Lately I have been on a soup craze - I have made three different types of soup in the past week! I have made Cauliflower Soup, Beef Stew, and White Bean Chicken Chili. To me, its just such an easy thing to do - throw everything in the pot, let it cook, and then there's plenty to eat with a bunch of leftovers! Johnathan and I love having extra to put in the freezer on those days we just need something quick. So, here are the three recipes - I hope you'll try these out!
Cauliflower Soup (from The Pioneer Woman)
1 stick Butter, Divided
½ whole Onion, Finely Diced
1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley (chopped)
2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock
6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Half-and-half
2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer. In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.
**Side note** This soup came out a little thicker than I had expected. I was hoping that the vegetables were going to break down more than they did, so I took my immersion blender and mixed the soup to thin it out. I really liked it this way! In the future, I will either continue to do this at the end, or be sure to dice the vegetables finer than I had at the beginning.
Crock Pot Beef Stew
3 lbs. Stew Meat
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 onion, diced
2-3 celery stalks, diced
Potatoes – red or Yukon, diced (add at the end, so eyeball how many you need!)
Spray a large skillet with PAM and sauté the stew meat to brown on all sides. While the meat is browning, put the 4 cans of soup into the crock pot (add a little bit of water if you like the sauce thinner). Add the whole bag of carrots, the diced onion, and celery. Once meat is browned, drain and add meat to the crock pot. Dice up as many potatoes as you’d like and throw those in on the top. Toss together. Add salt and pepper to taste, and any additional seasonings you’d like. Cook for 10 hours on low heat.
White Bean Chicken Chili
2 tbsp. Butter or olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 –2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 can chopped green chilis
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
fresh black pepper to taste
salt to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional for more heat)
2 28oz cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 32 oz. container chicken stock
3 lb chicken, roasted/boiled and pulled (Or buy a rotisserie chicken and just pull the meat off for a super quick soup)
Heat butter/oil in a large stockpot and add the onions; sauté until tender- about 5 minutes. Next, add the garlic, green chilis, and spices and sauté until fragrant. Add the beans and chicken and cover with chicken stock. Let simmer at least one hour until all flavors have combined.
Enjoy!
