Broccoli Cheese Soup

Simply the best Broccoli Cheese Soup you will ever have. Remember to NOT buy grated cheddar. Grate the cheese yourself for better flavor.

Prep Time: 45 minutes Total Servings: 6

1 tablespoon butter, melted $.25
1/2 medium onion, chopped $.50
1/4 cup melted butter $.75
1/4 cup flour $.50
2 cups half-and-half $1.50
2 cups chicken stock or bouillion $1.00
1/2 lb. fresh broccoli $2.00
salt and pepper to taste $.10
8 ozs. grated sharp cheddar $2.00

Total Cost: $8.60 Cost per serving: $1.44

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli and cooked onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree.
Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended.

French Onion Soup

Another extremely easy recipe. Once you try this, you will wonder why you ever bought anything out of a can or a box. I love this meal, and if you make it for others, they will be delighted. Make sure to get good quality Gruyere and a nice quality baguette. A good baguette should make a slight crisp sound when you squeeze, like a cracker, but be chewy on the inside.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Servings: 6

32 oz. beef broth $2.00
2 white onions $1.60
2 tbsp. of EVOO $.35
8 ounces of Gruyere $7.00
A baguette $1.50
Salt and pepper $.10
1 tbsp. Thyme $.25

Total Cost $12.80 Cost per serving: $2.14

Heat EVOO in a large stock pot. Add onions and sautee until onions are soft. Add the thyme and the beef stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. The soup is ready. Slice the baguette into round wafers, and you can slice the Gruyere into slices or shred it. This really depends on your bowl situation. WIth proper oven kettles, slices work best because you will fill the kettle with soup, then place the sliced baguettes on top of the soup, then the slices of gruyere, and place in the oven to broil until the gruyere is melted and "brown" a little. If you don't have kettle bowls, then shredding it, and (do I dare say) microwaving it until the cheese is melted is okay. Of course, you can also let the heat from the soup melt the cheese.
Bon Apetit!

Butternut Squash Soup

I have never had this soup before, but I had seen it, and it looks amazing. It is so common this time of year, yet so hard to find at restaurants, so I decided to make it myself.

Peeling the squash can be the hardest part. I used my best paring knife and carefully trimmed the rough rind off. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but there are different methods across the internet if you Google it, you will find many, many options. Some may suit your fancy better. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

***You can make this vegetarian by substituting the Chicken Stock for Vegetable Stock.

Prep Time: 1 hour Total Servings: 10

2 tablespoons butter $.25
1 small onion, chopped $.75
1 stalk celery, chopped $1.50
1 medium carrot, chopped $.50
2 medium potatoes, cubed $1.75
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed $2.00
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock $2.00
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste $.25

Total cost: $9.00 Cost per serving: $.90

Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

You can freeze the leftover soup for lunches and dinners in the future.

Southwest Chicken Soup

So, this is going to be a favorite, for sure. Anything with cumin in it, is great. Anything with cilantro, is wonderful. Anything with both, is ridiculously insanely good. Trust me.

Prep Time: 45 minutes Servings: 8

1 lb. chicken breast $4.00
42 oz. Chicken Broth $2.50
1 can of corn $.70
1 can of black beans $.70
1 can of diced tomatoes $.70
1 bunch of cilantro $.90
1 small white onion $.75
salt and pepper $.10
1 tbsp. Cumin $.50
2 tsp. Taco Seasoning $.50
EVOO $.25
Bay leaves $.40
two cloves of garlic $.25

Total Cost: $12.20 Cost per serving $1.53

I bake my chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper at 350F for 30 minutes. Like I have stated before, baking chicken all at once, will save you time. That is why we had Chicken salad yesterday, and now soup with chicken in it today. Think EASY! Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces when finished. Drain the "water" out of the corn, black beans, and tomatoes, and rinse in a strainer. Dice the onion and garlic and sautee in a a stock pot with the EVOO. Add salt and pepper. Once onions soften, drop in beans and corn. Sautee one minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, chicken, cumin, bay leaves and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Right before serving, finely chop the cilantro and add that to the soup. You want it to wilt slightly in the soup. Salt and pepper to taste, and if you are like me, you may want to add more cumin. I love the stuff. For a little extra joy, you can add tortilla chips before serving, or fresh slices of avocado. So good!!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

It has been raining all day here in Memphis. And the temperature is dropping. The weather outside is so bad that not a single one of my four dogs has asked to go outside all day. Not even since I woke up. Their bladders must be about to explode, but when I open the backdoor and coax them out, they just stare at me.

It's days like this that remind me of Chicken Noodle Soup. Because it's cold and rainy, not because of dog bladders. And that's what I have made for dinner tonight. Chicken Noodle is so easy, but people have stashed it away in some 1950's-Good-Housekeeping-Campbell's-Condensed-World War II-rationing-style mindset, that they forgot how good the original article can be. And easy! And cheap! Not cheaper than the Campbell's condensed stuff, but better tasting, and better for you for sure.

So here you go:

6 servings in thirty minutes

1 lb. of Chicken Breasts $4
2 large carrots $.70
1 bunch of celery $1.25
1 white onion $.60
2 garlic cloves $.05
Thyme $.10
Bay Leaf $.05
2 Tbsp. Olive oil $.50
Salt and Pepper $.10
32 oz. of Chicken Broth $1.75
8 ounces of egg noodles $1.00

Total Cost: $10.10 per serving $1.69

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes at 350 F after coating it with EVOO, thyme, and s&p. While baking the chicken, chop the celery, onion, carrot (peel it first of course) and garlic clove and drop it in a large stock pot with the EVOO which should be hot. Sautee the mixture without browning it. Maybe 6 minutes over medium heat, or until the vegetables soften, but aren't mush. Add the thyme, bay leaf and chicken broth, and bring to boil. Once to a boil, you can drop the heat to a LOW simmer. Once the chicken is finished baking, cut it into cubes and drop into the soup. If you are ready for service, turn up the heat on the soup, and drop in the egg noodles. These will be tender and ready in 4-5 minutes. And there you have it. HOMEMADE. Like you wish your mom had made!

And here is a tip! If you are planning on keeping some for leftovers for the next day, don't put all the egg noodles in at once. Scoop out your left overs and place them in a container to hold in the fridge. And when you heat that the next day, add your egg noodles then. The reason being is the egg noodles will continue to soak up all the broth in the soup while being kept in the fridge, and you will have something that resembles Chicken & Dumplings. Your egg noodles aren't reconstituted like Campbell's are. And that's a good thing!