Category Archives: soups and stews

Southern Chicken & Dumplings


2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs
or boneless breasts
1 can biscuits (cut each
in 1/2 )
2 stalks celery, thinly
sliced
1 medium onion, thinly
sliced
2/3 cup grated carrots
3 tbsp. black pepper
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. seasoned salt (or
to taste)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. onion and garlic
powder
1 tsp. chicken base or 1
bouillon cube
1 bay leaf

Preheat a large Dutch
oven or soup pot, coat
lightly with oil or spray
to keep the chicken
from sticking as you
lightly brown it on both
sides along with the
onion and celery. Cover
with water, add
seasonings, bay leaf
and chicken base.

Cover and let boil on a
medium heat for 8-12
minutes.

Next, add cut-up
biscuits to the pot 2 at a
time so they won’t
clump together. Add
the peas and carrots.

Cook for another 10-12
minutes, stirring pot to
keep dumplings from
settling and sticking to
the bottom.

Serve with a warm pan
of cornbread or a
basket of hot rolls.
Perfect for a fall or
winter supper!

Depression Era Corn Chowder Recipe


 

  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 3 cups diced potatoes
  • 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, corn, onion and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are just tender.
  2. Stir in evaporated milk and butter until butter is just melted. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.
  3. I add chicken breast cubes (from 2 cooked chicken breasts) added in as a source of protein.  I also end up tripling the batch and serving with crunchy-crust french loaf bread.

Kim’s Knoephla Soup


Okay, I grew up with knoephla soup made by many excellent cooks.  I’ve basically adapted my recipe from the best of all of them.

Dough:

1 large egg

½ c. milk

1¼ c. flour

1 tsp. salt

Mix into dough – boil until done.

Soup:

4 quarts water / chicken broth combination

6 potatoes – diced

1 onion – chopped

3 stocks celery with leaves, chopped

3 carrots –chopped

fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of ‘Better than Bouillion” paste, added to the boiling liquid

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups half n half

Sautee the onion, celery and carrot in butter until ‘almost done’.  Sprinkle parsley generously over the top of the sauteed veggies.  Add the sauteed vegetables to a large stock pot along with the liquid and potatoes.  Bring this mixture to a rolling boil and begin to cut pieces of the dough into the boiling liquid.  Boil until firm and the knoephla are floating at the top.
 

When the knoephla are completely done, you can taste to be sure, and the potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and simmer.

NOTE:  I usually double or triple the dough recipe with the soup recipe section remaining about the same.  Sometimes adding additional chicken stock to pot if liquid is low at the end to ensure I have a FULL stock pot! ;)

Baked Potato Soup


  • 2 packages (16 Oz. Package) Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces, Divided
  • 3 pounds Potatoes, I Like Russet And Red
  • 3-½ teaspoons Salt, Divided
  • 1 cup Sour Cream, Plus Some For Garnish
  • 1 stick Butter
  • 2-⅔ cups Whole Milk
  • 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded, Plus Some For Garnish
  • ½ cups Green Onions, Sliced, For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

In a skillet, cook bacon pieces over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, set aside.

Wash and peel (or don’t peel) potatoes and cut into thirds. Place potatoes into a large pot with water to cover. Add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until soft, about 45 minutes. Drain potatoes, discard water, return to the pot. Mash until mostly smooth.

Add sour cream and butter to the potatoes and stir until butter is melted. Add milk, pepper, 3/4 of the bacon, 2 cups of cheese and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring back to a simmer.

Serve hot and garnish with green onions, sour cream, remaining bacon, and remaining 1 cup cheese.

Kim’s Cowboy Beans


2.5 lbs ground beef, browned with 2 chopped onions, and drained
1 TBsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can pork n beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 c ketchup
1 – 16 to 18 oz hickory smoke BBQ sauce
I usually add a drop or two of liquid smoke too!

Mix all and place in bean pot in moderate oven for 45 minutes or so.  If using a crockpot, 3 to 4 hours on low.  I use a rice cooker and add some V8 juice to the mixture so that it can cook and reduce down to the perfect consistency.  Any of the above methods produce a great result!

Serve with my Jiffy Cornbread recipe and enjoy!

Crab Soup


1 pound white crab meat
1 pint milk
1 pint cream
1/2 stick of butter
2 teaspoons sherry
4 blades whole mace
2 pieces lemon peel
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Put milk in top of double boiler with mace and lemon peel and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Then add crab, butter and cream and cook for 15 minutes. Thicken with cracker crumbs; season with salt and pepper and allow to stand on back of stove for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Just before serving, add sherry. This same soup can be made with shrimp, which should be ground.

Baked Potato Soup


4 large potatoes
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 quarts milk
4 green onions chopped
2 cup sour cream
2 cups bacon, cooked and crumbled
5 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees f. Bake the potatoes until fork tender. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Slowly blend in flour with a wire whisk until thoroughly blended. Gradually add milk to the butter flour mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in salt and pepper and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. Cut potatoes in half, scoop out the meat and set aside. Chop half the potato peels and discard the remainder. When milk mixture is very hot, whisk in potato. Add green onion and potato peels. Whisk well, add sour cream and crumbled bacon. Heat thoroughly. Add cheese a little at a time until all is melted in.

Creamy Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup


0.25 cup sliced, fresh shiitakec mushrooms
1.00 cup sliced, fresh mushrooms
0.25 cup thinly sliced carrot
0.25 cup sliced celery
0.25 cup sliced green onion
3.00 tablespoons butter
1.00 can (14 ounce) chicken broth
0.25 cup wild rice, uncooked
0.13 teaspoon dried marjoram
0.50 cup water
1.00 cup half and half or light cream
2.00 tablespoons flour
1.00 cup milk
Thin carrot strips, for garnish

Cook mushrooms, carrot, celery, and onion in butter 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After removing several shiitake slices for garnish, blend mushrooms and half the chicken broth until almost smooth. Return to saucepan. Add remaining chicken broth, wild rice, marjoram and water. Bring to a boil reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45-50 minutes, until rice is tender. Slowly stir half-and-half into flour until it is smooth. Add to saucepan along with milk. Cook until thickened and bubbly cook, stirring 1 more minute. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with reserved mushroom slices and carrot strips.

Potato Soup


5 pound potatoes-cubed
2 large onions-minced
1 large carrot-sliced thin
1 pound bacon
1/4 cup flour
1 quart cream or half-and-half
Salt
Peppe r

Boil potatoes, onion and carrot in water until tender. While vegetables are boiling, fry bacon. Remove bacon from pan, add flour and stir to form a paste. Add cream and stir until blended and cream starts to thicken. Add to vegetables and stir until well blended and thick.

Olive Garden Pasta Roma Soup


2 can garbanzo beans, drain, 16 ounce each
6 slices bacon, cook, drain, chop
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup onions, dice
1 cup celery, dice
1/4 tablespoon garlic, mince
1 cup carrots, julienne
1 1/2 cup canned tomatoes, drain, dice
1 qt chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/8 tablespoon ground rosemary
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chop
1/2 cup miniature pasta, dry bowties, cooked

Add bean to food processor and process using on/off pulse until beans are well mashed. Scrape down sides as necessary. Reserve. Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add carrots, onions, celery and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add remaining ingredients except pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Keep warm. Add pasta to finished soup and serve immediately.