Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup

Soup is always a big hit around here, year ‘round. Well...except for #1 Son who’s not a fan. He says “I don’t like to drink my dinner”. Whatever, man. You don’t live here anymore! Now IT Guy, he IS a fan of soup and was a HUGE fan of this one. Filled with tasty goodness this is a family pleasing soup for sure!

Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup

1 small onion ~ diced

2 stalks celery ~ diced

1 pound Italian sausage

4 cups frozen diced hash browns

1 32-ounce container chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, saute onion and celery in a little olive oil for a few minutes, until tender.

Add sausage and cook until sausage is done.

Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper.

Add the frozen diced hash browns and and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add cream and grated cheese. Stir to combine and melt cheese.

Serve!

Smoked Turkey & Vegetable Soup

If you have read any of my posts over the last couple of days, you might have seen the picture I posted of the food I dropped off the side of my front steps. So this is the recipe. Yep, this is the recipe that took the plunge off my front porch and landed in the mulch below. I had to scrap soup out of the bushes and drag french bread out of the dirt. (And no, I didn’t feed any of it to IT Guy.) Anyway....I was lucky to have enough soup back in the kitchen that I could take another picture and I sure hope any little critters that might be out and about enjoyed the soup as much as we did. Oh! and another thing! As I was setting everything out to take pictures, I got distracted and started making the soup without taking an ingredient picture. So my first picture in the recipe step-by-step process is a little weird. In spite of the strange happenings surrounding this recipe, it was SUPER good! We were gifted a smoked turkey breast and I made this soup with the leftover meat from the original meal. A few veggies thrown in and some fun pasta....yep...this is a keeper!!!!

Smoked Turkey & Vegetable Soup

2 32-ounce containers chicken broth

1 medium onion ~ diced

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 red bell pepper ~ diced

1 clove garlic ~ minced

4 cups diced, cooked smoked turkey

1 1/2 cups short cut pasta

Salt & pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute the bell pepper, carrots, onion, celery and garlic in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth.

Add the turkey and salt and pepper.

Simmer for about an hour.

Bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until done, about 10 minutes or so.

Serve with crusty french bread.

Okay...so here's where things started going wrong. I started cooking before I took the ingredient picture. But..you guys are smart and I guess you don't need a picture to see what onions, red bell pepper, celery, carrots and garlic looks like. Right?

Anyway....start by sauting the veggies 

in a little olive oil for a few minutes.

Then add the chicken broth 

and salt and pepper.

Next comes the diced smoked turkey. Let that simmer for an hour or so.

Then add the pasta and cook until done.

Trust me when I tell you that this looks WAY better in the dishes than on the ground. And tastes delicious!

Swedish Meatball Soup

Swedish meatballs are a favorite in the SFFS house and have been since my kids were little. So I knew this would translate well into a soup for my family. This is super good and pretty simple. If you can make meatballs, you can make this soup. It may look like some effort, but I promise you it's not. This is easy to cut in half if you want but you can make the whole thing and freeze part of it for later. If I was doing that, though...I'd leave out the noodles in the half I was going to freeze and add those later. Serve this with a crunchy loaf of buttered French bread and you've made your family happy, happy!

Swedish Meatball Soup



For the meatballs

2 pounds ground beef
½ cup water
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons butter
Combine ground beef water, bread crumbs, egg, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir. Mix well with your hands but don’t overdo it. Shape meat into about 40 meatballs.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the butter. Add meatballs and cook until done. (You may have to work in batches.)

Remove meatballs from the skillet to a plate.


For the soup

5 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic ~ minced
1/2 cup flour
2 32-ounce containers beef broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

In the same large dutch oven you cooked the meatballs in, melt butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook another 3 minutes.

Stir in the beef broth. Combine the heavy cream with the cornstarch and add that to the broth.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, parsley, red pepper flakes, paprika and salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, turn heat to medium then add the meatballs and cook about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta and heat through.

 
Here we go! Let's make some soup!

 
Combine ground beef water, bread 
crumbs, egg, salt and nutmeg in a 
medium bowl and stir. Mix well with 
your hands but don’t overdo it.

 
Shape meat into about 40 meatballs 
then cook in a large dutch oven. 
Remove to a plate when done.

 
In the same large dutch 
oven you cooked the 
meatballs in, melt butter 
over medium heat. Add the 
carrots, celery, onion and garlic.

 
Saute for about 3 minutes.

 
Sprinkle in the flour and 
cook another 3 minutes.

 
Stir in the beef broth. Combine the 
heavy cream with the cornstarch 
and add that to the broth. Add the 
Worcestershire sauce, parsley, red 
pepper flakes, paprika and salt and pepper.

 
Bring to a boil, turn heat to medium.

 
Add the sour cream and pasta....

 
..the meatballs and heat through.

 
Serve it up in big ole bowls. Very yummy!!

Cream of Chicken and Green Chile Soup

This super easy and super yummy soup is the best thing for a time when you're needing something...well, easy and yummy! We loved this! Of course it's got IT Guy's name all over it because it has green chilies in it and it's got MY name on it because it's so simple to make. If you want, you can even use a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own chicken. You know rotisserie chicken is a cook's best friend, right? You totally need to make this soon...these cold winter evenings would be a perfect time!

Cream of Chicken 
and Green Chile Soup



4 chicken breasts ~ cooked and shredded
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 small onion ~ diced
1 32-ounce container chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 7-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, saute the green chilies, carrots, celery and onion in the butter until tender.

Add the flour and stir and cook for a minute or so.

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add the rice. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until rice is done.

Add the chicken and cream. Heat through and serve.

 

The stuff!

 

In a large dutch oven, saute the 

green chilies, carrots, celery and 

onion in the butter until tender.

 

Add the flour and stir and cook for a minute or so.

 

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

 

Add the rice. Cover and cook 

20 minutes or until rice is done.

 

Add the chicken and cream.

 

Heat through....

 

...and serve!!

Beefy Nacho Soup

Number 1 Son LOVES nachos. When we go out for Mexican food, I'm not sure he ever orders anything else. If I've got the stuff here at the house to make them, he's a happy guy. What he doesn't love is soup. He enjoys the flavor of soup but as he says..."I don't like to drink my dinner". So I knew when I made this I needed to make it thick enough that he would a) be happy with it as a soup or b) be able to pour it directly on top of chips. Well...guess what? It's both! Not only is this super tasty but it can double as a soup OR a topping!

Beefy Nacho Soup



1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion ~ diced
1 clove garlic ~ minced
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
1 10-ounce can Fiesta Nacho Soup
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a large dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes then add the ground beef. Cook until ground beef is done.

Add onion, garlic, Rotel tomatoes, soup, pinto beans, taco seasoning and milk.

Stir to combine then simmer for an hour.

Stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted.

Serve with tortilla chips and remaining cheese.

 

The line-up!

 

Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic.

 

Add onion, garlic, Rotel tomatoes, 

soup, pinto beans, taco seasoning and milk.

 

Stir to combine then simmer for an hour.

 

Stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted.

 

Serve with or over tortilla chips! Yum-o!

Good For You Chicken Soup

Don't let the name of this soup fool you because it's SO good! In an attempt to be somewhat healthy one night (HA!) for dinner, I threw together this soup for the fam. Usually I love a cream based soup but let me tell you that I didn't miss it one bit! I had TWO bowls of this yumminess without blinking an eye! This is a perfect thing to keep on hand during the colder months when you need something quick to knock the chill off. I put my spinach in using the whole leaves but if you're not that big of a spinach fan, then by all means, cut it into smaller pieces. The next time I make it, I may add some tomatoes. Whichever way you do it....just do it!

Good For You Chicken Soup



2 chicken breasts ~ sliced in half horizontally
2 yellow squash ~ large dice
1 - 2 zucchini ~ large dice
1 small red onion ~ diced
1 clove garlic ~ minced
1 cup large diced carrots
2 cups large diced Yukon Gold potatoes
2 32-ounce containers chicken stock
3 handfuls fresh spinach
Salt & pepper to taste

Season chicken with salt and pepper (I also used an all purpose seasoning).

Heat a grill pan over medium heat and cook chicken on both sides until done. About 5 - 6 minutes per side.

Remove from the heat and allow chicken to sit in the pan.

In a large dutch oven, drizzle a little olive oil then add the diced onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of the veggies, chicken stock some salt and pepper (and more seasoning, if desired) and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.

Remove from heat.

Cut chicken into large diced pieces and add to the pot.

Stir in the spinach and stir to combine and heat through.

 

It's soup makin' time!

 

Season and grill your chicken.

 

Saute the onion and garlic in some olive oil.

 

Then throw in the rest of your veggies.

 

Then add the chicken stock. 

Cook for 30 minutes.

 

Finally add the diced, cooked chicken 

and the spinach. Stir and heat through.

 

YUM!

Ravioli Soup

I was searching through my freezer the other day looking for something totally unrelated to ravioli when I happened upon half of a bag of frozen ravioli. I thought....I really need to do something with this...and this soup was born. I love anything cheesy-noodle related so I was pretty excited to make this. You guys.....this soup will rock your socks! IT Guy LOVED it....I mean he L-O-V-E-D it! It didn't make a huge pot so I loved that part. We each had a couple of bowls then there was plenty to send for IT Guy's lunch the next day. This would be easy to double if you need to feed more people or like leftovers but is perfect for a small family. Super good.....super easy.....super duper!

Ravioli Soup



1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage or a combo
1 32-ounce container chicken stock
1 28-ounce jar pasta sauce
1 small onion ~ diced
1 green pepper ~ diced
1 -2 cloves garlic ~ minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Frozen ravioli ~ (I used 1/2 of a 25-ounce bag)
Grated Parmesan cheese

In a large dutch oven, saute the bell pepper, onion and garlic for a few minutes.

Add the ground beef and cook until meat is done.

Add the chicken stock, pasta sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil then turn the heat to low.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Bring soup to a boil then add the frozen ravioli.

Cook until ravioli float to the top and are done, according to package directions.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.


 

Okay....let's make soup!

 

Saute the onion, bell pepper 

and garlic for a bit.

 

Then add the meat and cook until done.

 

Add the chicken stock, pasta 

sauce, and seasonings.

 

Simmer 30 minutes then 

add the frozen ravioli.

 

Cook until ravioli are done.

 

Serve with some grated parm 

and you're good to go!