Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I kept seeing recipes for homemade cream of chicken soup on the web. So I finally gave it a try and used it in a salmon casserole that called for cream of chicken soup.  This recipe could be made vegetarian if you used vegetable broth instead.  This particular recipe came from Tammy's Recipes.    (No, not me.  Another Tammy!)

Makes 3 cups (about 2 cans)

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

Noodle Soup

I love Chicken Noodle Soup, but there's just one little problem--I don't eat chicken!  Here is my "recipe" for the soup.  Everything is an approximation because you can add more or less of the things that you like!

"Chicken" Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
Egg Noodles (Betty Crocker Cookbook):

• 2 cups of white or whole wheat flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water

Soup:

• chopped Garlic (I used about 2 cloves)
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• Quart of vegetarian vegetable stock, I used organic Swanson
• chopped up vegetables:
  carrots
  celery
  onion
  green pepper
  beans--I used Chinese Noodle Beans
  any other veggies that you like!  Just make sure you try to chop everything the same size so that they cook the same.
• 3/4-1 1/2 cups water
• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

Make the noodles earlier in the day so that they have time to dry (at least 2 hours). 

Noodles:

Pour the flour into a medium sized bowl.  Make a well in the flour.  Add the egg yolks, egg, and salt to the flour, and mix well.  Mix in water 1 tablespoon one teaspoon at a time until dough is stiff but easy to roll out.  Divide dough up into 3-4 parts so that it is easier to roll out.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it's about paper thin.  I cut my noodles about 1/2 inch wide using a ruler and pizza cutter.  Lay aside on a cloth to dry for at least 2 hours.  

Soup:

Place the onions, any garlic, and olive oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.  Cook until the onions are tender.  Add the broth, water, and chopped veggies to simmer over medium heat until the veggies are soft, but not falling apart.  Add the noodles and cook for about 5-10 more min.  Add salt or pepper to taste.  Voila!  Your soup is done.  

I chopped everything up further and gave some to Jack...he loved it!

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

2 (14 oz) cans reduced- sodium chicken broth

2 cups diced , peeled potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1/2 c diced onion

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups 2% reduced fat milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 min.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Gradually stir in milk and cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Add cheese mixture to broth and vegetables along with chicken. Cook and stir over low heat until thoroughly heated.

Serves 8

ENJOY~

Lois

A Pennsylvania Treat-Chicken Corn Soup

My aunt recently had surgery and was sent home to her hubby's care. And since he's not much of a cook, I thought I would make her some soup. A pot of good home cooked soup fixes everything don't ya know. We live in the heart of Central Pennsylvania-AKA Amish Country. Around here, there's nothing better than a pot of chicken corn soup; it's a Pennsylvania favorite. During the summer months, when the corn crop is fresh, you can find a corn soup stand at every fair. But today, I'll be using corn I froze last summer that is still very sweet and yummy.

I don't use a recipe to make chicken corn soup. I just cook it up with some basic

ingredients. I start by cooking

off chickens in the pressure cooker to get my chicken base. On this particular day, I used 2 chickens. This gave me plenty of broth and extra chicken for in the freezer to use in another chicken dish on another day.

To make my broth

more flavorful,
I add chopped garlic

and a little celery.

Saute some chopped onion, and celery until slightly tender

Add the chicken broth...

And the corn...

And chicken....

Now here is where I make this soup my own. I add herbs...lots of herbs. If I make this soup in the summer, I go around my herb garden and snip off the herbs I want for the soup. But since I don't have any fresh herbs, I used those that I had dried last fall. Many folks add chopped hard boiled eggs and rivels to their soup. My family doesn't particularly care for those additions. So I add the herbs for added color and flavor.

Today, I added some basil, rosemary, sage, and parsley. Then I threw in a few bay leaves for good luck. (salt and pepper too!)

Stir and simmer until all vegetables are cooked

and flavors are married.

There's nothing left to do but....Enjoy!!

.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

Remember the extra chicken and broth from the corn soup? Today I took it from the freezer and made homemade noodle soup-with homemade noodles. Though I use a recipe for the noodles, the soup just kinda gets thrown together in the pot.

First, I made the noodles, rolled them out, and cut them into the desired size. These have to be made several hours ahead of time to allow the noodle to dry out a bit. (recipe below)

Just like the corn soup, I begin by sauteing some onion, celery, even a little garlic. Then add the broth and some pretty carrots.

Bring broth to a boil and add noodles a few at a time. If more broth is needed, some kind of ready to use broth can be added. Cook until tender, and add the chicken pieces, and a few spices....salt, pepper and parsley. Anything you choose to add desired flavor. Simmer just a bit longer.

ENJOY!

Homemade Noodles

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbl. milk

1 c. sifted flour

Combine egg, salt and milk. Add flour a little at a time, enough to make stiff dough. Roll very thin on floured surface. Let stand 20 minutes. Roll up loosely. Slice 1/4 inch wide. Unroll, Spread out and let dry 2 hours.

*I often use half whole wheat, half regular flour with no problem.

*Cutting noodles with a pizza cutter works well!

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Mmmm...I love curry.  And there is so much variety, and many are vegetarian recipes.  This one is based off a recipe I got out a "Simple Suppers," a Moosewood Cookbook ::love::.  I tweaked it to make it even more nutritious and tasty.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Some chopped up Onions (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but I didn't use that much!)
Vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the soup pan
1 1/2 tbs grated peeled ginger root
1 1/2 tbs curry powder
1 t Chinese chili paste (optional: makes it very bite-y!)
1/2 t salt
1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained
1 15 oz can of lentils, drained
1 quart of vegetable broth (or water)
a head of cauliflower ( I used 2 frozen quart bags full)
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (I unfortunately didn't have any, so I put some canned tomato juice in it)

                                "Sambal Oelek"Chili Paste

 I first got all my spices together: curry, ginger, salt, and Chinese chili paste (I also added a little garlic).  Then I coated the bottom of a soup pan with vegetable oil.  I diced up the onion and sauteed it in the soup pan on medium heat.  Once they were soft, I added the spices until it made a nice yellow "sauce," about a minute or two.

 Then I added the chick peas, lentils, and vegetable broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.  In the meantime, cut up the cauliflower into bite sized chunks.  Add the cauliflower and tomatoes, and let cook until they are soft.

My little helper teething on frozen cauliflower!

When the cauliflower is soft, spoon about half the soup into the blender and puree it.  Pour the soup back into the pot, and you're finished!

YUM!