2 Upcoming Soup Challenges

[synergy]

I am partaking in a company crock pot soup 'contest'. Each of us make a soup to bring in, in a crock pot each Monday. Of course, I'd like mine to be 'the best'. While I'm competitive, I'm new to making soups! I was thinking of making a black bean soup or a thick tomato/basil kind of soup. Anyone have recipes to share? I'll give you all the credit and name the soup after you. :-)

[Cherylptw]

So many soups to choose from; what did you have in mind? One of my favorites is cream of sweet potato with crispy ham pieces, which could be either shaved or very thinly sliced and oven dried then sprinkled over each serving like croutons. I like the sweet and salty combination. This soup holds well in a crockpot.

[sparkareno]

I make a sweet potato soup that has peanut butter in it. I like your idea of the ham though--I'm going to try that.

[appycamper]

i do an easy black bean soup that should crockpot just fine. soak 1 pound black beans for a couple of hours. brown 1 pound loose italian sausage (hot or mild). put in crockpot. melt a large onion in the sausage fat. add to cp. drain beans and add to cp. cover with chicken broth. cook until beans are tender. add more chicken broth to keep beans covered, if needed. add 2 cups spaghetti sauce. adjust seasoning. to thicken mash about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the beans and return to pot.

since it has tomato, it's best made a day ahead.

[synergy]

Sounds great...unfortunately 2 people don't eat beef , only chicken or otherwise vegetarian.

[appycamper]

it's probably hearty enough to stand up without the sausage. cook the onion in olive oil, use some crushed fennel seed, garlic powder and a little red pepper flake. maybe top with a dollop of sour cream when serving.

[Emme]

could also use a vegetarian substitute. or trader joe's sells some great chicken sausages, esp the chicken mushroom asiago... oh wait, scratch that possible... some of them (not sure which ones) have pork casings... nonetheless, morningstar farms and other brands have decent veggie sausage options. you could also add something like slice portabello mushrooms for a meaty texture/feel.

[ladyberd]

Here's a killer baked potato soup that is made in a crock pot. Dfinitely use the smoked gouda - it lends amazing flavor to the soup.

4 large or 7 medium russet potatoes
4 cups chicken stock
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/4 cup chives
6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
3-4 oz. smoked gouda, shredded
4-6 slices bacon, cooked to crisp

Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick. Layer them in a slow cooker and pour 2 cups of chicken stock over them. Cook on high for 2 hours or until potatoes are just cooked through.

When potatoes are cooked, transfer them and the cooking liquid to a blender. Add the garlic and puree to desired consistency. You can make it smooth or leave it a little chunky if you prefer. Pour the mixture back into the slow cooker and stir in the rest of the stock. Stir until combined, then add both cheeses and stir again until the cheese melts into the soup. Stir in the half and half or cream chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat on low for 30 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle with the crumbled bacon or just stir the bacon into the soup.

NOTE: when adding the last two cups of stock, add it a little at a time so you can control the consistency. For thicker soup, add less, for thinner, add more.

Enjoy!
Ladyberd
http://ladyberds-kitchen.blogspot.com

[Antilope]

Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Here's a Hot and Sour Soup recipe that we like a lot. We used to eat out a lot just for this soup. Making it at home saves a lot of money. It tastes very close to what you get at a
Chinese restaurant. All of these ingredients should be available at the supermarket, some in the Asian foods section. The white pepper and sesame oil are the "secret" ingredients that seem to give the authentic taste.

Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

4 cups of chicken broth
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken or pork
1/2 cup drained canned mushrooms (type of your choice), sliced or diced
1/4 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and julienned
1/2 tablespoon Thai Chili Garlic Sauce (Tabasco Sauce and a little garlic powder as a substitute is ok)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water
1 egg, beaten
3 oz firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 green onion stalks, diced (including green tops)
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan.
Add soy sauce, meat, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Thai Chili Garlic Sauce and white pepper.

-Simmer for five minutes.

-Combine two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well.

-Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes until soup is thickened.

-Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup. Stir soup several times.

-Wait 30 seconds.

-Add tofu and green onions to soup. Stir well. Remove from heat.

-Add distilled white vinegar and sesame oil.

-Stir a few times and serve.

[Emme]

i do a Cumin and Coriander Based soup that can be altered in many ways... use lentils, or cauliflower (my preference) or sweet potatoes or...
2 White onions, diced
4-5 celery stalks, diced
4-5 carrots, sliced and/or diced
2-3 tomatoes, chopped or a can of chopped tomatoes
garlic
1 tsp each cumin and coriander
kosher salt
pepper
cauliflower (or lentils or sweet potatoes or...)
veggie broth to cover
cook on low til everything is tender, then puree if desired

[synergy]

Anyone have a killer black bean soup recipe with no beef?

[4Snisl]

I made a black bean soup that turned out well a few weeks ago- people were jockeying to take home leftovers :). I'm estimating proportions here, as I rarely use recipes to make soup....

Note: it does use cilantro, which some people detest. I suspect it will be best made ahead of time and re-heated in the slow cooker.

1 pound soaked and cooked black beans, with cooking liquid (I add a little salt to my soaking liquid, not as much as in the usual brine.....maybe 1 tsp per quart of water?)
3 chicken chorizo sausages, diced (got mine from Trader Joe's- dinner link size)
1 TB olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1 TB minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
14 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Over medium-high heat, in large soup pot, heat olive oil. Add diced chicken chorizo and brown well. Sprinkle onion over sausage and stir, scraping up fond from bottom of pot, and cook till softened and starting to caramelize. Add in minced garlic, dry spices and 2 TB cilantro, and cook for about 10 seconds till fragrant. Add in canned tomatoes with juice, stir, and simmer, covered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add in beans with cooking liquid- add additional water and salt to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes, covered, over medium low heat, just to let flavors combine. Just before serving, stir in remaining chopped cilantro.

Optional garnishes are hot sauce of your choice, salsa fresca, sour cream/yogurt, chopped scallions and diced avocado. Maybe some crisp-baked tortilla strips might be good as well?

Good luck!

[4Snisl]

YIKES! Correction- I used chicken andouille sausage, not chorizo. I think my brain was drawn to the alliteration. :) Sorry for the mistake!

[boyzoma]

My family likes this Creamy, Chunky Tomato Soup. It does hold well in a crock pot as I have taken it that way several times. Pretty easy and really yummy. I have to admit I found it in a magazine years ago (sorry, would give credit to the magazine, but don't remember which one) and altered to fit the family. Its been a no-fail for our family.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, drained slightly
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in tomatoes, soup, milk, sugar, basil, paprika and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream cheese (see below) until melted. Serve Immediately. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Hint: I usually put some of the warm soup in the blender with the cream cheese to mix – then re-add to the soup mixture to make it smooth.

[Quine]

A great and easy soup is garlic soup. And it will fit in for the non-beef crowd. I cook this by sight so I have no exact measurements. skin the cloves of a head of garlic, , cut off the base of the clove. skin andCube non-waxy potatoes (yukon golds are great for this) into about 1-1.5 in cubes. fill pot, add chicken stock (canned swansons works low salt) and salt and pepper to taste. Start on high then turn to low for overnight, (if you do this after dinner, turn to low when you go to bed) IN AM, blend all smooth with an immersion blender, add a tad of cream and or butter, done.

The long slow cooking of the garlic makes it so smooth good and not what people expect,