Soup it Up

I think that soup never goes out of style. I could eat soup for lunch and dinner every day- and not need any other side dishes, except for maybe some crackers or a piece of bread. My family disagrees. They think of soup as an appetizer or if we have it as a meal, they expect to see some sort of sandwich or meat and potato accoutrement. I am bound and determined to change their way of thinking. I started with soup boot-camp this week. I've made a different soup every day. They are ready to revolt.

Here's what I've made.

1. Chicken & Noodles. Simple, simple. Good, old-fashioned, comfort food.

2. Chili. Well, technically not a soup- it is soup like and can be found with the soups on a restaurant menu. This did get a good response since we could fancy it up with toppings like, diced onions and cheese. Usually I make corn bread to accompany it, but this time, good ole saltine crackers.

3. Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup. This is my new favorite. I found this recipe at the Pioneer Woman Website, Tasty Kitchen. It's supposedly the recipe from the Olive Garden version. I don't know about that, as I've never had this soup at the Olive Garden, but I can tell you it's DELICIOUS! This soup wins rave reviews from Beloved and Youngest. I've never cooked with kale before, frankly I've only ever seen it used as a garnish in deli cases and salad bars. The kale is our favorite part of this soup! Two thumbs up...

4. Aztec Chowder. This recipe does actually come from one of my favorite restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. It's a spin on chicken tortilla soup. It's spicy, thick and creamy. It gets its thickness from pureed navy beans. Yummy, yum. Well, while making this soup tonight, I had a revolt on my hands and had to make a side dish of spaghetti with an Italian sausage meat sauce. (Yes, I know the flavors don't really compliment one another, but I was working under pressure and had to come up with something quick in order to avoid a total meltdown, primarily from the husband.)

And now a fitting way to end a post on soup- a clip remembering "The Soup Nazi." Go to this link to view the Best of the Soup Nazi... http://youtu.be/M2lfZg-apSA. What's your favorite soup or soup story?

Comments

[Beth]

My favorite soup story is the one about the friend who loved her other friend so much that she would freeze and send her batches of soup knowing that her friend was a miserable, uninspired cook who loves soup but thought it only came from a red and white can....

Yep, that's definitely my favorite soup story!

[lam]

We should trade families for a week. Mine are all soup fanatics and would eat it every day for multiple meals. I am less of a fan. Growing up, soup was another way to stretch the leftovers into another meal.

I did make soup three times last week myself (well, one was chili.) The weather just called for it. I failed with the chili because I did not make the required Caribbean corn bread to go with it! "It was Halloween night, we were short on time!" did not seem like a good answer to the kids.