Soup Swap

Last night one of my friends hosted a soup swap. It was so much fun and such a great idea.

Each of us made 6 quarts of one soup. Then we brought our soups in one quart containers. We used one quart to share with everyone for the night and then everybody took home one quart of each soup.

The soups each person brought were so good!

We all agreed this was such a great idea and we will have to do it again.

My friend that hosted has such a beautiful house and it was so cute all decorated in her winter decor. She set out mugs and bowls for us all to use for each soup.

I realized while I took this picture that I wrote 2013 for the date! 

The soup I made was Taco Soup. It is an easy soup and my husband loves it! That always makes it a winner.
Enjoy this soup and maybe try a soup swap with your friends!
Taco Soup
Source: Weight Watchers

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey breast
1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (any flavor)
1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (Mexican flavor)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package hidden valley ranch dressing mix
1 (15 ounce) can hot chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Preparation
1. Brown the the meat and onions and drain.
2. Mix the taco seasoning mix and ranch dressing mix into the meat.
3. Add all the other ingredients, without draining.
4. Simmer for about 1 hour.
5. Serve hot, topped with sour cream, cheese, avocado, raw onions, or nacho chips (optional).

Cheese and Corn Chowder + potatoes

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted huh? It has been on mind a lot lately to get this blog back up. I definitely haven't stopped cooking I just haven't taken the time to get on here and upload anything.




So, this weekend I was dying to get back in the kitchen after a busy week and easy dinners.
I have been craving soups lately! I jumped on my pinterest boards and noticed I had pinned The Pioneer Woman's corn and cheese chowder. I decided to make the soup and to also add some red potatoes to it as I knew it would get my husband more on board with eating it!
This recipe was super easy to put together. Besides chopping some veggies and potatoes, pretty much the rest was to just dump it in the pot! I love that! I would definitely make this on a weeknight especially if I had chopped all my veggies before. Enjoy this delicious soup!

I love the smell of onions cooking!

Corn and Cheese Chowder
Source: The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons 1/2 Stick Butter
1 whole Onion, Chopped
3 slices Bacon, Cut Into Pieces
3 whole Bell Peppers, Finely Diced (red, Yellow, Orange) (I only used a green pepper)
5 ears Corn, Kernels Sliced Off (I used frozen corn)
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour 3 cups Chicken Stock Or Broth
2 cups Half-and-half 1 cup (heaping)
Grated Monterey Jack 1 cup (heaping)
 Pepper Jack 1/3 cup
Sliced Green Onions
Bread Bowls
Preparation Instructions In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat.
Cook onions for a couple of minutes. Add bacon and cook for another minute or so, then add diced bell peppers and cook for a couple of minutes.  Finally, add corn and cook for a minute.
  Sprinkle flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth and stir well. Allow this to thicken for 3 or 4 minutes, then reduce heat to low.
Stir in half-and-half, then cover and allow to simmer/thicken for 15 minutes or so.
Stir in cheeses and green onions. When cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Ladle into hollowed out boules and serve immediately.(I did not serve mine in bread bowls).

http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/search/label/soup'son

 

Cheesy Potato Soup

I finally made a good potato soup! Chad loves potato soup from O'Charley's and I have been trying to make his grandma's recipe but it never came out right. I thought I would try this recipe. It seemed easy enough and it was. It turned out great :) The only drawback was that it took some time to chop everything. I didn't even think about this when planning when to eat dinner so we ate slightly later than planned but it's ok we still ate :) I know I could have chopped my veggies when I brought home everything from the grocery but I was in a rush that day.
Definitely try this recipe!

Cheesy Potato Soup
Source: Crystal's Creations

Ingredients -
8-10 medium Red Potatoes
Water to cover potatoes
1 Green Pepper
1 large Onion
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 package Bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup Milk
1/3 package Velveeta, cut into 1" cubes
1 teaspoon Celery Seed (I omitted)
Salt and Pepper, to taste


Preparation:
Quarter and cut potatoes into small pieces. ( I cut mine into sticks) You can peel them or scrub and leave skin on. You may leave the skin on for red or new potatoes, and peel if using others.Place potatoes in large pot and cover with water; add salt. Boil, covered until tender.

While potatoes are boiling, place bacon, onion, garlic, and green pepper in another large pot and sauté until bacon is cooked, green peppers are tender, and onions are clear.

Drain bacon fat, except for about 1 tablespoon. Add celery seed, salt, and ground pepper and sauté for 1 more minute.

Add sautéd ingredients to undrained boiled potatoes. Turn heat to medium.

Add Velveeta and stir soup until cheese melts. Add milk, and stirring constantly, heat until soup is hot.

Be careful not to burn it.