Soups

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup (Amanda Peck)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
4 to 6 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed through your fingers or coarsely chopped
1 (9-ounce) package fresh tortellini or 4 servings dried tortellini
Coarse grained salt and cracked black pepper
10 ounces fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted and chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, very loosely packed

In a 3-quart soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring often until onions are translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes, turn heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions. When tortellini is almost done, add spinach and taste, adjusting seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis per serving	Calories 263
Fat 9 g	Saturated Fat 2.8 g
Carbohydrates 29.3 g	Fiber 5.4 g
Protein 19.2 g

Potato Corn Chowder (Bethany Rawcliffe)

6 strips bacon – diced

4-6 cups finely diced potatoes (about 4 medium)- I used canned to speed the process and it was good!

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups water

3 tsp salt (1 T)

1/8 tsp pepper

1 2/3 c evaporated milk (1 can)

1 can (17 ounce) cream style corn

Fry bacon, drain. Add potatoes, onion, water, salt, pepper, and some of bacon grease in pan. Cover, bring to boil. Simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in milk and corn. Heat, stirring just to a boil. Do not boil!! Add bacon and serve.

Clam Chowder (Bethany Rawcliffe)

2 can minced clams

1 cup celery

1 cup onion

2 cups potatoes

¼ cup butter/margerine

½ cup flour

1 quart half and half (or milk for less fat- can even use skim)

salt

pepper

Drain clam juice into pan and set clams aside. Chop veggies and cover with just enough water to cover. Boil veggies until tender. Melt butter in separate saucepan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk and cook until mixture thickens and boils. Add to veggies. Add salt and pepper and heat through.

Baked Potato Soup (Lisa Hall)

6 large baking potatoes

9 T. thinly sliced green onion

9 T. butter

9 T. flour

3/4 t. dried dill weed

3/4 t. salt

3/4 t. black pepper

12 c. milk

3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

4 bouillon cubes

Topping for table:

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

9 T. sliced green onions

12 slices bacon, crisp cooked, drained and crumbled

1. Scrub potatoes thoroughly, prick with fork and bake in a 425 oven for 40-60 minutes or until tender. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; gently scoop out potato pulp. Break up any large pieces of potato. Discard potato skins.

2. In a large saucepan cook 9 T. green onions in hot butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour, dill, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Add bouillon cubes. Cook and stir for 12-15 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Add the potato pulp and 3 cups of the cheese; stir until cheese melts.

3. To serve, ladle into bowls and serve with extra cheese, green onions and bacon.

*I usually make half of this and it is plenty for our family.

Lentil Stew

1 cup dry lentils (may use 13-bean soup blend, but cool a LOT longer)

1 cup chopped onion (or sliced leeks)

cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon oil

4 cups beef broth (at least)

15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon thyme or oregano, crushed (I like to use both)

1 Bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 lb cooked smoked sausage, sliced

Rinse lentils. In a large pan cook onion and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown. Stir in lentils, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, pepper, cumin, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add carrot and celery. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes more or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Stir in smoked sausage and cook until heated through.

* I use this recipe as more of a guideline and use whatever vegetables I want to and generally at least twice the amount that the recipe calls for.

Popovers

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp cooking oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (makes 12). In mixing bowl combine beaten eggs, milk, and oil. Add flour and salt. Beat with wire whisk or electric mixer until mixture is smooth. Fill each muffin cup half full. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and cook about 10 minutes longer. Serve hot with butter and honey. Goes well with soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (From Simply Recipes)

INGREDIENTS

· 1 pound regular white mushrooms, cleaned, quartered or sliced

· 1 Tbsp lemon juice

· 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

· 2 Tbsp minced shallots

· 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

· 1/2 bay leaf

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

· 2 cups heavy cream

· 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

· 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

· Minced parsley for garnish

METHOD

1 In a food processor, coarsely chop mushrooms and lemon juice.

2 Melt butter in (4-5 quart) sauce pan and lightly sauté shallots on medium heat. Add mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf, sauté over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid that is released from the mushrooms disappears.

3 Add salt, pepper, cream and chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4 Add cornstarch and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning and add more lemon juice to taste.

Serves 4. Serve sprinkled with a little parsley.

Zuppa Toscana (Ashley Clawson)

1 lb ground sausage
1 tsp red pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
1 tsp garlic powder
10 cups water (this water stays in the soup, so make sure to measure it out.)
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
5 or 6 potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale
Sautee and crushed red pepper in pot. You can either buy Italian sausage or use your favorite Italian seasonings to spice it up a bit. Drain excess fat and set aside. In the same pan, sauté bacon, green onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins until cooked through. Mix together the chicken bouillon and water in a large pot, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour. Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving.