Refer to the Baked Chicken recipe to get the chicken and broth for this recipe. To cheat, you can use canned chicken broth (bone broth is best) + chicken bullion + poultry seasoning + bay leaf + garlic powder + canned chicken.

Chicken broth from baked chicken (see recipe)
1 cup (more or less, depending on how much you want) chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
At least 1 box of chicken broth (use as much as you need to make the desired amount of liquid for the soup (if you add too much broth and the liquid is too watered down, just add some chicken bullion and taste until you get the flavor you want)
1/2 (or more) carrot, shredded with a potato peeler, optional
2 teaspoons onion flakes (or 1 small onion, chopped and sauteed)
1/4 (more or less) hot sauce, optional – leave this out if you’re making this for upset tummies
3/4 teaspoon (more or less) garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon (more or less) ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (more or less) dill weed
2 teaspoons (more or less) parsley
1 cup (more or less) uncooked spiral noodles, or whatever pasta you want

Bring everything (except noodles) to a simmer (on medium heat) about 5 minutes. Taste and re-season. Add noodles and turn off heat. Let soup steep until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Taste and re-season again.

Serve with biscuits, cornbread, crackers, or just a spoon.

Kitchen Sink Beef-Vegetable Soup
Everything I can find goes into this soup except the kitchen sink, thus its name. You can use canned beans (kidney, navy, black, or pinto), broccoli, etc. There is one exception: green peas. Yuck, gag, puke, shoo we nasty. Don't drain the liquid from the vegetables.

1 pound ground beef or shredded cooked chicken
1 medium onion, sliced
4 or 5 large baking potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 or 3 carrots
1 can whole tomatoes, crushed or cut up
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 can whole kernel corn
2 cups chopped cabbage (optional)
1 (46 oz.) can V8 juice
2 tablespoons Italian dressing or oil or bacon grease
½ to 1 teaspoon hot sauce (or more or none)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cubes beef bouillon
1 tablespoon of garlic powder (or more)

Sauté onions in Italian dressing until translucent. Add in ground beef and brown. Drain off excess fat, and add all ingredients to large pot. Cook on low, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, oh say about an hour or 2. Water may be added if a thinner soup is desired.

Onion Soup
6 oz. onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 level tablespoons flour
5 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Thin slices of bread
5 tablespoons grated cheese (Parmesan, Romano, whatever)

Sauté onions in the butter for a minute, sprinkle them with the flour and as soon as they start to brown, stir in the stock. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 20 minutes.

Place thin slices of bread in the bottom of your soup bowl, sprinkle with cheese and pour the soup over. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, or sprinkle with more cheese and put into hot oven (400º) until golden and crusty on top.

Taco Soup
All of the cans are 15 ounces (give or take). Serve this with tortilla chips, a crusty bread, sour cream, shredded cheese, or whatever flips your trigger. What’s REALLY good is to serve this with cheese bread (in the Breads, Gravies, Sauces and Oatmeal chapter)

1 14oz-ish can niblet corn
1 14oz-ish can black beans
1 14oz-ish can kidney beans
1 10oz-ish can Rotel tomatoes
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
2 cans chicken broth
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch mix
1 pound ground beef, browned, or 1 pound cooked and shredded chicken
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon bacon grease (or vegetable oil)

Sauté onion in bacon grease until translucent.

In a large sauce pot, add onion and remaining ingredients. Simmer about an hour or until liquid reduces a “tad.” Serve with your favorite sides – everyone likes tortilla chips (I like a good crusty bread), sour cream, and shredded cheese.

Zucchini Soup
My mom used to make this and since I was such a rebel growing up, I never tried it. I will try to be mature and try it soon.

4 or 5 zucchini, peeled and diced
1 can whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic
5 cups beef stock
1/2 cup rice
Parmesan cheese

Melt butter and add garlic. Add zucchini and sauté until golden brown. Add tomatoes, beef stock, and rice. Simmer until rice is tender. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

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