Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger
1/2 of an onion diced
2 cans chilli beans
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 can corn
1 can petite diced tomatos
2 cans tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning

Brown Hamburger with Onion. (Season with some salt and pepper). Combine cooked Hamburger, Beans, Corn, Tomatos, and Tomato Sauce. Stir in Taco Seasoning. Bring to simmer in soup pot and let simmer for 5-10 min. Can also be put in a crockpot and heated through. The longer it simmers the more the flavors blend and increase. If it seems too thick to you, like not enough juice, you can add more tomato sauce or even tomato juice.
Serve with tortilla chips, green onions, cheese, sourcream, lettuce, olives...what ever you would put on a taco.

*This recipe is super quick. Great for group get togethers!
**This recipe came from my Mom! Love Taco Soup!!

Mimi's Corn Chowder

I found this recipe HERE!

3 slices of crispy cooked bacon, crumbled

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 cups creamed corn

1 cup chicken broth

1 pint light cream**

6 saltine crackers, crushed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

16 oz pkg frozen diced potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Serve with your favorite soup crackers!

*Recently I went to Mimi's Restaurant and had their Corn Chowder! I love cream soups...especially Corn Chowder because no one really make Corn Chowder any more. Anyway, as I was doing my "Blog Surfing" the other morning I accidentally found this recipe for Mimi's Corn Chowder! I was so excited so I of course had to try it! It was really yummy! So glad I doubled the recipe so we could have left overs!

**Ok, because I am cheap and won't pay almost $4.00 for 1 pint of cream, I decided to pay just over $3.00 for a gallon of whole milk and used that instead of the cream. After letting the soup cook for 3 hours, it wasn't thickening like I wanted it to (because I added milk instead of cream). So I created a Rue with 1/4 cup melted butter and a 1/3 cup flour (for a double batch). Then drained some of the milky part of the soup off the soup, added it to the rue, mixing it till all the lumps are gone. Add enough of the milky part of the soup to the rue until it is pourable, but still thick. Pour the Rue mixture into the crock of soup. Give it a stir and let it cook that last hour. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Recipe Courtesy of MEL'S KITCHEN CAFE

1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups of broth)
1 small onion, diced
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

**I was surprised with how easy this soup came together.  And even better, it was delicious!  It went so well in the bread bowls.  The kids loved it!  I will for sure be making this again!  I think I will even use the creamy/cheesy soup base and add other veggies to it for a variation.



**I couldn't find any bread bowls at the grocery store so we used KEISER ROLLS.  A little smaller than regular bread bowls, but worked just the same.

Tomato Macaroni Soup



2 cups macaroni pasta

1 lb hamburger

1 quart tomato juice or vegetable juice

2 tsp dehydrated onion flakes or 1/2 of a small onion diced

2 tsp dehydrated celery flakes or 1 stick of celery chopped

1 tsp parsley flakes

salt and pepper

Optional: 1 can sweet corn undrained

Cook macaroni in 8-10 cups of water.  When macaroni is done drain most of the water off, leaving enough in the pan that it just covers the macaroni.  Brown hamburger with onion in seperate fry pan, then drain off any excess grease off hamburger.  Add hamburger, tomato juice, celery, and parsley to macaroni.  Bring to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add corn if you want.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasional.  If it seems too thick you can add more tomato juice or add a few cans of tomato sauce til it is the consistancy you would like.  Enjoy!

**When needing a quick warm meal on a stormy spring day, this always does the trick.  I like to make fresh breadsticks or rolls to go with it.  The kids love that it has macaroni in it.  Anything "Pasta" is a hit with the kids.  Not quite like Tina's Tomato Mac soup at the cafe, but it's still good.

**I love Celery Flakes!  I hardly ever buy celery because no one in the family likes it.  I found a jar of celery flakes in the seasoning section and love them.  When I use them in soup they hydrate and look like fresh celery.  Celery adds alot of flavor to soup, so I always keep a jar on hand.



Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

5 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or beef broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 pound carrots, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Minute tapioca
2 cups frozen peas
.
After the meat has been cut into chunks, pat it dry with a paper towel and season all the pieces with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Cook half of the beef until it is well browned on each side, about 4 minutes. No need to cook it all the way through – just get some great brown color all around. Toss the meat in the slow cooker and follow the same process with the second half of the meat (you may need to add another tablespoon of oil to the pan if it looks a little dry). Remove the meat to the slow cooker, trying to keep as much oil in the pan as possible.
Return the skillet to medium heat and add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are translucent and golden, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil and transfer it to the slow cooker, pouring it over the meat.
.
In a large bowl, toss the carrots, potatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On the counter, lay out a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (use two sheets of regular foil on top of each other if you don’t have heavy-duty). Place the tossed vegetables on one side of the foil. Fold the foil over the vegetables and crimp the edges really well to form a little foil packet that will fit in the top of your slow cooker. Stir the tapioca into the slow cooker. Place the foil packet of vegetables on top of the stew, cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 10-11 hours.
.
When the stew is finished cooking, carefully remove the foil packet from the top of the stew. Discard the bay leaves from the stew. Carefully open the foil packet (be careful of steam that may escape as you open it!). Return the vegetables and any juices to the slow cooker and gently mix them into the stew. Stir in the frozen peas and let them rest in the stew for 5-10 minutes, until they are heated through. Serve.


**I got this recipe off of Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  A few things I did different or will do different.  I used a 3 1/2 lb tender chuck roast instead of 5 lb.  I also seasoned the meat with Texas Salt.  Next time I will had more beef broth or some water.  There really was no "sauce" with it after it had cooked for the suggested time.  The meat was sooo tender though after cooking all day.  I loved the idea of cooking the veggies in a foil packet.  The kids weren't big fans of the stew...but they haven't had it much in the past.  If your kids like stew, this is definately one I would try with them.

Chicken Noodle Soup

When I make soups I really don't follow a recipe.  I just create as I go.  Jim tells me that I really need to write down what I do with the Soups so the one time that it is better than the last, I will know what I did to make it better.  Well, I tried to write a recipe for what I do with the Chicken Noodle Soup.  I decided I would just tell you how I make it with "some" measurements.

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3-4 medium potatos

4 carrots

1 stick of celery

2-3 TBLS chicken granules

1 TBLS grated (dehydrated) onion

1 TBLS dried parsley flakes

4 large handfuls of (long) egg nooodles

2 cans chicken broth

I start by baking the chicken with a little salt and pepper for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Peel and cut up potatos and carrots.  Cut up celery.  Place potatos, carrots, celery in soup pan.  Cover the veggies with water so that there is atleast 1" clearing the top of the veggies.  Bring to a boil.  Add chicken granules, onion, and parsley.  Boil till veggies are done.  In a separate pan I boil the noodles using about 8 cups of water (or enough to cover the noodles by 2"). When veggies and noodles are done I pour the noodles with their water into the veggie pot.  Dice up the baked chicken and add to the veggie pot.  If I need more liquid I add the chicken broth.  I then taste the soup broth to see if it has enough chicken flavor.  If it doesn't then I add more chicken granules.  I season with a little salt and pepper.  The kids don't like the pepper so Jim and I add it to our own bowl when we eat.  The main key is tasting the broth to see if it has enough chicken flavor.

I boil the noodles seperate because the veggies and noodles cook for different times and I forget to through the noodles in with the veggies at the right time.  Anyway, that's how I do it and I quite like my soup, so I thought I would share.

**To make home made egg noodles click HERE!

Split Pea Soup

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 cup dry split peas, rinsed and drained

1 to 1 1/2 lbs meaty smoked pork hocks or one 1 to 1 1/2 pound meaty ham bone

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped carrot (1 medium)

1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)

1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

Stovetop Version

In a large saucepan combine broth, split peas, pork hocks or ham bone, marjoram, bay leaf, 2 cups water, and dash of pepper.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Remove meat.  When cool enough to handle, cut meat off bones; coarsely chop meat.  Discard bones.  Return meat to saucepan.  Stir in carrot, celery, and onion.  Return to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes more or till vegetables are tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Makes about 5 1/2 cups (4 main dish servings).

Crockpot Version

In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart crock pot combine split peas, pork hocks, marjoram, bay leaf, carrot, celery, onion, and dash of pepper.  Pour chicken broth and 2 cups water over all.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5-6 hours.  Discard bay leaf.  Remove meat; coarsely chop.  Return meat to crock pot.  Cover and cook on high-heat setting 5 to 10 more minutes or till heated through.

I used my food chopper to chop the carrot, celery, and onion.  Very handy tool to have in the kitchen.

This recipe came from MY TRUSTY BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COOKBOOK.

I love this cookbook.  It was given to me for Christmas when I was a teenager.  It's my go to recipe book for most "general" dishes. 

I didn't really like Split Pea Soup til I was older.  Now I love it, and Jim does too!  I love to make it for him but don't do it often enough.