Worm Soup aka French Onion Soup

 I happen to LOVE soup! French Onion soup especially has got this "home" quality to it that just makes one feel all warm inside. I laugh at this- my children like to call French Onion Soup "Worm Soup" because of the thin pieces of carmelized onions. Call it what you will, this soup will have you smiling and wanting more!

¼ cup Butter (I use the salt free kind)

3 lbs White Onions thinly sliced you can use yellow onions but they are sweeter and it will taste a little different than using the white onions. Now for the slicing, I use a mandoline- it's so much easier than doing it with a chef's knife).

1  32 ounce box of sodium free Chicken Broth

2  10 ounce cans of Beef consommé

½ cup dry white wine (make sure it's something you would drink because putting in crappy wine in any dish just makes it all not worth the effort you're putting into making a quality meal).

4 fresh thyme springs

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
I like to use a dutch oven to make this soup but if you don't have one then a nice sturdy cook pot will do.

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat; add onions and cook stirring often until the onions are golden in color. This IS going to take a while, so be prepared to be there in your kitchen for up to 1½ hours with this process. It will be worth it in the end, I promise!

Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the s and p) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually don't add salt as the beef consommé is plenty salty for my tastes.

Here's the fun part- You're going to need 6 thick slices of a French Bread and 6-. 1 one ounce slices of Swiss Cheese and oven proof bowls. Set oven at 450º, place soup bowls on a lined baking tray, ladle in soup, place bread pieces in bowls with cheese slices on top. Put into oven until cheese is all melted and starting to brown (watch close as the cheese can go brown brown to black in a blink of an eye).
 Now grab those soup spoons and dig in!

Sandie's Chicken Tortilla Soup

After looking at literally dozens of tortilla soup recipes and not seeing one that jumped out at me I've decided to make up my own recipe. I knew what ingredients that I wanted in my soup and well tonight is perfect because I'm test driving this recipe on our neighborhood cooking group. Keep in mind that I'm making soup for 15 people and I'm sure that you can cut down this recipe

Sandie's Chicken Tortilla Soup-

Ingredients;

4 - 14½ ounce cans reduced sodium chicken broth

6 to 8 -cooked chicken breasts chopped (add or minus if- if you like lots of chicken use 8, like a little use less)

2 -15 ounce cans diced tomatoes

2-14 ounce cans dark red kidney beans (rinse the beans in cold water)

2- 14½ ounce cans black beans (rinse the beans in cold water)

3- medium sized yellow bell peppers -diced

3 medium sized green bell peppers-diced

3-red peppers (medium heat)-seeded and diced

4-green peppers (medium heat)- seeded and diced

2 cups yellow onion - diced

2 cups frozen yellow corn

2 to 3 teaspoons ground cumin (add or minus to your personal taste)

½ teaspoon dried jalapeno flakes (or add a fresh diced jalapeno if you wish)

Toppings...

Sour cream

Chopped Scallions (green onions)

Shredded Mexi-blend cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, asiago)

Fresh chopped Cilantro or as they call it here in the UK Coriander

Diced Avocado (squirt with lemon or lime juice to keep it from turning brown)

Sour Cream and for my British friends you can use Creme Fraiche

Lime Wedges

Tortilla Chips

Cooking Instructions (can't get by without these)...

Cook your chicken breasts, let cool dice and set aside.

Saute diced onions and diced bell peppers in 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil until bell peppers are soft and onions are transparent. Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned beans and those diced medium heat peppers. don't forget to wear gloves when handling hot peppers and what ever you do DON'T touch your nose or eyes!!! Add in your ground cumin and let simmer. Taste it, if you like it spicy add more of the spicy peppers and cumin, don't like it too spicy, use less.

Add chicken and corn shortly before serving or else they will turn to mush.

Top with your favorite toppings (see above list for ideas) and the tortilla chips are a must! Don't forget to have an icy cold Corona Beer with it!

Baked Potato Soup

One of my favorite simple meals is making stuffed baked potatoes for dinner. Potatoes can be used in so many ways and here's a great recipe to get that great baked potato meal in a soup- enjoy!

Here's the list of goodies you'll need:

• ½ pound bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 medium sized onion chopped
• 1 small shallot chopped fine
• 3 cloves garlic put through a garlic press
• 3 Tablespoons flour (the all purpose type)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 very large baking potatoes - baked, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup half and half cream
• shredded cheddar cheese

Now to cook it up:
In a large saucepan- cook bacon until crisps, drain, reserving 1 T. of drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute the chopped onion and shallot in the bacon drippings until tender. Stir in the flour, salt (to your own liking) basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add in the broth stir so you won't have lumps in your soup. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Add potatoes and cream, heat thoroughly but no not boil. Garnish with bacon and cheese.
Serve this with a small garden salad and some crusty french bread and make an apple crisp for dessert...m'm!

Pasta e Fagioli

This soup recipe is my Hannah's favorite soup ever! There are days when I know that my girl will come home from school simply exhausted. There's nothing like a pick me up of this Italian classic with a couple of slices of garlic bread to pick her back up!

you'll need...

• 2 large sprigs fresh Rosemary
• a good sized bunch of fresh Thyme
• 1 large red onion finely chopped
• 2 (14½) can red kidney beans
• about 3 ounces of Pancetta chopped
• 5 to 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• Black pepper to taste
• rind of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup elbow macaroni

Let's make some soup!

I like to put my rosemary and thyme in a sachet bag (can be bought in any cooking store or in your grocers kitchen utensil section). If they don't have it then place in some cheesecloth and tie up with some cooking string.

Heat the olive oil and butter and saute the onions until translucent, add in the pancetta and cook until crisp.
Next add in the chicken broth and kidney beans, add in the sachet of fresh herbs and your cheese rind. Put lid on pot, bring to a boil then bring down to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
While soup is cooking I like to make my pasta separately- boil the elbow macaroni until al dente. Put pasta in bowls then ladle the soup over the pasta. Sprinkle with some fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano and if you like, drizzle a little olive oil on top just before serving.

Serve with a side salad of fresh greens and a couple of slices of hot crusty garlic bread. What a wonderful meal on a cold or blustery day!