Cabbage Beef Soup

Okay, I know that a cabbage soup doesn't sound good, but trust me on this one. This soup is GOOD! Super easy to make and healthy too! I found the recipe online somewhere a few years ago, but we modified and changed it according to what we like. 

Cook Time: Approx. 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

One pound of ground beef, cooked

1 16 ounce can of kidney beans. un-drained

1/2 to 2/3 a head of chopped cabbage

1 28 ounce can chopped or stewed tomatoes (We used a "fennel and red pepper" can) 

2-4 bouillon cubes (We use the little jar of soup base found next to the bouillon cubes at the store. It is easy to add a little extra flavor without having to use another cube since it is liquid. 2-3 teaspoons of this base was perfect.)

Spices: Garlic salt, pepper, oregano, minced onions... and whatever else suits your fancy.

1-2 cans worth of water

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all of the ingredients together and cook until the cabbage is tender, approx. 20-30 minutes. (TIP: You can start everything else cooking while you cook the ground beef to save on time!) The great part about this recipe is it is so easy to add extra ingredients if you want more. Another can of tomatoes, extra beans, etc. Also, it re-heats very well so leftovers are still delicious!

Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown rice 3 tablespoons butter 1 onion chopped 1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks) 3 tablespoons all purpose flour salt and pepper 1 regular sized can chicken broth 2 cups milk 2 cups diced and cooked chicken (we use canned shredded chicken) 

  Directions: 1. Cook rice according to directions on rice bag. We have a baby pressure cooker and cooked the rice in it for 10 minutes instead of the 30-60 minutes you often have to cook rice.) 2. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. 3. Add onion and celery to butter. Cook until veggies are almost soft. (5-10 minutes) 4.Add the flour, salt, pepper, milk and broth. Stir until soup has thickened. 5. Add the rice and chicken and allow all to heat up thoroughly. Recipe is from allrecipes.com. One of the best soups we've had and it was super easy to make!

"Magic" Vegetable Soup (From favfamilyrecipes.com)

 

Ingredients

• 2 cans chicken broth -you may use low-sodium (I don't!)
• 3 cups V-8 juice (you can use low-sodium V8 or even tomato juice, homemade or store bought)
• 2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic (I use the minced garlic from the jar)
• 1 package sliced mushrooms (I use two packs of mushrooms because I love them so much)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced (I add a few extra carrots)
• 1 zucchini, diced (I add extra zucchini and yellow squash)
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans (I never add these- it sounded not very good to me!)
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I do two cans of beans- cannellini and black beans)
• 3-4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (I don't always add this)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. In a large crockpot, combine sautéed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are cooked. (I have to cook mine for wayyyy longer, maybe because I add more vegetables. It goes for like 6 hours on high.)
• This makes a large batch of soup. (This fills my whole big crock pot, and there isn't a lot of juice. I freeze it in tupperware containers that I can then pull out one at a time. When I heat some up, I always add some tomato soup and a little garlic salt (my favorite way right now) or some Spicy V8. Warning- these are a lot of veggies, so you might want to take Beano before you eat it!! Just sayin'.....)

Crock Pot Potatoe Soup

This recipe has been making the rounds on facebook, and although we have yet to try it, it looks really good! Perfect for this fall season.

Ingredients:
1 30oz. bag of frozen diced hash browns
1 32 oz box of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup (10 oz)
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz, not fat free)
3 oz bacon bits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the potatoes in the crockpot. Add in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and half of the bacon bits. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cook on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
An hour before serving, cut the cream cheese into small cubes. Place the cubes in the crock pot. Mix a few times throughout the hour before serving.
Once the cream cheese is completely mixed in, it's ready to serve.
Top with cheddar cheese and some additional bacon bits.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This copycat Outback Steakhouse soup is amazing and really easy to make! 

Ingredients

2 boxes of chicken broth

1 jar of salsa

2 taco seasoning packets

3-4 shredded cooked chicken breasts

Finely chopped veggies and garlic (carrots, onion, corn, celery)

8 or so handfuls of crushed tortilla chips 

2 cans of Rotel

Lemon or lime juice to taste (we used fresh limes, sliced on the side)

2 cans of black beans

Sour cream

Directions 

Throw ingredients (except the sour cream and lemons or limes) in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hrs. Add sour cream approx. 30 minutes before soup is ready. Serve each bowl with fresh lemons or limes.