End of the Month Vegetable and Chicken Soup

This time each month meals become a challenge. We’ve almost used up everything, but not quite.
Saute in 2 tbsp Olive Oil:
-1 small onion
-2 cloves of garlic
-3/4 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning
-3 celery stalks, cut up
-1/2 small bag of baby carrots, cut up

Cook for 5 minutes, until the onions start to turn clear.
Add 4c of chicken stock, 2c of water, 3/4 c small pasta shapes (I used shells) 2 cut-up and cooked chicken thighs, 1 c. mashed and cooked pumpkin.
Bring to a boil, cook until noodles are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Serve with toasted garlic and cheese buns (recipe in a different post)

Favorite Ham Soup

This is one of my favorite fall and winter soup. It’s a complete meal in itself, though I like to serve it with crusty rolls or garlic toast.

Add 2 c. chopped carrots, 2 c. cubed, cooked ham and 2 chopped potatoes to about 2 c. prepared chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Add another 2 c. of water, 3/4 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp. italian seasoning, 1 bay leaf, and 1 can cream of mushroom soup. Simmer until potatoes are done. Add 1 c. frozen peas, cook another 5 minutes. Stir in 1 minced garlic clove just before serving. Serve as is, steaming hot. Some variations include sprinkling freshly grated strong cheddar cheese over each bowl, adding fresh or frozen broccoli instead of peas, or other root vegetables in addition to potatoes.

Homemade Chicken Soup

One of my favorite things about soup is you can start with a little and make quite a bit.

Start with a chicken carcass (I freeze mine when we’re done with the deli cooked chickens) and boil for 1 hr. in a stock pot in around 4L of water.

Once that’s done, remove the chicken & bones and set aside to cool- they get really hot!

Chop & add to pot.:
-1 Med Onion
-1 Celery Stalk
-1 Carrot

Mince in 3 garlic cloves. Add 2 bay leaves, 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (I use Compliments brand- Sobeys), 2 “shlirps” of Worchestire sauce (sp?), 4 twists of the fresh pepper shaker, and 1 cube of chicken boulion.
Add 3/4 cup small noodles, and all the chicken you can get off the now-cooled bones, and then discard them. Taste, to make sure you like the flavor, and bring to a boil.
Once it’s boiling, you can add the dumplings. As soon as they are cooked, you can add 1/2 cup frozen veges- today I added peas. They basically cook instantly when the soup is that hot.

Here’s my mom’s recipe for dumplings:

1 c. flour, 2 tsp. powder, 1/4 tsp salt, scant 1 c. milk or water. Mix dry ingredients together, and add milk gradually until you get a soft dough. Drop by spoonful into boiling pot of soup or stew, put the lid on, and leave it alone for ~ 10 mins.

Enjoy!