Swedish Meatball Noodle Soup

Over Memorial Day, niece in law, Melinda, made this delicious soup- really more a stew.  It was so good with crusty bread and salad.  A keeper for sure.  You could probably use Ikea's Swedish meatballs but I'm not really a fan. 

               

Swedish Meatball Noodle Soup (recipe shared by pineycook.com)

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 oz. Broad Egg Noodles, cooked al dente according to package directions
• ¼-½ cup sour cream (personal preference)
•                     
• Swedish Meatballs
• 2 slices bread, toasted and torn into pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ large onion, minced
• ⅔ pound ground beef
• ⅓ pound ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
•                     
• Soup
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup flour
• 7 cups beef broth
• 1 cup heavy cream mixed with 2 tablespoons cornstarch**
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

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Directions

1.To make the meatballs, place the bread into a small bowl and mix in 1/2 cup cream. Allow to stand until bread absorbs the cream, about 15 minutes, then add bread to food processor and pulse until completely broken up (it will look like mushy bread). Add pulverized cream bread to a large bowl. 2.While the bread is soaking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onions and sauté until translucent and softened, about 5 minutes. Add to large bowl with bread. 3.To the onions and bread, add remaining meatball ingredients and mix. Form meat into 1 tablespoon meatballs, approximately 40 meatballs. 4.Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add half of the meatballs and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned on all sides, approximately 5 minutes. Remove meatballs to paper towel lined baking sheet. Add remaining meatballs to skillet and repeat. 5.Melt 5 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven/large soup pot over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery and mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. 6.Turn heat to low and gradually stir in beef broth followed by heavy cream. Add Worcestershire sauce, parsley, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, stirring frequently until thickened to desired consistency, approximately 5 minutes. 7.Add meatballs and lower the heat to low. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally. 8.Stir in sour cream until smooth, followed by noodles. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, red pepper flakes if desired. 9.Garnish with fresh parsley (optional) and serve.

Notes *For a lighter version, you may substitute milk but only use 1/4 cup and add more as needed to meatball mixture. **You may substitute milk or half and half, but keep in mind the higher the fat content, the creamier the soup. You can add more sour cream at the end of cooking to help creamify. ***For a less "chunky" soup, add more beef broth and/or heavy cream/milk.

Asiago Potato Soup with Cheese-Crusted Croutons

A rich and delicious soup!!!  Make sure you make the coutons!

Asiago Potato Soup

1 lb. smoked Applewood bacon
18 baby red potatoes
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup butter
3 tsp. granulated chicken bouillon
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 1/2 cup flour
1 quart 1/2 n 1/2
8 oz. fresh grated Asiago cheese
8 green onion stalks, finely chopped
1-2 quarts 2% milk
Cheese-crusted croutons
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Dice bacon and saute.  Remove bacon from pan and cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces and toss in remaining bacon drippings to coat evenly.  Spread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with parsley flakes and kosher salt.  Place in oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, turning potatoes every 10 minutes until golden brown.  Do not overcook.  The potatoes will fry in oven.  Melt butter in a large pot with chicken bouillon, onion salt and pepper. Slowly add flour, beginning with 1 cup until the butter is completely absorbed.  Add more flour until mixture is crumbly.  Using a whisk, slowly stir in the half and half until it is smooth.  Soup will thicken as it cooks.  Fold in cheese and green onions.  Add fried potatoes and bacon to the soup.  The consistency should be very thick.  Slowly stir in milk until desired thickness.  Top with homemade croutons, WHICH ARE AMAZING) and fresh cilantro and serve.

Cheese-crusted Croutons  THESE ARE FABULOUS!

4 slices French bread
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tsp. onion salt
coarse black pepper to taste

Turn oven temperature to  low broil.  Mix the ingredients in small bowl and spread over slices of bread.  Broil in oven for 2-3 minutes.  Turn over and spread cheese mixture on the other side and broil again for 2-3 minutes.  Let cool and slice toasted bread into cubes.  Serve with soup or salad.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

This recipe is a repost that I served for our Bucket Luncheon today.  Love this soup so much.

We are so lucky to have a restaurant chain in Utah (at least 11 locations..and a few in Arizona) of Zupa's or Cafe Zupa's.  It is the place to go for walk through dining- amazing soups (at least 10 regular soups with new daily specials), a dozen different salads but a million add-ons, paninis, etc.  Each order comes with a slice of the freshest sourdough bread (my favorite part of the meal) and a chocolate-covered strawberry.  How cool is that?  My favorite soup and my daughter's favorite soup and probably many of my friend's favorite soup is the Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup.

I tried this copy-cat recipe and found it oh-so-good.  I had to hide all evidence from my ex-attorney husband (he's not my ex, he's just a cowboy now) of cauliflower .....  and just wanted to see what he thought.  Of course he downed two bowls.  His only comment was that the texture of the soup was different than my regular cheese soup.  Yep.  And I'm not sharing why....  Delish is delish.  Make sure you are careful when blending the soup.  

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese  (if you forget and just buy jack cheese, add a dash of cayenne or tabasco)(can you tell I did that? lol)

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

or a dollop of sour cream, bacon, chives or pumpkins seeds or...........................

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

BFF's Cathy's DIL, Lori, posted this recipe and I thought it looked so good!  A little late for St.Patrick's Day but good none the less.


You can eat the whole pot with very little carbs and calories. Weight watcher 7 points for the whole pot!  (note from Marilyn- I can't believe 2 pounds of hamburger would be only 7 points.  Not that I'm planning on eating the whole pot.  But in case I want to.....)



A great recipe to increase your energy levels! Healthy, too!

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small cabbage, chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) low sodium diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.
Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

Marilyn's note: at the store, I found a pre-mix cabbage salad that I'm using instead of chopping my cabbage.  Making it quick and easy.  Of course, you would burn more calories chopping your cabbage.  Now I'm feeling guilty for not chopping mine.  I do have cabbage to chop......

Hearty Cheeseburger Soup

This soup is a combination of several on Pinterest that I found.  Niece Mallory told me about it and I've made two huge batches this week.  It's a winner.  

Hearty Cheeseburger Soup

1 cup diced celery

1 pkg. of frozen onions or 1 onion, diced

1-cup chopped carrots

4 cups diced potatoes

Cover these vegetables in chicken broth (I used the granular plus water) and cook until tender.

Cook 1 lb. hamburger - drain well

Add the hamburger to the vegetables and broth.

Melt 1/2 cube of butter and then brown 3  T. of flour to make a thickening paste.

Stir this paste into the soup to thicken.

Dice 1/2 large package of Velveeta Cheese into cubes and stir into soup until melted.

That's it.  Yummy.

Other recipes called for parsley and basil.  A couple of tsps. each.  Also some added 1 1/2 cups milk.  When ready to serve, stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

I didn't have parsley or basil (I can't believe that!) and didn't add milk and forgot the sour cream because we were too busy devouring.  I love soups you can play with.  Trust me, this one is delicious any which way you make it!

Now, enjoy this blank space below.  No matter what I do, I can't delete it.
If you can't beat it, enjoy it.

Chilled Raspberry Soup

Friend Lynda R. made this wonderful chilled soup, inspired by her recent month long cruise in the Antarctic- where each day they were served a different chilled fruit soup.  Lynda enjoyed hers for dessert or it would be a great appetizer for a hot summer day served with a grilled sandwich and salad.  This recipe is a winner!

Chilled Raspberry Soup

yield: 6 servings

2 pints fresh raspberries, gently washed

2 cups sour cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup ginger ale

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Mint leaves, for garnish

Reserve 6 raspberries for garnish.

In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining raspberries until smooth.  Strain the mixture through a fine sieve over a nonreactive bowl, pushing through as much of the pulp as you can, leaving the seeds behind.

Whisk the remaining ingredients, except for the reserved berries, into the puree.  Cover and refrigerate until cold.

To serve, divide the soup among chilled bowls and garnish with the reserved raspberries and a sprig of mint.

Variation:  for chilled blueberry soup, substitute blueberries for the raspberries.

Sophia's Hamburger Macaroni Soup

I have dozens of recipes in my draft file...that I refuse to post until I have the pictures of it to share.  I've made friend, Sophia's delicious soup a dozen times but forget to take a picture.  What I like about this soup is that I can make a tiny batch easily with small cans of V-8 juice.  It is truly a comfort food.  If I don't have V-8 handy, I substitute a can of tomato...and then it tastes like growing up.

Sophia's Hamburger Macaroni Soup


1-2 pounds hamburger

2 ribs of chopped celery

1 chopped onion

1 large can V-8 juice

1/4-1/2 can of water

1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste.

Brown hamburger, celery and onion in stockpot. Add the V-8 juice, the water, the brown sugar and salt and pepper. Simmer slowly for an hour, then bring to a boil right before serving. Add 2 cups of macaroni noodles. Boil until pasta is cooked. If you add the pasta at the beginning, it becomes too starchy. Great with fresh corn bread

White Chicken Chili

 

I'm here in McCall Idaho and we're making this recipe for dinner tonight. I had it in my drafts but hadn't posted it since I forget to take a picture when I make it. It is my favorite chili. Don't forget the sour cream!

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI


2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tbs. vegetable oil
2 15 ½ oz. cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed under cold water
1 14 ½ oz. can chicken broth
2 4-oz. cans mild green chilies, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
½ tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
½ cup whipping cream (opt.)




Saute onions and garlic powder in oil until tender. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken. Stir then add beans, broth, chilies, salt, cumin, oregano, and peppers. Stir to blend. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Remove chili from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Garnish with 2 cherry tomato halves and a dash of chives.

Potato, Green Cabbage and Leek Soup

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Creme Fraiche

(Bon Appetit magazine- recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey- Photo by Nigel Cox)

Ingredients
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups diced green cabbage (1/2-inch dice; from about 1/2 medium head)
3 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; 3 to 4 large)
3 large garlic cloves, pressed
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 2x2-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
1 Turkish bay leaf
6 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)

Preparation

Whisk crème fraîche, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until cabbage is almost tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup cabbage to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to pot with cabbage; add leeks and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until leeks soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, Parmesan rind, if desired, and bay leaf. Add 6 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind, if using, and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with some of reserved sautéed cabbage. Drizzle crème fraîche mixture over soup; sprinkle with chives and serve.

Corn Chowder

This is a recipe I posted on my regular blog years ago but wanted to make sure I got it here. We had this on Sunday dinner, while snowflakes swirled outside. It is pure comfort and so easy to make. Make sure you have cream of potato soup as a staple in your pantry and then you could make this recipe in a pinch. (Heather White's Corn Chowder recipe)

H. W.'s CORN CHOWDER

1stick butter
1 bunch of green onions, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 can cream of potato soup
1 14oz. can of chicken broth
8 oz. pkg of cream cheese
4 cups of white and yellow corn
1 pint of half & half
3 tsp. creole seasoning

Melt butter in pan.

Add chopped green onions and saute.

Add broth and soups to onions and cook on
medium heat; stir until smooth.

Add corn ; heat until warm.

Add half & half & chunks of cream cheese.

Stir until cream cheese is melted then add creole seasoning. Then enjoy!

Wendy's Chili

My dad is a Wendy's chili aficionado. He loves the stuff. It's a pretty good chili, I must admit. In a fix, run to Wendy's and bring some home for dinner. If it is snowing outside and the roads are slick, then you'll need to make your own. Here's the recipe below:

Wendy's Chili

2 pounds ground beef
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (29 ounce) can kidney beans, with liquid
1 (29 ounce) can pinto beans, with liquid
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 green chilies, diced (I'll be using canned...)
1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup green pepper, diced
1 (29 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt

Garnish with:
chopped green onion
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Brown the hamburger over medium heat; drain off the fat. Add all but the garnishes and simmer over low heat. Cook stirring every 15 minutes for 2 to 3 hours. You know I'm not gonna do that because my attention won't hold so just put this baby in your crock pot. Or stick it in a dutch oven in the oven.

Top with green onion, shredded cheese, fritoes and sour cream. About 12 servings. Freezes also!

Creamy Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

Not to be confused with weak and whimpy soup. This is one of my favorite chicken noodle soups. It is my DIL Tenille's recipe and is a must make. Besides chock full of veggies and chicken, it has corn....and just before serving, sour cream is stirred in. It is raining/snowing at our house today so I made a huge batch to feed half the neighborhood and some family. After I made it, but before I cleaned up my kitchen, I hurried and did another batch of the veggies and chicken and put them all in a bag to freeze. Next time we want soup in a hurry, I'll just add the canned soup, fresh cooked noodles and sour cream. That fast.

HEARTY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2 cups cooked chicken

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups corn (I like frozen)

3/4 cup chopped onion

3 cups chicken broth

2 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/2 oz cooked noodles

Salt and pepper Add vegetables to chicken broth and simmer until tender. Add cream of chicken soup. Then add chicken. Tenille's note: I like to cook my noodles separate and add them before serving. If they simmer with the soup too long they seem to get mushy or soak up the juice in the soup. Add sour cream and noodles. Salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper!).

Larry's Seafood Gumbo

Friend, Gail, shared this recipe with me, created by her husband, Larry. I will make this again and serve it with good sourdough bread. I'm not a scallop girl so I substituted crab for the scallops. (And first time I've purchased okra in my life!)

Larry’s Seafood Gumbo

3 T. butter
(2) 14 ½ oz. cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound medium-sized peeled shrimp,
tails off, cooked (or frozen, cooked)
½ to 3/4 lbs. scallops, cut into ½ inch pieces or bay scallops
2 onions, diced
4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 cups chicken broth (can be reconstituted)
½ to 3/4 pound sliced fresh or frozen okra
3 stalks chopped celery
½ cup uncooked rice
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. basil
2 bay leaves
1/4 red (cayenne) pepper
fresh ground pepper
(note: I added about a tsp. of Creole seasoning)

Melt butter in a large soup pan. Add chopped onion and garlic. Saute until translucent. Add chicken both and all other ingredients EXCEPT rice and celery. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add rice and celery. Cook 20 to 30 minutes, until rice is tender.

Pumpkin Soup

This soup was shared by Golda, in her fabulous witches outfit, at Creative Cooking.

Pumpkin Soup

a small can of pumpkin

2 cans of chicken broth

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

salt and pepper to taste

dash of red pepper (opt.)

1 tsp. sugar

Bring to a boil

Add:

Hazelnut Coffee Mate (to taste) Too much will spoil the taste so add a little at a time and taste.

Note: Golda created this recipe using what she had at home. I wouldn't have Hazelnut Coffee Mate but any dairy creamer might work or just a little cream or milk. The Hazelnut would be a yummy new flavor to add, though. The soup was very tasty!

Susan's Easy Three-Bean Chili

This delicious chili was prepared by Michelle P. for our Creative Cooking class. It has a few twists on traditional chili and was very tasty.


Susan's Easy Three-Bean Chili

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and cut in fourths
3 T. chili powder (yep, that's right....3 T.!)
1 T. garlic salt
1 can Bush's chili beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 cans diced tomatoes (reg. soup size)

Brown the beef with onion. Drain fat, if desired. Add the chili powder and garlic salt. Add beans and tomatoes. Add the green pepper for flavor. You can take it out before serving, if desired. Stir and cook on medium heat until flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. This can also be put in a crock pot on low for the day. Garnish with shredded cheese, chopped onions or sour cream.

Serves a bunch!