Kentucky Derby Burgoo

Found in SL May 2026 issue here

3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups chopped sweet onion (from 1 large onion)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)
1 cup chopped carrots (from 2 peeled carrots)
1 cup chopped celery (from 3 stalks)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic (from 6 garlic cloves)
4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 dried bay leaves
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 (10 1/2-oz.) can beef consommé
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped russet potato (from 1 large potato)
1 1/2 cups frozen baby lima beans (from 1 [15-oz.] bag)
6-8 cups lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup frozen yellow corn (from 1 [15-oz.] bag)
1 cup frozen cut okra (from 1 [15-oz.] bag)
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. granulated sugar
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat oil in a large (8-quart) Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in batches, add meat, and cook until browned on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer browned meat to a plate; set aside.

Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in Dutch oven; discard remaining drippings. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, and celery to drippings in Dutch oven; cook over medium-high until beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, salt, smoked paprika, and bay leaves; cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add browned meat and any accumulated juices to Dutch oven; stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef consommé, Worcestershire sauce, potato, lima beans, and 6 cups broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 hour, 45 minutes, adding more broth, 1 cup at a time, for desired thickness.

Stir corn, okra, apple cider vinegar, and sugar into Dutch oven; cook until tender and burgoo is reduced just slightly more, about 30 minutes. Skim off fat, if desired.

Ladle evenly into bowls; garnish with parsley just before serving.  

Chicken and Rolled Dumplings

Found in SL Jan/Feb 2023 here

 

2  1# bone-in chicken breasts
6 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, halved 

1-2 medium celery stalks, divided
1-2 large carrots, peeled, divided
2  5" thyme or flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus chopped leaves for garnish
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Dumplings:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 Tbsp cubed cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. whole buttermilk

Place chicken, broth, and onion in a large Dutch oven. Cut 1 celery stalk and 1 carrot in half crosswise; add to Dutch oven with thyme or parsley sprigs, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, undisturbed, until chicken is cooked through and easily pulls away from bone, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken; let cool slightly. Using 2 forks, pull chicken apart into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bones, herb sprigs, and cooked vegetables, reserving broth in Dutch oven.

Prepare Rolled Dumplings: Stir together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until flour mixture is crumbly. Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together. Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a well-floured work surface; cut into 2- x 1-inch rectangles.

Return broth to a simmer over medium-low. Thinly slice remaining carrot and celery stalk, if desired; add to broth with pulled chicken. If desired, whisk together cream and flour in a small bowl until smooth; stir into broth. Gradually add dumplings to broth. Cover and simmer gently over low, until dumplings are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with pepper and chopped thyme or parsley. 

 

Spaghetti Veggie Casserole

3 tbsp salted butter

1# spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces (instead of breaking, I recommend cooking the using a knife to chop it)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

8oz cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 c loosely packed baby spinach

1/2 c dry sherry

1/2 c heavy cream

2 10oz cans cream of mushroom soup

1 4oz jar diced pimentos, drained

1 1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese (6oz)

1 1/2 c grated fontina cheese (6oz)

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 c vegetable broth

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9x13" baking dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2-3 minutes. 

Add the mushrooms, zucchini, and thyme and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to med low and add the garlic and cherry tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes burst and turn jammy, 5-6 minutes. 

Add spinach and stir just until wilted. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl of spaghetti.

Add the sherry to the drippings in the skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, scraping up any browned bits, about 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream and simmer for another 30 seconds. Pour into the bowl with the spaghetti and vegetables. Add the cream of mushroom soup, pimentos, 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup fontina, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, and vegetable broth. Stir until well combined.

Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup fontina. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 40-45 minutes. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving. 

Cook the Enemy Gumbo

Recipe in SL September 2023 here

 

1 cup canola oil
1 cup (about 4 1/4 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 lb. andouille sausage, sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (from 1 large [13 oz.] onion)
2 cups chopped green bell peppers (from 2 medium [1 lb. total] peppers)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery (from 3 to 4 large [about 8 oz. total] celery stalks)
6 large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.)
8 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
1 lb. frozen cut okra
1 1/2 lb. medium peeled and deveined raw shrimp
Hot cooked rice

Prepare roux:
Stir together oil and flour in a large Dutch oven. Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until mixture turns the color of milk chocolate, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Cook sausage and vegetables:
While roux cooks, heat a large skillet over medium. Cook andouille in 2 batches in skillet, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3 to 6 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer andouille from skillet to a medium bowl; set aside. Add onion, bell peppers, and celery to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables start to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside until ready to use.
Simmer gumbo:
Stir cooked onion mixture into roux in Dutch oven. Gradually add stock, whisking constantly. Stir in salt, thyme, cayenne, bay leaves, and cooked andouille. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
Finish and serve:
Stir frozen okra into mixture in Dutch oven; cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until okra is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in shrimp, and remove from heat. Cover and let stand until shrimp is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve over hot rice.  

 

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

 This looks more like the gumbo I grew up eating. Hoping it taste as good.

1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
2 pounds boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
2 quarts Water
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 cups chopped Onion
1 3/4 cups chopped Celery
1 1/2 cups chopped Green Pepper
1/2 cup chopped Green Onions
4 cloves Garlic minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
3 Bay Leaves
One 14 1/2-ounce can Chicken Broth
One 8-ounce can Tomato Paste
1/2 pound smoked Sausage sliced
1 pound unpeeled medium fresh Shrimp
Hot cooked Rice to serve 

Preheat oven to 350°F.
To a Dutch oven or large cooking pot, add chicken and water.
Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is done.
Remove from heat.
Remove chicken from the broth. Set aside to cool.
Strain the broth in a large container. Set aside.
When cooled to the touch, chop chicken into pieces. Set aside.
Place the flour in a 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly roll pan.
Place pan in preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very brown, stirring every 15 minutes. Set aside.
Pour oil into the Dutch oven. Place back over medium high heat.
When oil is hot and shimmering, add onion, celery, green pepper, green onions and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until tender.
Add browned flour, thyme, oregano, black pepper and bay leaves. Cook, stirring until smooth.
Add reserved broth (from cooking the chicken earlier), chicken, canned broth, tomato paste and sausage. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Peel and de-vein shrimp and remove tails.
Add to the broth mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Do not overcook the shrimp.
Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Serve hot over prepared rice.

MRH Shitake Miso Wellness Soup

I'm working on clearing out some excess papers right now and one of those things is catalogs. Before I put it in the burn pile I looked through the Mountain Rose Herbs catalog and found a couple of recipes. I'm listing them so I can use them in the future.

Feeling under the weather? This is one of ouur favorite recipes for winter colds!
2-3" fresh organic ginger root, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 head of roaster garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
1 head of raw garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup organic miso paste
½ cup organic onion, chopped
2 organic carrots, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1½ cups organic dried shiitake mushrooms
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

In a stock pot, saute ginger and onion in butter until the onion just begins to sweat. Add 1 quart and 1 cup of water to the pot and bring to a boil. add mushrooms then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add miso paste and stir until dissolved. Add the mashed roasted garlic and the raw garlic, Still well. Remove from heat and ladle the soup into your favorite mug.

Chicken & Dumplings

I found this recipe somewhere and it linked by to Eat At Home. We love these kind of dumplings because they aren't fat doughy but aren't super thin either. We make 2 batches and have just a few servings left over.

3 cups or 4 chicken qtrs cooked chicken (we double the recipe but not the chicken)
6-8 cups chicken broth
2 cups flour
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp baking powder
salt to taste
1 cup of milk, maybe a bit less

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.
Heavily flour a work surface. Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip a pizza cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 1″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
Carefully put them on a floured plate. Reroll the dough, flouring between the layers of dumplings. You can also freeze them like this and then transfer them to a ziplock bag.
To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!

Chicken (Shrimp) (Sausage) (Crab) Gumbo

Finally found a recipe closer to what I grew up eating! Original recipe is here, found just by Google searching.

1½ gallons water
4# chicken, cut up OR chicken breasts
1# andouille or smoked sausage, diced
3# shrimp
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 large celery rib, thinly sliced/chopped
2# okra, sliced
5 bay leaves
3 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ cup green onions, finely chopped
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup bacon grease
1½ cups all-purpose flour

Hot cooked rice
File' powder
Hot sauce

Bring the chicken and bay leaves to a boil in a large stockpot; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Remove chicken, reserving broth. IF YOU USE A WHOLE CHICKEN, skin, de-bone, and coarsely chop chicken; set aside. Pour broth through a wire mesh strainer into a large bowl, discarding solids. Return broth and chicken to stockpot. Add sausage (if desired), onions, bell pepper, celery, okra, garlic, red pepper, and black pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. IF YOU USE CHICKEN BREASTS, remove and throw away the bay leaves; remove and shred the chicken and return to the pot. No need to strain the broth. And ingredients listed above.

To make the roux, heat grease in a heavy skillet over medium heat; gradually whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is a dark caramel color (about 20 minutes). Stir into gumbo and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Stir in green onions and parsley; simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice with hot sauce and file', if desired.

Gumbo

I have no idea where I found this recipe. It makes more of a tomato soup. It was good, but definitely not the gumbo I grew up on.

6 tbsp bacon drippings
7 tbsp flour
3 medium onions chopped fine
1½ cups finely chopped celery
2 tbsp garlic
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large can of stewed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
7 cups of water
5 tsp salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp Tony Chachero's
3# shrimp/crab or chicken or sausage
1 package of frozen okra
4 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Tabasco sauce
gumbo file'

Brown flour in bacon drippings for approximately 20 minutes to make roux. Roux should reach a dark golden brown color.
Add onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper and brown for 5 minutes. Set aside roux mix.
Add water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, Tony's, and okra to a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the roux mix, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, chicken/sausage for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, reduce heat to a low simmer. Keep covered and simmer for 3 hours stirring occasionally. Add shrimp/crab a few minutes before serving and allow about 5 minutes to cook. Allow the gumbo to cool and store in the refrigerator overnight. Serve over steamed rice, adding a pinch of file' seasoning to each serving before eating.

Onion Soup Mix

I can't wait to try this out from Good Cheap Eats. I quit buying the soup mix simply because I thought it just wasn't worth the cost. So now I can add this to sour cream and the kids can dig in!

¼ cup dry onion flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper

In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
Store in an airtight container.
To use stir into recipes as you would commercial onion soup mix.
To make onion dip, mix 1-2 tablespoons per ½ cup sour cream.
To make onion soup, mix 4 tablespoons into 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Tasty Kitchen sent out an email with a tomato soup recipe. I forgot where I marked it. After searching I found this one and this one that PW herself made. So I combined the two. Keeping my fingers crossed this taste good!

6 pints cherry tomatoes or 12 medium tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
6 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced or 4 tbsp jarred minced garlic
1 whole medium onion, minced
2 28oz can diced tomatoes
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
6 tbsp sugar
½ cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
2 cups whipping cream

Heat oven to 400°. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss ingredients to coat evenly. Spread tomatoes in a single layer onto a rimmed baking sheet. Roast tomatoes for 35 minutes.

In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer garlic/onion mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return mixture to the pot. Puree each can of tomatoes with their juice and add then add to the pot. Do the same thing for the roasted tomatoes. Then add broth, sugar, basil, and parsley.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer with the pot partially covered, for 40 minutes. Stir in the cream and without letting the soup boil, warm over medium heat. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

PW Hamburger Soup

I wasn't sure how hamburger would be in a soup but it was really good. We changed her recipe because we didn't have bell pepper but that was probably good for us. We also didn't have tomato paste but we did add in some flour to thicken the broth. Add in a yummy cornbread and it was a fantastic soup for a 12° day!

2½ pounds ground chuck
1 whole large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tbsp garlic powder
1 large 28oz can diced tomatoes
6 cups beef stock or beef broth or water
8 carrots, sliced
10 potatoes, cut into chunks
6 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the meat with the onion, celery, and garlic. Remove the pot from the heat and drain off as much fat as you can. Discard the fat once it cools.

Return the pot to the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15-20 more minutes, until potatoes are tender but not overly mushy.

Soup should be somewhat thick, but if you'd like it to be more "soupy," add more broth OR hot water and heat through. Or if you'd like it to be thicker, scoop out some broth and add in 4 tbsp of flour or cornstarch. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more if needed.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

You can find the original recipe here, but as usual we've tripled the recipe to feed our crew of 9. Enjoy!

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onion, diced
2 small green or red bell pepper, diced
9 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 11oz cans of Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chiles OR 1 28oz can of petite diced tomatoes & 12oz diced green chiles
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3# boneless chicken breasts
6 cups corn
3 can black bean 3 tbsp chile powder
3 tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp oregano (preferably Mexican), crushed between fingertips
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or monterey jack, plus more for serving
3 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
tortilla chips, for serving
sliced avocado, for serving

In a medium skillet heat the oil over medium heat OR put your crock pot on high and heat the oil. Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

In your crock pot add the Ro-tel (tomatoes and chiles), chicken broth, chicken, corn, black beans, chile powder, cumin, oregano. Mix in the cooked onions, peppers and garlic.

Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board. Stir the cheese and sour cream into the soup. Shred the chicken or cut into bite-sized pieces and add back to the pot. Taste and season as needed. Cook 1 more hour on low heat.

Serve garnished with more cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and avocado.

PW's Perfect Potato Soup

With the cold rainy weather came our desire for warm soup. When Ree emailed this recipe out I knew we would have to try it. It was so delicious that we're making it again tonight. Our only tweak to the recipe was to add more potatoes. It was seriously good. And we doubled her recipe to have enough for 10 people which left us with exactly 1 bowl of leftover soup after everyone had 2-3 servings.

12 slices of thin bacon or 1 package, cut into roughly ½" pieces
2 medium onion, diced small
6 carrots, diced
6 celery stalks, diced
18 potatoes, peeled and diced (ours were small-medium)
16 cups chicken or vegetable broth (we used part water)
6 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
black pepper
1 tsp Cajun spice, if you want
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
2 cups grated cheese, your choice

Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.
Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.
Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.
Using a potato masher or immersible blender, mash up about ½ of the pot, leaving part of it chunky. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.
Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces.

beef soup

This is Paula Deen's recipe from the Food Network site. I didn't have all the spices or all the vegetables, so below is what I actually put in it...and it was so yummy!

2-3 lbs beef short ribs or 2-3 lbs boneless chuck roast* or stew meat
4 quarts water
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1½ cups chopped onion or ½ cup dried onion
3 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 16oz bag frozen sliced carrots
1 16oz bag frozen green bean
1 16oz bag frozen baby lima beans
1 oz bag frozen corn
shredded cabbage is an optional vegetable
½ cup uncooked elbow macaroni
(you can use any vegetables)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and put your meat in a few pieces at a time and cook until browned on both sides. Remove the meat from skillet as it's done place the beef cubes in a large stockpot. (If using short ribs, you can put them right in the pot with no preparation).
Add the water, tomatoes, and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot; reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and cook for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. If using short ribs, remove them from the pot and cut the meat from the bones, discard the bones and fat, and return the meat to the pot. Add the remaining vegetables and the macaroni and return the soup to a boil, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
*The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.

Cheesy Ham Chowder

10 bacon strips, diced (optional)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup diced carrots (optional)
3 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1½ cups water
2½ cups cubed potatoes
1 can or ¾ bag frozen corn
2 tsp better than bouillon (or bouillon granules)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups fully cooked ham (optional)

Brown bacon (if using) and remove pieces to paper towel to drain. Saute onion in bacon grease (if using bacon) or olive oil in a stock pot until nearly caramelized. Add carrots (if using). Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 mins or until slightly thickened. Add the potatoes, corn, bouillon, and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 mins or until potatoes are tender. Add cheese and ham(if using). Heat until cheese is melted. Stir in bacon (if using).

You can really change this recipe to suit your pantry. I've added more potatoes, less cheese, more corn, no corn, ham, no ham, bacon, no bacon.... it always turns out yummy!!

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained (I used pinto beans and liked them better than I think I'd have liked black beans)
2½ cups cubed, cooked turkey (I used ground beef)
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)
2 tsp chili powder (I used 2 tsp and it was really really mild - I think I might've used more or used a better chili powder)
1½ tsp dried oregano
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt

In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper and garlic in oil until tender (I sauteed them together with the ground beef and omitted the oil). Transfer to a 5qt slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. It was sooo yummy and if you use the turkey it's listed as 192 cals for 1 cup 1g sat fat, 7g of fiber.

Tortilla Soup

Makes 6 Servings

4 Chicken breast halves
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp butter
2 14½oz cans chicken broth
2 14½oz cans chopped stewed tomatoes
1 cup Salsa (mild, medium or hot, whichever you prefer)
½ cup chopped Cilantro (fresh)
1 tbsp. or more , ground cumin
8oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
sour cream
tortilla chips

Cut chicken into pieces. Add minced garlic to margarine in crock pot and saute. Combine remaining ingredients except cheese, sour cream, and chips. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours (or high for less time).
Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese, add a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips.

Beer-Cheddar Soup

(What else would you expect from a WI girl?? Ha ha)

10 oz sourdough (or other crusty bread) bread cut into 1" cubes
2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (12oz) bottle beer
4 cups fat-free, less sodium broth, divided
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
1¼ cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (I've used medium)
¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan; coat bread cubes in cooking spray or toss in olive oil. Bake for 10 mins or until toasted. Set aside. Heat a Dutch oven or stock pot over med-high heat. Coat with cooking spray or a little olive oil and add onion. Saute 4 mins. Add garlic; saute 1 min. Stir in beer; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 mins or until onion is very tender. Add broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 mins. Combine flour and 1 cup milk, stirring until smooth. Add flour mixture and remaining 1 cup milk and cook 12 mins or until slightly thickened. Remove pan from heat and gradually add cheese, stirring until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper. Serve with bread cubes.

This recipe freezes great (except the bread cubes, but it can be served with a loaf of crusty bread rather than the cubes). I like to add corn to this recipe and you sure could add some cubed potatoes to bulk it up a bit for a heartier meal.

Tortilla Soup

16 cups water/chicken broth
chicken bouillon if you use water (I just go for taste)
3 cups of rice, uncooked
4 cups of chicken, shredded
1 onion, chopped
4 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp chili powder (I add this last and season to taste)
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes w/juice
tortilla chips, broken into soup
grated cheese sprinkled on top

Dump it all together and let it simmer and until it gets a bit thicker. Sometimes I add a bit more rice. We break up tortilla chips in our bowl, pour on the soup, then top with grated cheese, whatever you like.