Since retiring from the food industry I have learned to lean on some other talented cooks and cut some corners. I love exploring and finding new recipes from my favorite food blogs. I share a lot of those blog links on my Blogs I Read page. I still do plenty of stuff from scratch but I am willing to take the easy way on a few things. I have listed the five soups that are on repeat in my house for you guys. The first three will take you to other websites and the last two are standards around here that are my personal recipes. I made them printable for you if you want to try them.
Leann's Chili
This is a super quick chili recipe that tastes like you took hours to make it. You can cook it on the stovetop or add everything to the instant pot or crock pot. Use your favorite ground meat of choice for this recipe. I have used ground beef, ground deer, ground pork, or ground turkey or a variation of several together. I don’t typically measure any of my spices and seasonings but I estimated here for you. Feel free to adjust any of the spices to your preference of heat and taste.
* 2 pounds ground meat of choice
* 2 Tbsp olive oil (or oil of choice to saute meat and veg)
* 2 Tbsp flour (used as thickener)
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
* add a jalapeno here if you want more kick
* 2 cans drained black or pinto beans (you can cook them from dried and just add 3 cups of those)
* 2 Tbsp cumin powder
* 1 Tbsp chili powder
* 2 tsp garlic minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
* pinch of paprika
* 6 cups beef or chicken broth (beef makes it richer tasting)
* salt and pepper to taste
Brown the Ground meat in a dutch oven or big stew pot. You can drain off extra fat or liquid if you like. Once it is browned well remove but leave any oil trace or bits in the pan. Add a bit of oil and saute all the vegetables… onion, celery, bell pepper until softened. I add minced garlic at this point but if you are using garlic powder add it with the other spices. Add meat back into pan with sauteed vegetables. Add the spices and beans at this point. Add salt and pepper. Add flour before adding the liquid and mix together well. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste if it needs it. The broth adds salt if it is canned or boxed but if you use homemade stock you might need to add salt.
Leann's Chicken and Dumplings
For the soup part…
1 to 2 TBSP oil or melted butter
1 white or yellow onion chopped
4 medium carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery chopped into small pieces
4 cups shredded or cut up cooked chicken from Rotisserie or boiled whole chicken
4 to 6 cups chicken stock or broth (I used broth from boiled whole chicken and add water to fill in the rest)
salt and pepper to taste
I often add a small bag of frozen peas and carrots, too
For the dumplings I use the Betty Crocker Dumpling recipe from my old cookbook but you can
find it here
I add a bit of oil to the pot and saute the onions, carrots and celery until soft. I add the shredded or chopped cooked chicken to the pan and toss together with veggies. This is where I add a bit of salt and pepper. I pour a bag of frozen veggies in and then add the broth. You want everything covered with some room to add dumplings and put a lid on the pot to finish cooking. While the soup is coming to a boil I make the dumplings. Once the soup is at a rolling boil I drop the dumpling batter in by the spoonful making sure they submerge completely in the liquid before they surface so they are completely wet. I lower the temperature and then cover the pot with a sturdy lid and let the cook covered for 12 to 15 minutes. The dumplings will give the soup a creamy thickened texture. You can serve it with a big side salad if you like or just enjoy in your favorite soup bowl. This is my kids absolute favorite winter soup.
Breads We Eat With Soup
I serve Cornbread with my chilis and vegetable stews.
I will often buy a crusty bread like Italian or French bread loaves from the grocery store bakery for Italian or brothy soups. My family likes to put bread in their soup to soak up the broth to give it a thicker consistency.
I have been known to make an herb or cheesy biscuit to accompany some of my soups, too.
With the Chicken and Dumplings the bread is part of the soup.
Feel free to keep a variety of crackers on hand. We even throw in some goldfish sometimes.
If I am serving a soupy curry I will purchase a premade Naan or Pita bread to serve with it for, what we call, “sopping.”
If I missed something please let me know. As I type I might leave something crucial out so ask if you have any questions.
Stay warm out there folks!
Happy Eating,
~Leann
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
Some Days There's Pie 