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Soup

Jay59

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Tis the season for comfort food.
Judith made some excellent baked potato soup. More tonight with peel and eat shrimp. That's my idea of fast food.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

1 package (12 oz) bacon
1 onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
2 lb potatoes, baked, skinned, cubed
1/2 cup flour
1 quart buttermilk
1/2 tsp powdered dry mustard
2 1/2 cups cubed melting cheese (such as Velveta)
8 oz plain yogurt
S&P
1 cup cooked ham, diced
3/4 cup sliced green onions

In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove, crumble and set aside, reserving drippings.
In the same pan, sauté onion in 2 Tbsp drippings until almost tender, 5-6 minutes.
In a six quart pot bring stock to boil.
Add onions and potatoes and cook until potatoes are very tender.
Measure remaining bacon drippings and add oil to a total of 1/2 cup.
In the same skillet, add flour make a light roux.
Gradually stir in the milk.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with whisk, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
Reduce heat to low. Slowly add mustard and cheese, stirring constantly until all is melted.
Add cheese sauce to soup. Stir in ham, half of the bacon, the yogurt, and 1/2 cup of the green onions.
Cook until thoroughly heated. Adjust seasonings.
Top servings with remaining bacon and green onions.​
It's an old restaurant trick to use excess baked potatoes to make potato salad. This is another same vein.

If you do not want to bake your potatoes, peel and cube, then boil in the stock until fairly tender. Try using half russet and half redskin or gold potatoes. Add onions and proceed as before.

The actual recipe calls for milk and sour cream. I substituted yogurt and buttermilk since there is plenty of fat.
 
Thinking of restaurants stirred a memory.

Restaurant Tortilla Soup
Stock
20 quarts water​
2 whole chickens​
2 can tomato paste​
2 head garlic, peeled and halved​
2 large onion, peeled and quartered​
2 bunch cilantro​
salt and pepper​
Simmer until chicken floats, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.​
Pour off liquid​
Removed and shred chicken meat, set aside​
Soup
Stock​
1 oz oil​
2 head garlic, minced​
3 cup chopped onion​
5-8 serrano peppers, seeded and minced​
4 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced​
30 corn tortillas, cut up into pieces (thickness the soup)​
1 can tomato paste​
1/2 cup lime juice, or to taste​
dash sugar​
shredded chicken​
In the emptied stock pot, sauté garlic onions and peppers.​
Return stock and add remaining ingredients.​
Cook until tortillas dissolve​
Use an immersion blender until smooth.​
Add a portion of the shredded chicken​
Cool and refrigerate overnight​
The restaurant does not add the meat back in, so it is served as a smooth soup, garnished with lime, cilantro, and sour cream. I would pureé the stock veggies and add them to the stock as well as adding back part of the shredded chicken.

The recipe makes five gallons (you could use a 10 pound bag of leg quarters or 10-12 pound turkey), but is easily cut in half. You can make and freeze 10 quarts of stock and use them two at a time.

The rule of thumb is that one pound of bone-in chicken makes 1 cup of cooked meat. You probably do not want to use all of it in the soup. The rest would make excellent salad.
 
My favorite Bean Soup

Ingredients
  • 1 pound dry great Northern beans
  • 8 cups water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ham hock
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • ½ stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cups chopped ham
  • ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Directions
  • Step 1
    Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes.
  • Step 2
    After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard and bay leaves in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.
  • Step 3
    Remove ham bone and discard. Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.

But I make soup from all kinds of things...turkey, chicken, hamburger, split peas, etc. I love soup.
 
For my ham and beans soup you need water, ham and beans. Maybe some pepper.

J
 
I like a good Solyanka Soup!

Solyanka is also popular in the former East Germany (the current German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, along with the eastern half of Berlin), where it is commonly found in restaurants and available in canned form in grocery stores. (The German transliteration is Soljanka.) This practice stems from the era when Soviet troops were stationed in the GDR, and Soljanka was found on the menu at many East German restaurants. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was raised in East Germany, is fond of Solyanka.[
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyanka
 
Escarole & White Bean Soup (Can sub Kale for escarole)

2T Olive oil
5 cloves garlic chopped
T Salt
T Pepper
T Dried Oregano
1 can White Beans (14.5 oz)
1 bunch Escarole chopped
32 oz Veg stock

Order of operation in the recipe Med heat sauté garlic salt pepper dried oregano until it smells, add beans, wait 2-3 min add escarole, allow it to wilt to 1/3 original size add broth, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 20-30 min.

Add Parmesan cheese when served.

Substitute mini meatballs for the beans and add a cup of acini de pepe or ditalini and you've got Italian Wedding Soup.

Fry up some Italian sausage, sliced thin, add it have a Sausage & Bean stew...

Very easy very versatile....very delicious...
 
My baked potato soup was popular today. Cool. Here is my primer for clean out the fridge soup.
  1. Choose a base: 2 cups tomato sauce, 6 cups water, 3 cups stock
  2. Add a meat: 1# browned beef, 1 cup diced cooked poultry, 8 pieces of cooked bacon, 1 cup cooked game, etc.
  3. Add 2-4 cups fresh or cooked vegetables: onions sautéed in olive oil, carrots, celery, corn, parsley, diced tomatoes, green beans, peas, parsnips.
  4. Add a starch: 2 cups cooked rice or pasta, 1 cup dried peas or lentils plus 2 cups water, 1 cup barley or millet plus 1 cup water, 2 cups cooked beans, 2 cans beans with gravy, 2-3 cups potatoes, or 2 cups frozen fries (the cheap kind with no oil).
  5. Add 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp dried herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme. If fresh, use triple amounts. Be careful with salt and pepper.
  6. If a cream soup is desired, 2 cups half 'n half or heavier cream or 1 cup powdered coffee creamer. Shredded cheese may also be added but not to a boiling mix or it will curdle.
  7. Mix all ingredients in large pot or slow cooker and heat over low heat for 1/2-2 hours to blend flavors.
  8. Add beer, popcorn, croutons, shredded cheese just before serving if desired.
When it says tomato sauce, leftover pasta sauce works well. Use all your leftover veggies except broccoli, cauliflower or greens. Those are strong enough they need to be used carefully. Cook fresh vegetables in water or stock, microwave til tender, or sauté til slightly browned. Corn counts as a vegetable and not a starch.
 
Trying a new hot and sour soup recipe tomorrow and will post it if successful. Eager to see if dried lily flowers really are the secret.
 
This seems to be a popular topic, so I thought I should post my go to method for quick soup--rotisserie chicken. Typically, Judith brings a chicken home from work. We will each have a leg and thigh, plus maybe the wings. White meat becomes chicken salad or soup. Even if we have chicken salad, the bones and skin get boiled for stock, along with onion, carrot and celery scraps. Just pour through a colander and discard the solids. With the meat still on, same thing, but fish the carcass out after about 15 minutes. Remove and set the meat aside, then return the bones to boil as before.

Rather than post a specific soup, here are 15 easy recipes.
 
I like Mullygetawny soup!
 
Brunswick stew,

What is Brunswick Stew?​


Brunswick stew is a BBQ stew with a tomato base, vegetables, and plenty of meat. There are many variations to this simple stew, and it’s extremely versatile. I feel like Brunswick stew is the most common sense solution for any leftover BBQ you’ve got sitting around after a weekend of smoking.
In fact, the origins of Brunswick stew are shrouded in mystery, but I can just imagine some pit master having a crummy day of sales in his restaurant and contemplating what he can possibly do with all of his leftover smoked meat. Enter Brunswick stew! A stew packed full of meat, veggies, and more.


This stew is no frills, no fuss, a little of this, a little of that, and loads of comforting smoky BBQ flavor. Hunters have been heating up by bowls of this stew forever! So if you have BBQ leftovers just sitting around, this recipe will be your saving grace. Just dump, simmer, and enjoy.

Brunswick Stew​


As mentioned in the previous section, Brunswick stew is basically a stew of BBQ leftovers. This particular recipe is made with chicken thighs, pulled pork, and brisket (we had A LOT of leftovers this weekend).


Here’s the deal. If you don’t have a fridge teeming with 3 different kinds of smoked meat leftovers, don’t stress yourself out about it! You can still make a killer Brunswick stew by substituting any of the smoked meats in the recipe as follows:




  • No smoked brisket? Sub in either stew meat (and increase the cooking time to 3 hours) or ground beef.
  • No pulled pork? Use ground pork or cubed pork loin chops.
  • No grilled chicken thighs? Just cook some up in the pan before you stir in the onions, celery, and peppers.

This Brunswick stew was made for customization and substitutions. It’s all about making awesome stew with what you’ve got on hand. Some people swear by throwing some frozen lima beans in the mix (my husband would have boycotted if I’d have even tried it, his hatred for lima beans traces back to some form of childhood trauma). Other people like to mix in some diced potatoes (that one I could get behind, but I was out of potatoes). https://heygrillhey.com/brunswick-stew/
 
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