Soups only please!

[Emily]

Black Bean Chili - this is absolutely DELICIOUS! Everyone loves it.
You can tone it down by reducing the amount of Jalapenos and Poblano peppers.
I use one Jalapeno and 2 Poblano peppers


Ingredients

• 4 large poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained of half their liquid
• 2 tablespoons (a large palmful) chili powder
• 2 teaspoons (about half a palmful) ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (eyeball it)
• 1 bottle dark lager beer, such as Negro Modelo
• 1 15-ounce can (or half a 28-ounce can) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 cups beef or vegetable stock (use vegetable to make it vegetarian)
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish

Yields: 6-8 servings


Preparation

Heat broiler to high.


Char the poblanos under the broiler so their skins blacken, 7-8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 10 minutes. Once the peppers have cooled enough to handle, peel and seed them, then roughly chop them up and set them aside.


Place a medium-size pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about two turns of the pan. Add the jalapeño, onion and garlic to the pan, and cook 6-7 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add in the beer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few minutes to reduce the liquid by half, then add the black beans and their liquid, the chopped poblanos, spices, crushed tomatoes and stock. Bring up to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper as needed.

Serve the chili up and pass around sour cream at the table to top it with.

[DryRun]

Phyl's Chili

3 onions, peeled and chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 T oil
2 lb lean hamburger or ground venison
1 1/2 T chili powder
1 1/2 T ground cumin
4 15oz cans Bush's Chili Beans Medium
15 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups water or beer

Saute onions and garlic in the oil. Set aside. Saute hamburger until no longer pink. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 2 minutes more.

In a large pot, pour layers of the spiced meat, onions and cans of beans. Add the tomato sauce and water or beer and stir well. Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve hot with tortilla chips, shredded sharp cheddar and a bottle of hot sauce. . . and of course more beer.

[DryRun]

Lentil Soup

3 medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
3 T oil
1 lb brown lentils
4 - 15 oz cans chicken broth
bundle of fresh or homedried herbs - thyme, sage, marjoram
1/2 t. salt or to taste
pepper to taste
water or white wine as needed
1 package ~1 lb precooked smoked sausage

Saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery in oil until onions are translucent and other vegetables are soft. Pick over the lentils and place in the soup pot. Add three cans of chicken broth, the sauteed vegetables, and the herb bundle to the lentils. Simmer for one hour or until the lentils are soft, adding more chicken broth and water or white wine as needed. Chunk the smoked sausage into serving size pieces and heat in the lentil soup for about 10 minutes or until hot all through. Remove the herb bundle, correct the seasoning and serve.

[AngelDance]

Lentil Soup with Sausage

1 lb lentils
1/4 cup olive oil
3 onions, chopped
2 leeks, rinsed well and chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
8 stalks celery, chopped
3 cups sliced carrots
3 quarts chicken stock
1 can pureed tomatoes
1 lb keilbasa or Polish sausage, sliced
2 Tbsp red wine
Salt and pepper
shaved parmesan (garnish)

Saute onions and leeks in olive oil until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are as soft as you like. Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese on top of soup and serve with lots of crusty rustic bread with butter.

Angel

[RevDoc]

Smoked Oyster Cream Soup

Melt 1/3 stick of butter in a sauce pan

Saute 1/2 an onion, more or less chopped, in the butter

When the onion just starts to turn transparent, dump in:

1 cup or so of chicken broth, and bring to a boil.

Plop in 1 can of smoked oysters, rinsed, and reduce heat.

Add fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

Stir in a big dollop or two of fresh cream to taste and appearance.

Serve immediately in your best cream soup bowls as a first course, with Manzanilla Sherry or with a good Sauvignon Blanc as the fish course.
Prep. time: @ 5 minutes
Serves 2-6

I often throw in a bit of what ever is fresh in the garden; chopped chives, watercress, endive, chopped celery, etc. that is also being used in one of the other dishes, or salad, to tie the meal all together, a bit of a theme, if you catch my meaning.

[3-L's]

Black Bean Chili - this is absolutely DELICIOUS! Everyone loves it.
You can tone it down by reducing the amount of Jalapenos and Poblano peppers.
I use one Jalapeno and 2 Poblano peppers


Ingredients

• 4 large poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained of half their liquid
• 2 tablespoons (a large palmful) chili powder
• 2 teaspoons (about half a palmful) ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (eyeball it)
• 1 bottle dark lager beer, such as Negro Modelo
• 1 15-ounce can (or half a 28-ounce can) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 cups beef or vegetable stock (use vegetable to make it vegetarian)
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish

Yields: 6-8 servings


Preparation

Heat broiler to high.


Char the poblanos under the broiler so their skins blacken, 7-8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 10 minutes. Once the peppers have cooled enough to handle, peel and seed them, then roughly chop them up and set them aside.


Place a medium-size pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about two turns of the pan. Add the jalapeño, onion and garlic to the pan, and cook 6-7 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add in the beer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few minutes to reduce the liquid by half, then add the black beans and their liquid, the chopped poblanos, spices, crushed tomatoes and stock. Bring up to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper as needed.

Serve the chili up and pass around sour cream at the table to top it with.

Oh this sounds delicious. I am going to try this one for sure.....love black beans.

[Belle]

Spicy Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
2 1/2 c. milk, divided
3 T. flour
8 oz. American cheese, cubed
1/4 to 1 t. cayenne pepper, optional

In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in beef and 2 cups milk. Heat through. Combine flour and remaining milk; stir until smooth, then gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat and stir in cheese until melted. Add cayenne, if desired.

Variation: For Bacon-Cheeseburger Soup, top each serving with cooked, crumbled bacon.

Taco Soup (7 can soup)

1 lb. ground beef
1 package taco seasoning (I use 2 T. homemade - recipe follows)
1 package RANCH dressing mix (Again, I use homemade - recipe follows)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can chopped green chilies (hot or medium)
1 can chili hot beans 12 oz.
1 can kidney beans 12 oz.
1 can diced Rotel tomatoes with chilies (I substitute regular diced tomatoes and some jalapenos)
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
2 cans water (24 oz. of water)

Brown the beef, in a large soup pot, and add taco seasoning and Ranch dressing mix while simmering. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place a handful of Fritos in the bottom of the bowl, ladle soup over chips, top with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Eat. Get more and eat it, too.

Taco Seasoning

6 T. chili powder (I use Durkee's Hot Mexican Chili Powder)
4 1/2 T. cumin
5 T. paprika
3 T. onion powder
2 T. garlic powder
2 T. cornstarch
1 T. salt
1/2 - 1 t. cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

Place all ingredients in a pint jar. Shake well.

Label and store at room temperature.

To prepare: Brown 1 pound of hamburger and drain, if necessary. Stir in 2 T. of Taco Mix and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture gets as thick as you like it.

Ranch Dressing Mix

15 saltines
2 c. dry parsley
1/2 c. dry minced onion
1 t. dry dill weed
1/4 c. onion salt
1/4 c. garlic salt
1/4 c. onion powder
1/4 c. garlic powder

Powder crackers in blender or food processor. Add next 3 ingredients and blend again. Dump mixture into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.

For dressing: 1 T. mix, 1c. mayo, 1 c. buttermilk, and 1 T. worcestershire sauce.

1 Tbsp. mix equals 1 envelope of store-bought mix. I use this in pasta salad, for oven roasted potatoes, for dip,etc.

[SheWoff]

Butternut squash soup

3 TBS butter
2 large onions
4 Cups Swanson's Chicken Broth
4 Cups butternut squash, diced and peeled
8 slices bacon
16 ounces sour cream

Heat butter in 6 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender. Add broth and squash. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Pour 1/2 of the squash mix into blender and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining squash mix. Return all to pot and stir in sour cream. Season to taste. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain. Crumble and use to top soup. Makes 6 servings.

This is a really good thick hearty soup that's perfect for a cold fall or winter evening!

She

[Summerthyme]

Here is THE best tomato soup recipe I've found. I am *not* a tomato soup fan... too much bland Campbells stuff as a kid, I suspect. This stuff... I eat. It *does* need to be pressure canned... the low acid onions and peppers are the reason. I copied it as it was written in my "Putting Food By" cookbook. But I use the Victorio strainer for the tomatoes, and this year I'll try doing all the veggies at once, and putting them all through it. The recipe makes about 4 1/2 quarts of soup. You simply heat and eat- don't dilute it to serve (although you could add a bit of heavy cream or evaporated milk to make a cream soup if you wished)

Summerthyme

Country Tomato Soup

Wash 1 peck (8 quarts) of ripe red tomatoes. Remove stems and cores and cut into pieces. In a large kettle, cook and stir the tomatoes until soft- about 15 minutes after they begin to simmer. Push the pulp and juice through a wire strainer or food mill to remove skins and seeds; return the puree to the kettle and keep it on low heat. (if you've got a Squeezo or Victorio strainer, you can skip removing the cores and stem ends... but you'll get better yields if you still cook the fruits before running them through. Easier job when they're cooked, too)

Finely chop (in a food processor if possible- you want this darn near pureed) 3 large onions and 2 green peppers. (if you've got colored sweet bell peppers use them instead- they'll add another measure of sweetness and flavor). Cook together in a frying pan until soft, in just enough water to keep from sticking. The recipe calls for pushing them through a sieve, but I found that finely chopping them in the food processor first was good.

Add to the pureed tomatoes in the kettle.

Mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons of salt and 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) cornstarch. Blend in 3 tablespoons of white vinegar an just enough more cool water or cool tomato juice to make a smooth paste. Pour slowly into the tomato mixture, stirring well all the while. (If you're not sure you've got all the lumps out, pour it through a sieve into the tomatoes) Heat to boiling and stir until the liquid clears. Pack hot into jars.

(on the vinegar.. I used my sweet purple basil vinegar rather than plain white vinegar, and I suspect it made a subtle, but important difference. It added a hint of instant spiciness. If you don't have any, you may want to try using a wine vinegar instead... anything except the harsh, typical distilled "white vinegar".)

To can the soup: Hot pack into clean hot jars, leaving 1/2" headroom for pints, or 1" headroom for quarts. Adjust the lids. Pressure can at 10# pressure for 20 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.

[Belle]

That sounds good, Summerthyme. I have just been making mine with a jar of homemade tomato juice. I bring it to a boil, then add some canned milk, salt and pepper. It tastes pretty much like Campbell's (I like Campbell's)