Aunt Judy's Broccoli and Cheese Soup

This recipe was sent to me by my Aunt Judy. We try to eat fairly healthy but sometimes, you just need a cheesy, Velveeta soup. It's been rather cold and nasty here, so soup really fit the bill. This doesn't make a ton, but it's easy to scale it up. If you make a double batch, it will use the whole block of Velveeta.

Here's what you'll need.

 One 12-14 ounce bag of frozen broccoli

2 cans of cream of potato soup

 (Original recipe calls for chicken, but I just can't use it. 

I think it's gross, so I sub in potato soup every. time.)

1 and 1/2 soup cans of milk

1/2 stick butter

1/2 lb Velveeta

Begin by cooking your broccoli according to package directions. On the stove or in the microwave, either is fine.

 Once it's cooked, drain it then put it back in the soup pot and mash it with a potato masher. Do this to your desired texture, we like it pretty mashed.

 Dice your Velveeta cheese.

 Add everything to the pot with the broccoli.

 Heat through.

 Serve!

Day 89: Meatball Potato Soup

Day 89.

This soup is one of our favorites. It's flavorful and hearty and great with some crusty bread.

Here's what you'll need.

5 or 6 potatoes
about 4 stalks of celery
about 4 carrots
1 package of Onion soup mix
1 big carton of chicken or beef broth
Frozen meatballs (Or homemade ones)
Salt
Pepper


Start by giving your potatoes a good scrub.


Dice them and place in a large stock pot.


Dice the carrot and celery too.


Place the soup mix in a container.


Add water to dissolve the mix.


Pour the mix into the pot and add meatballs. We usually add about 20-30 meatballs to the soup.


Add the carton of chicken stock, and enough water to cover mixture.


Cook for 30 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through and potatoes are fork tender.

Day 61: Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Day 61.

This soup is awesome because you can just chuck it in the crockpot and forget about it. :)

Here's what you'll need.

1 lb. ground beef
1 can corn (with liquid)
1 can chili beans (with liquid)
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can Rotel tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro (with liquid)
1 can Fire Roasted diced tomatoes (with liquid)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 packet taco or fajita seasoning


Brown and drain beef. Add to slow cooker.


Add in the rest of the ingredients.


Stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.


Top with cheese if desired. Yum.

**Vegetarians, leave out the beef and add a can of black beans, drained and rinsed, if desired.**

Day 55: Potato Soup

Day 55.

I had so much fun photographing this meal, because I did it with my friend, Sherry. Sherry is a fellow blogger whose blog is much more popular than mine! She came and watched me cook, and will feature me on her blog on Friday. I'm so excited! Here is the link to her blog if you would like to check it out.

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

She does a different theme for each day of the week. My favorite day is Thursday, when she blogs a tablescape. She is so talented!

Also, for you local readers, Sherry and I will be offering an evening workshop on creating an Easter meal and tablescape. Watch the blog for more details. I'm so thrilled to be working with her on this!!

Ahem. Now. Onto the recipe. ;)

Here's what you'll need.

2 cans of Cream of Potato soup
6 cups milk
1/2 bag Southern Style hash browns
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried parsley
Shredded cheese to pass at the table


Open up the cans of soup.


Empty the cans into a soup pot.


Measure out 6 cups of milk.


Add that to the pot.


Stir in the seasonings, and bring to a boil.


Once the soup is boiling, add in the hash browns. Cook for 10 minutes, or until hash browns are tender.


Top with cheese if desired.

If you're a single person, or a small family, you can cut this recipe in half. Just use one can of soup, 3 cups milk, and 1/4 bag of hash browns. We're a fairly small family of 3 adults and one 4 year old, but I make the full batch because it's so good. We'll reheat the leftovers for lunch the next day as well.

Day 52: Chicken Noodle Soup

Day 52.

My friend, Andrea, asked me to blog some diet-friendly recipes. So here's my recipe for chicken noodle soup. I use white meat chicken and fresh veggies, so it's pretty friendly for the waistline. This can also be put together, start to finish, in about 15 minutes. From now on, I'll tag any diet-friendly recipes as Andrea. :) Hope you like this one!

Here's what you'll need.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large containers of chicken stock (I thought I only needed one, but I ended up needing two)
About 1/2 package egg noodles
Any fresh veggies you need to use up (I had carrots and broccoli)
I also had dried celery flakes and dried bell peppers
Garlic salt
Pepper
Parsley


Slice up the chicken and cook it thoroughly. Season with pepper and garlic salt.


Throw in your fresh veggies, and cook for just a minute.


Add the stock to the pot.


Add in the parsley, celery flakes and dried peppers. Season again with a little pepper and garlic salt. Bring to a boil.


Add the noodles and cook as package directs.


Once the noodles are cooked through, ladle into bowls.

Day 34: Chili

Day 34.

I needed to make something for supper tonight that the family could heat up while I was at work. I thought chili would be perfect! Here's my recipe.

What you'll need...

2 lbs. ground beef
2 cans tomato juice
2 cans chili beans
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic salt


Brown the beef in a saucepan. Drain, and return to pan.


Add in both cans of beans.


Pour in one can of tomato juice. Realize, "Crap! This pan isn't big enough!"


Move everything to a bigger pot. Add the rest of the juice and the spices.


Bring to a good, rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer AT LEAST 30 minutes. An hour is better.

Sorry there are no pics of the finished product! I had to work an odd shift today. When we eat this for supper, I like to add just a bit of shredded cheese to the bowl right before digging in. Yum.

**Vegetarians, you could just omit the beef and add an extra can of beans**

Day 7: Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup

Day 7:

This morning, I woke up to this.






So I thought it was a great day for soup. I had seen this recipe in my new EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Here's what you'll need.


32 ounces of chicken stock
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts/tenders
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup orzo pasta
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Parsley
Lemon peel

I didn't have chicken stock, so I used water and chicken bouillon. I also didn't have a fresh bell pepper, so I used a mix of dried green and red bell peppers.


In a medium pot, bring the chicken stock and chicken to a simmer. Lower the heat and poach the chicken for 12 minutes.


Chop your carrot and zucchini. Your red pepper too, if you have one. Unlike me. I put the dried peppers in with my chicken.


Shallots. They're like the love child of an onion and garlic. Chop up two of em.


Ah. Thank you.


Melt up the butter in a soup pot.


When the butter is all melted, throw in the orzo. Cook it until is a nice, toasty brown. It'll take about 3-5 minutes.


When it's browned, pull it off the heat, put in a bowl, and set it aside.


Now, in the same pot, add your EVOO.


Chuck in all your chopped veggies. Cook until soft, 7-8 minutes.


When the veggies are about done, put in the garlic. I don't like to put garlic in too soon because I'm always afraid I'll burn it.


Pull the chicken out of the poaching liquid. See the dried peppers on mine? Yum.
Pour the liquid into the pot of veggies. Add 2-4 cups of water too.


Chop it up nice and fine.


Add the orzo back in. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas. Cook for 5 more minutes.


Use a zester, if you have one, to zest some strips of lemon peel. It will make the flavor of the soup come alive. It really adds something.


Put the lemon zest in the pot, and add some parsley.


Yum. There it is. And it really hit the spot.