Bumblebee Soup

If you're a fan of hearty soups, this black bean and corn chowder recipe is for you. The sweet corn is perfect with the black beans, and the chipotle pepper gives this chowder a nice kick.

Makes about 10 Cups of Black Bean and Corn Chowder

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 strips bacon, sliced in 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 (15-oz) cans black beans, drained
• 2 cups fresh corn, or frozen sweet corn, thawed
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder, optional
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Add bacon to a cold saucepan, and over medium heat, cook until the bacon is crisp. Reserve bacon, and leave 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the pan. Over medium heat sauté the onions with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes translucent.

Add the garlic, sauté for 2 minutes, and then pour in the broth, and half the reserved bacon. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 20 minutes.

If a thicker soup is desired, take a potato masher and carefully mash some of the black beans against the bottom of the pan. This will thicken the soup. The more you mash, the thicker the soup will get. After mashing some of the black beans, let it simmer for another 10 minutes to achieve the desired texture.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot with the remaining bacon over the top as a garnish.

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Savory Squash Soup Recipe - American Soup

American Soup

Ingredients:

2 butternut squash (about 3 3/4 pounds)
1 acorn squash (about 1 3/4 pounds)
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 white onion (about 4 ounces), peeled, trimmed, and finely diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 cups homemade Chicken Stock (see separate recipe) or Vegetable Stock, heated
1 cup heavy cream
1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Garnish:
1 recipe Cranberry Relish (see separate recipe)
1 recipe Cardamom Cream (see separate recipe)
1/2 recipe Spiced Caramelized Pecans (see separate recipe)
4 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut each squash in half and discard the seeds. Brush cut sides with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Arrange the squash cut side down in a roasting pan and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Cool, scoop out the insides of the squash, and purée the flesh in a food processor. Reserve. (You should have about 4 cups of puréed squash.)

3. In a medium stockpot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Over low heat, sauté the onion. Do not allow it to brown. Add the puréed squash and cook over very low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Do not allow it to bubble up. Season with the salt, pepper, ginger, and cardamom.

4. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, still over low heat, stirring often. Cook about 20 minutes.

5. In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the rosemary sprig. Remove the rosemary and pour the cream into the soup. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process, in batches, for 2 or 3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

Note: If desired, bake small squash until tender, scoop out, and use as individual serving bowls.


To serve, ladle the soup into heated bowls. Place a tablespoon of Cranberry Relish in the center, top with a dollop of Cardamom Cream, then sprinkle with chopped pecans. Drizzle pumpkin seed oil over soup.

Makes 2 quarts

Mexican-Style Shredded Chicken Soup

This easy and brightly flavored chicken soup recipe is inspired by the classic Mexican tortilla soup. You can make this chicken soup as mild, or wild as you want by simply adjusting the amount of hot peppers. Garnish with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream for a hearty meal, or eat as-is for a light and tasty treat.

This chicken soup recipe was inspired by one posted on the blog Dishing Up Delights.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 14 ounces whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips to garnish, optional

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, or until the onions start to turn golden. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken breasts, chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and cook at a low simmer.

After 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts from the soup with tongs, and allow to cool on a plate. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat, and add back to the soup. Continue simmering the soup until the vegetables are tender.

Serve soup hot garnished with optional toppings.

Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Chicken and Mushroom Soup with Cornbread Dumplings Recipe

Chicken drummettes add protein to this vegetable mushroom soup. Canned cornbread (available in the refrigerated case by the canned biscuits) makes easy dumplings. Feel free to mix and match your favorite mushrooms for variation.

Prep Time: :15

Cook Time: 1:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups fresh or frozen chopped onions (about 2 medium-large yellow onions)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery (include some leaves)
• 1 cup peeled baby-cut fresh carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Half of an 8-ounce package sliced fresh white mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons duxelles mushroom paste (see recipe link below)
• 1 large whole bay leaf
• 2 (3-inch) sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 pound chicken drummettes
• 2 (14-1/2-ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn (do not thaw)
• Half of an 11-1/2-ounce tube refrigerated cornbread twists
• 1/3 cup minced parsley

Preparation:

Heat oil in medium-size Dutch oven over moderately high heat 2 minutes. Add onions, garlic, celery, carrots, mushrooms, duxelles if desired, bay leaf, and thyme and turn to coat with oil. Add chicken, reduce heat to moderate, cover, and "sweat" 15 minutes, stirring now and then.

Add broth, salt, pepper, and corn; adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently, cover and cook until flavors marry, 15 to 20 minutes. Skim off excess fat, if any. Taste for salt and pepper and fine-tune as needed.

Uncoil strips of cornbread dough and with scissors, snip crosswise at 1-1/4-inch intervals. Bring soup to a rapid boil, then drop in pieces of cornbread dough, spacing evenly so they don't touch. Adjust heat so soup bubbles gently, cover, and cook 10 minutes -- no peeking!

Remove bay leaf, then mix in parsley, taking care not to damage dumplings. Ladle soup into heated large soup plates and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

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Creamy Mushroom Soup Recipe

This earthy cream of mushroom soup recipe is easy and delicious. The addition of shiitake mushrooms to the regular button mushrooms gives this soup a very deep, meaty flavor.

Makes 8 Bowls of Creamy Mushroom Soup

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 pounds brown or white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
• 2 leeks (white and light green parts only), halved, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 6 cups beef broth, or as needed
• 1/2 cup cream
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally until mushrooms are lightly browned, and the juices have evaporated, about 10-15 minutes. Add the leeks and sauté 5 minutes. Add the garlic and beef broth, and turn the heat up to medium-high. When the soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly for 40 minutes. Turn off heat, uncover, and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Carefully puree the soup (in small batches) in a blender until very smooth. Pour soup back into the pot, and stir in the cream (more broth can be added to adjust the thickness if desired). Bring back to a simmer, and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Serve hot, topped with chopped fresh parsley.

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