Stories to Read While Your Soup Simmers: Recipe Version
Hello bookworms and foodies!
I’m so excited to bring you another blog collab with @Princessreadsalot and @sushirainbow 😊 Princessreadsalot has kindly provided the full recipes that she used for the soups she made but my entries will be slightly different because my bf cooked the soups (I helped sometimes lol) and he modifies the recipes he uses because he cooks for more people and needs leftovers. I will post links to the recipes he used along with some comments on how well the recipe worked out and any modifications we made.
LINK TO THE STORY SOUP BLOG POST HERE.
Potato Bacon Soup
For this soup we didn’t really use a recipe at all because we got one of those “soup in a bag” things from the grocery store. You basically just pour the contents of the bag into a pot and add some potatoes and bacon, stir it all, and cook it. It was super simple to make because half the soup was already ready to go. This soup was so delicious and creamy and I would definitely eat this again! I wonder if we can make it just as good as the bagged version. Here is the link to the bagged soup mix similar to what we had. Here is a recipe if you want to try making it from scratch.
Potato Leek Soup
This soup was hella yummy and again, pretty simple to make. It’s basically just adding potatoes, leeks, onions, seasonings, and garlic to a pot. Then you boil everything with chicken or vegetable broth (we used chicken) and then puree everything with an immersion blender. My boyfriend made this soup twice and the second time he put way less potatoes because we ran out. The soup still turned out really delicious and I think I liked this version better because it wasn’t super starchy and filling, and there was more leek flavour. This is one of the recipes he based his version of this soup on.
Chili
Directions:
Step 1- Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
Step 2- In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, Ro-tel, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)
Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (32 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
2 (15 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
2 (15 oz.) cans of Ro-tel (canned tomatoes and green chili)
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
¼ cup chili powder
Comments:
The spices, tomatoes, and juice add a majority of the flavour to this soup. Leave the beef out to make this vegan, and it will still be delicious. (Usually I double the beans when I do.)
This is a medium spicy chili. Depending on the kind of Ro-Tel (I used original) and chili powder and amount of cayenne pepper, you can make this more or less spicy.
Butternut Squash Soup
Directions:
Step 1- In a stockpot, sauté bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 2- In the pot, add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, sage and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step 3- Stir in butternut squash, carrots, celery, apple, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs.
Step 4- Stir in heavy cream. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sage leaves, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 (2 1/2 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
4 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup heavy cream
Comments:
I usually make this without bacon; it’s just not something we usually have around when I decide to make the soup. For a vegan option, skip the bacon and heavy cream and use vegetable broth. If I skip the cream, I usually add a can of chickpeas (or other white beans) to help add a thicker texture.
Chicken with Stars
Directions:
Step 1- Pat chicken dry with paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a 6-qt. pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches; cook until dark golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and discard drippings, reserving 2 tablespoons.
Step 2- Add onion to drippings and 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 pot. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to the pot. Add celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 25-30 minutes.
Step 3- Transfer chicken to a plate. Remove soup from heat. Add noodles; let stand, covered, until noodles are tender, 10 minutes or so.
Step 4- Meanwhile, when chicken is cool enough to handle. Shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to pot. If desired, adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves.
Ingredients:
2-1/2 pounds boneless 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
16 oz. of Star- noodles (otherwise known as Pastina)
Comments:
We ate this soup over the course of multiple meals, and the little stars didn’t get too soggy at all. This is way better than the chicken and stars that I used to eat from a can when I was little!
Gazpacho
So this soup was a bit of a miss for me but I think I just put the wrong proportion of ingredients. Here is the recipe I based my gazpacho on. Some of the things I should have done better was actually follow the amount of ingredients listed in the recipe because I put a bit too much cucumber and onions and the gazpacho just tasted way too strongly of onions. I only put half a white onion but the flavour was so strong. Also the texture looked a lot like vomit lol so it didn’t really look appetizing. If it tasted good then it would’ve been fine but I messed that up so it ended up a flop. I’m not sure I would try making this again because I’m not a fan of cold soup in general but I would like to try again to make this properly 😂
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This is one of my most favourite soups ever because I love the combination of broccoli and cheese and I just LOVE cheese. Best food ever in my opinion 😂 Here is one of the recipes my boyfriend based the soup on. My boyfriend has made this soup so many times that he barely follows a recipe anymore. He just combined everything he learned from reading multiple recipes of this soup and finding which worked best for him. He always puts a ton of broccoli and the Kirkland brand of cheddar cheese. The cheese usually turns out a little crumbly so it doesn’t melt smoothly but it tastes great. I wonder if there’s a cheese that might melt better so the soup is more smooth and creamy. If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments!
Root Vegetable Soup
Directions:
Step 1- Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary and bay leaves; cook 1 minute more. Add root vegetables, 8 cups of broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 2- Remove and discard rosemary branches and bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little water. Season more salt to taste.
Step 3- To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil or parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion or 2 leeks (white and light green part only), chopped
2 to 3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 rosemary or thyme branches
2 bay leaves
3 ½ pounds mixed root vegetables (carrot, beet, parsnip, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, sweet or regular potato), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 cups of broth (I’ve used chicken and beef, but a vegetable broth would be fine too.)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, more as needed
½ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
Olive oil or parmesan cheese for topping
Egg Drop Soup
This soup is so easy to make and it’s so fast to cook as well so if you ever need a quick meal, this could be it! This is the recipe I loosely based my egg drop soup on. My boyfriend is Chinese and he modified it so it was similar to the one his mom made before. Instead of using corn starch, he used flour, and he put around a cup and a half of it into the soup to make little flour clump noodles. We also used chicken stock and real ginger, not powdered, and we used soy sauce as a topping instead of the sesame oil. Our modified version was so delicious and I loved the flour noodles because they thickened the soup and were like little chewy clouds. We also didn’t add the corn but I would like to try that next time we make this.
Jenny’s Zuppa Toscana
Directions:
Step 1- Add olive oil and the Italian sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until
browned and no longer pink, about 6 minutes; drain excess fat.
Step 2- Add the potatoes, garlic, onion, and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Step 3- Add the chicken broth and can of white beans, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
Step 4- Stir in kale and spinach until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3-4 russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), sliced/cut
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large white onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 can of Navy (white) beans
6 cups chicken broth
6 cups curly kale, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
3 cups of spinach
1 cup heavy cream
Comments:
If you look up copycat Zuppa Toscana recipes, you will see they usually start with bacon. Bacon is not a staple in our house, and I promise this soup is just as good without it.
There are few soups that can’t be improved with a can of beans. Honestly, the added white beans add just a little more texture and protein.
I am constantly trying to add more veggies to my family’s meals, and I found that 6 cups of Kale just wasn’t enough. Add spinach or more kale. The soup tastes delicious no matter how many greens you add to it!
This is the end of all the delicious soups we made! Don’t forget to check out the collab post with all the corresponding books for each soup on @sushirainbow’s blog post here! Let me know in the comments if you have tried any of these soups or just what your favourite soup is in general 😊
Happy slurping!
