Chicken and Kale Soup

I made this wonderful soup today. Well, this sounds like your regular soup but with a hint of cumin and ginger.  The flavors really come together well in this dish.  I also added some dirty rice in it.

Ingredients

Chicken breast, cubed
Carrot, cubed
Kale
Zuchini, cubed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
Ginger
Onion, cubed
Garlic, minced
Chicken broth
Salt and pepper

Directions

Marinate the chicken cube with chili powder, salt and pepper.

In a pot add olive oil and saute ginger, garlic and onion.  Add the marinated chicken.  Cook till slightly browned.  Add the carrots, kale, zuchini and cumin.  Stir for a bit and add the chicken broth and dirty rice.

Add seasoning according to taste and let cook until rice and vegetable soften.

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Yummmmy this is another favorite soup of mine and I can actually eat them for days.  Its super healthy with all the vegetable and just the right amount of pasta.  Have a bread on hand and its all you need.   Its been cold for a couple of days and I just cooked  in my every trusty crockpot and just freeze them individually and pop it in the microwave when I wanted to have some. 

You can totally make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth..

Crockpot Potato Soup

Interesting venture today.  I made something that I disliked for a very long time...POTATO SOUP.  Whats about it that is so very delicious which made me make it couple of times now.  Bacon and cheese!!!

We had a church gathering and everyone was asked to bring soups and after looking around, I found this wonderful crockpot soup which does not need babysitting.  All in a pot ! and best of all no knife and cutting board.

Ingredients

1 30oz frozen diced hash brown
1  can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 32oz box of chicken broth
1 8oz cream cheese (full fat)
1 packet of bacon bits ( half to add into the soup mix and the other half for garnish)
1 packet of shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

In a slow cooker add all the ingredients and cook on high for about 4 to 5 hours.  About 1 hour before cooking time is over add the cubed cream cheese. Stir well.  Cheese will be white and curdy but keep stirring every now and then. It will eventually melt and thicken the soup.

Serve with remainder bacon bits and cheddar cheese.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Wow, its been a week now since I am on vegetarian meal.  I have been making soups lately and of course with the weather in Central here so unpredictable, I think soup is the woman's best friend.  I cook constantly for my family and I have always wanted to try wild rice because my kids dont always enjoy the rice other than the usual jasmine.  I purchased some wild rice from the health food store and I am so happy that I did it finally.  They were so so good especially with a bread on the side.  I also added some Gardein Soy Chicken cubes in it (vegetarian)....yummm.

The soup is super simple to make and it took me like about 30 minutes to complete a healthy meal.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. carrots, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
1/4 cup cubed zuchini and squash, optional
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt + pepper to taste
1/3 c. white wine (optional)
1 tsp. dried thyme or oregano
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. instant or cooked wild rice ( I cooked my wild rice then used the water for the soup)
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream

Method

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, and shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened (5-7 minutes). Stir in flour, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add white wine and thyme; increase heat to medium-high and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add broth to Dutch oven and bring to a boil. If you're using instant rice, add it now and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender, 5-7 minutes, then stir in sour cream and parsley. If you're using cooked rice, once soup has come to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in rice, sour cream, and parsley.

Quinoa, Kale, White Bean Soup

This is my first time trying Kale. I have heard a lot about it and how healthy it is.  Quinoa I have done quite a bit of cooking with it and I think its nice,  no taste to it but even after cooking it has a little bite.  For a cold winter or just as a comfort food..this is it.  The kale has some crisp to it even after cooking but paired with tomatoes, white bean and quinoa, they are so yummilicious.    I can be a vegetarian just by eating soup...

Ingredients


2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
6 sprigs fresh thyme or dried thyme
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1 – 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 can tomato soup
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry rainbow quinoa, washed
1 – 14.5oz. can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 bunch kale, roughly 3 packed cups ( you can keep half if its too much in a ziplock)
Salt and pepper to taste

I love mushroom so I add mushrooms too :)

Method

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. When hot, but not smoking, add onion, carrots. Stir to coat and cook for about 8 minutes, until tender. Add thyme, crushed red pepper, garlic and oregano and cook for another minute.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato soup and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to simmer for 25 minutes.
• Add the uncooked quinoa, bring heat to a low boil again. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is tender and transparent.  Now add the canned white bean.
• Add kale and stir to wilt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve with a baguette or any toasted bread