Chicken noodle soup, sans chicken

Yes, I'm re-posting from my own blog. It's lame, but my baby got her 4 month shots this morning, so I will be snuggling with her instead of writing a cool and original post.

My mom makes the best chicken noodle soup. Whenever she comes to visit she makes a huge pot of it and then we store it in jars in the freezer to pull out on sick days or I-don't-feel-like-cooking days. What's cool about the recipe is that it was a mistake! Probably one of the best mistakes ever too. I finally got up the courage to make it a few months ago, though I've thought about it randomly ever since I left home. Do you ever hesitate to make someone else's recipe? I am always afraid that I won't make it as well and that would really upset me... so it always takes some convincing for me to make another person's recipe. Weird, I know. So here is my meatless adaptation of Mom's adaptation of Lion House Classic's Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup. That's a lot of adapting.

Ingredients:

2 tsp. chicken soup base or 2 bouillon cubes

4 cups chicken stock, or water, or broth (I used stock for more flavor)

2 cups chopped carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 bag of frozen peas (16 oz)

1 Family Size Cream of Chicken Soup

1/4+ cup evaporated milk

4 cups cooked rotini pasta

Heat the chicken base and stock/water/broth together. Add your carrots and celery (NOT the peas- yet) and cook until the veggies are tender. I cooked my noodles and then my peas while the veggies were cooking. Add cream of chicken soup and let that simmer for a few minutes. Then add the noodles and peas and evaporated milk (start with 1/4 cup and then keep adding until it's the thickness you want) and let that heat through.

Sorry for another soup in the summer... but it's a great meal to make and then freeze for busy summer days!

White bean chicken chili

Apparently it's soup week on this blog! Sorry to do another one. Even if it's warm outside, I love this recipe because it's so fast and easy to throw together. It smells great in the crock pot and by the end of the day, everyone is so excited for dinner. Credit for this yummy soup goes to my husband's aunt, Dana. This recipe is one big reason I'm SO glad I married into this family! Every time I make it, I think, "why don't I make this more??"

White bean chicken chili

Ingredients:

2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

3 cans Great Northern white beans

2 cups salsa (I use Pace usually)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT FOR the cheese in a crock pot. Cook on high for 2+ hours.

Once the soup is really hot (I usually let it sit on a high setting for 2.5-3 hours to be safe), add the cheese. If it's not hot enough, the cheese won't melt and mix properly.

Turn the heat down to low and keep it there for another 5-6 hours, stirring every once in a while so nothing gets stuck on the bottom.

Serve over rice with chips, cheese, and sour cream! It's the best!

Sorry, I didn't remember to take a picture until the crock pot looked like this!

Macaroni and Tomato Soup

I know it isn't exactly soup weather for the "lower 48", but here in Alaska you can make soup all year round :). This recipe comes from one of my most favorite cookbooks, Lion House Classics. It is awesome, and I especially love their soup selection. This is easy to throw together and doesn't take much time. It's a great option for those days when all of the sudden it's 5:30 p.m. and you haven't even started dinner yet. Not that that ever happens around here...

You will need:
2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) tomato soup
1 can water
1 can (46 ounces) tomato juice
4 oz. macaroni, cooked *I always do a little more because it's my kids' favorite part
Dash of pepper
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. sweet basil
1 T. sugar
1 to 2 bay leaves

In heavy saucepan, melt butter; cook onion, green pepper, and celery until limp but not brown. Add remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Makes 10 to 12 one-cup servings.

Pair it with some cheese sandwiches on Kim's homemade bread and you've got yourself a meal my friends!