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Mac & Cheese Soup with Veggies

December 7, 2011 By Kate 7 Comments

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Here’s the thing about having kids – they expect and need complete meals. Whereas I could happily eat hummus and pita chips (and nothing else) for dinner every single night of the week, they really shouldn’t. Although my parenting style has been known to fall along the lines of “do as I say and not as I do” for many things, I would just feel guilty if I snacked my way through dinner while serving them plates loaded with meat and veggies.

As much as I love cheese soup, I can admit that, on its own, a big bowl does not equate a full meal. So when that was what sounded really good to me the other night, I decided I could tweak it to make it a full meal that would be both filling and satisfying while still giving me that taste I was craving. It turned out really good and we all liked it. Plus, what kid wouldn’t dig in to a bowl of mac & cheese soup?

Mac & Cheese Soup with Veggies

  • 2 T. butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 t. paprika
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 8 c. chicken stock
  • 1 1/4 c. elbow macaroni
  • 2 c. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
  • 3 T. cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 c. milk
  • 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3 T. fresh parsley, chopped
  • Additional salt and pepper, to taste

1. Melt butter in a large pot. Add onions, celery and carrots. Season with salt, paprika and pepper and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a slow boil.

2. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. After noodles are fully cooked, add the broccoli. Dissolve cornstarch in milk and slowly stir into slowly boiling soup. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until fully melted. Add parsley and additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Enjoy!

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Ground Beef Stroganoff Soup

November 3, 2011 By Kate 8 Comments

Ground Beef Stroganoff is one of our favorite meals. It definitely counts as comfort food and this time of year, it one of the recipes I turn to the most when I’m just not sure what to make or when I’m short on time. And then there’s soup. My love for soup and the fact that I could eat it for every single meal is no secret around these parts.

On Halloween, I was debating back and forth between those two options when I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I eventually decided that I’d split the difference and experiment with a ground beef stroganoff soup. Plus I thought it would be a great pre-Trick or Treating meal that was both comforting and warming.

The Costumed Crew, or at least 3 of the 5 are costumed. Did you know 12 is too old to go trick or treating? Neither did I!

We were thrilled with the results. Eric thought that it was some of the best soup that I’ve ever made. I don’t know if I’d go that far (I tend to be partial to the creamier soups, like Loaded Baked Potato or Vegetable Curry), but it was definitely yummy! I tossed in some carrots to make it a complete meal. I didn’t have any egg noodles on hand, which would have been most appropriate, but the bow-tie pasta I had on hand worked just as well.

Ground Beef Stroganoff Soup

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 2 T. butter
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. black pepper
  • 1/2 t. thyme
  • 1/2 lb. baby carrots
  • 8 c. beef stock
  • 3 T. corn starch
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 1/2 lb. cooked noodles

1. In a large pot, brown ground beef with butter, onions and garlic. Cook until beef is browned completely. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until browned.

2. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in baby carrots and beef stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer until carrots are tender, at least 20 minutes. (You can let the soup slowly simmer for several hours at this point, if you want.)

3. Bring the soup back to a slow boil. Combine corn starch and water until smooth; slowly stir into soup. Let soup boil until thickened, about 5 minutes.

5. Stir in sour cream and cooked noodles. Season with additional salt and pepper, if need. Serve immediately and enjoy.

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Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

September 25, 2011 By Kate 2 Comments

I am so not a photographer. I might play one here on this little blog, but considering I have to take a least twenty shots to find one I’m even remotely happy with, I’d say I most certainly fall into that amateur-wannabe category. And that’s okay. For the most, I’m fortunate enough to get some decent shots of most of my recipes.

Unfortunately, the one thing that I consistently have the hardest time photographing is soup. Considering I could live on soup, this is not a good thing. In fact, I’ve been holding off posting this delicious recipe because I’m just not happy with the photos of it. But in the end, the taste won out. So, here you go…a creamy, flavorful, fulfilling soup paired with a not-so-lovely image. Please look past that and just trust me on this one.

Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 T. butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/2 t. paprika
  • 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 c. chicken stock
  • 1 c. rice
  • 3/4 c. milk or cream
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced
  • Additional salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large stock pot. Add onion, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and red pepper and cook until mushrooms are browned. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

2. Add chicken breasts and pour in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 45 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked. (This can simmer all day if you want.) Remove chicken and set aside.

3. Return soup to a boil and stir in rice. Remove heat and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, shred or dice chicken.

4. After rice is cooked, stir chicken back into the pot. Add milk or cream and green onions. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Note – If you want your soup a little thicker, combine 1 T. corn starch with 1/4 c. water . Bring the soup to a boil, stir in cornstarch mix and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

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