Fall Favorites: Soups

I had two sweet freshman girls here this week for fall break and man did they eat!!! It was so fun cooking for them. They love the dorm food but I think they miss home cooking.

Of course soup is my favorite fall food. So I will start with that.

If you don’t have a favorite chili recipe, here is how I make it. My dad loves my chili. My mom not so much. It is easy with a capital E.

Basic Chili

Brown one pound of hamburger with 1 tsp salt. Drain the grease. Put back in the pan, add one can 15oz. petite diced tomatoes ( do not drain), one can 15 oz. tomato sauce, and one can 15 oz. Brooks Chili Beans (they have sauce on them) do not drain. Add one TBSP chili powder and pepper to taste (1 tsp.) Heat through and serve. Fritos and cheese are great toppings.

Italian Sausage Soup

My friend Leslie in St. Louis made this soup for us the night we moved out of our house. It tasted sooooo good after a long and emotional day. It has become my go to for when I am having company and they have driven all day. It has Gnocchi in it which is found in the pasta section and I use the mini ones. The bigger ones can be gommy (is that a word?). It is a meal in itself. It would be great the day after Thanksgiving when you are still stuffed or if you are having people over for Halloween.

In a large dutch oven:

Brown one package (19oz.) Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage,

(4 brat looking sausages in casings, they have them at WalMart and most groceries stores in the meat case.)If you don’t find them at the store you are at, just get bulk sweet italian sausage.

Remove from casings (just slit the casing along the top with a knife and slide them into the pan)

Brown a few minutes, then add the following while continuing to cook.

1 1/2 cup chopped onion (one small yellow or white)

1 1/2 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)

2 cloves minced garlic (the garlic that is already chopped and in a jar is fine for soups, use 2 tsp.)

Add:

6 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. basil

1/8 tsp. thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup fresh parsley

2 Tbs. sugar

Add:

1 can 15oz tomato sauce

1 can 28oz petite diced tomatoes

2 small zuchinni (sliced about 1/2 inch slices then cut in half)

2 cups shredded carrots or match stick carrots

Bring soup to a boil until carrots are tender. About 10 minutes.

Add one cup uncooked mini gnocchi pasta. Turn off and let sit 30 minutes. Warm back up before serving. Salt to taste when you are all done. Sausage may be salty but I would usually add one tsp of salt and some black pepper.

Tex-Mex Soup

Family Favorite

In a dutch oven Brown: 1 lb. ground beef and one small chopped onion and 1 garlic clove chopped (drain grease)

Add to pot:

2 1/2 cups beef broth

3 cups tomato juice (not sauce, juice)

2 (16oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles

1 Tbsp. Chili powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

Simmer on low for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with cheese and tortilla chips.

Sausage Corn Chowder

(My daughters’ favorite)

Try this. It is probably very different than anything you have had and everyone seems to love it.

Brown 1 lb Jimmy Deans Pork sausage (in a roll in the meat case, I like the original) and 1 small diced onion.

Drain grease.

In separate pan, boil 4 red or russet potatoes, peeled and chopped in about 1/2 inch chunks in 2 cups water with 1 tsp. salt. Boil until tender about 15 minutes. Do not drain the water. Add the sausage to the potatoes and water and add:

1 17oz. can cream style corn

1 17oz. can whole kernel corn

1 12oz. can evaporated milk

Warm through. Serves 6.

Corn muffins are great with this soup. And maybe apple dip and apples. There is a good apple dip at the end of my soup recipes.

Wild Rice Soup

This is so rich and is filled with fat. So save it for a rainy day when you want to be really bad. It is worth every gram of fat and you won’t believe you actually made it. It is soooooo good.

Makes alot. Enough for 8 people.

Start with a large pot.

1/2 med. onion chopped

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

6 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice (this rice is black, it is not brown rice or white rice. It takes 45 minutes to cook it)

6 cup chicken stock

2 cup half and half (they make fat free now which would be fine but only if you are on a diet)

1/2 lb. Velveeta, cubed

4 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed

1/2 cup red wine

In a Large dutch oven, saute onion and mushrooms in butter. Add flour and cook 10 minutes (will be pasty). Add chicken stock, wine, chicken and cooked wild rice. Simmer 2 hours then add half and half and Velveeta. Heat on low until cheese is melted. About 30 minutes.

That is enough soups to hold you over, now I will give you some desserts in a separate blog.

Dudelicious!!!!!