Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

4 red potatoes, diced 1 cups milk

2 head broccoli, chopped 3 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

Pinch black pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Add veggies to crockpot: If you haven’t already, get chopping! Chop up all your veggies and place them in the crock pot. Add the chicken broth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if using).

2. Cook the veggies: Cook the veggie mix on High for 2-3 hours OR on Low for 5-6 hours.

3. Blend it up: Place all the contents of the crockpot in a food processor or immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Return mix to crockpot.

4. Add the dairy: Stir in the milk and cheese.

5. Cover and heat: Let the mixture heat back up (about ten minutes) and serve!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup

4 Tbsp butter                                               ½ tsp kosher salt

4 cloves of garlic, minced                             ½ tsp parsley

½ cup minced mushrooms                             ½ tsp oregano

1/3 cup flour                                                 ½ tsp basil

1 cup chicken broth                                     ½ tsp rosemary

½ cup whole milk

Directions:

1.   Sauté garlic and mushrooms: Melt butter in a small skillet. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.

2.   Make a roux: Sprinkle flour and let cook for a minute or two (it will be pretty thick). Then whisk in the whole milk, chicken broth, salt, parsley, oregano, basil and rosemary until smooth.

3.   Thicken soup: Bring to a simmer and cook until it has thickened (about 5-8 minutes).

Notes: For cream of chicken, just omit the mushrooms. For cream of celery, substitute 2 celery stalks for the mushrooms.

Cream of Chicken Soup

Cream of Chicken Soup

1 ¼ cups chicken broth                                   ½ cup milk

¼ cup milk                                                       1/3 cup flour

Seasonings (about 1 Tbsp/3 tsp)

Directions:

1.   Warm up broth: Combine chicken broth and ¼ cup of milk in a small saucepan. Heat up until it reaches a low boil.

2.   Make a roux: Whisk flour, ½ cup milk and seasonings until a smooth mixture forms. As far as the seasonings go, you can mix it up however you want. You can use as much as 3 tsp total to season it (depending on how seasoned your broth was). I like to use at least ½ tsp each of salt, parsley, oregano and garlic powder (when doing casseroles), but you could mix it up and use a little basil and or rosemary (if doing a soup).

3.   Mix together and thicken: Pour the roux (flour mixture) into the broth, cooking it over low heat and stirring continuously as the sauce simmers. Continue to whisk and simmer for another 5-10 minutes (until it thickens). It will thicken even more as it cools.

4.   Use or store: It is possible to freeze this and use it another day. I use it immediately.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Soup:                                                               Dumplings:

3 cups chicken broth                                       1 cup flour

1 cup water                                                      ½ tsp salt                    

1 16 oz bag mixed vegetables                            2 tsp baking powder                           

½ tsp basil, dill, oregano, parsley and salt        ½ cup milk                  

1tsp garlic powder                                          

1 cup milk                                                       

1/3 cup flour                                                   

2 cups chicken

            1 ½ cups egg noodles

Directions:

1.     In a large pot combine chicken broth, vegetables, basil, dill, oregano, parsley, salt and garlic powder. Bring to boiling. Simmer about 5 minutes.

2.     Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine milk and flour. Stir into vegetable mixture.

3.     Stir in chicken. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

4.     Stir in noodles. Simmer covered for about 5 minutes.

5.     Meanwhile, prepare dumplings. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Stir in milk and beat until stiff.

6.     Drop batter (one tablespoon at a time) into soup. Cover and cook for 10 minutes (the dumplings should be puffed).

Chicken Broth

Chicken Broth

1 gallon bag carrot, celery

1 whole young chicken

2 bay leaves

5 sprigs parsley (or 1 Tbsp dried)

5 sprigs thyme (or 1 Tbsp dried)

5 sprigs basil (or 1 Tbsp dried)

5 cloves garlic

Directions:

1.    Place chicken in crock pot.

2.    Place all the veggies and seasonings around the chicken.

3.    Fill crock pot with water to the top.

4.    Cook for 8-10 hours on low.

5.    Remove chicken (you can use it to make a soup or a casserole).

6.    Strain broth (using cheesecloth) and throw out the extra stuff.

Notes:

The gallon bag is just frozen left over carrot and celery peelings and chunks we would have thrown out. Just slowly fill the gallon bag in the freezer so it is ready to make the broth. You really can just play with this until you get the right flavor. I usually will taste the broth before it is done to make sure I like the flavor, and add more spices if needed. 

Some of the tips I have learned since creating this recipe, is that the bones contain the most flavor. So you can actually cook the chicken for about four hours, then remove the meat, and throw the bones back in, and continue cooking it. You could even just save the bones from a chicken that was already cooked to make the broth (we did this with turkey bones at Thanksgiving and it made delicious broth). This will give it extra flavor. 

I have also learned that most of the flavorings in vegetables come from stems/skins. So that is why we save the extra stuff from our veggies. The leaves of the celery contain the most flavor. I have recently been starting an herb garden in my window sill. I can't wait to try this using my own home grown herbs.

You may have noticed I didn't use onions at all in this recipe. Onions are on the IC "try-it" list for when your bladder is doing really well. Since I can't say that I am quite there yet, I am just using garlic instead. I have learned you can substitute 2 cloves of diced garlic for about every 1/2 an onion. The recipe I started with called for a whole onion, so I added just a little more. I just throw the garlic cloves in whole. 

Also, I have heard that if you refrigerate the broth before straining it, it will make all the fat rise to the top, so you can just skim it off, and it seals in the flavors more.

Oh, and one last note. I like to make this huge batch up, and then freeze it 
in 1 cup and 1/4 cup portions because I usually use a cup and 1/4 to make up my cream of chicken soup, and most recipes call for a few cups to make a soup. It can freeze for up to a year. So just freeze it and then pull it out the morning before you make your soup or casserole and it is good to go! This recipe often makes about 11 cups of broth. See picture below: