Five on Friday: Wonderful Winter Soups

On Fridays, I'm gonna try to share a list of five things with you each week.  Who knows what you'll find, so be sure to come see!

These are the recipes to five different soups I love to make.  My kids aren't great soup eaters, so I don't fix them as often as I would prefer.  They are easy to make and so great to have on a cold, wintery day.  Hope you enjoy!

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
2 cups wild rice, cooked (I use Lundberg Wild Rice Blend)
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 TB olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 cups milk
 chicken broth
2 TB poultry seasoning
sage, to taste

In a stock pot, cook onion and celery in oil until translucent.  Add the chicken, broth,milk  and seasonings.  Heat through, but do not boil.  You can adjust the amount of liquid or seasonings to suit your preference.  I keep the rice on the side and add it to each bowl as I'm serving.  This prevents the rice from being mushy and allows you to keep leftovers for a perfect bowl of soup the next day.

Meatless Taco Chili
This is a variation of a soup I found on Those Who Hunger, while we were doing a Daniel Fast.  I liked it so much, I've made it again even though we are no longer fasting.  Tweak it to you preferences.  You can add other varieties of beans, meat, more tomatoes - whatever!

2 TB olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can chili beans
1  can black beans, drained
2 cans great northern beans, drained
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
Chili powder, to taste
2 cups cooked polenta (cornmeal cooked in boiling water...don't be intimidated!)

Cook onion in olive oil til translucent.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Serve hot!  It's great with any of the condiments that go with chili or tacos - guacamole, sour cream, cheese, corn chips, etc.

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup
This is my sister, Kate's, recipe.  It is SO yummy!  You have to try it.  There aren't any hard and fast measurements.  In fact, it's never been made the same way twice.  It's nowhere near healthy, but it tastes great!

5-6 pieces of bacon
1 cup mushrooms
Cheese cheese cheese! (Any kind you want.  We use cream cheese, velveeta, cheddar, provolone, cottage, monterey jack - whatever is in the fridge at the time)
Boiled potatoes
whipping cream
white pepper


In a skillet, cook bacon and remove.  Add mushrooms to the skillet and saute.  Mash part of the potatoes, depending on the consistency you want.  The more you mash, the thicker the soup will be.  In a stock pot, add bacon, mushrooms, cheese, potatoes and whipping cream.  Season with white pepper and heat through, till all your cheese is melted.  Mom adds dill sometimes, too.  Garnish with green onion, oyster crackers, etc.


Hamburger & Vegetable Soup
This is my mom's favorite - she makes it all the time. 

1# ground beef
salt, pepper
garlic
1 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 can green beans
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef consume
2 TB worchestire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 Lg can V-8 juice

In a stock pot, cooked the ground beef with onion.  Season with salt, garlic and pepper.  Drain.  Add the other ingredients.  Add water, broth or more V-8  juice until desired consistency is reached.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until potatoes and carrots are cooked.  Remove bay leaves.  Serve.

Chicken Posole Verde
I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks yummy and is on my list.  The recipe (from Pampered Chef) says it is ready to serve in 20 minutes.  Can't beat that!

1 TB olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 can whilte hominy, drained
2 cups chicken broth
1 can medium green enchilada sauce
1 cup water
1 t dried Mexican oregano
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup thinkly sliced green cabbage
2 tb chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges

Cook garlic in oil until fragrant and golden.  Add broth, enchilada sauce, water, oregano and hominy.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer.  Cook 8 minutes.  Add chicken and simmer.  Serve.  Top with cabbage, cilantro and a lime wedge.

What is your favorite soup recipe?  I'd love to know!