DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Soup???

For easily 20+ years I/we have been making 3 "Jumbo" pots of 3 different soups for the winter season. Split pea, minestrone, and chicken noodle. At times I've made italian wedding soup as well.

We'll save the largest plastic containers and lids from various products and they work great. We have a nice sized single door upright freezer in the garage and store it there. Gotta be 18-20 containers in there now. Imo homemade soup beats canned soup to a pulp.

Lookin for a 4th variety.

Any thoughts from any other "soupers" out there or is it "NO SOUP FOR YOU"?

I love me some soup! It’s one of my go-to meals in the winter ... especially for lunch.

I like thick/hearty and even creamy type soups.

Cheeseburger soup and chicken tortilla are two of my favoirtes

I'll eat pretty much anything made into a soup. Don't know why I love soup as much as I do. That said, my soup-game (cooking-wise) is weak. I gotta work on that.

Soup hasn't posted here in years. I have no idea why you brought him up? j/k

I agree with 4Life that chicken tortilla soup is the bomb! Of those I've had, those with the verde style base were by far the best. If I had my own recipe for it I would gladly share it with you but alas that's a mountain I haven't decided to climb as of yet.

I'm more of a hearty chicken noodle, bean with bacon and Texas style chili guy myself.

If you get a good recipe let me know! I’ve always loved Max and Erma’s tortilla soup if you’ve tried it

New England clam chowder and beef & barley soup are good. Or you could branch out into making industrial qtys of beef stew - just wait until your grocery has BOGO chuck roasts. I like to make big pots of chili, then split it into 1-1/2 qt containers for my freezer. I do the same when I make hamburger stew or Pasta Fagiole. Pasta Fagiole (we call it "Fazool") is supposed to be an Italian bean and pasta soup, but my mother converted it into a pasta/beans/bacon casserole way back when we were kids, and that's how I make it. It freezes well and its an easy reheat in the microwave.

Ham Bone Soup FTW!

Max and Erma's does have a pretty good tortilla soup. The best I ever had was at a local bar and grill in Springboro, Ohio called The Springs. I did everything I could think of to get the recipe but the guy wasn't going to give it up. Can't say I blame him. I'm sure he no longer works there because that was about 15 years ago. Sadly that ship has sailed.

But the fact I still remember that soup from 15 years ago speaks volumes.

There is a diet soup that is very similar to beef vegetable soup but it is loaded with veggies and also has cabbage in it. It's very tasty and will help shed those holiday pounds...

There are several recipes online for it and I'm not sure which one I had/made, but here are a couple links to the recipes I'm talking about:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13116/cabbage-fat-burning-soup/

https://divascancook.com/wonder-soup-recipe-weight-loss-soup-7-day-diet-cabbage-soup/

My wife got a recipe that was pretty darn close to Max & Erma's. I can post the recipe.

I'm all about a vegetable beef soup. I am the only one in the house that likes Bean Soup. Minestrone. Clam Chowder. White Bean Chili. Italian Wedding. Man, I love me some soup!

Hungarian Mushroom soup. This is not the creamy weird gelatinous stuff from a Campbells Soup can. This is the real deal.

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces mushrooms, -sliced
2 cups onions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons dill weed
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups stock
2 teaspoons lemon juice, -fresh
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
fresh ground black pepper, -to taste
1/2 cup sour cream

Saute onions in 2 Tbsp stock, salt lightly.
A few minutes later, add mushrooms, 1 tsp dill, 1/2 cup stock or water, soy sauce, and paprika.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Melt butter in large saucepan.
Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, a few minutes.
Add milk and cook, stirring frequently, over low heat about 10 minutes - until thick.
Stir in mushroom mixture and remaining stock.
Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes.
Just before serving, add salt, pepper, lemon juice, sour cream, and, if desired, extra dill (1 tsp).
Serve garnished with parsley.

My favorite is a pot of homemade potato soup. I asked my mom for the recipe, and wouldn’t you know it she died before she could give it to me and of course my dad doesn’t know it. He said the recipes she had were all in her head.

Very sorry you lost your mom. I'd suggest you look around her kitchen for a cookbook. A lot of women from past generations used a Betty Crocker cookbook. My mom did, my mother-in-law did, and so did my late wife. I have found at least 3 recipes that my wife used to make in this old Betty Crocker cookbook that we bought at a flea market when we first got married. Its nice to look at the recipes and see her notes on modifications for larger or smaller recipes that are in the cookbook. Anyway, here's a recipe from Betty Crocker for something called "Loaded Potato Soup" ... (hope you find the one your mom used).

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/loaded-potato-soup/0a2b9654-d0e5-4fee-9ce6-fad521e6041a

Haha noted! I love little known places like that

oh yea! Potato soup is really good too. Add some cheese and bacon

Chicken Tortellini or Stuffed Pepper soups are good.

I always used to make a stock pot of homemade chili for winter, before my back went, and made it impossible to handle that size of a pot full of soup.

turkey

Tortellini is very good. Our local diner makes some of the best. I get it regularly for lunch during the winter

SOUP


Bah Humbug

Just now getting around to posting that recipe . . .

Copycat Max & Erma's Tortilla Soup

1 can mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz) Low fat works.
2 cans cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz) Low fat works.
1 can cheddar soup
2 chicken broth. Low sodium works.
1/2 can Ro*Tel / tomatoes & chilis
1/2 jar or 1 cup picante salsa at spiciness of your choice
1 can green chilies, diced & pureed
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp onion powder
8 oz chicken cooked & diced
1/2 lb 2% colby cheese, shredded
tortilla strips to garnish
cilantro to garnish

1. In a pan over low heat, combine the four cans of soup, whisking together until smooth.
2. Add the chicken broth, Ro*Tel, salsa, chilies, onion powder, and garlic to the soup mixture.
3. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to keep the soup from sticking.
4. Reduce the heat & simmer for one hour.
5. Add the chicken and simmer for another 30 minutes.

My wife tweaked this a bit when she made it. I know she used more chicken than called for. It was rotisserie chicken. And knowing her she had to have added more cheese than called for. Guessing it wasn't just colby. And it was pretty darn spicy so I bet she didn't follow to a T there either.

Is that two cups of chicken broth ?

That’s glorious thanks

Best sea food soup I have ever tasted was in Mystic, CT. The restaurant was located near a small draw bridge. It was a creamy clam chowder with shrimp and lobster and sweet corn and some spicy stuff to give it some bite. The Bomb. Sorry, no recipe (I asked). But if you are going out for a Mystic Pizza, this side trip is well worthwhile IMO. Experiment! Even if you are wrong, it is all good.

One personal crockpot for me is a chili with spicy sausage, a jar of spaghetti sauce, three beans and some shrimp pieces. I cook it down a bit. Have fun with soup!

WOOPS! Yes, that would be cups...

Copycat Max & Erma's Tortilla Soup

1 can mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz) Low fat works.
2 cans cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz) Low fat works.
1 can cheddar soup
2 CUPS chicken broth. Low sodium works.
1/2 can Ro*Tel / tomatoes & chilis
1/2 jar or 1 cup picante salsa at spiciness of your choice
1 can green chilies, diced & pureed
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp onion powder
8 oz chicken cooked & diced
1/2 lb 2% colby cheese, shredded
tortilla strips to garnish
cilantro to garnish

1. In a pan over low heat, combine the four cans of soup, whisking together until smooth.
2. Add the chicken broth, Ro*Tel, salsa, chilies, onion powder, and garlic to the soup mixture.
3. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to keep the soup from sticking.
4. Reduce the heat & simmer for one hour.
5. Add the chicken and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Thank you ; Needs to try that

I have a good recipe to try, I just gotta type out the cooking directions to post here so you guys don't screw it up. I'm usually busy napping/running errands/watching football (etc.) on my days off work, so give me a few days to post it.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237996...earch#nutrition

I love this chicken gnocchi soup! It’s one of my favorites to make in the winter!

looks great

S&P Oysters is where I like to eat when in Mystic....right at the bridge. Possibly that was the place, but there are several restaurants in the immediate area.

Make this with some toasted buttery bread..
Tortellini Soup
1-2 lbs Italian sausage bulk or sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
Salt, Pepper to taste

** put the spinach in last, it will wilt and blend right into the soup.

love me some Mystic nice place for a small vacation.

First crack at soup in the stew pot was a success. Chicken Tortilla soup from allrecipe or something. Lots of room for improvement as well.

Always loved my mom's ham & bean soup. It was awesome and she also put dumplings in it. I made some once about 3 years ago and it was pretty close.

My wife makes a very good cheesy potato soup that is actually pretty healthy. The family loves, in fact whenever we had a family get together for my youngest's birthday (she's 30 this year) she always picked this over any meal.

I also love Olive Garden's Faggioli. I tried one time because I don't like salad and felt like eating something other than breadsticks while the others ate prior to the main course. I buy a gallon to go and freeze in individual portions.

Just noticed no love for split pea here. Love the stuff with a grilled cheese sandwich. Make it with leftover ham bone from new years and some ham pieces. Dont have a ham bone? Get some ham hocks for some great smoky flavor!

Ham and Bean soup with a ham bone is about the best cold weather, comfort soup in the world. Same with the split pea. I'll boil that bone for an hour or so before I even add beans. Sautee the mirepoix on the side and add for the last half hour with some small cubed potatoes... Wow! Hard to stop eating it.

Chicken Soup, Garlic & Onion style


Ingredients:

- Chicken (cooked with the skin & bones still left on it). Legs and thighs work best. About 8 pieces, enough to cover the entire bottom of the cooking pot plus perhaps a little extra.

- Garlic – One or two large bulbs, using all the clove parts, skinned and chopped. Garlic = flavor. Make sure to get good garlic! It’s best to pay a little more than get stuck with just so-so garlic from China.

- Celery (about 3 stalks).

- 1 small Jalapeno pepper.

- Onions - 2 or 3, medium sized, brown in color. The strong kind. The kind that can make you cry.

- Sweet potatoes (2).

- Carrots. I use a full bag of the small, precut ones (long and thin cut).

- Ginger root (not a lot, about 5 inches or so by 1 inch, cut up or better yet, blended. (Everything is cut up, except the chicken.)

Also:

- Fresh ground pepper (90 grinds).
- Oregano (200 shakes from the container).
- Basil leaves (about 50 shakes).
- 3 heaping teaspoons of salt (preferably sea salt).

- Brown rice. Just about 3 cups. I measure it with a coffee cup.

- Tomatoes (one or two, medium-size)

- Parsley (a full thing you buy at the grocery store. It would cover a full-size dinner plate..)

-Spinach (half a bag).

-Sweet corn in can (with no salt added).

-Apple Cider (not apple cider vinegar) About a third of a cup in your soup bowl (not pot) AFTER cooking.

What else you’ll need:

Soup pot with lid. My pot is 9 inches high by 10 inches wide. Enamel.

1 large (elongated) mixing-type spoon. Metal/stainless steel. (No holes in it.)

-Soup ladle.

Cooking directions:

Start by quickly rinsing off the chicken. Use more than enough pieces to pretty much completely cover the bottom portion of your soup pot. Put the rinsed-off chicken into the pot, then fill it about 1/4th of the way up with cold water after the chicken is inside. Turn burner on high. Leave lid OFF. DON'T PUT TOO MUCH WATER IN, you'll definitely need the space.

Start chopping up the ingredients IN THE ORDER LISTED ABOVE. Cut everything as small as you can. WATCH OUT FOR YOUR FINGERS. I have the vegetables listed in that particular order so the harder-to-cook stuff goes in first and gets cooked more. IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT PUT ANY OF YOUR VEGETABLES IN THE POT YET. Set them aside when cut up.

I use a blender for the ginger root and the carrots. Ginger root is hard to cook and carrots are hard also, so blend them with some water (not a lot of water).

CRITCAL ADVICE: Make sure to SCRAPE THE BOTTOM OF THE POT with your long spoon so nothing (in this case the chicken) sticks to the bottom of the pot. This is more important than just stirring the pot. Screw stirring it, always SCRAPE IT - OFTEN. At least every ten minutes. (Unless of course you’re using a Teflon soup pot. You don’t wanna scrape that.)

After about 15? minutes or so, you should see some whitish-brownish icky colored stuff floating on the top of your water in your pot, from the chicken/water boiling. Scoop it out with a large spoon and throw it away. Do this two or three times. (Two should probably be enough.)

When you are done getting the icky stuff out of your water, start adding the vegetables in the order listed. You will be chopping and cooking them at the same time. Keep flame on high. Lid should still be OFF.

Note: When cutting up the onions (yes, take skin off of them too) it is a good idea to put another burner on while cutting them, as it totally helps cut down on the fumes/eyes tearing up.

When you add your blended ginger root and carrots, now is a good time to also add your spices or else they will just float and stay to the top of the pot if you add them last. Add now:

- Fresh ground pepper (90 grinds)
- Oregano (200 shakes of a container)
- Basil leaves (50 shakes)
- 3 heaping teaspoons of salt (preferably sea salt). I always go light on the salt. You'll probably need more.

When you have all your ingredients chopped up and in your pot now is the time to add HOT water if need be... Keep the water level about a two inches away from the top of the pot, or you’ll risk boiling over = rookie mistake.

When everything is in, water level is good….. now is the time to lower your flame. You do not want to boil your soup, you want to simmer it. Maybe call it a ‘slight boil,’ but NOT boiling hardcore. Yes, it’s possible to burn it. Ingredients can and will stick to the bottom of your pot.

Remember to KEEP SCRAPING & KEEP SCRAPING OFTEN.

Now is the time to finally put on the lid. Your soup will get hotter with the lid on, so make sure to watch the simmer and adjust accordingly (!)

Write down the time everything was put in the pot and you finally lowered your flame and put the lid on. I call this the "all in" time for short. You should cook it about 45 minutes to one full hour after everything is in.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO KEEP SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POT with your large spoon. I cannot stress this enough. If one of the ingredients sticks to the bottom and burns down there you’re gonna smell it and taste it. It ruins the soup, at least somewhat.

Once you get good with this, you can also tell when it’s done by how it looks. The chicken may have also fallen off the bones by then (but not always).

You can always add some super-hot water if the water level gets lower as you cook. I usually add some water about twice per cook. Mix in in, don't just pour it in. Do this at the beginning, not at the end of the cook.

After you are finished cooking, leave your soup on the stove on a different burner (turned off, of course) for several hours. After at least 5 or 6 hours - when the pot is only warm to the touch - dig deep inside and take out all the bones, skin & cartilage you can (with clean hands) and throw it all away, then refrigerate your soup. Have a garbage can real close by for this, because stuff will drip.

Add about one third a cup of apple cider to your soup bowl, then add your soup to the bowl. I've tried cooking the soup and putting the apple cider in when I cook it, but can never get it right, so this is the best way. The apple cider really makes the soup taste delicious.

Serve your soup REALLY hot, it's best that way.

Note: You don’t want to go out on a first date – or even possibly a second one – after having this soup. It has a strong yet delicious garlic/onion smell. It should be kind to your stomach and it’s also great for your body.

Enjoy!