Curried Carrot Soup

1 tablespoon extra  virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds packaged baby carrots, from produce section
6 cups chicken stock, available on soup aisle
1 tablespoon mild curry paste or 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Coarse salt
1 cup sour cream
Plastic condiment bottle or medium plastic food storage bag
6 blades fresh chives, cut into 1-inch pieces

Preheat medium pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil, butter, onions and carrots and sauté 5 minutes. Add 4 cups chicken stock, curry and cayenne, and about 1 teaspoon salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 15 minutes. Place pot on a trivet next to food processor.

Process soup in 2 or 3 small batches until soup is smooth and carrots are fully pureed. Transfer processed soup into a large bowl as you work to make room for more soup in the food processor. Return completed soup to the soup pot and place back over low heat. If the soup is too thick, add remaining stock, up to 2 cups, to achieve desired consistency. Adjust seasonings. Place sour cream in a plastic condiment squeeze bottle or into a medium food storage bag. Cut a very small hole in the corner of the bag with scissors.

Ladle soup into bowls and squirt a swirl of sour cream around the bowl from the center out to the rim. Drag a toothpick from the center of the bowls out to the edges, forming a spider web design on soup. Pile a few pieces of cut chives at the center of each bowl to resemble green spiders in their webs! Cool!

Tomato Bisque

2 tbs. butter

¾ c. chopped onions

1 large baking potato, peeled and diced

3 ½ c. chicken broth

1 small bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp black pepper

2 cans tomatoes w/juice

¼ c. tomato paste

1 tsp. sugar

Minced parsley

Melt butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Sauté onion for 5 minutes over medium heat, until tender. Add diced potatoes, bouillon or base, water, bay leaf, basil, and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, tomato paste, and sugar. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Puree soup in small batches until smooth. Top with minced fresh parsley for serving. Serves 6.

Senate Restaurant Bean Soup

2 lbs. navy beans

1 ½ lbs. smoked ham hocks

1 diced onion

4 qts. Water

Butter, salt and pepper 

Wash beans through hot water. Drain. Add four quarts of hot water and ham hocks. Simmer slowly in a covered pot for three hours. Remove ham hocks and cool. Pull the meat from the bones and return meat to pot. Cook onion in butter until slightly browned and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

White Bean Soup

2 tbs. butter

1/3 c. diced celery

1/3 c. diced carrot

1/3 c. diced onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 16 oz. can white beans- navy, great northern, or cannellini

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 c. water

1 packet chicken or turkey gravy mix

1 1/2 c. smoked sausages or ham, diced

Melt butter in medium saucepan over med-lo heat. Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic and ham-stir to mix. Cover and cook 5 min until vegetables are almost tender-stir to prevent burning. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over med-hi heat.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 min. Mash some of the soup against the side of the pot, stir, and simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes. Easy and quick.

Vegetable Bean Soup

2 cans chicken broth

1 c. water

1 diced onion

2 diced celery stalks

1 lb bag frozen mixed vegetable

1 can diced tomatoes

1/3 c. broken angel hair pasta

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ c. parmesan cheese

Saute onion and celery in 1 tbs. olive oil. Put in broth, frozen vegetables, tomatoes, and uncooked pasta. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and stir in beans, seasoning and garlic powder.

Reduce to a simmer and boil for 5 min. or until pasta is tender. Reduce to low and stir in parmesan. Serve immediately, or simmer at very low until ready to serve.

Three Bean Chicken Stew

1 tb. oil

1 ¾ lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks

1 chopped onion

14 oz. can chicken broth

3 15 oz. cans of beans-black, navy, and kidney

2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 c. sliced celery

1 c. sliced carrots

1 c. dry red wine

1 lg. bay leaf

1 tb. Italian herbs

1 c. smoked chicken breast, cubed

1 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 c. chopped fresh cilantro

S/P

Heat oil in a large pot and brown chicken. Remove chicken and set aside. Saute onions until soft-add broth, beans, tomatoes, celery, carrots, wine, bay leaf, herbs, and all chicken. Cover and simmer 40 minutes. Add parsley, cilantro, salt and pepper and simmer 5 more minutes.

Black Bean Soup

1 tbs. cumin seed

1 tbs. oregano

2 tbs. oil

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 chopped green pepper

4 minced garlic cloves

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp paprika

1 chopped canned chipotle

1 tbs. chili powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb. dried black beans, washed and drained

1 bay leaf

10 c. water

¼ c. chopped cilantro

1 lb. shredded muenster cheese or Mexican blend

1 ½ c. sour cream

In small skillet over med heat, toast cumin seed and oregano until fragrant-do not burn. Remove from heat and set aside.

In dutch oven, sauté onion in oil until tender. Add tomatoes, green pepper, garlic, slat, paprika, chilies and powder, pepper and toasted cumin and oregano. Simmer 15 min. to blend flavors. Add beans, bay leaf, and 10 c. water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 ½-2 hours, until beans are tender.

Discard bay leaf-stir in chopped cilantro. To serve, sprinkle some cheese in a bowl, ladle hot soup over the cheese, and top with sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.