Hot Soups for a Cold Day, Part 1

The “extreme” winter weather around here is perfect for tasty hot soups, so I thought I would share some of my favorite recipes with you.

I have to thank my sister-in-law for turning me on to this first one.  Now, I don’t like tomatoes, I don’t even like ketchup, which means I don’t like tomato soup.  But I love this soup! Trust me, try it out!

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

recipe credit

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, cilantro leaves or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup whipping cream

Preparation:

1. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender.

2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, 1 tablespoon of the basil, the sugar and pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; pour mixture into large heatproof bowl; cool slightly, about 15 minutes.

3. In blender, place half of the mixture. Cover; blend until pureed. Return to saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat. Stir in cream and remaining 1 tablespoon basil.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

A couple notes about this recipe:

~My grocery store didn’t carry the Muir Glen brand tomatoes, so I just bought the Hunt’s Brand.  I bought the kind with garlic, so I omitted the garlic in step one.

~I used the frozen bagged onions instead of a fresh one (no chopping!)

~I used a food processor instead of a blender (same thing, right)

~Pour slowly, it can splatter and make a mess!

Pair this with a toasted sandwich or salad for dinner, yummy!

Outback Potato Soup

There are a lot of variations of this recipe floating around the internet, this is the one I tried on Christmas Eve. While it wasn’t an exact match for the taste of Outback’s soup (my fave), it was very good.  It is a thinner consistency, which I prefer.  Some websites recommend baking the potatoes instead of boiling them.

Ingredients:

5-6 large potatoes

1 can evaporated milk (12 ounce can)

1 lb. Velveeta Cheese, cubed

salt to taste

pepper to taste

garlic to taste

Garnish:

sour cream

bacon bits

shredded cheese

green onion tops

Preparation:

Wash, peel, cut potatoes in small pieces. In medium size pot, barely cover with water, boil until cooked but still firm.  Add milk and cheese.  Cook on low, stirring constantly until cheese melts.  Do not boil.  Ladle into serving bowls and add desired toppings.

 

Come back tomorrow for Chicken Tortilla Soup and Crawfish Corn Chowder!