Soup, Soup And More Soup Roundup

It is a busy night tonight.  Mrs. Cottage and I are busy making a few pots of soup for meals this week just in case the weather person is correct (this time) and we do get a bunch of snow. The house smells so wonderful with the cooking of the vegetables and the earthy smells of herbs and spices. You can click the title of the recipe below to be taken to the recipe.

Tonight we are making: 

Chicken Noodle 

Cream Of Broccoli

Chili

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Bean Soup

It may sound like overkill, but we tend to lose power if we get more than a couple of inches.  The power is usually off for several days so we wanted to have stuff ready that we could just warm up.  Don't laugh our cold neighbors to the North!  :) 

Last time we had 8" we were little but we had no power for 4 days and Mrs. Cottage cooked us breakfast, lunch and dinner in the fireplace.  Don't laugh!  It was good too.  We had eggs or hot cereal for breakfast, soups and stews for lunch and a hot dinner with a meat and veggies.  She even made us tea and cocoa in the fireplace.  We were kept cozy and satisfied.  

Well, goodnight and keep warm friends! Tomorrow we may be in a winter wonderland.

Amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup II

We made this soup after we lost grandma.  You know those days. We were eating at Panera Bread because no one felt like cooking and we made this soup and have not had Panera since. :)  This is a really creamy soup with lots of flavor.  It is so good.  We have not had it in a bread bowl yet but it would be wonderful.  This recipe makes about 7 - 8 bowls of soup.  It is even better the second day warmed up.  

New Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Organic Butter

1 Organic Sweet Onion chopped.  (I threw this In my blender with a little water to really chop it up).

1 cup of organic flour

½ cup of organic butter

2 cups organic milk

2 cups organic cream (You can use all milk if you want to.)

4 cups of organic bone broth (recipe here ) or chicken broth

1 pound of organic broccoli chopped well (about 2 cups I would say)

2 cups of carrots (I did the same with these as I did my onions.  I wanted them quite small.)

Ground nutmeg.  I put about 2 dashes in.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Grated organic cheddar or cheese of your choice.

Directions:

In a sauté’ pan place 2 Tbsp. butter to melt.

Take onion and chop in half and place in your blender with a small amount of water to chop or in your food processor. You can just hand chop them also if you want to.  After chopping place this in the pan with your butter and cook until tender and sweet. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside in bowl.

In a large stock pot mix in your remaining butter and flour.  Cook for about 3 minutes until the butter is melted and the flour is all wet.  It should be thick. With your whisk slowly pour in the bone broth until it is combined and no lumps remain.  Do the same thing for the milk and the cream.  Set on burner and let simmer for about 20 minutes on medium / low.  Stir frequently and do not allow this to boil.

In my small pan I steamed my broccoli and carrots while the soup simmered.  I tried just cooking this in with the broth but it still was a bit firm. Set aside. 

When the soup has simmered 20 minutes add the onion, broccoli and carrots to the stock pot.  Stir to mix well and simmer another 20 to 25 minutes. 

Ladle into your favorite bowl and top with shredded cheese.

Zuppa Toscana

This is such a great soup!  We always brought it for our church lunches and we always came home with an empty pan. We got the idea from Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana.  We loved the soup but wanted to make it a little more healthy and cost effective.  I mean, not many people can afford to eat out all the time.  This recipe served 4 people about 3 or 4 meals. 

Ingredients:

3 Quarts of homemade Bone Broth or store bought broth.  If you are buying it watch out for bad additives, even organic broth has hidden MSG I find (autolyzed yeast extract, even the words "natural flavorings" can mean pretty bad stuff).  Click above for our Bone Broth recipe. 
2 Packages Organic Nitrate / Nitrite Free Sausage sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced up and cooked
6 Organic Potatoes washed and sliced in half and then sliced again in thin slices
6 Slices Organic Uncured / Nitrate Free Bacon cooked until crisp and diced.
1 1/2 Cups Organic Milk

2-3 cups of fresh organic chopped kale

1 onion diced and sauteed in butter or coconut oil.

Celtic Sea Salt  To taste (this will depend on if your broth is salted)

Garlic and Onion Powder (I also just do this to taste depending on broth.  My homemade broth does not need it.)

Directions:

In a stock pot place your broth.  Season to taste and turn to medium heat and put in your potatoes to cook.  

While waiting saute your onions and add them to the potatoes.  Cook your bacon until crisp and dice up and set aside.  Slice up your sausage and cook until warm and set aside. 

Rinse and chop your kale and then add to your broth to cook.  When tender add the sausage, bacon and milk to your soup.  Cook until warm.  

This is amazing with a crusty farmhouse loaf and a salad.  

Enjoy!