Soup

There are some days that just call for homemade soup. Whether it's the weather, stress, or whatever, soup fits the bill for comfort.

To that end, here are six soup recipes to help you through the day, including One-Pot French Onion Soup with Garlic-Gruyère Croutons and Potato-Leek Soup with Bacon. Enjoy!

THE PIONEER WOMAN'S CHICKEN TORTELLINI SOUP

This is from Sara Haas at allrecipes. Sara wrote, "I love summer—the warmth, the seemingly endless daylight, and all of the produce that goes with it. It brings me so much joy. That’s why I’m always a little bit sad when summer leaves and fall slides in. Fortunately, I have soup to console me. And I can thank The Pioneer Woman for my first soup of this fall season—Ree Drummond approved."

To read the entire recipe intro from Sara, as well as view this online, click here.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman. Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth

3 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Optional: Parmesan rind

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion, and cook, stirring often until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.

Pour in broth and bring to a boil.

Add chicken and tortellini, and cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is warmed through and tortellini are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Portion into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Tips

Try this: Let the soup cook (before adding the chicken and tortellini) over low heat with the lid on to develop more flavor. An extra 20 to 30 minutes really helps make this soup even more delicious. While you’re at it, add that Parmesan rind too! Just remember to take it out before serving.

SLOW-COOKER VEGETABLE MINESTRONE SOUP

This is from Eating Well. It begins, "A winter classic, this crock pot version of minestrone is heavy on the vegetables and light on the pasta, keeping carbs in check while providing plenty of flavor."

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Additional Time: 6 hours; Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes; Makes 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269114/slow-cooker-vegetable-minestrone-soup/.

Ingredients

4 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 (15 ounce) cans no-sodium-added red kidney beans, rinsed

2 (15 ounce) cans no-sodium-added diced tomatoes, undrained

6 cups no-sodium-added vegetable broth, such as Kitchen Basics

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 large zucchini, chopped

4 ounces whole-wheat pasta elbows or other small pasta (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Combine carrots, celery, onion, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a 6- to 8-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

Stir in zucchini, pasta, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook on Low until the pasta is tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve immediately, topping each serving with about 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Tips

Equipment: 6- to 8-qt. slow cooker

THREE SISTERS SOUP

This is from American Heart Association, and begins, “Simple Cooking with Heart brings you this interesting vegetable and bean soup called Three Sisters Soup.

“This is actually a Native American recipe and the three 'sisters' refer to corn, beans and squash!”

Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://recipes.heart.org/en/recipes/three-sisters-soup

Note: This recipe calls for either chicken or vegetable stock on the American Heart Association web site. However, since this is a vegetarian blog, I'm keeping it at only the veggie broth. Also, if you're looking for quite a few yummy heart-healthy recipes, check out the AHA's site and follow around to their recipes.

Ingredients

6 cups fat-free, low-sodium vegetable stock

16 oz. canned, low-sodium yellow corn or hominy, drained, rinsed

16 oz. canned, low-sodium kidney beans (drained, rinsed)

1 small onion (chopped)

1 rib celery (chopped)

15 oz. canned, cooked pumpkin (Tip: Be careful, don’t get pumpkin pie filling!)

5 fresh sage leaves

OR

1/2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp. curry powder

Directions

Bring veggie stock to a slow boil.

Add corn/hominy, beans, onion and celery.Boil for 10 minutes.

Add sage leaves, curry and pumpkin and simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

HEARTY HAM AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

This is by Pam Anderson and was in the January 2010 issue of Runner's World (page 44; "The Athlete's Palate"). It begins, "The cabbage in this dish is rich in vitamin C and fiber, as well as phytonutrients that helpl protect against some cancers. To save time and speed up the cooking process, heat the broth and tomatoes in the microwave while chopping the vegetables."

Pam Anderson has a really great cooking site, called Three Many Cooks. I really recommend it. Go ahead, I'll wait. (Tap, tap, tap

And now, on to the soup.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced into medium pieces

1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin

1/2 cabbage, cored, cut into bite-size shreds

12 ounces lean ham steak, diced into small pieces

1 quart chicken broth

1 14.5-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes

2 cans (15 oz each) white beans, undrained

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat the oil over medium-high in a soup kettles. Add the onion, saute until soft and golden, about five minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and saute until fragrant, about one minute. Add the remaining ingredients, then bring to a full simmer, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to low, simmer gently (partially covered) until the vegetables are just cooked and flavors blended, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley; cover and let stand five minutes. Serve's six.

ONE-POT FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC-GRUYERE CROUTONS

This also comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “I don’t make onion soup at home partly because I lack the flameproof bowls that chefs run under the broiler to melt the cheese. And what’s the point of making onion soup without the elastic cap of gooey Gruyère? The more I pondered this, the more I wondered if I could skip those individual bowls, layer the croutons and cheese directly into the soup pot, and just broil the whole thing.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 5 hours.

This was featured in “A Snip of the Shears Tames a Cheesy Soup: French Onion Soup by the Potful” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 pounds oxtail or beef shoulder, cut into 1- or 2-inch pieces

Salt

8 medium onions

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

4 thyme sprigs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Black pepper

1 cup port wine

Lemon juice, to taste, optional

6 ounces baguette loaf, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 garlic cloves, halved

8 ounces Gruyère cheese

Preparation

Heat the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oxtail (or beef shoulder) in a single layer (work in batches, if necessary to avoid crowding the pan), and sear until the undersides are brown (do not turn). Season generously with salt and transfer to a plate.

Coarsely chop two of the onions; add to the pot, along with the celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Return the beef to the pot. Pour in 8 cups water. Simmer mixture gently until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Transfer beef to a bowl to cool for another use. Strain liquid into a bowl over a fine-mesh sieve; press gently on the solids with the back of a spatula to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids; you should have about 10 cups broth (add water if necessary to equal 10 cups).

Halve the remaining 6 onions through the root end, then peel and thinly slice them lengthwise. Melt the butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until deep golden-brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Pour in the port and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and simmer mixture over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice, if desired. (For a smaller group, you could refrigerate some of the soup and reheat it later.)

While the broth simmers, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 12 minutes. Rub the garlic halves over the surface of the bread.

Heat the broiler and arrange a rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Using a cheese slicer, thinly slice 3 ounces of Gruyère. Coarsely grate the remaining cheese. Float the broiled bread over the surface of the hot soup. Layer the cheese slices over the bread; scatter the grated cheese over it. Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and broil until cheese is golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes (watch to see that it does not burn).

To serve, use kitchen shears or scissors to cut the bread and cheese into portions. Ladle soup, bread and cheese into individual bowls.

Tip

To broil the soup in individual bowls, place 8 ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet. Fill with hot soup, top with broiled bread, shaved cheese and grated cheese, and run under the broiler until golden and bubbling. You may need to prepare it in batches.

POTATO-LEEK SOUP WITH BACON

View this online at http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-recipes/potato-leek-soup-with-bacon

Ingredients

3 large leeks, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 lb gold potatoes

3 slices bacon, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups unsalted chicken stock (or broth)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Directions

Chop well-rinsed leeks (white part only; 2 cups); chop garlic and thyme. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Preheat large stockpot on medium-low 2–3 minutes. Cut bacon into pieces. Place oil in pot, then add bacon; cook and stir 4–5 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pot. Place leeks and garlic in same pot; cook and stir 6–7 minutes or until tender (do not brown).

Stir in stock, salt, pepper, potatoes, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Remove pot from heat; puree soup with a stick blender. (Or you can use an electric blender; let soup cool 5–8 minutes, then puree in batches until smooth.) Chop chives. Stir yogurt into soup; top each serving with bacon and chives. Serve warm or chill before serving.