When I first told them what it was called, they were less than enthusiastic – until I said it was a variation of French Onion soup. Then they were excited. Hypocrites.

This recipe does take about an hour to make, unless like me you think the red onions at my local grocery store are “large”, and not actually almost twice the size of the stereotypical large onion. By the way, a large onion comes to about 1 to 1.5 cups of sliced onions. The red onions I bought came to about 2 to 2.5 cups sliced. Can you see where I started having difficulties? LOL! So, after taking half the onions out of the pan after they’d been cooking for 20 minutes, everything go back on track and the dish was done within a reasonable about of time.

It turned out very good, with the balsamic vinegar giving it a tangy sweetness enhanced by the onions and mustard. The original recipes is Caramelized Balsamic-Red Onion Soup with Cheese-Topped Croutons at Serious Eats. I made some changes, based on the ingredients I had on hand.

Caramelized Balsamic-Red Onion Soup with Cheese-Topped Croutons

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
6 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons prepared mustard (I used Meijer Gold spicy grainy mustard)
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or a combination of the two)
6 slices French bread
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

Heat a large pot over medium heat for one minute. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan, and then add the butter. Once it melts, add the sliced onions and salt, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and mustard, stir well, and cook for five minutes.

Pour in the six cups of water, and turn the heat to high. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the slices of bread on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and cook for five minutes. Carefully remove the sheet, and turn on the broiler. Divide the cheese between the slices of bread. Set the sheet under the broiler for however long it takes to melt the cheese, about 30 seconds. Remove the sheet, turn off the heat, and set aside.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a crouton. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

The original recipe called for broken up lasagna noodles, but we found we didn’t like it with the big pieces. We substitute in extra-wide egg noodles instead, and omit the ricotta – we don’t think it misses it at all.

Lasagna Stoup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound ground beef sirloin (we use whatever we have and the drain the meat)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth
One 28-ounce can Italian crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound extra-wide egg noodles
1 cup basil leaves, torn
Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, to pass around the table

In a soup pot, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain if necessary. Stir in the onion, carrots and garlic and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups water, the chicken broth and tomatoes; cover and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper then serve.

Based on Rachael Ray’s Lasagna Stoup.

All I can say is oh my god, it’s good! I could easily have devoured the entire pot myself, it was so yummy. It got Ari’s seal of approval too – she gobbled up everything in her bowl. Definitely being added to the list of family favorites.

Sausage & Cabbage Soup

Serves 4

3 slices bacon — diced small
12 ounces polish sausage — sliced
1 cup sliced red onion
8 ounces shredded cabbage
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons spicy mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Put the bacon in a cold dutch oven and turn the heat on to medium to medium high. Stir occaisionally until the bacon is crispy.

Add the sausage and onion and cook, stirring once in a while, until the onion is starting to get tender.

Put the cabbage in the pot, stir it up well, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.

Just before serving, stir in the mustard and red wine vinegar.

Source: “http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/dinner-recipes/Sausage–Potato-and-Cabbage-Stew”

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 388 Calories; 28g Fat (63.3% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 1452mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

It’s been added to the “yes, we’d love to eat it again” list. I’ve included the nutrition information for the soup, but you need to be aware the fat count is way off. Yes, there’s half a pound of bacon, but all the fat that came out when it was cooked was drained off, so it’s not as bad as it looks.

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

 
Serves 6

1/2 pound bacon — chopped
1 medium onion — diced
2 medium carrots — sliced thin
1 pound ground round
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
2 medium potatoes — peeled and diced
2 cups milk, 1% lowfat
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese — cubed or shredded

Put bacon into a cold, large heavy bottomed Dutch oven. Turn heat onto medium to medium high and cook until the bacon starts to get crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and put onto a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Pour the bacon fat out of the pot and into a mug or something that can handle really hot stuff, leaving only what covers the bottom of the pot.

Add onion, carrots, ground round, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the pot and cook until the meat is browned. Drain off any liquid.

Add chicken broth and potatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add milk, and cook 5 minutes. Smash a bunch of the potatoes up to help thicken the soup.

Remove the pot from the heat. Add cheese to soup and stir until melted. Serve immediately.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 658 Calories; 46g Fat (63.6% calories from fat); 42g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 127mg Cholesterol; 1805mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 5 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 6 Fat.

NOTE: The fat count is *way* off, as most of the bacon fat is rendered out and drained off.

I decided I’d share with you my favorite way of making chicken broth – and in doing so, my favorite no fail way to roast a chicken.

Roasted Chicken Broth

 
The first thing you need to do is roast a chicken.

one 5-6 lb chicken
your favorite seasoning (we use Montreal Chicken seasoning or seasoned salt and pepper)
2 carrots, cut in half and then cut lengthwise (so they have a flat edge)
2 stalks celery, cut in half
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
olive oil (optional)
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with the non-stick cooking spray. Put the carrots, celery and onions in it, and lightly drizzle with olive oil if you choose. Season your chicken (don’t forget to season the cavity too) and put the chicken on top of the vegetables.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes, plus 8 minutes for each pound over 4 lbs (so a 5.5 lb chicken would take 57 minutes to an hour). I honestly don’t remember what temperature you’re supposed to cook chicken to, but if any of it is raw or questionable, I just leave the meat on the carcass and it goes into the soup. When the chicken is cooked, taken it out of the oven and let it rest for at lest ten minutes.

If you’re not going to eat the chicken meat right away, wait for it to be cool enough to handle, then remove most of the meat from the bones. Don’t pick it completely clean, as you’re going to want some meat to go into the soup pot. Oh, and if anyone’s mouth touches a bone, the bone goes into the trash, not the soup pot.

Tip: when removing the meat, keep the chicken in the baking pan. That way if any juices run, they’ll end up in the pan, and not lost.

Once you’ve removed the meat from the bones, put the bones, the roasted veggies and any drippings, fat or whatever is in the baking pan into the pot you’re going to make soup in. Ideally, the pot should be just big enough to fit the intact carcass without having to break it up. Add the following to the pot:

garlic (I use anywhere from a heaping soup spoon to 1/3rd cup of minced garlic)
1 large bay leaf (or two or more smaller ones)
5 to 8 black pepper corns
1 tablespoon white vinegar
enough water to cover everything in the pot, plus 1″ above that

Put the pot on a back burner of your stove, turn the heat to medium low, cover it, and let is simmer for at least an hour or two. Your chicken broth is done when you stir it with a wooden spoon and the carcass falls completely apart into its individual bones.

Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 1 hour. Strain the broth into another pot through a colander or sieve to remove all the bones and mushy vegetables. Cover the pot and put it in the fridge to chill overnight. The next day, use a spoon to skim all the fat off the soup, then package the soup up for freezing (or use it to make something delicious immediately!).

Why do I cook the broth so long? Doing so extracts everything out of the cartilage and connective tissue and creates (I think) a better tasting soup. I also find the best soups are the ones that, when they’ve chilled completely, have the consistency of jello.

Why the vinegar? You won’t taste that small amount of it in the broth, but it helps draw out all the yummy goodness (especially the calcium) from the bones and makes for a better soup.

You may have noticed I didn’t list salt as an ingredient. I find there’s enough salt left over from the innitial seasoning of the chicken, so I don’t need to add any. Feel free to add salt if you wish. The point of this is to get chicken broth you love the taste of.

If you make chicken broth and you find it tastes rather bland, try adding a bit of salt. If that doesn’t work, bring the broth to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it reduce for a while, checking every 15 minutes until you like the taste.

Curried Chicken and Cider Soup

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 whole onion — chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — grated
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup apple cider
4 cups chicken broth
1 large sweet potato — peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups mirepoix (carrot, onion and celery), Kroger brand (frozen)
2 cups cooked chicken — shredded

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, mirepoix and ginger and 1 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add curry powder and cumin and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in cider, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth and the sweet potato and bring to a boil. simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. If you’ve got a regular blender, puree the soup in batches and return it to the pot. Stir in the chicken and warm it through over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, then serve.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 294 Calories; 8g Fat (26.2% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 60mg Cholesterol; 876mg Sodium. (I’m not so sure about this Sodium count. I used home made stock, and I’m pretty sure the sodium content is lower that stuff purchased from the store.)

Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 1/2 Fat.

NOTES : Based on the Curried Chicken-and-Chowder Soup recipe at www.rachaelraymagazine.com

Something else I’ve been looking at is freezer meals – meals you assemble and put directly into the freezer to be cooked later, or are completely cooked and can be thawed and reheated at a later time. We got a gift card for a bookstore for Christmas, and we finally got around to spending it. I picked up the book Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer. It’s been recommended by several of the sites I read.

This recipe is my version of Continental Beef – I used smoked paprika (as I wanted a smoky flavor) and reduced the amount of mushrooms (as while we like the mushroom flavor, half the family has issues with their texture).

Lisa’s Continental Beef

 
Makes 6-8 servings.

2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb white button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 lbs boneless chuck eye roast (or any other beef suitable for stew)
8 oz plain tomato sauce
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream

Melt the butter in a large dutch oven (or other large, heavy bottomed pot) over low heat. Add onion and mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook until lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add 2 tbsp of oil to the pan and brown beef in 2 or three batches. When all the meat is cooked, return meat and onion to the pot.

Combine tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, pepper and garlic. Pour over meat mixture and stir well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 2 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.

If you’re going to eat this all at once, add the sour cream, stir it in and let it heat through. If you’re going to freeze it, let the meat cool, then put in a freezer bag and freeze. To serve, thaw the meat completely, heat it over a low flame until hot, then add the sour cream, bring back to the temperature you want to eat it at and serve.

We tried this recipe on Wednesday, and decided it tasted far better without the sour cream, so that will be omitted in the future.

Double Dumpling Chicken Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 fresh bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey)
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
One 1-pound package gnocchi
1 cup frozen peas
Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

In a soup pot, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onions, carrots and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, cover the pot and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Stir in the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic and nutmeg. Roll the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs (you’ll have about 40) and add to the soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes while you wash up. Add the gnocchi to the stoup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the peas and parsley and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat, discard the bay leaf and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with fresh baked rolls, if you like.

The recipe below is based on the Poblano Chicken Chowder, but with the changes I made.

Spicy Chicken Chowder

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 large carrots, diced small
• 2 large onions, diced small
• 5 stalks celery, diced small
• 1/8 cup minced garlic
• 2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced small
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
• 3 quarts unsalted chicken broth
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 3 cups diced (large pieces) grilled chicken
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.

When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the cream, and serve.

Note: It took me a lot longer to cook than the recipe called for. Supposedly, 30 minutes for prep, and 30 minutes cooking time. I don’t know if my old stovetop is that much less powerful than theirs, but it took 30 minutes to prep, but an entire hour to cook to get the carrots done. I suggest keeping that in mind if you decide to try this recipe.

You’ll notice that this soup uses beef stock rather than chicken stock, like most other cheese soup recipes do. We’ve found we prefer the depth of flavor that comes from the beef stock, and it holds up better to the stronger flavored beers we like to cook with.

Autumn Beer & Cheese Soup

8 oz maple smoked bacon, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
4 cups beef stock
4 cups apple cider
24 oz beer, pale ale preferred
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar

Put bacon into cold soup pot. Cook bacon over medium high heat until crispy. Add the butter, onions, celery and salt, and cook for five minutes, or until the onions and celery are soft. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes.

Add beef stock, apple cider and beer to the pot. Stir well, scraping up all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cheese, 1 cup at a time, to the soup, stirring until melted.

Serve nice and hot. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and garlic croutons.

Makes 8 good-sized dinner servings.