Posts filed under 'Soup'
Ravioli soup — A scrumptious treat and a change from ordinary spaghetti or labor-intensive lasagne.
You get the best of both worlds with this dish - all the flavor of making it yourself… Plus the ease of pulling something prepared out of the freezer.
Frozen pasta is delicious and cooks within minutes. Tortellini, Pierogies, even egg noodles are all superb frozen pastas.
The sauce for this dish takes a small amount of effort, but it’s worth it. If you’re not into making your own sauce, pick up a jar of Ragu (or whatever).
And while you prepare it, you can imagine yours is the big, happy, food-passing, finger-licking, cheek-kissing Italian family you see on Olive Garden commercials. So your daydreams may burst the second you all sit down together at the table… hey - you had fun imagining it, right?
Garlic Bread is the preferred side for this dish, but a good salad would be a healthier choice.
Italian Ravioli Soup
serves 8-10 / prep. time: 20 minutes
1 pkg. frozen ravioli (cheese or meat filling, whichever you prefer)
1 lb. bulk sausage - it can be Italian, plain, or garlic
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 can chicken broth
1 can V-8
3/4 c. water
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. parsley
3/4 t. basil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. sugar
Parmesan cheese for topping
Well, that ingredient list looks kinda long, but most of it is just the flavorings for the sauce. If you’re taking the easy way out, buy a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and add a can of chicken broth. If you’re making the sauce from scratch, dump the tomatoes, paste, chicken broth, water, V-8, the herbs and flavorings in a medium stockpot and set the heat on low.
In a skillet, brown the sausage and onion together. If it’s a bit on the greasy side, drain it before proceeding. Next I usually let the sausage cool and then run it through my chopper. I do this because sausage tends to be rather sticky and wants to stay together in large clumps. I prefer it fine, so into the chopper it goes. After that, I can dump it into my bubbly aromatic tomato sauce.
Finally, in an even bigger stockpot bring some water to a boil for the ravioli. Check the package for exact amount required, but it should be plenty. Follow the directions for cooking the noodles - it’s usually just a few minutes in boiling water. Then you will drain the ravioli and add it to the sauce, or vice versa depending on how big your stockpot is.
Now your soup is done — ladel it up and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
November 13th, 2008
Step aside, Campbell’s Chunky Soup. Now there’s something even heartier!
This recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup received a thumb’s up from every single member of our family. Thanks, Mom. If you’re going to try this one, please buy Reame’s noodles from the freezer section, they are the best.
Simple to make, without too many ingredients, this soup makes a tasty weeknight meal.
Hearty Noodle Soup
serves 8-10 / prep. time: 15 minutes / cook time: 20-30 minutes
1 c. each chopped celery, onion, and carrot
2 c. chopped turkey or chicken (dark meat is better for this soup)
3 cans of chicken broth
8 oz. bag of noodles of your preference
plenty of water
salt and pepper
Boil the vegetables in water. When tender, you can turn them off, add the chicken and broth and set aside. Boil the noodles according to the package directions. For Reame’s, that takes 20-30 minutes. For normal noodles, it’s 8-10. When the noodles are finished, simply drain them and then put it all together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ta-Da! You’re done!
This soup stands alone, so if there is a dessert you’ve been wanting to try, this would be a good time.
October 18th, 2008
I accidentally made this new soup in my crockpot yesterday. I love it when kitchen accidents turn into kitchen successes!
The original plan was to make regular-old chili. However, my son wants grilled burgers one day this week and I have only one package of ground beef in the freezer. So…. the original plan for chili turned into plan B — shredded pork chili. (Because I found a baggie of shredded leftover pork roast lurking in the back of the freezer.) I think I’d better add at this point that I was a bit short on grocery money and was trying to make do with what I had on hand for this week.
Well, I started up the pork chili and when I thawed the baggie of pork, I realized that it was actually shredded turkey left from, I believe, Christmas! Of course, I realized this at the exact moment that the pork/turkey was being added to the soup. No turning back. I probably would have put it in anyway, to tell the truth. Commence plan C.
So, there we had it — I won’t even call it chili anymore… Southwest Turkey Soup. We added diced avocados, light sour cream, toasted tortilla pieces, and I heard no complaints.
Southwest Turkey Soup
serves 6
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 can red kidney beans or pinto beans
1 can hominy (we prefer white)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel brand mild tomatoes with green chilies
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can chicken broth, optional, depending on how thick you like your soup
1- 2 c. cooked, chopped turkey.
I love crock pot recipes, they are so easy to prepare and you are not locked into a specific dinnertime.
First, chop and saute the onion until soft. At the same time, begin opening cans — kidney beans, tomatoes, Ro-tel, and hominy. Dump everything into the crock pot. Add the onions whenever they are done, then add the seasonings and stir. Finally, add the turkey.
This should be heated through and, as with most chilies, tastes better if you let the flavors blend for at least a couple of hours.
For toppings — cut flour tortillas into small squares, heat some olive oil in a skillet, and fry over medium heat until crispy. Dice an avocado, add a dollop of sour cream and even a splash of lime on top of your bowl of soup.
ENJOY!
March 3rd, 2008
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