Recipes for a cold wintry day

My mom had three sizes of soup pots. The largest pot was used when she started the soup “from scratch.” She picked out a piece of beef and started it cooking with her seasonings and canned tomatoes, as they became tender she started peeling potatoes, dicing onions, preparing vegetables such as celery, onions, corn, assorted beans, carrots, and whatever else she decided to use. When the beef got tender she would remove it, dice into small chunks and put back in the pot with the other ingredients. As the final cooking neared, out came the bread pans, the four, lard, baking powder — the biscuits appeared on the baking pans and supper was almost done!

After a cold day outside on the farm, what a wonderful smell is fresh bean soup or chicken noodle soup or beef soup! Fill the bowl, hand the biscuits over, and give me the fresh churned butter! Soup fit for a king to serve a crowd! Next week we will explore slow cooker soups that cook while you are at work or out. These soups taste equally as good and are extremely tasteful as well.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2-1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon canola oil, 1 large onion, chopped, 1 garlic clove, minced, 10 cups chicken broth, 4 celery ribs, chopped, 4 medium carrots, chopped, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, 3 cups egg noodles (about 8 ounces), 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pat chicken dry with paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches, skin side down; cook until dark golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; remove and discard skin. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add onion to drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add broth, stirring to loosen browned bits from the pan.

Bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Add celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 25-30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Remove soup from heat. Add noodles; let stand, covered, until noodles are tender, 20-22 minutes.

Meanwhile, when chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to the stockpot. Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

If desired, adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves. Once they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees, set the chicken on a plate, let cool and shred.

EASY BEEF SOUP

1/2 pound ground beef, 2 cups water, 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes, 1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables, 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, 1 envelope onion soup mix, 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink, 3-5 minutes, breaking into crumbles; drain. Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

CHEDDAR POTATO SOUP

2 cups water, 2 cups diced unpeeled red potatoes, 1 cup diced carrot, 1/2 cup diced celery, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 cups 2% milk, 2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, 1 cup cubed fully cooked ham.

In a Dutch oven, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Place flour in a large saucepan; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir the ham and the cheese sauce into undrained vegetables; stir until combined.

TURKEY AND WILD

RICE SOUP

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, 4 cups water, 1/2 cup butter, cubed, 8 ounces red potatoes (about 2 medium) chopped, 1 medium onion chopped, 1 celery rib chopped, 1 medium carrot chopped, 2 garlic cloves minced, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 3 cups chicken broth, 2 cups half-and-half cream, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed, 2 cups cubed cooked turkey or chicken.

In a saucepan, combine rice and water; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer covered, 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat butter over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir for 6-8 minutes or until almost tender. Add garlic; cook one minute longer. Stir in flour until blended; cook and stir for two minutes. Gradually stir in broth and undrained rice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add cream, salt and rosemary; return to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in turkey; heat through.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND ZUCCHINI SOUP

1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage, 1 medium onion chopped, 1 medium green pepper chopped, 3 cups beef broth, 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained, 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta.

In a large saucepan, cook sausage, onion and pepper over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, 4-6 minutes, breaking sausage into crumbles; drain. Add broth, tomatoes, basil and parsley; bring to a boil. Stir in zucchini and orzo; return to a boil. Cook, covered, until zucchini and orzo are tender, 10-12 minutes.

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

2 pounds ground beef, 6 cups water, 1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce, 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes undrained, 2 cups chopped green peppers, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 cups cooked long grain rice, chopped fresh parsley.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook and stir beef until no longer pink, breaking it into crumbles; drain. Stir in the next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes. Add cooked rice; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. The skin of bell peppers is thin and easily digestible; peeling them is very rarely required.

CHICKEN AND

DUMPLING SOUP

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up, 2-1/4 quarts cold water, 5 chicken bouillon cubes, 6 whole peppercorns, 3 whole cloves, 1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted, 1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted, 1-1/2 cups chopped carrots, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped peeled potatoes, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 bay leaf. For the dumplings: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 large egg, beaten, 2 tablespoons butter, melted, 3/4 to 1 cup 2% milk, snipped fresh parsley.

Place the chicken, water, bouillon, peppercorns and cloves in a stockpot. Cover and bring to a boil, skim foam. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until chicken is tender, 45-60 minutes.

Strain broth; return to stockpot. Remove chicken and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones, discard bones and skin. Cut chicken into chunks. Cool broth and skim off fat. Return chicken to stockpot with soups, vegetables and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Uncover then increase heat to a gentle boil. Discard bay leaf.

For dumplings, combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in egg, butter and enough milk to make a moist stiff batter. Drop by teaspoonfuls into soup. Cover and cook without lifting the lid, 18-20 minutes.

It can be tricky to tell when dumplings are done. For this chicken dumpling soup, the dumplings are done when they appear puffed and the centers are dry. You can test the center by cutting one dumpling in half to see if it’s cooked through or insert a toothpick in the center of a dumpling to see if it comes out clean. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.

As the soup simmers, starch from the potatoes and dumplings will help add somebody to the broth. If you’d like a thicker soup, whisk 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup cold water, then stir into the soup after removing the bay leaf. When the broth returns to a boil to cook the dumplings, the flour will thicken the broth.