Soups ON!

Man-"What's the soup de jour?"
Waiter-"It's the soup of the day."
Man-"Mmmm...That sounds good. I will have some of that!"

Can you name that movie??? Anyway, I ramble, I love me some HOT soup on a COLD day. I've recently tried some new recipes that I wanted to share. Here are two very different recipes to wet your palate.

What I liked about this first one is that it was creamy...but not w/ cream so it made it healthier and not so heavy.

Creamy Broccoli Soup (Real Simple)
1 tbls olive oil
1 med onion chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
2 cups low-sodium veggie broth
1 bunch broccoli, florets roughly chopped and stems peels and sliced (about 7 cups)
l large russet potato (about 8 oz) peeled and cut into 1/2inch pieces
salt and pepper
2 oz shredded cheese (we used parmesan)
bagel chips for serving

-Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med heat. Ad the onion and red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes.
-Add the broth, broccoli, potato, 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp of black pepper to the saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are very tender, 18-20 mins.
-In a blender, working in batches, puree the soup until smooth, adjusting the consistency w/ water as necessary.  Top w/ cheese and bagel chips (we didn't use bagel chips).

This next one has definitely got a kick to it. The hubs loved it and I did too.  I will say the recipe in the book looks more like a stew and I adjusted to be more soupy.  I will explain as I go.

Chicken Fiesta Soup (Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Bible)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 3)
1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes, drained (I used ones w/ chilis in them and didn't drain )
2 cans (4oz) green chilis (I used one b/c I forgot to buy two...uh oh)
1 can (28oz) enchilada sauce
14 &1/2oz chicken broth
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin (I doubled)
1 tsp chili powder (I doubled)
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 cup frozen corn ( I used one can)
1 yellow squash diced
1 zucchini diced
(I also added a cup or 2 of water).

Add all to the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hrs.  Top w/ tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, sour cream...really whatever you like. Supposedly serves 8...we've been noshing on for days : ).

ENJOY my friends!