Recipes for Soup!

SWEET RED PEPPER AND CRAB BISQUE

The addition of red bell pepper adds color and flavor to the traditional smooth richness of bisque. Serve this soup with brunch or as a main course, with green salad and crusty bread. You can make the bisque up to two days ahead; cover and refrigerate it after pureeing. Serves 4.

2 tbsp butter
1 c finely chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped red bell pepper
1?1/4 tsp Old Bay or other seafood spice blend
3 c fish stock or bottled clam juice
1/2 c diced peeled russet potato
1/2 c half and half or skim evaporated milk
1 lb crabmeat

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and seasoning. Cover; cook 10 minutes, stirring twice. Add stock and potato; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer until potato is very tender, about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to saucepan. Add half and half; bring to a simmer. Mix in crab. Season to taste. Cover; let stand 1 minute. Ladle into bowls.

CHEDDAR HAM CHOWDER

Serves 6.
2 cups water 2 cups cubed peeled potatoes 1/2 cup carrots, sliced 1/2 cup celery, sliced 1/4 cup onion, chopped 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup flour 2 cups milk 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 16-oz can whole kernel corn 1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham In a large saucepan, bring water, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are just tender. Remove from heat; do not drain. In a saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour. Add milk all at once; cook until thickened and bubbling. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir into vegetables. Return saucepan to heat. Add corn and ham; heat through, stirring occasionally. Per serving: 438 calories, 24 g fat, 74 mg cholesterol, 41 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 18 g protein, 790 mg sodium.

Thank you SOO much.. I am going to make all of them.. I will let you know how it goes!

Pasta Fagioli

1 cup ditalini pasta
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
5 cups water
3 ½ cups (28oz can) tomato sauce
3 cups (two 15 oz cans) great northern beans, undrained
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and better to taste

In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, onion and garlic. Cook stirring until onion is tender.
Stir in water, tomato sauce, beans, parsley, salt and pepper, heat to boiling
Add uncooked pasta, cook 14 minutes, stirring frequently or until pasta is tender

Lentil Soup

2 cups of dried lentils
2 quarts of water
a little olive oil
a chopped onion
a stalk or two of chopped celery
1 can of plum tomatoes (with the liquid)
1 cup of pasta (acini pepe or pastina)
grated cheese

put dried lentils in a bowl, add water to cover and soak overnight

drain and discard the water, rinse the lentils

add lentils to a soup pot, cover with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil

add a little olive oil (just a shot for flavor), onion, celery and tomatoes

lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender-usually about a half hour

add salt, pepper and pasta

cook until pasta is al dente-about 15 minutes

serve with grated cheese

even better the next day!! If soup is too thick, just add some water or broth.

Enjoy!!

Here is a recipe for borsch - a ukrainian tomato/meat soup - the americanized version.

1lb of stew beef
1/2 lb of cabbage
12 oz or so can of cooked beets
1 carrot
2-3 tomatoes
1/2 or 1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 small can of tomato paste (you'll need about 6 table spoons)
3 potatoes
Parsley
Dill
Salt
Pepper

Place chunks of beef into a large pot and add about 3 quarts of water. Put on a stove top on medium/high heat and let the water boil, as it boils, remove the frothy grease that comes up. Once the water boils, reduce heat to small and let it simmer for about an hour or so, until the meat is almost ready.

Meanwhile:
Cut potatoes into cubes (like potato salad size - medium size) and put them into cold water if you're not adding them immediately, so that they don't get dark.

Slice cabbage also into thin strips
Slice canned beets into thin strips
Chop tomatoes into bit size chunks

Slice carrots and onions into small thin strips, and saute them in a little bit of oil and about 3 table spoons of tomato paste.

After about an hour since boiling, add cabbage and potatoes, and then 15 minutes later add sauted carrots/onion, strips of canned beets and chopped tomatoes. At this time also add 3 more spoons of tomato paste into the borsch.

Cook until potatoes are ready, and towards the end add some minced garlic, dill, parsley and salt/pepper to taste.

Serve with Sour Cream and warm garlic bread.

Makes for a very filling meal.

Note: You can add more beets or less tomato paste if you want a more beety taste.

Edited to say that the reason why this version is 'Americanized' is due to the use of canned beets, vs. fresh beets, which are harder to find and more costly.

thanks Jodi
i always wanted to make pasta fagioli
this recipe thing was a great idea suzanne!

Thanks !!

This is it.....

I registered alittle on Sat and now I WANT TO cook..

Ronnie almost DIED when I was cooking last night.. He said T.. do you feel ok....