. . . especially as the weather gets cooler. And it has to be homemade. The only canned soup I can stand is Amy's Organic Cream of Tomato. Otherwise, I love making homemade soup. Not only does homemade soup taste great, but it is usually a calorie bargain---really filling for very few calories. I made a batch of homemade chicken vegetable soup this past week and have been eating it for various lunches and/or dinners throughout the week. I realized today (the end of my "calorie week") that by doing that, I actually ate fewer calories that I anticipated that I would.

Does anyone else love soup as much as I do? Post your favorite recipe, if you feel so inclined!

Chicken Veggie Soup

Saute some diced onion, celery, & carrots in a bit of olive oil.

Throw in a chicken breast and any other chicken parts you use to flavor the broth (I usually have a leftover back that I've saved from a whole chicken)

Pour in some chicken broth & water to cover. (I like using chicken broth even though I am using chicken in the cooking because it really intensifies the flavor).

Throw in a bay leaf & pepper (I wait to salt it until the end when the flavors have melded & I can really tell how much I need).

Let the chicken cook. When it's almost cooked through, add any veggies you like. Here's what I added to my soup: swiss chard (bottom stems removed), a chopped Yukon gold potato, and a chopped yam (a medium chop is best). Let that cook through. Be sure not to let it boil or keep it cooking too long; otherwise the potatoes will disintegrate.

I make a veggie (chicken broth) soup that is super simple and easy, usually using whatever I have around.

I start with a 32oz container of chicken broth, then I throw in half a large sweet onion (chopped), up to a pound of chopped carrots, about a dozen mini portobellos (sliced), and 2 cups brown minute rice (with 2 cups water so the volume of the broth is not effected). I let this cook until the carrots are almost tender, then I throw in my desired amount of frozen peas, frozen corn, frozen snap peas, and frozen broccoli. Then I just simmer until everything is cooked through and season to taste.

I don't like chunks of meat in my soup, but you could easily add chopped up chicken breast.

I think soups are simple and delicious. And you can pretty much add whatever you want to make it your own.

I actually recently saw a British program called "10 things you need to know about losing weight", and one of the specific things is that soup helps you stay fuller longer. They did an experiment with 2 military groups, the first one was served a plate of rice, chicken, and veggies and a cup of water. The second group got the exact same thing as the 1st group but instead each person's meal was blended up with the water to form a soup. Then they did ultrasounds tests and found that the group that had the soup stayed fuller for hours longer, even though they ate the same amount of food.

Lentil soup is one of my absolute favorites, I usually throw it together with a pack of dry lentils, an onion, carrot, and whatever leftover veggies I have on hand. I'm also a huge fan of throwing ham bits or bacon chunks in there too, but you could easily omit it.

And of course, my old favorite-SPLIT PEA!

Yummmm

ME TOO!!! I eat soup almost every day!

Favorites:
Thai Pumpkin Soup
3-4 shallots
1.5 lbs. pumpkin (uncooked, not canned)
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups chicken or veg broth
1 cup coriander leaves, loosely packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce
black pepper
scallion greens, chopped

In heavy skillet, dry roast shallots until blackened. Peel, cut length-wise

Peel pumpkin and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, about 4.5-5 cups cubed pumpkin total. Do not cook.

Place coconut milk, broth, uncooked pumpkin, shallots and coriander in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add salt, simmer over medium until pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Taste, add more salt or fish sauce to taste.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large potatoe, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
4 c veg or chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in veg broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat through. Serve garnished with parsley.

Tofu and Bok Choy Asian Hot Pot

5 1/4 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 1/4-inch-thick slices fresh ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 3/4 cups mushrooms, stemmed, wiped clean and sliced (4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 small bok choy, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 14-ounce package firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup grated carrots, (2 large)
4-6 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Combine broth, ginger and garlic in a pot; bring to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Discard the ginger and garlic.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add bok choy stems; cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the mushroom mixture to the broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes. Add bok choy greens and tofu; simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in carrots, vinegar to taste, soy sauce and sesame oil. Serve garnished with scallions.

Various "Cream" Vegetable Soups
Sautee 1 onion + 4-5 garlic cloves. Add vegetable (peas, or spinach, or broccoli, etc), 1 potato, and 4 c broth. Simmer for 20 minutes, blend in blender or with immersion blender. Yum!

Thanks for all the delicious-looking recipes! I've already cut and pasted them into my word processing program and will be trying at least one this week!

swtbttrfly23, that's really interesting about that documentary. It confirms what I have intuitively thought about soup as a great "diet" food (actually a great food in general).

I have made both of the following in the last few weeks and was pleased with them. I tought the pumkin/black bean one could use another can of beans but my wife says nope....lol


http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=858

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=4226

EZMoney, that ribollita sounds right up my alley. Thanks!

BUMPING this with....

Last night Angie and I tried Pacific (brand) Organic Roasted Bell Pepper And Tomato soup...

VERY GOOD! Now I eat soup often, not a problem (on taste) for me to eat it out of a can but Angie is not a fan of most store bought varieties. She absolutely loved it!

Rainbowsmiles, I tried your recipe (except that I substituted half-and-half for the cream), and it was FABULOUS!! I ate from it all week.

I ADORE soup! I pretty much live on soups and stews in the winter.

I made a seat-of-my-pants soup the other night, and it was delicous! My grocery store has a frozen stir-fry mix - it's sliced onions with yellow, red, and green peppers. It's perfect for starting soup!

2 tsp EVOO
1/2 cup frozen sliced onion/pepper mix (approx)
2 tsp (ish) chopped garlic
2-3 tsp vegetable base (Better Than Boullion)
2 cups water
1 tsp (ish) ginger peach habanero sauce
2 cups frozen green beans

saute the onions & peppers in the oil til soft
add garlic, vegetable base, water, and hot sauce - bring to a boil
add the frozen green beans - cook til the beans are done

It was ready in about 15 minutes, with no chopping!

It was so good, the next night I made it again, adding a small can of salmon and the juice and zest of a lemon.

Here is one I just recently tried. It is delicious!! See notes at start of recipe. They were my "tweaks".

Italian Vegetable Soup

I will post the recipe in its original form, but I made several changes/substitutions and will note those. Hope you enjoy it!



Another note-I made the soup ahead of time and it sat for a while before we ate it. The noodles REALLY soaked up alot of the liquid in the meantime. I had to add an entire box of chicken broth to make it soupy again (double batch, remember). I will definitely use half the noodles called for next time. Also, I did not care for the flavor the parmesan gave after sprinkled on top, so I will forego that myself next time.


My changes/substitutions:

-Any brand of ingredients will do.
-I doubled the recipe, it made a TON of soup.
-I added two garlic cloves, minced (one for single batch).
-I used slightly less onion.
-The store I went to didn't have italian style stewed tomatoes, so I used regular stewed and added some ground italian seasoning. I also used diced tomatoes w/basil, garlic and oregano. (So for double recipe I used two cans regular stewed and 2 cans diced w/ basil, garlic and oregano.)
-I used half veg. broth and half chicken broth.
-Store didn't have canellini beans, so I used Great Northern.
-Didn't have my basil EVOO, so used regular and it tasted fine. I also didn't use the parmesan on my serving.
Ingredients:

6 ounces COLAVITA Fusilli Pasta
2 tablespoons COLAVITA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 (14.5 - ounce) cans Italian style stewed tomatoes, chopped or lightly
blended
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 medium zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
1 (16 - ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons COLAVITA Basilolio, or more to taste
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large pot of
salted water, cook the fusilli for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.


2. In a large pot, heat the oil over low heat, add the green beans,
onion and bell pepper, sprinkle with salt; cover and allow them to sweat for 10 minutes, do not brown.

Add the stewed tomatoes, vegetable broth and water;
bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini, spinach and basil; simmer another 10 minutes.

Add the cannellini beans, pasta and red pepper flakes (if using) along with some additional broth or water if the soup seems too thick; simmer 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Ladle into warmed bowls, drizzle with Basilolio and a good sprinkle of
Parmesan cheese. Pass additional cheese if desired.

Serves 6 - 8
Per Serving: 278 Calories (28.1% from fat); 9g Fat (1g Sat, 5g Mono, 1g
Poly); 9g Protein; 42g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 725mg
Sodium. Food Exchanges: 2 Grain (Starch); 2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.

Here is my favorite Creamy Potato Soup, can be lightened up by using notes in parentheses.

Creamy Potato Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (I did not substitute here, but you could use canola or olive oil.)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
2 to 3 cups diced ham, about 1 pound (I substituted chopped smoked turkey.)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (Vegetable broth can be substituted if you prefer.)
1 cup water
4 to 5 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1 cup heavy cream (I substituted fat free half-and-half.)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half or whole milk, more if needed to thin (I used fat free half-and-half.)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and ham. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer. Add broth, water and potatoes; cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Whisk flour into the heavy cream until smooth; stir into the hot mixture. Stir in the half-and-half or milk. Taste and add salt and pepper, as desired. Mash slightly with potato masher to thicken and add more milk if needed. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve.

We like it topped with shredded cheddar jack cheese.

My favorite online links to soups are:

Spicy Tomato Blue Cheese Soup (I switch out cream for evaporated skim milk) Link

Carrot Peanut Link

Sun Dried Tomato Soup Link

Roasted Broccoli (I add a T or so of Romano cheese to my bowl before serving) Link

Split Pea with Ham Hock (I switch out hock for smoked turkey neck) Link

Chicken and Lentil Link

I love to just throw in veggies, maybe meat, broth, sometimes rice, barley or noodles, sometimes not. My best friend just made a soup that was plantains, white sweet potatoes, some split peas, barley, and carrots. It's really hearty, but it was perfect!

Thank you! That sounds scrumptious---almost like a pasta fagioli.

Thanks! That sun-dried tomato soup intriques me. I just made homemade tomato soup today, and it was good but seemed as if it needed a more intense tomato flavor, and the sun-dried tomatoes might remedy that.