La Madeline's Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
4 C. (8 to 10) tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped, or 4 C. canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 C. tomato juice and part vegetable stock or chicken stock
12 to 14 washed fresh basil leaves
1 C. heavy cream
1/4 pound sweet, unsalted butter
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper


Preparation:
Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan).

Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground Turkey or Lean Beef
1 large onion, chopped (I buy frozen chopped onions, cuz I hate chopping them myself)
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dry dressing mix
1 pkg Taco seasoning mix
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili hot beans
1 can whole kernel corn (drain)
1 can stewed Rotel tomatoes (Mexican flavor)
1 can stewed tomatoes (I usually tear these up a little b/c I hate big chunks of tomatoes)

Brown meat and onion on skillet, drain. In larger pot, add all ingredients (meat too) and simmer.

Serve w/ chips and cheese.

This is a great recipe to double and freeze.

White Chili

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 can (4-ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (16 ounces) BUSH'S BEST Great Northern Beans
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 ½ cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)

In large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Chicken Vegetable Chowder

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 can Mexicorn, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

In 4 quart sauce pan, combine first 4 ingredients & blend well. Add all other ingredients except cheese. Mix well. Cook over medium heat 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add cheese & stir until melted. I like to serve w/ cornbread.

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

2 onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
6 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans broccoli cheese soup
1 can evaporated milk
1 pound velveeta cheese cut into chunks
2 cups broccoli, cooked & chopped

Saute onions, celery, and carrots in a small amount of oil until tender. Blend in a blender with 2 cups water until creamy. Whisk together the broth, soup and milk. Add to the blended veggies. Heat in a large pan until hot, but NOT BOILING.

Add the velveeta until melted; add the broccoli and heat through. May be doubled. Freezes well.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
2 Tbl veg oil
4 once can of green chilies
15 ounce can Italian style stewed tomatoes, chopped
4 cup chicken broth
1 tea lemon pepper
2 tea Worcestershire
1 tea chili powder
1 tea ground cumin
½ tea hot sauce
4 Tbl flour
½ cup water
1 pound chicken breast, cut in cubes
s and p to taste
tortilla chips

In sauce pan, cook onion and garlic in oil over low heat, until softened.
Add chilies, tomatoes with juice, broth, lemon pepper, Worcestershire, spices and hot sauce. Simmer 20 minutes.

In small bowl combine flour with water and whisk into soup. Boil soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until ready to eat. Serve with tortilla chips.