Tag: easy soup recipe

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Making Magic Out of Leftovers

Barefoot Faith Journey

Making Magic Out of Leftovers

Making Magic Out of Leftovers

Since I made the huge mistake of having Ham and Hashbrown Casserole two weeks in a row, tonight we are Making Magic Out of Leftovers. This is such an easy recipe and everyone really does enjoy it but I am not one to repeat meals too often (with the exception of pizza night). So, Zuppa Toscana will be, once again, pushed off until next week. God forbid we have two different soups in a week. Here is how I transformed my casserole into a fantastic soup using bits and pieces from my fridge as well (hence the shelf-cooking tag).

Ham and Hashbrown Casserole

Last night, we had ham and hashbrown casserole. I had fully intended to have it again tonight with the lima beans and some garlic bread (gf bread for one of my people). However, as much as we like this recipe, I was kind of over it. My family would never tell me they were tired of eating it but I know I am therefore I am sure they are as well.

When I did my bulk freezer cooking, I had enough ingredients to make this casserole twice. In making it twice, we ate on it, at least, four times because it made so much. We would have it as a main dish one night and a side dish the next. Wasting food, around my house, is not something I will do if I can help it. We eat it until it is gone or I freeze it. This time, I am repurposing it.

Realistic Shelf-Cooking with Leftovers

I looked in my fridge and I had a half a bag of bacon bits, some heavy cream I needed to use up, the casserole from last night, a few green onions, and some lunch meat ham that was ending its life. One child grabbed my crockpot and I set out to see what I could do. Normally, I would create a roux and add some sour cream, cream of chicken (or mushroom), and play around with the seasonings. This time, however, I didn’t have sour cream and I didn’t want to make my gf cream of chicken.

First, I dumped the leftovers into the crockpot. I then cut up the ham and tossed it in there. From that point, I added some water to loosen it up and the heavy cream. Since I added liquid, I did sprinkle in some chicken bouillon powder (nutritional yeast would have worked as well). I really wanted to saute up some fresh mushrooms, garlic, and onion but I didn’t want to take the time to do it. The mushrooms will be used for pizza night and the rest, I was just to lazy to do it.

I popped on the lid and set it to low. After a bit, I stirred it up and tasted it. It needed no seasoning but I did add some cheddar just because cheese makes everything better. My fear was that my potatoes would turn to mush but since I used cubed hashbrowns, they have kept their form. I’m restraining myself from stirring too often. Once you take the lid off the crockpot, you lose that seal and it takes a while to heat it back up.

I ate a bowl for lunch. For mine, I sprinkled on some green onions. It is fantastic! So now, we will ate it yesterday, today, and likely tomorrow for lunch. I serve one of my kids’ soup with gluten free saltine crackers.

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Easy Ham and Hashbrown Soup Recipe

Barefoot Faith Journey

Easy Ham and Hashbrown Soup Recipe

Easy Ham and Hashbrown Soup Recipe

Thanksgiving is over and we have some leftover ham. That is how I came up with this Easy Ham and Hashbrown Soup Recipe. There is also a half an onion that needs to be used up, a bit of garlic, a half of a bag of cheese, and some bacon bits. What on earth can I do? That was my thought process yesterday when I made this. I knew I had class for two hours starting at five, so it had to be a crockpot recipe. Also, I have my granddaughter so it was necessary for it to be super quick.

We love potato soup, but frying bacon and cutting potatoes was not on my agenda. I guess it wouldn’t have been on it anyway because I had no bacon and I am out of potatoes. Bart was going to make pizza but then what would the kids eat because there isn’t enough of that to go around. With one child being gluten free, I have to actually think about what I cook now. It can’t just be thrown together. So, here we are with what Bart calls one of the “best soups” he has had in a while.

Ingredients for Ham and Hashbrown Soup

1/2 KY legend ham, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 T. minced garlic

Seasoning

1/2 bag bacon bits

2 T. bacon grease (if you don’t have this, just throw in some butter)

6 cubes of chicken bouillon (if you don’t have this, you can use chicken broth and eliminate the water)

32 oz. water

1/8 c. nutritional yeast (you can omit this if you desire. I use it for nutritional value)

32 oz. shredded hashbrown

1/2 c. sour cream

1 c. heavy cream (I did not have this so I used 2% milk and it worked just fine)

3 T. gluten free flour (you can use any)

Cheese (I used a combo of about 1 1/2 c. colby and about a cup of cheddar)

 

Directions for Easy Soup Recipe

In crockpot, I put in the chopped up ham, onion, seasoning, nutritional yeast, bacon grease, bacon bits, hashbrown, and chicken bouillon powder (or cubes if that is what you have). I mixed this up really well and added 32 oz. water. Pop the lid on and cook on high for about 2 hours. I came back and stirred that around and then put it on low until I was about an hour from eating.

When I was about ready to serve, I took the lid off and added the cheese. While the cheese was melting, I got a measuring cup and put in my milk, sour cream, and flour. I whisked that together to get the lumps out. From there, I poured in the liquid and stirred well. You will start to see it thicken up fairly quickly. I put the lid back on for about 35-40 minutes (low) warm it all back up.

Then it was time to eat!  It really was good. You need to try it to see if you need to adjust the seasoning. Remember, you can add seasoning to a soup but you can’t take it back out. The secret to that is start with a little amount and adjust to taste. I was afraid it was going to be too salty with the ham, bacon grease, nutritional yeast, and seasoning. I thought it could use a bit more but didn’t put it in because it might have just been my tastebuds out of whack.

What I Would Do Differently

Hmmm, I would add some sauteed red, yellow, and orange peppers. I could get away with adding finely shredded zucchini. Fresh mushrooms would have been amazing in this soup as well. There was no cream of type of soup. That is good because it is hard to find gluten free, though it can be made. I just didn’t want to do that because of time constraints. It made a big crockpot full, so we will definitely have it for lunch and the boys will eat it tonight for supper.

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Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

As promised from yesterday’s post, this is the Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup that is so good! Bart was so impressed, and the pot was instantly all gone! So excited to add a new soup.

Ingredients

Pork Chops (I used boneless)

Seasoning

Bacon grease (or oil)

Butter

Seasoning

Parmesan Sauce

2 c. heavy cream

2 c. parmesan

Garlic

Spinach (chopped)

Fresh mushrooms (chopped)

Onion (chopped)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Addition

Potatoes washed and cubed (with or without skin)

2 c. cheddar

2 cartons of chicken broth (you can make your own or use water and chicken bouillon cubes)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

How to Make

In an electric skillet, pour some bacon grease (or oil) and butter. I pounded my chops and seasoned them well with my seasoning mix. Fry them up. Once done, remove them from the pan. Again, these were leftovers from last night, so all I did was chop them up into bite-size pieces.

Place all of the parmesan sauce ingredients in the same skillet the chops were in. Stir until thickened. This was, again, leftovers from the night before.

Soup Process

Get your chicken broth boiling, and add some seasoning. Put in your washed, cubed potatoes and let them boil. Once they were done, I scooped them into a bowl, leaving the chicken broth water in the pot.

I added the cream of mushroom soup, parmesan sauce, and cheddar to that pot. I whisked that all into the water to get all the lumps out. Then, I placed the cubed leftover pork chops and let them simmer to warm and soften them up. Once that was done, I added my potatoes back in.

So.  Freaking.  Good.

 

Cooking

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Chicken Alfredo Soup

Just go ahead and slap your mama. Dang, it. This Chicken Alfredo Soup is now tied for first place for Big Daddy. The other two are Easy White Chicken Chili with Cream Cheese and Pizza Soup Recipe. Frankly, I am impressed with myself.

Ingredients

3 cans of chicken, drained (feel free to use chicken breasts because you can use the broth)

Seasoning

Onion

Garlic

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. flour

1 c. heavy cream

Sour Cream

Chicken bouillon

Water

Parmesan

Mozzarella

Pasta

Directions

Saute up the cut-up onion and garlic in butter. Once sauteed, add in your flour and cook that down a bit. Get your whisk out and add 2 c. water. Whisk that all in really well. Now, I wish I could tell you how much chicken bouillon I used, but I used that paste. I think I did about 2 Tbsps. Sprinkle with your seasoning.

Once that is incorporated, add more water and keep stirring. I did this in my Instant Pot on saute mode, by the way. You will notice your “roux” is getting thicker. I think I did about 5 c. water. You can adjust accordingly. Add your chicken and parmesan.

Moving On

Let’s talk pasta real quick. I used bowtie pasta. I brought my water to a boil in my pot (not the instant pot). Once it came to a boil, I seasoned it and added my pasta. Drain and then add to your roux.

Next time, I might use a couple of boxes of Ditalini pasta or maybe cut up fettucini. The bowties were fine and good, but I think I want a smaller type, like a small rigatoni. Ugh, I need to go and look at all the types or make my own. Do you know what would be good? Putting in cheese tortellini. Cause, yum!

Anyway

Once I got all that in the pot, I added the heavy and sour cream. If you cook this in an instant pot, you must keep stirring because it will start to burn on the bottom. Baby it! In the end, I added about 2 cups (I know, I know) of mozzarella. Keep tasting to adjust the seasoning. Remember, you can always add seasoning, but you can’t take it out if you put too much in there. Start small and add as you like!

Dang, this was good. Had my Oak been here, I would’ve slapped her face 🙂 Then, she would have slapped me back, LOL.

 

Cooking

Pizza Soup Recipe

Barefoot Faith Journey

Pizza Soup Recipe

Pizza Soup Recipe

Is it a secret that I love soup? I don’t believe it is. So, without further ado, here is my Pizza Soup Recipe. It’s a keeper! Bart says it is tied for first for his favorite soups. The other is White Chicken Chili. I did this all in the Instant Pot, but you can do it on the stovetop!

Ingredients

2# sausage

2# ground beef

Pepperoni

You Can add any meat you want here or combine your favorite meat toppings in this soup. Also, if you like a lot of veggies on your pizza, chop them up and add them here because you want to cook them down a bit. I want to use peppers, but my husband doesn’t care. Mushrooms would be good!

1 onion

Minced Garlic

Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

Rosemary

1 jar of pizza sauce

Water (I believe I filled up the pizza sauce jar 3x and put it in there. Eyeball it.)

2 cans of Tomato Soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Mozzarella

Directions

On the saute mode (Instant Pot), combine the meats, onion, minced garlic, and seasoning. Cook until done, and drain if you need to. Once done, put it back in the pot and add your Italian Seasoning and Rosemary.

Next, add the sauce, water, and soups. Stir well and then place the lid on, seal, manual, for about 8-10 minutes. Everything is cooked, so you want to meld the flavors. Once done, use the quick release. Stir in your mozzarella. Again, put as much in there as you wish. I may have used 2 cups cause we like cheese!

Enjoy!

Oh, my original plan was to add a box of Ditalini noodles to it. I would have boiled them in saltwater on the stovetop. Then drained it and then added it to the instant pot. I have found that if I cook noodles that small in the IP, they get mushy.

 

Cooking

Spin-on Tortellini Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Spin-on Tortellini SoupSpin-on Tortellini Soup

I love Tortellini Soup. Love it. So, today, as I was getting the stuff out of my pantry, I thought I would create a Spin-on Tortellini Soup. The broth is excellent! I did this in my instant pot, but it can be done on the stove.

Caution of warning, do not put your milk-based items in the soup before you seal the soup. You put that in AFTER it is done cooking, releasing the pressure. I made that mistake once, and I will never make it again.

Ingredients

Kielbasa quartered

Onion, chopped

Fresh garlic, chopped

Spinach, chopped (or kale)

Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

1 can cream of mushroom

6 tsp chicken bouillon paste

1/2 c. sour cream

2 cans of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

Water

Directions

In Instant Pot, saute the garlic, onion, kielbasa, and seasoning mix. Add a bit of water if it starts sticking to the pan. Once that is done, add in cream of mushroom soup; I think I did about 6 tsp of chicken bouillon paste. I will say, at this point, I added the sour cream and mixed it well. It did not explode, so that is a good thing. Then, I added the tomato sauce and the sugar. Next, add chopped spinach and Italian seasoning. I added enough water to thin it out just a little bit. You can always add more water towards the end.

Place on the lid, and move the lever to the “seal” position. I hit the soup function and adjusted it to 10 minutes. Once that is done, I did a quick release. I stirred everything well and tasted the broth to ensure the seasonings were good. A good rule of thumb is to start small. You can always add more, but you can’t ever take the salt out of something.

Bechamel Sauce

3 T. butter

Flour, 3 T.

Melt together while whisking.

Add a cup of heavy cream, and continue to whisk while on medium heat. The flour will thicken up. Once it was thick, I added in about 2 c. of cheddar. Stir well until it is all combined.

From this point, I added some broth to the bechamel pan. I did this to thin it out and make it to that it would incorporate easier into the soup.

Once incorporated and stirred, I added it to the soup.

Cue the angels, singing.

Tortellini

I cook these in a separate pot. I feel the tortellini get too mushy if I do the tortellini in the instant pot. Doing this serves a dual purpose. I boil the water, season it, and scoop out my tortellini. I was keeping the starchy pasta in water. I add them to my Instant pot, and if I need additional water, I use the hot starchy water I cooked my tortellini in.

It’s good, people.

 

Cooking

Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic SoupKeto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup

I am trying so hard here to keep suppers keto-friendly. People, I love soup. Here are my YUMMY Keto-Friendly Chicken and Garlic Soup recipe.

I love soup. Yes, I do! How about you? Do you love soup as much as I do? I highly doubt it. We eat it all year round without batting an eye. It could be the dog days of summer, and we could be sweating our bits and pieces off. Yet, I will have a pot of chili going!

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

minced garlic

3 peppers, chopped (I used red, yellow, and orange)

fresh mushrooms

chicken stock or chicken bouillon

Water

heavy cream

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

4 cans chicken

cheddar

butter

seasoning

Directions

I sauteed up my chopped onion, peppers, fresh mushrooms, seasoning, and minced garlic in butter. This would be an excellent place to add kale or chopped spinach, but I didn’t add it this time. Once that was done, I added the chicken and enough water to cover it. I also added chicken bouillon to the water as I had no stock.

Put in the instant pot and set on the “soup” function for about 10 minutes.

Once that is done, I do a quick release. Added the cream cheese, cheddar, sour cream, and heavy cream. Remember, never count your milk-based products before starting the pressurizing part of the instant pot. I stirred it well and seasoned it according to my taste buds!

 

Cooking

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Keto-Friendly Cheeseburger Soup

Again, Cheesburger Soup is a staple at my house and very well-loved. The regular version of this soup is loaded with all the good things that make it great. Here is my quest at Keto-Friendly cheeseburger Soup, which was a success!

Ingredients

1# ground beef

1# sausage

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 T butter

minced garlic

seasoning

red pepper flakes

Italian Seasoning mix

Chicken broth

4 heaping tablespoons sour cream

1 c. heavy cream

water

3 c. cheddar

1 head of cauliflower (except next time, I will probably use 2!  chop up it unless you like HUGE chunks.)

8 slices of bacon, chopped

Directions

Get your bacon going in the oven. Once done, chop it up. Remember to save the grease.

In an Instant pot, get butter, minced garlic, and onion, cooking till translucent. Add meat, sausage, and seasoning, and cook till done. Drain, if necessary. Once drained, add Italian seasoning and Red pepper flakes (not too much if you don’t like the heat).

Once done, add in some water and chicken broth. Taste to see if it needs any more seasoning. Chop cauliflower (realize that by using the Instant pot, some of the smaller cauliflower will dissolve, so chop a mix of larger pieces (think potato chunks) and smaller ones so that they will dissolve and create a thicker consistency).

Next Up

Once you get all that in the pot, add enough water and/or chicken broth to cover the meat and cauliflower. Set on the “soup” function, which for me was 10 minutes. Do a quick release.

Add in the heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese. Stir till combined and taste for seasoning purposes or to add more cheese. After all, that, add your chopped bacon.

The soup was delicious. You could not tell that I did not use potatoes or a “cream” type of soup in it.

 

 

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Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Okay, I love soup. I love it loaded with cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and all the ooey-gooey deliciousness that comes with the comfort of soup. Here is my version of a Keto-Friendly Broccoli and Cheese Soup.

Yet, there is Big Daddy.

He is determined to work on his health. I mean, not necessarily to lose weight, to eat better to see what could be causing his joints to hurt. So, I’m taking some family favorites and attempting to revamp some recipes.

Please bear in mind that I do not use measurements. I do a base, and I taste to see if it needs any more seasoning, cheese, thickening agent, etc. This dish is also low carb. Also, I did do this in the instant pot!

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen cut-up broccoli

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets

2 T. butter

1/2 large onion

Minced garlic

Seasoning

Chicken stock

Water

Cheddar (I think I used about 3 cups)

2 oz. cream cheese

4 heaping tablespoons of sour cream

1 c. heavy cream

8 slices of crispy bacon, chopped up

Directions

Get your bacon in the oven. Once done, chop it up! Be sure and save the bacon grease in a mason jar. You can always use a parmesan cheese lid to screw on it if you don’t have a mason jar lid.

Saute up the butter, garlic, and onion until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped-up broccoli and about 3 cups of water. I put it in the instant pot and set it to the “soup” mode. Once it was done, I did a quick release, took my potato masher, and mashed up the cooked broccoli. This helps thicken the soup.

Next Up

Once that was done, I added some chicken stock. I didn’t want it too soupy, so I eyeballed it. Then, I added the heavy cream, cream cheese, sour cream, and seasoning. I got that all mixed up and taste-tested it. Once I had an excellent seasoning/chicken broth/water ratio, I added in the cheddar cheese.

Lastly, I cut up the HUGE pieces of broccoli florets and threw them in the pot. I put the lid back on and set it on “manual” for about 3 minutes, but for the most part, the hot liquid cooked the broccoli. It would be wrong if it were undercooked or overcooked.

Last but not least, I added the bacon.

Verdict

This broth was spot on, and I was shocked at the ability of the mushed of the first bag of broccoli and the cream cheese to thicken it up so nicely. I could get naked and swim in that broth 🙂 That was too much, wasn’t it :/

 

 

Cooking

Lasagna Soup

Barefoot Faith Journey

Lasagna Soup

 

Lasagna Soup

2 pounds of ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 c. kale, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

In an instant pot, brown these all together with seasoning and drain.

Mix beef mixture, basil, oregano, and Italian Seasoning in the same pot. Then add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes (I pureed these up because Big Daddy does “not like chunks”), the equivalent of one can of cream of mushroom (can either use canned or make your own GF version). Next, add 4 chicken bouillon cubes, 32 oz—of water, and lasagna noodles (I used about 6) that are broken up.
Turn on the manual for 15 minutes.
Quick-release.
Check noodles and put them back on manual, if needed.
Add 1 c. milk, 2 c. cheddar cheese, and 1/2 c. sour cream.
Stir well and serve with parmesan.