Chicken and Veggie Soup

This soup is so simple but delicious.  Very easy to make, all real ingredients.  No soups and not even any broths to worry about!  The original recipe came from Clean 15 by Julie Day but I have modified it some for my liking and to use ingredients I pretty much always have at home.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 boneless chicken breast
Homemade Cajun Seasoning (see recipe here)
1/2 onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large carrot chopped
3 cups cut broccoli
3 cups water
Optional:  Cooked Brown Rice



Heat Olive Oil in a pot.  Use about 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning  and cover chicken breast.  Add to oil and brown.  After about 5 minutes, add in onion, celery, and garlic with 3 cups of water and the bay leaves.   Let the chicken fully cook.  Remove chicken breast, cut into cubes and put back.  Add in mushrooms, carrot, and broccoli with about 1/2 tsp more cajun seasoning.  Let cook down about 20-30 minutes or until veggies are to your liking.

I eat mine as is, my daughter eats hers over rice.

Kale, Butternut Squash, and Chicken Soup

I picked up a bag of butternut squash at Trader Joe's to try, found this recipe on pinterest and decided to try it.  Was expecting to like it but it actually came out really delicious!  Even my 4 year old daugther loved it.

Kale, Butternut Squash, and Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

Chicken:
1 boneless/skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons white wine
1 teaspoon grape seed oil
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt, Black Pepper

Soup:
1 tablespoon grape seed oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup peeled and chopped carrot (about 2 large)
3 stalks celery chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 cups low sodium broth (I used chicken)
2 cups water
12 oz chopped butternut squash (I had the bag from Trader Joes)
2 cups chopped kale leaves
13 oz garbanzo beans drained (I used the boxed ones from Whole Foods, 365 brand)
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
optional: crumbed gouda cheese for topping

Directions:

1.  Put chicken in small baking dish, mix rest of ingredients together and pour over chicken.
2.  Cover and bake at 375 for 25 minutes
3.  Take out and cube/shred then set to side.

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot, then add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring when needed.
2.  Add chicken and cook another 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the kale and cheese) then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the kale and simmer an additional 10 minutes.  If veggies are not soft enough for your liking, you can continue cooking on low.  Sprinkle individual servings with Gouda cheese. 

Creamy Basil Tomato Soup with Gorgonzola

The original recipe was from sparkrecipes.com and I am posting but this batch had way too much gorgonzola cheese for me. Might have been better without so much cheese.

56 oz diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained
1 tsp EVOO
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cloves garlic - pressed
1 pint fat free half/half
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil leaves (I used 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup cumbled gorgonzola (I used 4 oz)

Pulse the drained tomatoes in a food processor until smooth.

Cook garlic, EVOO, and tomato paste in saucepan over medium heat about 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Stir in pureed tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes or until bubbly. Stir in cheese and mix until its all melted.

Add 1 pint of half and half and remove from heat before boiling.

Stir in basil and serve. I added some crouton and parm cheese on top of mine.

Crockpot Mexican Bean Soup

I was trying to copy La Caretta's bean soup. Didn't taste like it but it was pretty good, a little spicy but I modified the recipe so it shouldn't be as spicy next time.

10 cups water
1 3/4 cup dried pinto beans
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 chopped chipotle peppers (I had a can of some in adobo sauce)
12 oz crispy center cut bacon broken up
1 bunch chopped cilantro
1 link andouille sausage (I will use smoked next time)
1 onion, chopped

Turn crockpot on (I cooked mine on high for 4 hours).
Fill crockpot with 10 oz of water. Add rest of ingredients. Mix and cover. Soup should have a good amount of liquid in it once done.

Taco Soup

Another recipe from Spark People, member leighwoman. This was very good, Staci and Jenna even loved it. Here is my version with a few minor changes

2 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 lg. Yellow Onion, chopped
1/2 cp dry Pinto Beans
1 16 oz. can Kernel Corn
2 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1 can Rotel Chopped Tomatoes
1 pkg. Low Sodium Taco Seasoning (I will use 2 next time)

You can use a can of pinto beans if you don't want to cook your own.

Boil water and cook pinto beans for about an hour or until soft.

Brown ground meat, drain if needed. Add onion and cook down about 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and let cook down at least 30 minutes. Can top with sour cream and cheese when served. Freezes well.

Beef and Lentil Soup

Giada De Laurentiis Beef and Lentil Soup from Family Dinners

I made this today because I wanted something different, it was good too. Changes I made are in parentheses. I was lazy and did put all of my veggies in the food processor instead of hand chopping. I am sure it would be a prettier soup if you could actually see the carrots and celery.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes (I had 2 .90 packs of lean stew beef)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped (I used the blender b/c Steven don't like carrots)
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 (14-ounce) cans beef broth (I had 2 boxes of beef broth, I think it was 64 oz total)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (I use 2 "regular" size cans)
2 cups (about 11 ounces) lentils, rinsed
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used curley leaf)

Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes (Mine cooked about 1.5 hours). Stir in the parsley (I accidentally added this with the lentils). Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.