Potato Corn Chowder

With the arrival of Fall comes many things: colorful, crunchy leaves, pumpkins and hay bales, the wearing of sweaters, cinnamon spiced candles...and soup! Here's a great recipe for a hearty soup that is perfect on a cool, fall day.

1 T. salt
5 c. cubed potatoes
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. parsley flakes
4 c. milk, divided
3 c. corn
4 slices of bacon, diced
1/3 c. diced green pepper
1/3 c. diced red pepper
3 T. cornstarch

Cook salt, potatoes, onion, garlic powder, broth and water in large saucepan until tender. Add parsley flakes, red pepper, 3 cups milk and corn. While this is heating, fry bacon, green and red peppers in a separate skillet. Drain off some of the fat, then add to soup. Combine 1 cup milk and cornstarch in separate bowl. Gradually mix into soup and cook to thicken. Serve hot.

Chicken and Rice Soup

We went to the grocery store yesterday, and chicken was on sale, so I (of course) stocked up on it.  Needless to say, we will be eating a lot of chicken dishes in the near future! (Although, most of what I bought I went ahead and put in the freezer, because I always try to have some on-hand to use for whatever.)  Since we are both still somewhat sick, I thought it would be good to have some chicken soup of some kind. However, I made Chicken Noodle Soup not long ago, so I thought it would be nice to make some chicken and rice soup for a change.

  

A change from traditional Chicken Noodle

Chicken and Rice Soup

2 T. butter

2 large ribs of celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 chicken leg quarters or 1 large breast (with skin)
4 chicken bouillons
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. rice (white or wild)
1 tsp. dried parsley
6 c. water

Prepare vegetables as indicated. In a large cooker, melt butter, and add celery, carrots and onion. Saute until tender, but do not brown. Add water and chicken.  Cover with lid, and cook for about 25 minutes, or until chicken is done.  Remove chicken from stock, and transfer to cutting board. Check stock for any solid pieces that may have formed during cooking and discard. As soon as chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin, and pick meat from bones, discarding any unused parts. Cut chicken into pieces of desirable size, and transfer back to stock. Add chicken bouillons, rice, salt, pepper and parsley.  Cook covered for about 20 more minutes until rice is tender (wild rice may take longer). Serve hot with crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches.

In making this soup for us, I dice the celery very fine because my husband wouldn't want to eat it if he could see it! (Anyone else have this problem..?) Otherwise, you would be able to see the sliced celery in there.

Goes great with hot, grilled cheese sandwiches!

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup

  

Hot and ready to serve with crackers, cornbread  or grilled cheese.



Anytime that we get sick (like now), and I start thinking about what to make for supper, soup is naturally the thing that comes to mind. If you've been reading my blog, you know that chicken noodle soup is my first go-to, but since I already shared that recipe, I thought I would make vegetable soup (my second favorite) and share it with you guys. Once again, the recipe is really only a guide; feel free to add to or take away from it as you see fit. Also, this recipe makes a large cooker full, so if you're cooking for only 2-3, you will probably want to half this.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup

2 celery ribs, diced, plus tops
2/3 c. onion (or just less than 1/2 medium onion), diced
2 small carrots, split and cut into uniform pieces about 1/4" long
2 T. oil
4 medium potatoes, cut into small, uniform cubes, about 1/2" wide
1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded
2 1/2 c. frozen vegetables (choose whatever you like, but I suggest at least including peas and corn)
24 oz. tomato sauce (3 c. or 3-8 oz. cans)
4 c. water
4 beef bouillons
1/2 T. sugar
7-8 dashes Worcestershire sauce (about 1/2 T.)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
2 tsp.dried parsley

Prepare and cut all vegetables as indicated.  Heat the oil in a large cooker, and saute celery, onions and carrots until tender, but not browned. (Reserve celery tops.)  Add all other vegetables and tomato sauce.  Dissolve beef bouillons in water, then add to cooker. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Place reserved celery tops on top of soup, cover with lid, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove celery tops before serving, and serve hot with crackers, cornbread or grilled cheese.

After all ingredients have been combined, add celery tops, cover with lid, and simmer
for 30 minutes.
(Don't you just love those colors!?)

 This is how it should look after cooking for 30 minutes.  Notice the color isn't as
brilliant due to the vegetables having cooked into the broth.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Cold, rainy days like these just scream soup for supper.  So, after I decided to make chicken noodle soup, it occurred to me that I could just take some pictures and jot down what I do, then post it on my recipe blog.  Usually, I just throw things together and don't measure anything when it comes to makimg soups and other similar things.  Making it this time was different because I went ahead and eye-balled my ingredients as usual, then stopped and measured before adding them. That being said, this is easily my #1 go-to soup.  We both like it; it's easy; it's really good, and it's pretty cheap (and I almost always have all the ingredients on-hand).  I totally understand that it's much easier (and faster) to go pop open a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup than to make it from scratch, but trust me-- the homemade stuff is so much better!  After you try this, you won't mind taking the extra time to make it from scratch!



Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken leg quarters with skin (thigh and leg)  

2 medium celery ribs,diced, plus tops (about 1/2 c.)

1/3 of a medium yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 c.)

2 medium-large carrots, diced (about 1 c.)

4 chicken bouillons

1 1/2 c. small pasta shells

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

pepper to taste

1 T. butter

water

Place chicken quarters (with skin) in a large dutch oven.  Fill with water until chicken is covered with about 1/2 inch of water.  Cover with lid, and cook chicken until done (about 25 minutes).  Meanwhile, prepare and dice carrots, onion, and celery.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan and saute diced vegetables until onions and celery are translucent.  Remove from heat. After chicken has cooked, carefully remove it from the stock (it will want to fall apart; I recommend using a large slotted spoon), and place on a sizable cutting board.  Check the broth for any solids that may have formed and stuck to the sides of the pot, and discard. Place sauteed vegetables, salt, pepper and chicken bouillons into broth and return to a boil. Add celery tops. As soon as chicken is cool enough to work with, remove and discard skin and clean meat off the bones.  Cut chicken into pieces of desirable size and return to stock. Add pasta shells and cook until al dente (about 7 minutes).  Remove celery tops,  add parsley, and spoon into serving dishes.  Serve with crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches.  Enjoy!

   

Sauteeing carrots, onions and celery



Feel free to use any part of the chicken you like. I like the leg quarters because they help produce a nice broth and provide the perfect amount of meat. Also, leg quarters are cheap. (I think you can get an 8-10 pound bag of frozen leg quarters for about $5-6.) You don't have to use frozen chicken, but the fact that you can is an added element of convenience since you can stock-up when it's on sale.

  



I also like to use small pasta shells instead of traditional flat noodles because they are easier to eat and have a great texture.  However, if you prefer traditional noodles, you can use linguine or fettuccine noodles instead: just break them into pieces of desirable size and cook them for about 11 minutes instead of 7.