Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love that it's been cool enough for these great warm and hearty recipes! Even if it is supposed to be in the 100's again next week... Blah. Despite that, I love THIS!!! Trina mentioned that she was looking for a good broccoli cheese soup recipe, and this one from my mom is fanTASTIC!! Particularly when it's pouring out of a bread bowl {recipe here}. It makes nearly a bajillion servings, but I never freeze any, because it's even good enough for leftovers, over and over! Just be sure to use a large enough pot!

10 cubes chicken bullion
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed {I actually like to leave the peel on- can't taste it and is packed with nutrients!}
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 C celery, chopped
2 bunches broccoli, chopped
1 C margarine
1 C flour
2 qts milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 (16 oz) jar cheese whiz

Boil onion, celery and bullion cubes in 3 qts water for 20 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Boil 10 more minutes. Heat milk and butter in microwave until butter melts. Stir in salt and garlic. Add flour and stir with whisk until smooth. Pour into vegetables, stir and cook until thickened. Add cheese whiz, stir until smooth. Pour into vegetables, stir and cook until thickened. Add cheese whiz, stir until smooth.

*** For those of you who don't like a lot of vegetables, {*AHEM* Trina! ;)}, reduce the veggies you don't like and beef up on others! I usually add a can of corn- regular or creamed.

***Also good with 1/2 lb of bacon, cooked and crumbled.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Molly, Molly, Molly... You've done it again! As the weather turns cooler {for most of the U.S.}, soups start getting center attention again- This one is steals the show! The bold, hearty flavors of the spices, the vegetables, the sausage all balanced perfectly with cheesy bites of tortellini. I guarantee this will be re-made again and again!

1 lb mild Italian sausage

1 C chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

5 C beef broth

1 C water

2 C chopped tomatoes (28 oz can)

1 C sliced carrots

1 1/2 C zucchini, sliced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

2 C tortellini (8 oz)

3 tsp parsley

Remove skin from sausage and cook until brown. Remove sausage from pan and leave drippings. Blend all ingredients except tortellini, zucchini and sausage. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add reserved ingredients and cook for 30 more minutes.

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

This chicken soup was comfort food at it's best! The creamy soup was so full of flavor. Combine that with how creamy it was and it is just win-win! Audrey Maycock stopped by for a bit to share it with us.

Soup:

6 chicken breasts

10 C water

10 tsp chicken bullion

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 potatoes, chopped

3 celery stalks, sliced

1 C carrots, sliced

3 cans cream of chicken

Boil chicken and bullion for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool. Add chopped vegetables to chicken bullion water and boil for another 20 minutes.

Dumplings:

5 C flour

1 1/2 sticks of butter, cubed

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

water

Put flour in a mixing bowl and stir in salt. Work in butter as you would when making pie crust, using two knives or a pastry cutter. Add egg, working it into the dough. Stir in cold water 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together and is a stage where you will be able to roll it out.

Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick (or thicker for bigger dumplings). Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough in 1/2" to 1" squares. Drop dumplings into pot of bullion and vegetables. Boil for 25 minutes. Cut up chicken and add to pot. Add cream of chicken and stir until blended. Cook for another 5-10 minutes to blend all the flavors or until you have a gravy texture.

Cauliflower Soup

This is from Emily Ray. She is a life-long friend that Angie Randall brought with her, and I'm so glad she did! Yay for bringing friends! This picture doesn't do justice to the soup. It tastes kinda like a lighter potato soup and since the cauliflower is the same color as the soup, the kids don't realize all the healthy vegetables they are eating. This serves 6-8 and only takes about 30 minutes.

1 head cauliflower
Instant potato flakes{recipe doesn't say how much... Emily? Desired consistency, I assume}
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz cream cheese
1 small jar Old English Cheese(or about 1 cup shredded cheese)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small jar sliced chipped beef(or sliced luncheon meat. {I bet bacon would be good...})

Cut up cauliflower and boil in 4 cups of water until soft. Mash. Add potato flakes until the thickness of a chowder. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer 15-20 minutes.