Tasty Homemade Tomato Soup Plus ‪#‎TuttorossoRecipes‬ #Inspiralized

I was provided products shown to facilitate this review and host a sweepstakes. 

Sweepstakes is after the jump. Opinions are my own. 

Did you know that April is Grilled Cheese Month?  Taking my cue from that, the monthly moms who potluck group agreed to go along with a grilled cheese party! I will have more on that tomorrow, but in the mean time...

What goes best with grilled cheese? Tomato soup of course!

Tomatoes are a pretty big deal in our household. From fresh to canned, I cook with them often. When I was asked to do a review for Tuttorosso Tomatoes it was easy to say, "yes!" because I use them in my cooking already.

Tasty Tuesday with Cory - Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Hamburger Soup

As FRANKENSTORM Sandy approaches. I've been getting things in order. While I LOVE apocalyptic movies like DEEP IMPACT and 2012, I also have a fear of widespread electric outages. My house may look like I live in the eye of the storm (when in fact I'm states away) but I want to be prepared if our power goes out.

I've purchased batteries for our flashlights, put water containers in our freezer to keep things cold and to provide water in case the power goes out. I've also been cooking. Mainly, SOUP so that I can use up produce and have healthy meals in case we are without power for a while. Last week I made a wonderful CHEESEBURGER SOUP! A creamy soup with ground beef, potatoes, cheese and canned tomatoes. It's VERY rich, hearty a thick! In fact, I put some in the fridge and if I thin it out it's enough for at least 2-3 more bowls full.

stock and potatoes

First, I used a BEEF STOCK (about 3-4 cups worth) than added 3-4 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces and let it simmer until cooked through (about 15 mins.).

Next, cook 1 lb. of ground meat and drain if necessary. I seasoned the brown beef mixture first with McCormick hamburger seasoning and some garlic powder. Added chopped celery (approx. 1/2 c., carrots* (1/2 c,) and LOTS of onions. probably about a cup then transferred the beef into the heavy pot with the potatoes and stock mixture.

I tasted it and it needed something. It was bland. I looked in the fridge which was really quite bare but I had a couple bags of odds n ends shredded cheese Mexican blend and cheddar. So I added what was about 2 cups of shredded cheese and about a cup of milk with a couple pats of butter. To thicken *you may want to thicken the milk, butter and flour in a mug FIRST (rue) and add it to the pot or you might get clumps. Stir till everything is thick, creamy and delish.

before and after

I tasted it again and it still needed a little something. So I added worchester sauce, A1 would probably work as well and I added a can of diced tomatoes. It needed that acid to cut through the cheesiness and served it up with some garlic toast.

My toughest critics – my two boys LOVED it! You could probably serve with a nice salad, and have a pretty substantial meal.

My friend has a similar soup recipe but, it was without the cheese so it was aptly named - HAMBURGER soup. If you don't have cheese or simply can't have cheese this soup would be fine as a tomato and beef broth based soup. I had tons of cheese and LOVE cheese so this is what I did.

• 3-4 cups of beef stock. I used a KNORR stock concentrate as they take up LESS room in my pantry and I use them for adding a beef flavor to stroganoff, soups, casseroles and gravy.
• 1 lb. of ground beef browned and drained
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots, celery and onion (I used my mini chopper to make short work of this step)
• 1-2 cans of diced tomatoes you can use either the ro tel variety if you like a bit of spice or simply plain.
• 1-2 c. of shredded cheese I had cheddar and Mexican blend. I've heard you can use Velveeta to *my soup was so thick I probably could've used it as a dip.
• Add milk to thin or make a rue to thicken - milk, butter and flour combined.
• Seasonings. I had hamburger seasoning from McCormick which is salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, paprika.
• Worchester sauce or even A1, just add a little at a time.

You could probably top with a dollop of sour cream, a few dashes of ketchup/mustard and chopped up dill pickle.

YUMMY!

* I know carrots and celery don't belong on a cheeseburger but, they don't hurt anything either PLUS I had some stuff to use up. So, whatever you have and however you like is FINE.

Tasty Tuesday with Cory! One Stock, Three Soups

Soup!  Perfect for cold weather but it takes talent to make.  If you don't think so than you have the talent!  I have written about my disdain for making it as well my attempts to make it and others who have shared with me their recipes of soup but Cory does a wonderful job describing how she produces the wonderfulness known as Soup.

Hello there friends, it's TUESDAY!  Another recipe day!  I briefly touched upon my new found love affair with making SOUP!  This is a new love for me as I've NEVER really been a soup fanatic before I've made probably 10+ kinds of soup from scratch.   Now, I can't be stopped as I fill a heavy bottomed pot or crock-pot full of broth, veggies and spices.  It's a great feeling to have my boys come home from school and say "Wow, Mom what smells so good?"   I tend to use my SMARTPHONE- which is a cheap one but, it serves my needs nicely when I'm searching for recipes on the ALLRECIPES.com website which can be used  on a regular desktop, laptop and tablet too... I just find it convenient when I'm at the grocery store I can just pop it up on my phone and buy what I need. 

 Last week I made a FANTASTIC cream of mushroom soup... Some people cringe at the thought of a mushroom soup.   Thinking of mushrooms as being only an ingredient used for casseroles and gravy but when it's made homemade it's simply wonderful.... I also made a chicken noodle that was very yummy as well.  A big hit with my kids! 

To start:  I made my own chicken stock which I believe to be the STAR of most soup recipes.  It's NOT difficult and took little time and prep... I have NOT used a can stock to make so if you choose to use canned your results may vary. 

Make your own stock:  4- skin on, bone IN chicken thighs.  They are usually very inexpensive and the meat offers a deeper flavor.  You can cool the broth and skim the fat if you are worried about calories and overall health of your dishes.  You could use chicken breast but, for full flavor I highly suggest bone-in.  A chicken or turkey carcass also works well or even scrap pieces from the butcher would work. 

I put the chicken in the crock-pot with COLD water add some various herbs and veggies and cover.  I happened to have on hand onions, carrots, celery, and garlic so I used those.  I didn't even skin the onion I just chopped it into quarters, tossed the baby carrots in WHOLE and chopped the celery with the leaves into chunks. I than added some minced garlic and WHOLE peppercorns (about 2 tablespoons).  You could also add parsley, or a bay leaf. I just didn't have them at the moment. 

Once covered let it simmer on low for a few hours.  Would be great to let it go overnight but I went right into making soup. If you wanted to you could let it cool, skim and you then FREEZE in 1-2 cup portions to add to other recipes.  Freezing into ice cube trays is another option and you can than add to gravy, or other dishes where you might use bouillon.  DO NOT add salt to the broth, you can always salt the dish at the end.  I discarded the veggies and split my broth for TWO soups. 

I had tons of regular white button mushrooms that I needed to do something with ASAP- so I chopped them up (about 16oz. worth of them) and sautéed them with some butter, olive oil and garlic till the onions were clear.   Added about 3-4 cups of homemade chicken stock and let it simmer 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes I added some whole milk with about 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken. 

Simmer... You can add more or less milk to taste or if lactose intolerant leave it out altogether.  I took some of the chicken from the stock and shredded it and left the other just with the mushrooms so really I made 3 different soups. !  *These never made it to the freezer!  

For the next soup, I had a couple of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts and I just tossed them in the broth and let them poach. I removed and cut them into bite sized pieces and added, some bite sized celery, carrots and onions and let it simmer 20-30 minutes.  I also added some peas at the end and some really tiny egg noodles (added maybe a cup). If you have big noodles I would cook them first and add after otherwise they might soak up all the wonderful broth.

If it's still not chicken flavored enough for you - by all means add a chicken bouillon.  I added a KNORR chicken concentrate... super easy and super delicious.  

Well that's it 3 different soups with 1 stock....  I probably could split the chicken soup and made a chicken and brown rice version as well... So many options.  Well I hope you try some of my recipes and have good results.  Or alter the recipes to your own family’s tastes. In either case happy cooking!  

New Post!Tasty Tuesday with Cory! One Stock, Three Soups goo.gl/fb/3o4gY #tuesdayswithcory #tastytuesday

— MryJhnsn (@mryjhnsn) October 23, 2012

Crock Pot Potato Soup via Facebook and @GiveawayBlogdom

Are you wondering when I will post another Facebook recipe find?

Well, wonder no more!

This week's recipe was posted on my Facebook wall by fellow blogger, Brandy, who writes Giveaway Blogdom.

Brandy's recipe for Crock Pot Potato Soup looks crazy simple to make and who doesn't love a good crock pot recipe?

source

If you like Brandy's recipe, please stop by Giveaway Blogdom and tell her so!  You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Have a recipe you would like to share? Post it (in its entirety) on iNeed a Playdate (aka Hello Mommy)'s facebook page and I will feature it in an up coming Tuesday blog post!

PS If you are a blogger, include the original link and I will link back to your post and probably your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Sharing Cream of Turkey Soup Recipe via Facebook

Remember when sharing a recipe with a friend involved writing in on paper, with a pencil?

Don't forget to enter the 12 Days of Gifts Galore Giveaway Hop!  I have TWO contests going on!!!

Baked Potato Soup

I made Baked Potato Soup from a recipe I found thanks to Google and Allrecipes.com.  It turned out great!  I doubled the recipe and forgot to add garlic but it was still really good.  *pats self on back*

The Husband liked it, too, only he poured it (like gravy) over the dinner I made the night before... hmmm...  not what I intended.  I was trying to make meals - plural.  sigh.  At least he liked it and maybe he does not think I am trying to kill him.  Ha!


Baked Potato Soup:

Ingredients:

3 bacon strips, diced 1 small onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 cups chicken broth 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 cup half-and-half cream 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce Shredded Cheddar cheese Minced fresh parsley

Directions:

1.

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

The Soup That Took Three Days to Make

On Monday, I thought about making soup. In reality, I started thinking about making soup the week before because a good friend (and brilliant chef) made something similar (but better) to what I was thinking of doing but she used leeks for Christ's sake! Leaks?!?! What the heck is a leek?

I digress...

Monday, I though about the type of soup I wanted to make and what I needed to make it. I did this as my fourth grade PSR kids read from their Catechism books. I know… bad me, but I knew what I wanted in my soup and they read so softly.

Sweet potatoes, acorn squash and apples, yes, apples, not a lot just a little with some chipotle and sweet paprika.  Oh and bacon.  Must have bacon.

Tuesday, gymnastics... made a plan while my goofy boy tumbled, balanced and bounced. Got home, turned the oven on and started skinning and chopping. All the while, Jamba Mama slept and her brother played in his room. This is going to be so easy...

Then the baby woke as I was EVOOing the veggies and putting them in the oven. No problem, I can do this they just have to bake a while... Stay awake, just stay awake, I say to myself. But she only will relax if I lie down and nurse and her brother wants to watch a movie and I can stay awake… Right?

I turned off the stove an hour and half into roasting for fear that I would fall asleep the house would burn down.  This was 8:00 PM... At 2:00 AM... when I woke, from nursing... I took the veggies out and found, to my surprise, the oven was hot enough to keep roasting them!

Chalk one up to sleepy moms!

Now it is Wednesday… picked up the bébé from the sitters, stopped home to nurse but she was napping so I grabbed Goofy and off we went to the bank and the grocery store because the Husband needed to sleep. Then I figured, since the bébé is still sleeping, why not go get the supplies for the Halloween costume!

Came home, nursed a now screaming baby, put her in highchair made dinner for Goofy and started to peel the skin off the acorn squash.

Phew.

Started to puree the veggies and the blender sounded like it was in stereo.  But it wasn't, no… scared the dickens out of the baby who now needed to be comforted. Laid down in my bed, nursed, she feel asleep, closed off the house, pureed the veggies, Husband got the screaming baby. Sigh.

Three days! Three days and I have to say I have a pretty tasty soup. The Husband feels there is something missing which had me convinced until I had my friend taste it… she liked it, I am proud again.

We seem to have a missing link somewhere, sometimes. I feel like I am always running…for the kids, my mom, work; never doing anything productive (like having a really clean house lol) and he is always working, sleeping (rightly so with his schedule) or running doing things for other people. We are missing each other and I am missing taking care of my home. I want to create a nice home, welcoming and clean but at the end of the day I am lucky that the laundry is cleaned, sitting in the dining room waiting to be folded, when I get home from work and some soup… that only I will eat. Double sigh. I wish we had time. Time to spend with the kids, time to spend with each other, time to just be but at then end of the day I am grateful for what time I do have with all of them.