Delicious Soups and Stews:

My family loves eating soup year round, but especially in the winter time. I love the fact that soups make it so easy to incorporate leftovers into my cooking. I'll often use leftover casseroles as a starting point for my soup, and leftover soup as the beginning of a casserole. Check out the hints below each recipe for specific strategies:

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

2-3 chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, diced
dash of olive oil
2-3 yellow squash, sliced
2-3 zucchini squash, sliced
1 can hominy
1 can rotel tomatoes
12 cups chicken broth (or water with boullion)
1-2 Tbsp. dried cilantro
salt and pepper
2-3 ripe avocados
grated cheddar cheese
sour cream (optional)
tortilla chips

Saute onion and chicken until chicken is cooked and onion is translucent. Add canned vegetables and sliced squash, seasonings, and broth or water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer until squash is tender. Serve over chips, and garnish with avocado, cheese and sour cream.

Hint: I often make this soup the day after we eat King Ranch Chicken, and add whatever is left of that casserole to the pot. In the rare event that I have any soup left over, I convert it to a casserole by draining excess liquid, mixing in the leftover sour cream, and layering in a 9x13 casserole dish corn tortillas (or leftover chips), soup mixture, cheese, tortillas, soup, then cheese. Serve it for lunch the next day after warming it in the oven at 350° F for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Yum! Yum!

Minestrone Soup:

1 pkg beef smoked sausage
1 onion
minced garlic
3-4 zucchini
3-4 carrots
1 head of green cabbage, shredded
8-10 cups beef stock (or water with boullion)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can great northern beans
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Slice sausage very thinly (I use my food processor) and saute with onion until onion is transparent. Add minced garlic, sliced zucchini and carrots, and shredded cabbage. Saute a few minutes longer, then add beef stock and bring to a boil. Add seasonings and tomatoes, reduce heat, and simmer for at I put this soup on to cook during morning recess, then let it simmer while I read aloud to the children. Two chapters later, I add the great northern beans and dish it into bowls.

Hint: This recipe doubles easily and can also be frozen. Warm it in a crock-pot the second time around and serve with fresh bread or crackers for a truly fuss-free meal.

Chicken Noodle Soup:

2-3 large chicken breasts
1 yellow onion
3-4 carrots
3-4 stalks celery
6-8 cups chicken stock
garlic, salt and pepper to taste
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 10-12 oz pkg. egg noodles

Saute diced onion and cubed chicken breast over med-high heat until chicken is done. (I usually keep about 3-5 lbs of chicken breasts marinating in a bottle of Italian salad dressing in the refrigerator at all times. This is what I use for making soup and casseroles or grilling). Add sliced carrots and celery and chicken stock (use homemade stock, canned, or boullion cubes -- whatever you have on hand). Bring to a boil. Add seasonings, stir in noodles, and reduce heat to lowest setting. Cover and let sit 10-15 minutes. Stir in cream of chicken soup to thicken base (optional) and serve with saltine crackers or wheat thins.

Hint: I frequently double and triple this recipe for our crew. Whenever I have any left over, I mix in a cup of frozen peas, transfer it to a casserole dish, top with shredded cheese, and viola! lunch for the next day is already prepared.

Taco Soup:

1 can of Ranch Style Beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of great northern beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1-2 lbs of ground beef, browned (I keep 1 lb portions in my freezer, pre-cooked)
1 diced onion
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
crackers or chips
sour cream (optional)
grated cheese

In a large stew pot, sauté the onions and brown the ground beef, if it’s not already cooked, then dump in all the cans of beans, plus a little extra water. Heat for at least 15-20 minutes. Eat the soup with crackers, or pour it over tortilla chips and top with grated cheese, sour cream and diced onions. Mmmm, good!

Hint: Leftovers from this soup also make a great Mexican Beef Casserole. Just stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup, then layering the mixture over corn tortillas or leftover chips, and and top with grated cheese. Put it in the refrigerator for tomorrow’s lunch, or tuck it in the freezer and use it for dinner sometime next week.

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