Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli

This recipe make 9 QUARTS of soup which is a ton. I would suggest cutting the recipe in half unless you are feeding a ton of people. It a very simple but really yummy soup. My family loves it! Great for left overs!

3 t. oil (I don't add this ....I can't make myself cook hamburger in oil)
2 lbs hamburger
12 ounces of onion chopped
14 ounces carrots silvered
14 ounces celery diced
48 ounces diced tomatoes
2 c cooked red kidney beans
2 c cooked white kidney beans
88 ounces beef stock
3 t oregano
2 1/2 t pepper
5 t parsley (fresh chopped)
1 1/2 t Tabasco sauce
48 ounces spaghetti sauce
8 ounces dry pasta

Saute beef in oil in large 10 qt pot until beef starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, tabasco, spaghetti sauce and noodles. Add chopped parsley. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender about 45 minutes. Makes 9 qts of soup!!!

Once again my pictures of the soup were deleted so I will add some as soon as possible.

White Chili

1 1/2 lbs. cooked, seasoned, and chopped chicken breast

2 cans great northern white beans

2 cans shoepeg white corn

1 small can chopped green chillies

1 bag frozen chopped onions

2-4 cloves minced fresh garlic

1 T. lemon pepper

1 T. ground cumin

1 T. cumin seed

juice of 1 lime

4 c. chicken broth

bake chicken- shred and set aside.

saute onions with garlic, pepper, cumin, cumin seed.

when onions are clear add juice of lime and chicken broth.

add rest of ingredients including chicken, let simmer for a little bit. 

toppings for soup:

shredded jack cheese and tortilla chips, chopped tomato, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, or whatever else you would like:) enjoy!

Karens Chicken Noodle Soup

Karen's EASY But So Good -I'm talking the best- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Ever!!
(this recipe is doubled- it makes about 5-6 qts of soup)
6 Tblsp. Butter
2 Cups chopped onion
2 Cups chopped celery
2 Cups sliced mushrooms
Saute until everything is tender in a soup pot.
(I added 1 cup carrots diced also just because it seemed like the right thing to do & I didn't have that much celery )
Now add:
2 Cups cooked chicken -(I added 3 boiled chicken breast diced)
4 Cups of Noodles
Cover everything with water- just barely. I used the water from boiling the chicken & a little more.
Now add:
4 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
Bring to a boil & simmer until the noodles are tender! Salt & pepper to taste.
ENJOY!

black bean tortellini soup

I originally got this recipe here. It was in the Family Fun October 2000 issue. I love that magazine & don't get it anymore... Kristy gave me her copy this month & it got me thinking of this soup. I used to make it all the time & it's one of Brett's favorites. I changed the recipe up a bit to suit my family & my own tastes. We really love it.

It's different than the other soups I make. It's healthy- full of fiber & really good.
If you give it a try, let me know :)

3 tsp. canola oil

1 medium onion chopped

1/4 cup minced/chopped carrots

1 tsp minced garlic

1 can diced tomatoes & juice blended (my kids don't like tomato chunks in soup..?)

3 cans black beans drained & rinsed

8 cups water

10 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp. each dried oregano & dried basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

19 oz. bag of frozen cheese tortellini

In a large soup pot, saute the onion & carrot in the oil until translucent. Add the garlic & stir for maybe 30 seconds. Add everything else except the tortellini & simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the tortellini & simmer until tender. This is a surprisingly fast dinner! I served it with garlic cheese bread.

Clam Chowder

This is a really easy yummy recipe for clam chowder

1 c. celery (diced)
2 c. cubed potatoes
1/2 onion (diced)

Boil the above in water until tender. Add the juice from the clams to the water to help flavor the veggies.

When veggies are almost done:

Melt 1 c. butter and then add 1 c flour and mix together. Add 6 cups of milk and heat until the roux thickens (if it is too thick you can add some more milk to thin out). Add about 2 t salt and 4 t pepper and about 1/2 T of sugar(you can add more or less salt, pepper or sugar per your taste). When veggies are done drain and add to soup. Add 2 cans of drained diced clams. Heat until everything is warm and enjoy!

***Optional****This is a great soup to serve in bread bowls

Enchilada Soup

This is my new favorite soup recipe.
I got the recipe here- my favorite cooking blog, besides this one of course!
It's similar to taco soup, but creamier & with chicken. I love it.
I altered this recipe from it's original to suite our tastes & the ingredients I had at home, so you may want to check out it's original link.

Put all of these ingredients into a 3 to 5 quart crock pot:

15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes

10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped yellow, green or red sweet pepper

2 cups water

2-3 boneless chicken breast cut into cubes (mine was partially frozen)

Mix these together and pour into crock pot:

1 package dry enchilada sauce mix

2 cups water

1 small can tomato paste

2 chicken boullion cubes

2 cans cream of chicken soup

*Cook on low for 6 hours or high 3-4 hours- then add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips & grated cheese if desired. This soup can also be made without chicken.

homemade tomato basil soup

I love this recipe. It's easy & all the ingredients are usually in my pantry.

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup or less olive oil

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

1 small stalk celery chopped

1 small carrot chopped

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 Tblsp. butter (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves or dried basil to taste (1 Tblsp?)

1/2 cup heavy cream, milk, or 1/2 can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 450. Strain the canned tomatoes, reserving the juice. Spread them onto a baking sheet & season with salt & pepper to taste. Drizzle some of the olive oil & roast until caramelized at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining veggies & dry basil, if using. Cook until softened. Add the roasted tomatoes, juice, chicken broth, bay leaf & butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender. Add basil - if using fresh & cream or milk. Puree with immersion blender. I ALWAYS double of even triple this recipe, it doesn't make a lot.

This recipe was adapted from here.

ENJOY!

Cheese Potato Soup

This is hands down my kids favorite dinner...they have been know to ask for it even during the summer. We serve this with scones for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner....you can serve with hot bread also....soooo yummy!


5Cups water
1 Cup chopped Onion (I use dried onion)
3-5 potatoes (5 small or 3 large)
3 chicken bullion cubes
6 Tbs margarine/butter
6 Tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp dill weed
Dash pepper
3 Cups milk
1 Cup shredded cheese (we add way more than this 2 or 3 at least)

In a large pot combine water, onion, bullion cubes,potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft. Use a potato masher and mash to desired Constancy (we like to leave some bigger chunks).

In a sauce pan melt the butter, stir in flour, salt, pepper and dill weed. Add the milk slowly, cook and stir mixture until thick and bubbly. Then once the potatoes are cooked and mashed combine with large pot and add desired amount of shredded cheese.

taco soup

This recipe is a great food storage meal because everything but the hamburger meat comes from a can! In fact, I'm not sure this could really be called cooking either. My family LOVES this recipe, we have it for dinner about once a month. The beauty of it is that you don't have to follow it exactly, some people use black beans instead of kidney, some cook onion with the hamburger while it's browning, whatever you like. It also is really easy to feed to a large group because you just add a few extra cans of tomatoes beand and corn and it goes really far. I almost always serve this with the best corn bread you've ever tried which I will post as soon as I get a picture of it!

In a large pot, brown 2 lbs. of hamburger and drain off fat. Add two pkgs of taco seasoning (I use the large Costco container of taco seasoning and just give the top of the hamburger a generous coating) and two cups of hot water. Stir and let simmer until about half of the water is cooked off.

Add the following:

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 can tomoato sauce (regular size can)

1 sm can diced green chilies

2 cans corn - drained

1 large can kidney beans - drained & rinsed

Stir and let simmer for at least 15-20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!