First Newbie of the Season

This is late, because last week was crazy and I have been gone for most of the weekend.  The soups that I have made so far are ones that I have made in the past (the chili was a new recipe, but nothing all that different from chili I have made in the past).  Last week I wanted to make something that wasn't tomato-based.  I love tomatoes, but I wanted something different.  As I sat down to make my grocery list on Monday afternoon, I realized that the only night I would really have time to make soup was that night, so I needed to find a soup that I could make pretty quickly too.  I flipped thru my favorite soup magazine and found one that sounded yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  I think it turned out pretty good and it was pretty easy.

Corn Chowder with Dumplings (adapted from recipe found in taste of home soup magazine)

Chowder:
2 large onions (I bought the large package of pre-chopped onions from Wal-Mart cause I was not in the mood to have watery, stinging eyes.)
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes (I had cubed hash browns left over from the veggie beef soup that I had made, so I used those to save money and time.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 3 tsps minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I left this out because I had no idea where to find it and didn't really want a spicy soup.  I added black pepper instead.)

Dumplings:
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c yellow cornmeal (All I could find was cornmeal mix, so at first I wasn't sure if I needed the flour, but I did end up adding some because the mixture wasn't thick enough.  I'm not sure how much I added, but they worked out.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c shredded cheese

In large saucepan, saute onions until tender.  Add broth, corn, potatoes, cream, pepper, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes.
For dumplings, combine dry ingredients.  Add cheese and milk - mix until moistened.  Drop by tablespoons onto simmering chowder.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes...do not lift cover while simmering.  (The directions say to cook for 20 minutes or until dumplings are cooked which is determined by sticking a toothpick into the dumplings, but they say not take the lid off so there was no way to check them before the 20 minutes was over.  Mine were done after 20 minutes, but I guess if they aren't then you could replace the lid and continue to cook.)

My picture doesn't look as great as the one in the magazine, but the soup was yummy!

I went to visit a friend this weekend and she made a yummy chili whose recipe can be found here... http://love-taylor.com/2013/10/08/chili-for-a-chilly-day/ (There is another version of it here... http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.ca/2013/03/sweet-potato-quinoa-chili.html)  It's delicious!!

Double Dose!

I made 2 yummy soups this week!!  Well, one was technically at the end of last week, but I figure it can count too.
I went to a fall party with some friends on Friday night and it seemed the perfect occasion to make some yummy chili!  It was an easy crock pot recipe that turned out to be quite delicious!

Ingredients I used for my chili:
2 lbs cooked ground beef
2 cans of kidney beans (drained)
2 cans of chili beans (I did not drain these)
2 cans of diced tomato
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 can of tomato sauce
Chopped onion (I was not in the mood to irritate my eyes, so I bought a container of the pre-chopped onions and used the whole thing.  I cooked it with the ground beef.)
We didn't have cumin and neither did Wal-Mart, so I used their chili seasoning packets instead.  I used one mild and one spicy which I think gave it a good kick, but didn't make it too spicy.

One of my friends make cornbread that paired with it perfectly!  We also had shredded cheddar cheese and corn chips!

I knew it was going to be a long week, so I wanted an easy dinner for Monday night.  I decided on a soup recipe that I had tried last year...vegetable beef soup.  Another delicious and easy crock pot soup!

Ingredients for Vegetable Beef Soup:
1 lb ground beef
1 can (46 oz) tomato juice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 envelope onion soup mix
I thought it was yummy, but just a little bland last time so I added a bunch of random spices this time.

I think it turned out quite delicious!  It's perfect served with a big chunk of french bread :)

I realized after I made this soup that all of the ones that I have picked so far are tomato based, so I am going to try to pick something different next week.  We'll see what sounds good!

Fall Weather is Here and the Soup is Cooking!

I decided to switch up my blog again and change it back to a misc blog instead of just a craft blog.  We'll see if I am any better at keeping up with this one ;)  We'll also see if anyone else reads this one... :)

Today is the first October day that feels like fall.  It was gloomy for most of the day, but I loved the chilly air!!  I decided it was the perfect day to start making soup (I love soup, but it's just not as fun to eat when it's hot outside!), so I made a trip to Wal-Mart to get some ingredients to whip up a pot of taco soup!  While it was cooking I looked through some soup recipes and found so many that I can't wait to try!  My goal right now is to make a new soup each week and I will share the recipe here just in case you want to try the soup too! If you have a favorite soup recipe, I'd love it if you shared!

My Taco Soup Recipe isn't anything that different from most of the ones that you've probably seen (tho most of the recipes call for ground beef, I prefer chicken in mine.  I think it gives the soup a better flavor.)  Sorry my measurements for this soup aren't precise.  I've been making it for awhile, so I just kinda throw it all together.

Chicken (I throw a couple of breasts in the crockpot with some salsa and let it cook until the chicken is easy to shred.)
Beans - Today I used one can of light red kidney and one can of black.  Sometimes I use chili beans.  You can use whatever combination you prefer.
One can of corn
Canned tomatoes - I used 2 of the Great Value brand Tex Mex tomatoes
Packet of taco seasoning
Chopped onion - I used about a half an onion tonight.
I put everything in a large pot and then added about 3 cans of water.  You can add more or less water depending on how much "broth" you like.

I eat my soup with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese, and crumbled tortilla chips. Yum!!