Soup - Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's double post deals with soup.

This time of year, when the weather is getting cooler (if not outright cold), soup is the perfect food to warm you up. Check out the Chicken Gumbo Soup, the Italian Meatball Soup, or any of the other yummy soups in today's post. Enjoy!

ENCHILADA SOUP

This is from Old El Paso, and begins, "Give your go-to chicken dish a soup-upgrade with this Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe. The best part is that with the help of some Old El Paso™ enchilada sauce, your slow cooker will do the work for you. You can bring the heat with the hot sauce or keep it mild, but either way, it's an easy option to bring delicious chicken enchilada soup flavor to your next fall meal."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/enchilada-soup.

Ingredients

2 cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso™ mild or hot enchilada sauce

1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped mild green chiles

1 package (20 oz) bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed

1 can (15 oz) Progresso™ black beans, drained, rinsed

1 bag (12 oz) frozen corn, thawed, drained

Shredded Mexican cheese blend, if desired

Chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

Crushed tortilla chips, if desired

Preparation

Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix broth, enchilada sauce and chiles. Place chicken into enchilada sauce mixture; spoon sauce over chicken.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker with slotted spoon. Stir beans and corn into mixture in cooker. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 5 to 10 minutes longer. Meanwhile, shred chicken by pulling apart with 2 forks; return to cooker. Cook until thoroughly heated.

Top each serving with cheese, cilantro and tortilla chips.

Expert Tips

Transfer corn from freezer to refrigerator when chicken starts to cook. It will be completely thawed by the time it is added to the slow cooker.

Vary the heat in this soup by using mild or hot enchilada sauce and serving with red pepper sauce on the side.

TACO SOUP WITH RANCH

This is from Hidden Valley. Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Servings: 4 - 6

To view this online, go to https://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipe/taco-soup-with-ranch/.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound ground beef

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (14.5 ounces) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, with juice

1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)

1 tablespoon Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Seasoning & Salad Dressing Mix Shaker

2 cups chicken broth

garnishes of choice: shredded cheese, chopped red onions, sour cream, shredded cabbage, diced avocado, tortilla chips

Directions

In a medium pot set over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add ground beef and sauté, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes, corn, seasoning mix and broth. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon.

Continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the flavors are blended. Serve hot with toppings of choice.

Note: For safe meat preparation, reference the USDA website.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list.

Prep Time 15 minutes; Cooking Time 60 minutes; Serves 10

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg, (or 2 egg whites)

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons grated onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 cups chicken broth

6 cups water

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon celery salt

2/3 cup orzo, (tiny rice shaped grains of pasta)

2 cups thinly sliced escarole

grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Combine first 7 ingredients and form into tiny balls, about 1/2 inch in diameter.

Bring 6 cups of water to a slow boil in a stockpot. Add the chicken broth and season with onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the meatballs, and cook for a few minutes until done. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon. Add the orzo and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the escarole. Add the meatballs back to the soup pot, heat and serve.

Top with Parmesan cheese.

Tips

The secret to this recipe's flavor is the cheese, add a tablespoon or two to the finished soup to enhance the flavor!

ITALIAN MEATBALL SOUP

Recipe Yield: Yield: 8 servings (about 2 cups each)

Source: 1,001 Recipes For People with Diabetes

Book Title: 1,001 Recipes For People with Diabetes

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/italian-meatball-soup.

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 egg whites

1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

4 cloves garlic, minced, divided

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning, divided

Olive oil cooking spray

4 cans (15 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

2 cups green beans, diagonally cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 medium carrots, sliced

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

8 ounces thin spaghetti, uncooked, broken into 2-to 3-inch pieces

2 medium plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Mix ground turkey, egg whites, bread crumbs, 2 cloves of garlic, and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning until well blended; shape mixture into 32 meatballs. Spray large saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add chicken broth, water, green beans, carrots, onions, remaining 2 cloves garlic, and remaining 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning to saucepan; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until vegetables are almost tender, about 8 minutes.

Heat soup to boiling; add pasta and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 270; Fat: 8.7 g; Sodium: 174 mg; Cholesterol: 31.7 mg; Protein: 19 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 Bread, 2 Meat, 1/2 Fat

TOFU MUSHROOM SOUP

This comes from Martha Rose Shulman in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, "For a full meal in a bowl, serve this deeply flavorful soup with warm brown rice or noodles."

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This was featured in "Tofu and Mushroom Broth: Happy Together", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017969-tofu-mushroom-soup.

Ingredients

1 ounce dried mushrooms (about 1 cup), preferably porcinis

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms

1/2 pound fresh button or cremini mushrooms, quartered

1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

6 slices fresh ginger, from the widest part of the root

2 tablespoons soy sauce

14 to 16 ounces tofu (1 box), either firm or soft, cut in 1-inch dice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Preparation

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl or large heatproof measuring cup and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. If mushrooms are sandy, agitate from time to time. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a 1-quart measuring cup. Drain through the strainer, then twist mushrooms in the cheesecloth, holding them over the strainer, to squeeze out the last of the flavorful liquid. Discard reconstituted mushrooms or set aside for another use.

While porcinis are soaking, pull tough stems away from shiitake mushroom caps. Slice caps thin and set aside.

Combine the mushroom broth with enough water to make 9 cups liquid and place in a saucepan or soup pot. Add shiitake stems, quartered button or cremini mushrooms, halved head of garlic, salt and ginger slices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove mushrooms, stems, garlic and ginger from broth. Add soy sauce to broth. Taste and adjust salt.

Bring broth back to a boil and add tofu. Reduce heat to a simmer or a gentle boil, cover partly and simmer for 30 minutes. Tofu will puff a little, and texture will become more porous and spongy.

Add thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and chives. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

Tip

Broth can be prepared in advance through Step 4 and refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 2 months. Soup can be prepared through Step 5 a day ahead of time.

CHICKEN GUMBO SOUP

Recipe Yield: Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1 cup

Source: The New Soul Food Cookbook for People with Diabetes

Book Title: The New Soul Food Cookbook for People with Diabetes

View online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/chicken-gumbo-soup

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

3 cups reduced-sodium, reduced-fat chicken broth, divided

3 cups water

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1/8 tsp sage

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp thyme

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh

1 cup frozen okra

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup flour

2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions

Place the chicken in a large soup pot with 1 cup of broth. Bring to a boil.

Add the additional broth, water, onion, garlic, salt (omit this if you need to reduce total sodium), pepper, bay leaf, sage, red pepper flakes, and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, corn, and okra and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat the oil and flour and stir until the flour and oil are golden brown and bubbly, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup of the soup broth to the mixture and whisk until smooth.

Add the mixture back to the soup pot and whisk until dissolved. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the rice the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 279; Fat: 7 g; Sodium: 720 mg; Cholesterol: 43 mg; Protein: 23 g; Carbohydrates: 31 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 Starch; 2 Lean Meat