Carrot Soup

I love to eat soup in the summertime; it makes a great light supper when a salad is added, and a lovely lunch. This carrot soup hits the spot, and it's even better the next day after the flavors meld all together. It's the perfect dinner when you're on a diet
, because it's low in calories, high in fiber, and very filling.

Carrot Soup

2 pounds carrots, scrubbed and chopped in a 1 inch dice
4 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium potato, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1-2 small cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup chopped cashews
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil


Place carrots, vegetable broth, salt, and potato into a soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer it for 12-15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Saute the onion, garlic and nuts in butter until the onions are translucent. Add to carrot mixture and add basil and thyme.

Puree everything together in a blender until smooth. Add milk and reheat until warm, but do not let boil or the milk will separate.

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Low fat low calorie delicious Broccoli Soup recipe

This is a wonderful light summer soup that is low calorie and low fat, but it sacrifices none of the taste. Use fresh broccoli; the taste is much more delicious. You can make it with fat free chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, but I have a vegetarian in the house and I always use vegetable broth. Try for low-sodium if you use canned, since a lot of times store bought broth is made with tons of salt. It's a light, lovely meal when eaten with a salad and a fruit dessert. Tasty, but you don't ruin your waistline.


Broccoli soup

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups fresh broccoli, including stems, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups skim milk, warmed to room temperature *see note*
Salt and black pepper to taste


Heat oil on medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Saute onion, garlic, and celery for 3-4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add potato and chopped broccoli, then add broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. If you prefer a smoother soup, process the slightly cooled soup in batches in your blender or food processor. I usually take out about half of it and blend it up, then add it back to the soup.

*if you add cold milk to hot liquid, you get milk that curdles in big lumps. If you don't have time to bring the milk to room temperature, add in the broth to the soup, withholding milk. Then when it comes up to a boil, add a ladle of broth to the milk. Then add it to the soup.*

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Navy (white) Bean Soup

You can make this soup with any kind of bean, but I usually use Navy beans for it. If you want to cook this in the Crockpot, that's easy enough to do; just dump all the ingredients in the pot and cook on low for about 8 hours. Drop it in when you go to work, and when you come home, it will be done. You can add ham to this, but I usually don't. Add some cornbread, and it's a fine meal all on it's own.

Bean Soup
8 ounces (1/2 of 1 pound bag) Great Northern beans or Navy Beans
4 cups water
2 cups fresh spinach leaves or 1/2 cup frozen spinach
3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 large onion, chopped fine
1/2 green pepper, chopped fine
1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
Salt and pepper, to taste


In a kettle, cover beans with water; bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 30 minutes. Drain beans. Combine beans, more water, and remaining ingredients in kettle. Cook on medium low until beans are tender and have made a 'gravy', approximately 2 to 3 hours. If it doesn't seem thick enough, take out about 1 cup cooked beans and mash them and return to the pot. This will make the soup thicker and creamier. I add the salt in at the beginning of cooking time, but some people do not add it until beans are already cooked, saying that it makes them tough. I have never seen this, but you may leave the salt until the end if you prefer.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

This is a hearty vegetable soup that can serve as a whole meal. Serve it with lots of crusty bread and a small salad. It's great for cool nights, and it's even better the next day with a sandwich. Kids will love it because of the cheese; adults will know it's good for you because of all the vegetables. You can experiment with the vegetables a bit if you want. I often use asparagus instead of broccoli, or cauliflower instead of potatoes.


Cheesy Vegetable Soup

* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup potatoes, chopped (about two large)
* 1 cup diced carrots
* 1 cup fresh chopped broccoli
* 3 cups vegetable stock
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoon dried
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese


In a large pot, saute the pepper and onions in butter until tender.
Add remaining vegetables, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer covered for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are
tender.
Combine flour and milk until smooth; stir into pan. Bring soup to a boil; cook
and stir for 2 minutes, or until soup thickens slightly. Mix in the parsley. Just
before serving, stir in the cheese until melted.

Corn and Red Pepper Soup

This is a favorite soup of mine. The vegetables taste great together, and it's a thick soup that I serve with sour cream, chopped avocado, and finely chopped red pepper on top. Hearty yet elegant, it's a great soup, and it's easy to make. You don't have to puree it if you don't want to, but I like the creamy texture it gives the soup. As always, I have made it vegetarian, but you can use chicken broth if you prefer. I've also made it fairly thick, but you can thin it down with more milk if you like it thinner.

Corn and Red Pepper Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh or frozen corn kernels or 2 cans of corn, drained
1 large tomato, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups vegetable broth, canned or homemade
2 cups cream or milk (fat-free, if preferred)
Red pepper, to taste
Salt to taste
Sour cream, chopped avocado, and finely chopped red pepper, for topping.



Melt butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add corn, tomatoes, pepper, onion and garlic. Stir vegetables over medium-high heat until lightly caramelized. Add flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add broth, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree in batches until smooth. Add milk to pan and reheat gently, never boiling. Season with red pepper and salt.

Serve soup topped with diced avocado, diced red pepper, and sour cream.

Welsh Tomato Rarebit

This tasty cheese dish is perfect for a snack, or makes a great light dinner or lunch. Just add a green salad on the side, and maybe put some ham or bacon as a topper to the toast you serve it on. It's great for the chilly days and nights of fall, and it's a snap to make. This is a bit of a variation because I've added the tomato, but I like it better that way. You can leave it out if you want.


Welsh Rarebit

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste



Melt the butter in a heavy Saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, then continue to cook and stir until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in milk and simmer until thick, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat.

Stir the tomatoes into the sauce. Whisk together the mustard, pepper, worcestershire sauce, and eggs; stir into tomato mixture. Set the saucepan over very low heat or a double boiler.

Stir in the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese has melted.

Serve over whole grain toast.

Black Bean Soup

This is a great, quick bean soup. You cut time by using canned black beans and refried beans, but don't add any extra salt. There's plenty in the canned beans. You can cut down on the salt content by using your own beans, or by rinsing the canned black beans.

This soup is wonderful on a cool night. I love soup, and this is one of my favorites. It's very filling and satisfying. I make a lot of my soups vegetarian, since I live with one, but you can always substitute chicken broth for the vegetable stock that I use, and you can add cubed ham if you want. It's good either way.

Black Bean Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups salsa
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 16-ounce can refried beans
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat. Add all but 1/4 cup of the salsa and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the refried beans, black beans, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Top with some of the remaining salsa and the sour cream and cilantro.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of my most favorite soups. It's great in the fall, when butternut squash are in season. Mildly sweet, it's perfect for those cool nights (or even when it's still warm). I like it with lots of black pepper, as a counterpoint to the sweetness of the squash. It's a simple yet elegant recipe; you can't mess this one up, it's just too easy.

Butternut Squash Soup
4 leeks, rinsed and chopped *see note on how to clean and rinse a leek below*
1 butternut squash (2-3 pounds), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup shelled raw pumpkin seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
Black pepper, to taste

Place the leeks, squash, bay leaf, salt, and broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the squash is tender, about 12 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup in batches and rewarm over medium-low heat.

Meanwhile,roughly chop pumpkin seeds and rosemary on a cutting board. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the seeds and rosemary, stirring occasionally until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the seeds and rosemary. Sprinkle with black pepper, to taste.

*How to Clean and Rinse a Leek
Leeks are often very dirty in between the layers, especially if you buy them from a farmer's market. To clean them without making a huge mess, this is an easy way:
Cut off the dark green part of the leek, and peel one layer off the outside. Then slice the leek lengthwise, almost all the way to the root, but do not cut through it. Rinse the leek under cold running water to remove the dirt between layers. It won't fall apart because you haven't cut it all the way down, but you can separate the layers with your fingers as your rinse.