Soup glorious soup!
One of my clients is a very sweet lady who I take around on errands and visits to friends because she is no longer allowed to drive. About 6 weeks ago she and her daughter asked if I would make a large batch of soup for them. (one of the things they asked if I could do during my interview is cook.)
Well I have my French Onion soup but that is a time to make for everyone to eat now kind of thing. So I thought about it for a few minutes and proceeded to look about their kitchen to see what they had.
Well nearly every week since then I make a new batch of soup occasionally changing some of the ingredients but mostly the soup is the same recipe. And what I discovered is this; soup is simple or complex that all depends on you, it can be spicy or mild and is one of the easiest things you can make. Even non-cooks can make a good soup just by following some simple rules. It does not take long either about 40 minutes from first chop to table!
Ingredients:
2 boxes of fat free low sodium chicken broth. (32 oz boxes)
6 medium mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4-6 medium red and/or yukon gold potatoes diced
1 medium sweet onion diced
8-12 quartered baby carrots
2 cups pasta (either egg noodles or I also like bow tie pasta for this)
garlic (fresh or pre-crushed, if fresh you will need 4 medium to large large cloves crushed)
1 cup peas (frozen or fresh)
1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)
basil
oregano
sea salt
pepper
olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
Despite her cheery attitude and modest talent Rachel Ray's obsession with putting extra virgin olive oil in the pan on the stove top is WRONG!! EVOO is not supposed to be heated up but used more in things like salad dressings, dips or something to be drizzled on items AFTER they have been cooked. So when I say olive oil I mean full on olive oil!
I a large pot (5-8 quarts) saute onions and potatoes in olive oil adding mushrooms, garlic and other spices until potatoes are getting browned nicely on all sides. Add broth and all the other vegetables. Let simmer for about 20 minutes then add the pasta and let simmer until the pasta is cooked.
If there is not enough broth after this you can add water to get more liquid.
We have also added all kinds of different veggies along with the above list such as fresh chopped spinach, red kale, cabbage, beans(kidney or white) and broccoli. Note: when adding broccoli this should be the last thing you add so it does not get over cooked. You just want it to get that beautiful dark green color then serve while it still has some crunch to it. You can also add diced chicken to your soup. Really, the sky is the limit use whatever veggies you prefer!
You can also sprinkle grated cheese on top. Serves about 6 people as a full serving or 8-10 as a side dish.
Well I have my French Onion soup but that is a time to make for everyone to eat now kind of thing. So I thought about it for a few minutes and proceeded to look about their kitchen to see what they had.
Well nearly every week since then I make a new batch of soup occasionally changing some of the ingredients but mostly the soup is the same recipe. And what I discovered is this; soup is simple or complex that all depends on you, it can be spicy or mild and is one of the easiest things you can make. Even non-cooks can make a good soup just by following some simple rules. It does not take long either about 40 minutes from first chop to table!
Ingredients:
2 boxes of fat free low sodium chicken broth. (32 oz boxes)
6 medium mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4-6 medium red and/or yukon gold potatoes diced
1 medium sweet onion diced
8-12 quartered baby carrots
2 cups pasta (either egg noodles or I also like bow tie pasta for this)
garlic (fresh or pre-crushed, if fresh you will need 4 medium to large large cloves crushed)
1 cup peas (frozen or fresh)
1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)
basil
oregano
sea salt
pepper
olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
Despite her cheery attitude and modest talent Rachel Ray's obsession with putting extra virgin olive oil in the pan on the stove top is WRONG!! EVOO is not supposed to be heated up but used more in things like salad dressings, dips or something to be drizzled on items AFTER they have been cooked. So when I say olive oil I mean full on olive oil!
I a large pot (5-8 quarts) saute onions and potatoes in olive oil adding mushrooms, garlic and other spices until potatoes are getting browned nicely on all sides. Add broth and all the other vegetables. Let simmer for about 20 minutes then add the pasta and let simmer until the pasta is cooked.
If there is not enough broth after this you can add water to get more liquid.
We have also added all kinds of different veggies along with the above list such as fresh chopped spinach, red kale, cabbage, beans(kidney or white) and broccoli. Note: when adding broccoli this should be the last thing you add so it does not get over cooked. You just want it to get that beautiful dark green color then serve while it still has some crunch to it. You can also add diced chicken to your soup. Really, the sky is the limit use whatever veggies you prefer!
You can also sprinkle grated cheese on top. Serves about 6 people as a full serving or 8-10 as a side dish.
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