Coconut Curry Chicken Soup (Curry Mee)

I had this soup for the first time at a Saints party.  I have been planning to make it for over a year and I finally did.  On my first attempt, I used rice noodles not glass or cellophane noodles, well the rice noodles soaked up all of the liquid and I was left with a soggy stew-like paste (very tasty paste, but paste all the same).  Round two: glass noodles, and wait till the soup is served to place them in the bowl.  Much better!

Ingredients:

• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1 C. onions, finely chopped
• 1 T. ginger, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 T. red Thai curry paste (more or less depending on your heat level)
• 1 lb. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces (about 2 breasts or 5 tenderloins)
• 2 (14 oz.) cans coconut milk
• 1 qt. (4 C.) chicken stock
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-inch strips
• 1 C. sugar snap peas
• ½ C. green onions, finely chopped
• ¼ C. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• 8 oz. glass noodles

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the onions and ginger in the vegetable oil until soft about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and the curry paste and cook for one minute.
3. Add the chicken and stir fry for two minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk and incorporate the curry paste into the milk.
5. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, red bell pepper and sugar snap peas.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until the chicken is cooked through about 10 minutes.
7. While the soup simmers, prepare the glass noodles by boiling in water for 4 minutes.  Rinse and drain.  Reserve.
8. Add the green onions, cilantro, and lime juice to the soup and allow to simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
9. Place the glass noodles in the bottom of the soup bowl and ladle the soup over the noodles.
10. Serve with sambal (chili paste) for those who like extra heat!

Tips and Tricks:

• If you use leftover chicken for this recipe, you’ll need about 2 C. chopped.  Just wait and add it when you add the snap peas and bell pepper.
• Don’t be tempted to add the noodles to the soup pot.  They soak up all of the soup.  (I know because that’s what I did.)
• This soup freezes great!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This is yummy comfort food.  Rich and savory, perfect with a nice piece of crunchy french bread for soaking up the last bits in the bowl.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts bone-in skin on
• 2 T. olive oil
• ½ T. kosher salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 C. onions, finely chopped
• 1 C. carrots, chopped
• 1 C. celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 qts. (8 C.) chicken stock
• ½ T.  kosher salt
• ½ T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 t. garlic salt
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• ½ lb. of wide egg noodles
• 1 and ½ sticks (3/4 C.) butter
• 3/4 C. flour
• 1 qt. (4 C.) half and half

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan and bake for 35 minutes.
4. Heat onions, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken stock and all seasonings in a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat until boiling, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for one hour.
5. While soup is simmering, remove the skin and bones from the chicken breasts and cut into small bite size pieces. Reserve.
6. Add the noodles and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
7. Make the cream sauce in a separate pot while the noodles cook.
8. Melt the butter over low heat, while whisking, add the flour a little at a time, then slowly add the half and half and continue whisking until the cream thickens about 5 minutes.
9. Add the cream sauce and the chicken to the soup, stir well and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
10. Serve hot!

Tips and Tricks:

• If you use leftover chicken for this recipe, you’ll need about 2 C. chopped.
• This soup freezes great!

Acorn Squash Soup

This tastes like Autumn in a bowl.  It is rich and creamy and a little bit spicy.  It's a Guy Fieri recipe.  It is exceptionally good with a cold Abita Amber or Newcastle Brown Ale.  I thought of you while I ate this soup, Erin, Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 large gold acorn squash
• 3 T. olive oil
• ½ C. (1 stick) butter, softened (6 T. for squash and 2 T. for sautéing the onions)
• 3 shallots, whole, peeled
• 6 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
• 1 T. kosher salt (6 – ½ t.)
• 1 T. pepper (6 – ½ t.)
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 4 C. chicken stock
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. sage
• 1 t. thyme
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• ¼ t. white pepper
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 C. heavy cream
• ½ C. Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with foil, and then cut the squash in half.
3. Scoop out the seeds and place them in a bowl filled with water, if you want to roast the seeds, if you don’t then just pitch them out.
4. Place the squash halves on the baking sheet with 1 T. of butter in each squash half (coat all the squash flesh well).
5. Place 2 garlic cloves in 3 of the halves, and 1 shallot in the other 3 halves.
6. Cover the garlic and shallots with 1 t. of olive oil and ½ t. of salt and ½ t. of pepper, in each half.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the squash is caramelized and soft.
8. Allow the squash to cool and then scoop the flesh out of the squash halves, including the garlic and shallots, and place in a bowl.  Discard the skin.
9. Melt the additional 2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, and then add the onions and sauté until clear, about 10 minutes.
10. Add the squash, shallots, garlic, and chicken stock and bring to a low boil.
11. Reduce the heat and then add the salt, cayenne, white pepper, sage, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce.
12. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes and then puree with an immersion blender.
13. Finally, add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and then stir well and serve hot with Roasted Squash Speeds or croutons.

Tips and Tricks:

• Roasted Squash Seeds make a great snack.  They are crunchy and flavorful and rich in vitamins and minerals like vitamins A & C, folate (which is nature’s version of folic acid), potassium, calcium and iron.  Follow my recipe which can be made while the squash is roasting in the oven.

Vichyssoise

I love soup.  Soup is supposed to be HOT, not cold, except for Vichyssoise or Gazpacho.  I don’t like Gazpacho, but I do like Vichyssoise and I think you might like it too.  Try it.  If you don’t like it cold, you can always eat this soup hot, it’s good both ways.  This is the combination of an Alton Brown recipe, with the addition of the Boursin that comes from Emeril.

Ingredients:

• 4 leeks (medium to large),  cleaned, ONLY dark green section removed, and sliced into ¼ inch pieces
• 4 T. butter
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 small), peeled and diced small
• 8 C. chicken stock
• 1 C. heavy cream
• 1 C. buttermilk
• ½ t. white pepper
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 (5.2 oz.) Boursin cheese, garlic and herbs
• 1 T. chives, snipped

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over low heat, and cook the leeks with the salt for 20 – 25 minutes (don’t let the leeks brown)
2. Add the potatoes and the chicken stock and turn the heat up to medium-high
3. When the stock begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for 45 minutes
4. Using an immersion blender, or a traditional blender in batches, blend the soup until it is a thick, creamy consistency
5. Add the heavy cream, buttermilk, white pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir well
6. Add the Boursin cheese and stir well to melt
7. Serve hot with chives as a garnish

Tips and Tricks:

• To clean leeks, slice them open vertically. Fill the sink with cool water and allow the leeks to soak in the water.  Separate the leaves and scrub the sand out of layers.  Drain the water and allow the water to run over the leeks, and then dry with a clean dishcloth.
• This soup can also be served cold.  Vichyssoise IS normally served cold, but this soup is very good hot.
• I have made this with half and half instead of the heavy cream and buttermilk.  If you do, add 1 T. of fresh lemon juice to 2 C. of half and half, to mimic the buttermilk.  Buttermilk is tart and the lemon juice does the trick.

Tomato Basil Soup

Don't you love that "Tomato Basil Soup" at La Madeleine?  I do and this is a "Copy Cat" recipe.  Easy to make and delicious!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 C. of crushed tomatoes
• 4 C. of tomato juice
• 14 fresh basil leaves, cut into small strips
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 C. heavy cream 

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent, about 10 minutes
2. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute
3. Add tomatoes, tomato juice, basil, salt, and cayenne pepper and cook for 30 minutes
4. Add the butter and cream and stir well
5. Serve hot with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese

Tips and Tricks:

• I use canned tomatoes for this recipe, but fresh tomatoes can be used.  Peel the tomatoes first before crushing them. 
• When chopping the basil, stack the basil leaves one on top of another and then roll the leaves into a tube.  Slice into thin ribbons.
• This soup is great with a grilled cheese sandwich.  I make a Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich.  Follow my link to see how I make mine.

Taco Soup

This is so easy, but so tasty.  It is a Paula Deen recipe that I made my own.  It is a wonderful meal to come home to on a cold night.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 C. onions, finely chopped
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can Mexican Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of green chilies
• 1 can of sliced black olives
• 1 pack of taco seasoning
• 1 pack of Ranch seasoning
• 2 C. of beef stock
• 8 oz. Velvetta chrese

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, brown ground chuck and then drain.
2. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat and sauté onions until soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add all the cans of vegetables, including the water in the cans and the ground chuck.
4. Stir well and add the taco and Ranch seasoning, and then the beef stock.
5. Cook for 1 hour on medium-low heat.
6. Add chunks of Velvetta and allow to throughly melt. 
7. Serve hot.

Tips and Tricks:

• Don’t have beef stock?  Just use 2 C. of boiling water and dissolve 2 beef bouillon cubes in the water.
• After the ground meat is browned and the onions are sautéed, you can add everything to a slow cooker and cook this on a low setting for about 6 hours instead of cooking on the stove.
• Tortilla chips, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, or sliced jalapeños can all be used when serving this soup.  Add what you like.
• This freezes great!

Egg Drop Soup with Chicken

I wanted to try making an egg drop soup, but I wanted it to have some substance.  I researched several recipes and this is a culmination of many of them.  It came out great!  (Kuddos, to the chef.  I know, I'm patting myself on the back.)

Ingredients:

• 1 C. finely chopped green onions
• 8 shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 8 C. chicken stock
• 2 t. soy sauce
• 2 t. toasted sesame oil
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. white pepper
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• ½ C. cornstarch
• 1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 6 eggs, scrambled

Directions:

1. Bring the chicken stock to a low boil in a Dutch oven and simmer
2. While stock is simmering, cut the green onions and mushrooms then add them to pot with the soy sauce
3. Allow the stock to simmer with the onions and mushroom for about 20 minutes
4. Toss the chicken in a small bowl with the sesame oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, and about 2 T. of the cornstarch
5. Add the coated chicken to the pot
6. Stir well and allow to simmer about 2 minutes
7. Add about ½ C. of water to the remaining cornstarch and stir until smooth
8. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pot and stir while the soup thickens, about 2 minutes
9. Slowly add the scrambled eggs while stirring the soup back and forth, ribbons of the eggs will form
10. Serve piping hot

Tips and Tricks:

• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine.
• If you can't find shitake mushrooms, use cremini, which are the baby portobellos.
• When serving, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the top.  Yum!
• This soup freezes great!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

When it gets cold, this is the dish I want to fill my belly. My Mom told me I couldn't make a good chicken and sausage gumbo, without the bones, but the key is a good chicken stock.  I make my own. 

Ingredients:

• 2 C. of chopped onions
• 1 C. of chopped bell pepper
• 1 C. of chopped celery
• 6 cloves of mined garlic
• 1 bunch of green onions finely chopped
• ½ C. of fresh parsley finely chopped
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 lbs of smoked sausage cut into semi circles
• 1 (32oz.) bag of frozen okra
• 2 cans of Rotel
• 12 C. chicken stock
• 4 C. of water
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T. of salt
• ½ T. of black pepper
• 1 T. of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• ½ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 C flour
• 1 C vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dust with flour
2. In cast iron pot, brown chicken in ½ cup of veggie oil
3. Remove Chicken and let rest
4. Add other ½ cup of oil, and make roux with oil and flour over medium high heat until the color of dark peanut butter
5. Add onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until limp
6. Add garlic for 1 minute
7. Add okra and cook for 30 min
8. Add Rotel then transfer to a gumbo pot
9. Add chicken stock, water, sausage, salt, pepper, Creole Seasoning, and cayenne
10. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 ½ hours
11. While gumbo is cooking cut chicken into 1inch chunks
12. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken
13. Cook for ½ hour
14. Add green onions and parsley and cook for 10 minutes
15. Serve with rice

Tips and Tricks:

• If you don’t have a cast iron pot you can make a roux in a heavy bottomed pot instead. The trick is to stir constantly. You can NOT multi-task during this step. This is where the base of flavor for your gumbo comes. Be careful to cook the roux at least 10 minutes, because you are browning the chicken first, the roux starts darker than normal.
• I use Bryan Cajun Smoke Sausage in my gumbos. It has a soft casing that absorbs some of the gumbo. Yum!
• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine. 
• This gumbo always tastes better the next day, so make some room in your refrigerator. The flavors get to “marry” (as 9^th ward Gloria says) as they sit over night.

Corn and Crab Soup

This is a "cheating" recipe.  You are cheating because of the canned soup, but it is a quick and easy soup and it tastes great.  I have my sister-in-law Donna to thank for this one.  It is a holiday favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of lump crabmeat
• 1 can of cream of onion soup
• 1 can of cream of celery soup
• 1 can of cream corn
• 1 can of white corn
• 3 C. whole milk
• 1 pint of half and half
• ½ stick of butter
• ½ C. of green onions, chopped fine
• ½ T. concentrated liquid crab boil

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté green onions in butter, until limp
2. Add each of the ingredients and cook on medium heat, DO NOT BOIL
3. When the soup looks like it is to a boiling heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 more minutes

Tips and Tricks:

• You can use heavy cream in the place of the half and half if you want a thicker soup.
• This is a great soup for the crock pot, low setting for a few hours.
• The cream of “whatever” soup is your choice.  I have made this with lots of different varieties.  Cream of potato is nice, and then it acts more like chowder. 

Italian Wedding Soup

My Mom and I used to love the Italian Wedding Soup at Bravo.  I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe and I made it myself.  It is good, perfect for a chilly night.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1 lb. ground pork
• ½ lb. pork sausage, casing removed
• 2/3 C. Italian bread crumbs
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ C. Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• ¼ C. Parmesan cheese, grated
• ¼ C.milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. black pepper

Soup:

• ¼ C. olive oil
• 1 C. onions, finely chopped
• 1 C. carrots, chopped
• 1 C. celery, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. cayenne pepper
• 12 C. chicken stock
• ½ C. dry white wine
• 1 C. small pasta like tubetini or Acini di pepe
• ¼ C. chopped dill
• 1 (6 oz.) bag of baby spinach, stems trimmed off, and cut into ¼
• Grated Romano cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl (don’t over work the meat, just until everything is combined)
3. Using a 1 inch scoop leveled, form a ball (don’t pat the meatball, allow them to be loose formed)
4. Place the meatballs on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes
5. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot and add chopped onions, celery, and carrots cooking until veggies are soft, about 10 minutes
6. Add garlic for last minute
7. Deglaze the pot with the white wine (this step is NOT in the cookbook)
8. Add salt and cayenne pepper
9. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil
10. Add the pasta and cook simmering for 8 minutes
11. Add the dill and the meatballs and cook for 2 minutes
12. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute
13. Cut the heat
14. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with grated Romano cheese

Tips and Tricks:

• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine.
• This recipe called for ground chicken and chicken sausage.  I couldn’t find ground chicken, so I used ground pork and green onion pork sausage.  I liked it, so I changed the recipe.
• This soup freezes great!

Spicy Corn Chowder

This is a recipe from the Neelys.  It's spicy and hearty and it feeds about 8 people.  I made this with leftover corn and potatoes from a seafood boil.  It came out great!

Ingredients:

• ½ lb. of bacon, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium, red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small jalapeño, chopped (seeds and ribs removed)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 T. kosher salt
• ¼ C. all-purpose flour
• 6 C. chicken stock
• 2 large red potatoes, small diced
• 1 C. heavy cream
• 1 lb. frozen corn or 6 fresh ears
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the bacon until crisp then remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and reserve
2. Add the onions and red peppers to the pot and sauté until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes
3. Add the salt, garlic, and jalapeño and sauté for 1 minute
4. Add the flour and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently
5. Stir in the chicken stock and the potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender
6. Add the bacon, cream, corn, cayenne, and bay leaf
7. Simmer for 20 minute
8. Remove the bay leaf and about 4 C. of the chowder into a bowl
9. Puree the 4 C. of chowder in a blender or use an immersion blender
10. Return to the pot and stir well
11. Serve hot

Tips and Tricks:

• Do NOT scrap the seeds of a jalapeno pepper out with your fingernails.  You WILL regret this.  Scrap with a teaspoon and save your skin.
• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better. Follow my link to find out how I make mine.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

When Gabby had her jaw surgery, we ate a lot of soup.  This is a combination of a few recipes I found thanks to Food Network.  I tweaked it a few times, but it is really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped fine
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ stick of butter
• 1 t. of fresh thyme, chopped fine
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. white pepper
• A pinch of fresh nutmeg
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1/3 C. flour
• 6 C. chicken stock
• 2 (16 oz.) chopped broccoli
• 1 pint of half and half
• 2 C. sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
• 1 lb. of Velveeta, cubed

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions and celery in butter, until limp
2. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute
3. Add flour and cook for 3 minutes
4. Slowly add the chicken stock while whisking constantly
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the stock thickens, about 5 minutes
6. Add broccoli and cook for 10 minutes
7. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is the consistency you like
8. Add the half and half, then the cheese
9. Heat until all the cheese is melted and serve

Tips and Tricks:

• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine.
• You can use heavy cream in the place of the half and half if you want a thicker soup.
• The fresh thyme really makes a big difference in this soup.

Corn Macque Choux

This is my Mom and Dad's recipe for Macque Choux.  My Dad liked corn.  He made Macque Choux different ways, but this was a favorite because it is a one pot meal.  It serves like a soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 C. of finely chopped onions
• 1 C. of finely chopped bell pepper
• 1 C. of finely chopped celery
• 6 cloves of mined garlic
• ¾ C. vegetable oil
• 6 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob and scraped
• ½ lb. of pickle meat or ham seasoning
• 3 lbs. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb. of smoked sausage cut into semi circles
• 2 cans of Rotel
• 2 cans of Cajun stewed tomatoes
• 2 cans of yellow corn
• 2 cans of white corn
• 2 cans of cream corn
• 10 C. shrimp stock or chicken stock
• 2 T. of salt
• 1 T. of black pepper
• ½ t. of cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a gumbo pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until limp
2. Add garlic for 1 minute
3. Run the Rotel and stewed tomatoes through a food processer
4. Add both to the pot and cook for 10 minutes
5. Add the fresh corn, including the cobs, to the pot
6. Add the chicken or shrimp stock, sausage, ham, salt, pepper, and cayenne
7. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes
8. Add the can corn and cook for an additional 15 minutes
9. Stir then add the shrimp and cook for an additional 15 minutes

Tips and Tricks:

·        My Dad insists that the KEY to Macque Choux is scraping the corn cob to get the “milk” from the corn.  After you cut the kernels off the cob, you need to scrape the knife down the side of the cob and add the “milk to the bowl of corn. 

·        I use Bryan Cajun Smoke Sausage. 

·        I use Green Giant corn.

·        You can make shrimp or chicken stock.  It is easy! Follow my link to find out how I make mine. 

Baked Potato Soup

This is a recipe from my friend Erin.  I tweaked it by adding more cheese and milk, that's a shocker, Right?  Hey, it's low-fat milk and it makes enough for several people.

Difficult to see white soup in a white bowl, Huh?

Ingredients:

• 4 large baked potatoes
• ¾ C. flour
• ½ gallon of low-fat milk (8 C.)
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 C. sour cream
• ¾ C. chopped green onions
• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 1 small chopped onion
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• ½ stick of butter (4 T.)
• 1 T. kosher salt
• 1 T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• Fresh chives

Directions:

1. Peel and coarsely mash the baked potatoes
2. Melt butter in large pot, add onions and cook until clear, about 10 minutes  
3. Add garlic for an additional minute
4. Whisk in flour and then gradually add milk while continuing to whisk
5. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly
6. Stir in mashed potatoes, most of the cheese, salt, Creole seasoning, sour cream, green onions, and bacon
7. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes
8. Top with more cheese and chives to serve

Tips and Tricks:

• The best way to bake potatoes is without foil in a 450 degree oven.  Depending on size, they usually take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• I’ve tried making this recipe with Colby, mild cheddar, and sharp cheddar cheese.  Sharp cheddar is my favorite, but use what you like.
• I like to add chives when serving.  Chives are NOT green onions.  They are milder and thinner than green onions.  Chop the green onions to cook in the soup and the chives to serve ON the soup.   You can find them by the fresh herbs in the produce section.

Cauliflower Soup

This is a crock pot recipe that my friend Michelle shared with me.  It's easy and low fat.  Just put everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized cauliflower
• 2 C. of peeled and cubed potatoes
• 3 medium leeks
• 4 C. of chicken broth
• 1 T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 8 ounces of Swiss cheese cut in cubes

Directions:

1. Cut leeks lengthwise and wash well
2. Break cauliflower into pieces and rinse
3. Slice the leeks into semi-circles  
4. Add all ingredients into a crock pot, except Swiss cheese
5. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours
6. Using an electric mixer or stick blender, puree for a minute or so
7. Turn off crock pot and add cubes of cheese
8. Let cheese melt for about 5 minutes and then serve

Tips and Tricks:

• I use a Baby Swiss cheese for this recipe.  It melts smoother.
• You can use green onions if you can’t find leeks.  It tastes similar.

French Onion Soup with Garlic Cheese Rounds

This recipe is the combination of three different recipes that I've tweaked.  It is not difficult, just time consuming.  (I know, I have a lot of recipes like that.)  This is the perfect first course for a dinner party.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. of red onions
• 1 ½ sticks of butter
• 1 T. salt
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 2 T. flour
• 6 bouillon cubes
• 10 C. chicken stock
• 2 T. Pickapeppa sauce
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 French baguette
• Garlic powder
• Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 10 slices of Swiss cheese

Directions:

1. Slice onions into ¼ inch rings
2. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions, salt, cayenne pepper, and 1 stick of butter over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, until they start to brown
3. Add flour and cook for 3 minutes
4. Dissolve bouillon cubes in ¼ C. of boiling water
5. Add bouillon, chicken stock, and sauces
6. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer on lowest heat possible
7. Cook for 2 hours
8. While soup is simmering, make the Garlic Cheese rounds
9. Slice baguette into thin slices and spread with butter and sprinkle with garlic powder and Creole Seasoning
10. Broil for about 3 minutes until toasted
11. Add a  ½ slice of Swiss cheese and broil until cheese melts
12. Serve piping hot soup with Garlic Cheese rounds floating on top

Tips and Tricks:

• I use a Baby Swiss cheese for this recipe.  It melts smoother.  Cut a square piece of cheese into 4 pieces and place two small squares on each slice of baguette. After the rounds cool,  I cut them into 4 pieces, so they are bite size croutons in the soup.
• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine.