Broccoli Cheese Soup

I grew up as a vegetarian (I asked my parents where pork came from one night when I was about 5, and didn't eat any kind of meat again until I was about 16) and even though the rest of my family was not vegetarian, my mom always made sure I got my protein and ate well balanced meals. I'm sure buying and making special foods all the time for me wasn't always that easy or cheap especially with three other kids to feed, so thanks Mom! :)  Going out to eat was sometimes a little difficult too, but Chili's was always one of my favorites because of their yummy broccoli cheese soup. I am so dissapointed that they don't have it anymore!  Anways, I searched for a copycat recipe online last week and I only found a few and they all had "processed cheese loaf" aka Velveeta which I am not a big fan of. After having changed to natural/organic foods over the past few years I try to stay away from processed foods. I'm sure they probably use Velveeta or something similiar in Chili's broccoli cheese soup recipe and yes it's very tasty but I figured if I was making a homemade version I would stick with real cheese. My version didn't taste exactly like Chili's but it was really really good nontheless.

Ingredients
1/3 cup real butter
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
1 medium to large head of broccoli, chopped (I got about 4 cups of florets out of it but I wanted a good amount of broccoli in my soup. You can also use frozen broccoli)
1 (32oz) carton of vegetable broth
18-24 oz shredded cheddar cheese depending on how cheesy you want it (this would be about 1 1/2 to 2 bags or you can shred your own cheese from a block-this melts better since there are no anti-caking agents added to it)
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
salt
pepper
chopped tomatoes for topping

Directions
1. In a large pot, melt the butter and then add the onion. Cook until softened
2. Add the broccoli and vegetable broth and simmer until the broccoli is tender
3. Reduce the heat and add the cheese. Stir until melted
4. Mix in the milk, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste
5. Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small cup or bowl until dissolved. Stir into the soup  until it thickens
6. Puree soup with an immersian blender to desired consistancy (I didn't want huge chunks of broccoli so I pureed mine a little. But if you would rather not puree it, you can skip this step and your soup is ready to serve.)
7. Top with chopped tomatoes and more cheese if desired



Recipe source: adapted from GoodVeg on Squidoo

Jamaican Red Bean Stew

I found a recipe for this stew while searching for some vegetarian recipes I could make. It sounded pretty good and we haven't had soup in a while so I decided to try it. I upped the spice content a little from the original I found since I like bold flavors and it turned out really great. Plus, it was really easy. The weather has also been great so I decided to eat outside on our deck and use the new coral colored placemats I bought (yay!)   My flowers from a floral class I took over the weekend still looked ok so I set those out there as well. Looking forward to more great weather this week!

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped carrots

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 (14.5 oz) can plain diced tomatoes, drained

2 1/2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed( I actually only had one can of kidney beans so I used a can of pinto beans)

1 can of coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen brand and it was 13.66 oz)

1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth

Directions

1. Add oil and garlic in crockpot and let cook for a few minutes on high

2. Add in in the carrots, green onions, sweet potatoes and the tomatoes

3. Stir in all the spices

4. Add the beans, broth, and coconut milk

5.Cook on high for 2-3 hours or cook on low for 4-6 hours

Recipe source: Adapted from Savvy Vegetarian

French Onion Soup

This soup makes me tear up just thinking about it. Seriously. This is not an easy soup to make. I'm glad the outcome is worth it because those onions can really get to you. As much as I use onions, I should invest in some kind of eye protection. Maybe I'll borrow my husbands pool goggles next time. I'm sure he would find that attractive.

I don't know the original origin of this recipe, but I made a copy of it way back when in my highschool home economics class. Next time I make it, I'm going to try and find some oven safe small soup bowls or ramekins I can stick under the broiler.

Ingredients

6 cups of thinly sliced onions (about 2 1/2- 3 onions depending on size. I used a variety of onions-white, yellow, vidalia)

1/4 cup of butter

3-5 cans of beef broth

1 1/2 tsp of worcesterchire sauce

1/4 tsp of pepper

toasted pieces of bread (I used french)

Swiss, Mozarella, or Provolone Cheese slices

Directions

In a large saucepan (3 qt) cook onions in butter for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add beef broth, worcesterchire sauce and pepper and bring to a boil.  Stick bread covered with the cheese slices under the broiler until chees is slightly browned. Place bread on top of hot soup, sprinkle with extra pepper if desired and enjoy!

Crockpot Lentil Soup

I love making homemade soups. And I especially loved this one because I chopped everything the night before and then just threw it all together in a crockpot and it was ready when I got home from work. We usually try and do a few vegetarian recipes a week too, so this was a good option. Plus, we've had a bag of lentils sitting in the pantry for a few weeks and I wanted to do something with them. Not to mention that my husband is a triathlete and he's seen a lot of recipes in his magazines that use lentils. So I figured this healthy soup was right up his alley! I searched online and found a few recipes I thought sounded good and then combined everything into my own version.

2 cups lentils
½ onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
4 cups of Reduced Sodium Vegetable Broth
2 ½ cups of water
1 tsp of dried thyme
1 tsp of dried oregano
2 gloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
2 tsbp of balsamic vinegar
½ tsp of pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper

Soak lentils in water at least 2 hours or overnight. Add all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for about 10 hours. Top with reduced fat sour cream if desired.

Recipe source: Harper's Original

Taco Vegetable Soup

There's nothing like a good bowl of hot homemade soup on a cold night. This recipe comes from my super awesome Grandma and it's always a hit! It's definitely a family favorite.  It's really easy to make and it feeds about 8 people so it's great for any kind of get together.  And I know I said I don't really eat pork, but the sausage really gives this soup some flavor.

Ingredients
1 pkg of Italian Sausage (mild or hot)
2 cans of beef broth
2 cans of enchilada sauce
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of vegetable soup
2 cans of water
1 pkg of taco seasoning
Fresh or frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash-just about anything will do)

Directions
Remove skins from sausage and brown with some onion in a large pot (make sure sausage is broken up into smaller pieces). Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about an hour or two. Serve over corn chips or tortilla chips & top with shredded cheddar cheese



Recipe source: My Grandma :)