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As it gets colder, I find myself wanting to make soup.  I thought I'd share with you my favorite soup recipe.

It's called Christy's Broccoli & Potato Soup:
(Thanks to my sister Christy for the recipe)

6 cups water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 tsp parsley (just the dried seasoning kind)
1 1/2 tsp minced onions (just the dried seasoning kind)
1-2 grated carrots
5-7 medium potatoes, pealed and cubed (make them as big or small as you'd like, I make mine small.)
1/4 - 1/2 lb frozen chopped broccoli

put over medium/high heat until potatoes are almost tender.

In separate pan on medium heat

melt 1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
add 1/2 cup flour.

boil for 30 seconds

add 1 can evaporated milk (I bet there will be a great sale soon. ;))

stir until thick and add to the pot of soup, stir into the soup until smooth, (about 2 minutes) and eat.

It's Delicious!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden)

www.thriftyfun.com
Serves: 6

1/3 cup butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 pound chicken cubed (using canned chicken)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 carrot shredded (using dehydrated carrots)
1/4 cup onions shredded (using dehydrated onion)
1/2 cup fresh spinach torn in pieces (using frozen spinach)
2 cups milk (could use powdered milk, but I won't)
2 cups heavy cream (using shelf-stable Gossner's cream)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pinch cracked pepper
1 17.6-ounce can gnocchi (could make it fresh or with canned potatoes - see this link for the recipe: http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,2/topic,5659.0


On medium heat, melt butter in a soup pot, add in the garlic and saute, add your chicken and cook through out.  Add flour and stir in flour and mix well until the flour is cooked into the chicken.  Next add your milk and heavy cream then add the veggies (Carrots, Celery, Onion, Spinach).  Add three bullion cubes.  Add your Gnocchi last it takes 3-4 min. to cook throughout.  Mix ingredients well until soup thickens and stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

I love to make this soup, it freezes very well.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 medium red onions (about 3 pounds), sliced thin (I didn?t have red onions, so I caramelized yellow onions and sprinkled a little brown sugar on top, very good)
Salt (if necessary)
6 cups chicken broth
1 3/4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup sherry wine 
2 sprigs fresh parsley leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Ground black pepper
1 baguette , cut on the bias into 3/4-inch slices (2 slices per serving)
4 1/2 ounces Swiss cheese , sliced 1/16-inch thick
1 1/2   ounces grated Asiago cheese (about 3/4 cup)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat; add sliced onions and stir to coat onions thoroughly with butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are reduced and syrupy and inside of pot is coated with very deep brown crust, 30 to 35 minutes. Stir in the chicken and beef broths, red wine, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, scraping pot bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, and bring to simmer. Simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes, and discard herbs. Stir in balsamic vinegar and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. (Can be cooled to room temperature and refrigerated in airtight container up to 2 days; return to simmer before finishing soup with croutons and cheese).
2. For the Crusts: Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the bread out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, flipping once, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven. Turn the oven to broil.
3. Set heat-safe soup bowls or crocks on rimmed baking sheet and fill each with about 1 1/2 cups soup. Top each bowl with two toasted baguette slices and divide Swiss cheese slices, laying them in a single layer, if possible, on bread. Sprinkle each serving with about 2 tablespoons grated Asiago cheese and broil until well browned and bubbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and serve.

I saw this on Good Morning America last week.  Keep Carrots, Celery, Onion & Canned Tomatoes in your pantry and then you can vary this in so many different ways!!!


From the kitchen of Jaime Oliver
Servings: 4-6
Difficulty: Moderate
Cook Time: Over 120 min

You are going to love this slow-cooked stew recipe, because it's so simple and gives consistently good results. Try each of the different options below. It's a good idea to stick to the meat and booze combinations I've given you, but if you want to pick and mix the herbage feel free! For each of the four options below the meat should be cut into approximately 3/4-inch cubes. Package from most grocery stores are often about that size.

In stew recipes you're often told to brown off the meat first. But I've done loads of tests and found the meat is just as delicious and tender without browning it first, so I've removed this usual stage from these recipes.

Ingredients
2 stalks celery
2 medium onions
2 carrots
Olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 x 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Then choose one of the following:
BEEF AND ALE (3 hours)
3 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 pound diced stewing beef
2 cups brown ale, Guinness or stout

PORK AND CIDER (2 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs of fresh sage
1 pound diced stewing pork, preferably free-range or organic
2 cups medium-dry hard cider

CHICKEN AND WHITE WINE (1 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pound diced, boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups white wine

LAMB AND RED WINE (2 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 pound diced stewing lamb
2 cups red wine

Cooking Directions

If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 350?F. Trim the ends off your celery and roughly chop the stalks. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel the carrots, slice lengthways, and roughly chop. Put a Dutch oven on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables and your chosen herb into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes. Add you meat and flour. Pour in the booze and canned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season with a teaspoon of sea salt (less if using table salt) and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, put the lid on, and either simmer slowly on your cooktop or cook in an oven for the times shown above. Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking and add a splash of water if it looks a bit dry. When done, your meat should be tender and delicious. Remove any bay leaves or herb stalks before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper.

*Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver from Jamie's Food Revolution; Hyperion, 2009.

Select from these Jaime Oliver toppers: Pastry Lid, Dumplings, Hot Pot or Mashed Potatoes.

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR ALCOHOL:

Beer/Ale: Chicken broth, beef broth, mushroom broth, white grape juice, ginger ale
Hard Cider: Apple Juice
White Wine: Water, chicken broth, vegetable broth, white grape juice, ginger ale, white grape juice
Red Wine: Red grape juice, cranberry juice, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, clam juice, fruit juices, flavored vinegar

Kabocha  Squash Soup

1 Kabocha -cooked (I cut it in half, take off seeds and bake it in the oven until nice and soft)
1 lb shrimp
3 sliced bacon (cut into small pieces)
1 T parseley (minced)
1 T green onion (minced)
2 clothes garlic (minced)
oil
salt
pepper

After the Kabocha is cooked, cut it into square pieces. Sautee the garlic in the oil in a sauce pan, add the Kabocha squares. Add water or broth until desired consistency (I like my very thick, so I don't add too much liquid)  Season with salt, pepper and let it cook.  When it is done add the green onion and parsley.

In a frying pan, cook bacon pieces.  Then add the shrimp. Cook until shrimp is pink.

Put soup in the serving bowl and a couple of shrimp and bacon on top.

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 (29 oz) can diced tomatoes
1  can of chicken broth
2 tbsp. margarine
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a large stock pot add tomatoes, chicken broth, butter, sugar, onion and baking soda. Simmer for 1 hour. In another pan heat cream until hot. Make sure the cream does not burn. Once heated, add to tomato soup and serve.