I love gumbo, soups, chilli and stews during the cooler months. Now that we got our shot of cooler weather today, I thought I’d post a nice yummy soup recipe.

Bean and Bacon Soup

Ingredients

4 strips bacon
1 large carrot, chopped (about ¾ cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 15 ½-ounce cans great Northern beans, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let cool, chop, and set aside. Over medium heat, add the carrot to the pan drippings in the Dutch oven and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the celery, onion, and garlic, stirring well and cooking for 3 minutes more. Add the beans and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and, with a potato masher or large slotted spoon, partially mash the bean mixture until it thickens slightly. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon. Serve hot.

Tip: You can substitute lima, cannellini, or borlotti beans for the great Northern beans in this recipe.

With all the cooler air we’ve been having, I thought I’d post this yummy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe I just received in a yahoogroup I am in.

Oxmoor House Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Recipe Time
Total: 20 Minutes

Ingredients
8 cups water
2 tablespoons oil (I like to use sesame oil)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup thinly slivered cabbage (like for coleslaw)
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger (optional)
4 packages chicken- or oriental-flavor ramen noodles
Soy sauce to taste

Preparation
1. Bring water to a boil in a soup pot. While water comes to a boil, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Sauté chicken until browned on all sides and cooked through.

2. Once water comes to a boil, add sautéed chicken, carrot, cabbage, garlic, and ginger to pot. Cook 2 minutes, then add ramen noodles along with only 2 of the flavor packets that come with the noodles. Cook 3 minutes and not a second longer – ramen is best when not cooked to death. Taste, then add a slosh of soy sauce if you like. (I like.)

Note: If you don’t care for cabbage and carrots, or don’t have time to chop them, try frozen corn or peas. If you have a cup or two of already-cooked chicken in the freezer, or maybe a leftover piece or two of deli chicken, you can prepare this in 10 minutes.

This soups works well with most vegetables from the garden– experiment and use vegetables that are in season. Chef Meg was inspired to create this meal after a trip to the farmers market. Be creative and use whatever vegetables you have on hand!

INGREDIENTS
1 T olive oil
2 carrots, diced
1 leek, white part only, sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 t thyme, fresh
3 red potatoes, quartered
1 c baby spinach
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
9 c water
2 small zucchini, chopped
1 c green beans
1/2 c ditalini pasta (or another small pasta)
2 plum or Italian tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

Basil topping:
1 T olive oil
1 c basil leaves
3 T parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan or stock pot. Once warm, add carrots, leek, and celery. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and thyme and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, spinach, salt, and red and black pepper; cook 3 minutes. Add water, zucchini, beans, pasta, and tomatoes to the saucepan; cook an additional 8 minutes.

While soup is cooking, place the basil, remaining oil and cheese in a small food processor; blend until smooth. Swirl basil mixture into the soup just until combined and serve.

Recipe makes 8 (2 cup) servings.

Number of Servings: 8

Received in yahoogroup this morning.   Resource

Serves: 8

Cooking Time: 11 hr

Ingredients

3 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, sliced
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
20 ounces peas, frozen
2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces
5 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup rice

Instructions
1. Place all ingredients, except rice, into slow cooker in order listed. Cover and cook 1 hour on high, reduce heat to low and cook an additional 8 to 9 hours.

2. One hour before serving, remove chicken and cool slightly. Remove meat from bones and return to slow cooker. Add rice.

3. Cover and cook an additional hour on high.

Received in Yahoogroup I am in

* 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
* 1/3 cup diced celery
* 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
* 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
* 3 1/4 cups water
* 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
* 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Received in a Yahoogroup I am in

Here’s a quick and simple solution for using the last of the Thanksgiving/Christmas turkey. In the time it takes to cook noodles, you could be sitting down to a delicous, filling soup.

Sensational Turkey Noodle Soup from Campbell’s Kitchen
(Signup for Campbell’s Meal-mail)

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
Generous dash ground black pepper
1 medium carrot, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup uncooked medium egg noodles
1 cup cubed cooked turkey or chicken

Directions:
Heat the broth, black pepper, carrot and celery in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.

Stir the noodles and turkey in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with your favorite cheese and crackers and a spinach salad. For dessert serve a chocolate parfait: layer chocolate pudding with your favorite crumbled cookies and top with whipped topping.

Serves 4.

If you don’t have egg noodles, it’s fine to substitute another small pasta shape, such as corkscrews, shells or penne. The noodles can soak up a lot of liquid–you may need to thin the soup out a little with additional broth.

I know some of you are in the cold right now. Believe me I’m anxious for us to get some of that cooler weather! It’s 89 degrees right now and the record is 90! We have a heat index of 97, and I’m posting a soup recipe.

Enjoy~

Ingredients Needed:

* 1 Medium onion chopped
* 1 T margarine
* 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup, undiluted
* 1 can water
* 1 can Cream of Celery Soup, undiluted
* 1 cup milk
* 1 lb. Velveeta, cut into chunks
* 1 sm. Can evaporated milk

* Directions:
Saute’ onion in margarine. Add other ingredients and cook over medium heat until it thickens, approximately 15 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper and dried parsley before serving.

VARIATION: One-half cup chopped frozen broccoli may be added after mixture is thickened OR peel, chop, and cook potatoes, add to thickened soup and sprinkle bacon bits on top.

Received from Yahoogroup mail.

I read a lot of blogs about saving money, freebies, being frugal and to get deals on shopping. I also read different blogs for Recipes!

You can only imagine just how many blogs there are! My favorite recipe blogs are the ones that break down the cost of fixing the recipe. I love that idea. Makes you realize you don’t have to spend a lot to be a good cook!

I found a recipe that I haven’t tried yet, but I will be just as soon as the weather drops to 60 or below for a full day! Sounds so good, I’d make it this weekend, but it’s still a bit too hot for soup!

Frugal In Virginia has posted a $5 Tortellini Florentine Soup Recipe!