Grandma's Minestrone Soup

Here's the recipe for minestrone I brought to our November meeting. Very easy to make, and I can usually pull all the ingredients from my pantry. The recipe from Kathy Droubay was published in a Relief Society cookbook my sister in law gave to me. Yeah for RS cookbooks! :)

Grandma's Minestrone Soup
 
4 cups water
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 large can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 cup elbow macaroni or other small pasta
1 tsp. salt
1 can kidney beans
1 can lima or butter beans
1 can green beans
1/3 tsp. oregano
dash of Italian seasoning

Bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until carrots and macaroni are tender.  Serve with grated mozzarella or Parmesan cheese.

I did make one small change since I needed to make the soup earlier: I cooked the pasta separate and then added right before serving. I was trying to avoid the pasta soaking up too much liquid and becoming soggy.

Freezing Soup

I really like the idea of making a big batch of soup, then freezing it to save for a busy night or warm lunch. Here are some great tips from Favorite Freezer Foods on freezing soup . They include a list of ingredients that do not freeze well, recommended time limits, and detailed how-to.

I will add one of my own tips. I've begun to freeze individual sizes. These are easy to pull out the night before to thaw, then send for lunches the next day.

Does anyone have any other tips for freezing soup or other meals?

Chicken Corn Chowder

I didn't make a soup for Wednesday since I was busy with the bread bowls, but if I did, this is the one I would've shared. Another blog recipe. :) We love it though! I'll paste the recipe below, but if you want to go to the blog link, it has pictures and a little more explanation about the recipe, go here.

Chicken Corn Chowder

*Plan Ahead: This recipe calls for cooked chicken.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped, seeds and membrane removed (this is important for flavor – but doesn’t add heat because the seeds and membranes are removed and it is cooked with the other veggies)
1/4 cup thinly sliced or cooked chopped ham
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth
3 tablespoons flour
3 ears of fresh corn kernels or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute celery, bell pepper, onion and jalapeno until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ham; cook for another 3 minutes. Whisk the broth with the flour in a liquid measuring cup or bowl and then stir into the soup. Stir in the corn and chicken. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Whisk together the cream cheese and milk in a large bowl until smooth (I had a difficult time getting my cream cheese to completely whisk into the milk so my soup had some minor small lumps but next time, I’ll soften the cream cheese until almost melted in the microwave). Whisk the cream cheese/milk mixture into the soup along with the salt, pepper and cheddar cheese. Simmer on low until ready to serve.