Make it a Soup Night

I've been CRAVING soups lately.  Not only are they cheap, they taste so great. 

And here are a few of my favorites:

Meatball Soup 
(adapted from Sam's Club's: Favorite Family Dinners- Barley Soup with Meatballs)
Yields: 6-8 servings; Prep- 20 minutes; Cook time- 20-25 minutes. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4-5 medium potatoes, cut in 1- to 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 7 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasonings (or dried thyme and dried oregano)
• 1 cup of minute rice, uncooked
• 36 frozen cooked meatballs
• Salt and Ground Pepper
• Bacon, topping on the soup

1. Cook onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender.
2. Add potatoes and carrots, cooking for about 5 more minutes, stir often.
3. Add broth, water, and seasoning.  Bring to a boil. 
4. Stir in rice.  Reduce heat and let simmer covered for about 10-15 minutes.  Make sure potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in meatballs.  Cook for another 10 minutes until meatballs are thoroughly heated. 
6. Serve with salt, pepper and bacon.  Enjoy.

Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup (Taken from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2- by Todd Wilbur)

• 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup half and half

Garnish

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 2 green onions, chopped (green part only)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to cool.

2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and sauté onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.

3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.

5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.

6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings.

Mac and Cheese Soup
(adapted from Food Network Magazine- Jan/Feb. 2011)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of elbow macaroni (1 cup)
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Ground Pepper
• 3 green onions
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk 
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
• 1 3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Cook elbow macaroni according to directions on the box in salted water. 
2. Mince green onion, carrot and celery in a food processor or blender.   Saute veggies in butter until soft. 
3. Add the flour and stir for about 1-2 minutes. 
4. Gradually stir in chicken brother.  Bring to a boil.  Stir until thickened (about 6-7 minutes). 
5. Remove from heat.
6. Add milk, cheeses, and macaroni and stir until all the cheese has melted.  Season with pepper.