Soup of The Week Times Two

This past Sunday for Sunday Company Dinner we had a soup night. It was really fun to do, each person brought a pot of soup, and I made some homemade bread to accompany. I, of course, had to make two pots of soup because I like to overdo it. Overall though we ended up with five pots of very different soup. We had a ham and bean soup, a beer-cheese soup, tomato and white bean, cheeseburger, and a chicken and rice with apples in it. Each one was very good, and I made sure I sampled each and every one, as I am always looking for a new variation on soup.

I went back and forth on what I was going to make. I knew I was going to make a tomato soup of some kind. One of our guests has food allergies, so number one I needed to make something they could eat, and the tomato fit the bill perfectly. Then I also needed a soup that I thought the kids would go for, so I decided on a cheeseburger soup.

For the tomato soup I ended up choosing a Cooking Light recipe for Tomato and White Bean soup, and found a surprising new favorite for the kids. They actually chose the tomato soup over the cheeseburger, so that’s definitely going in the tried and true files. It is a very nice, clean tomato soup. It also reheated wonderfully and we enjoyed it just as much last night with some quesadillas on the side.

For the cheeseburger soup, I normally just throw things into the pot I’m afraid. I do have one version in the Recipe Trove that I make when I have leftover Cheddar Meat Loaves. I really like that one, but was missing many of the ingredients. So I went searching through my Mastercook cookbooks and found one that I’d pasted in some time ago. I had all the ingredients, and it looked easy enough to double- which I needed to do. As it turns out, this recipe was from fellow blogger Sweetnicks, and boy, does she make a mean cheeseburger soup! It was excellent, creamy and cheesy and full of flavor. This was a huge hit and is also going into the files as Another Cheeseburger Soup. Definitely a repeater here, this soup was perfect with a chunk of nice crusty bread to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Yum!

I’ll post both soups below, because they are both just so good! On tap for tomorrow is a post I’ve been thinking of doing for some time. It’s a post from the heart about the pleasures of cooking, and why I do it, so come back for that, and maybe another recipe or two.

Another Cheeseburger Soup
recipe shared by Sweetnicks

1/2 lb browned ground beef
4 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup shredded carrots
8 oz Velveeta
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream

Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 T butter for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and hamburger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt about 3 T butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Tomato And White Bean Soup
from Cooking Light Magazine, October, 1997

Serving Size : 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves — crushed
2 cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes — (14.5-ounce) undrained and chopped
2 cans white beans — (16-ounce) drained
1 can fat-free chicken broth — (14 1/2-ounce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients (tomatoes through pepper), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.