Third Annual Soup Party

Hosted by Kevin & Lynne

February 8, 2014

Reviewed by Gail

The Setting

There were ten entries this year. Jamie brought two! She must not have been able to make up her mind. I know I have that problem every year. I managed to try each one. I was so busy taking pictures of the soups this year that I didn't take any notes on the go withs. lol

 Attendees this year were: Kevin & Lynne, Jesse & Dianne, Doug, Carlie & Tammy, Paul & Judy, Ed & Linda, Matt and Dawn with daughters Hannah and Emily (who had her third birthday cake!), Bill & Cyndi, with granddaughters, Juliana and Joanna, (Jessica’s daughters), Chris & Jessica with baby, Deta & Dave, Richard & Gail with son Thomas, Jamie & Tommy.

2^nd Runner Up

 Cindy’s Chili Soup

And this is a soup, not a chili. Ground beef and beans in a light beef and tomato broth.

+Texture: Good, the beef was loose, not chunky, the beans were tender. A very nice proportion of meat to broth and beans.

+Color: Excellent and appealing. A nice red chili color.

+Flavor: Excellent flavor - full chili flavor with overtones of beef broth and tomato juice without any overpowering saltiness or spicy heat.

Runner Up

 Dawn’s Turkey and Vegetable Soup

This was a lovely surprise. It looked like just any other chicken vegetable soup. But it was tasty. Dawn made it last week and froze it. It held up to freezing very well.

+Texture: Nice big tender - not mushy - chunks of carrot, zucchini, potatoes and tomatoes. There were some big chunks of turkey, but most of the turkey was shredded. I wished for more of that zucchini, especially this time of year. I really couldn't believe this soup had been frozen, given the very nice texture of the vegetables.

+Color: An appealing mix of green zucchini, orange carrots, red tomatoes and yellow potatoes in a nice light poultry and tomato broth.

+Flavor: Excellent. Something to warm up with on a cold winter night. Full flavored, savory, even umame.

And the Grand Prize Winner!

Linda’s Meatball and Tortellini Soup

A delightful entry from Linda. The little meatballs complemented the tortellini well. Nice size diced carrots and celery with diced spinach in a chicken broth.

+Texture: Excellent, everything was tender, not mushy or tough. Pasta nicely al dente; meatballs, carrots, celery tender; spinach tender - not stringy. Broth light and thin.

+Color: Excellent, nice contrast of creamy white pasta, diced carrots, flecks of green spinach.

+Flavor: Excellent. If I’d had the room, I would have eaten a whole bowl of this soup. Flavor was, hmmm, umame would describe it best. Savory, not salty, nothing overwhelming, but you will want more.

The Rest of the Tasty Offerings 

Judy’s Spicy Tortellini Soup     Lynne’s Chicken Enchilada Soup	Deta’s Wild Rice Soup Dianne’s Beef and Vegetable Soup
Jamie’s Potato and Bacon Soup Gail’s Polish Dill Pickle Soup	Jamie’s Taco Soup

Second Annual Soup Party

January 26, 2013

Hosted by Kevin & Lynne

Reviewed by Gail

This was our second gathering, on its way to a truly annual event! I managed to sample all 9 soups :-) Again! After the unofficial, and totally unbiased ;-), judging, this year’s winners are:

2^nd Runner Up

Carlie’s Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup. Carlie presented a colorful array of small diced tomatoes and veggies, cooked just tender and not mushy, in a flavorful beef broth.

Runner Up

Gail’s Hotel Roanoke Peanut Soup. This soup was a creamy, smooth, full flavored peanut butter soup. It was a little sweet, a little tart, a little savory and a touch of salty. If you like boiled peanuts, it had that almost addictive flavor.

And the Grand Prize this year goes to:

Judi’s Tortellini Soup. This very flavorful combination had delicious tender tortellinis in a beef broth with little sliced (breakfast?) sausages, diced tomatoes and veggies, with a touch of hot pepper. There was not enough of this entry. Everyone wanted to take some of this one home!

The Rest of the Tasty Offerings:

Lynne’s Butternut Squash Soup

Linda’s Turkey with Lentils & Barley Soup

Dawn’s Split Pea with Carrots and Ham Soup

Karen’s Spicy Beans and Rice Soup

Cynthia’s Potato Soup

Deta’s Zippy Corn Chowder

The go withs were great too!

Judi’s Bruschetta Appetizers with Chicken and Cheese – The Best!

Karen’s Cornbread and Butter – Great accompaniment to Carlie’s soup

Judi’s Date Walnut Bread with Cream Cheese – sweet and rich

Lynne’s Olive Rolls – nice and hard and crusty

Tammy’s Real Mincemeat Pie – an old fashioned venison favorite

Judi’s Brownies with Marshmallows – a yummy treat

Richard’s Home Canned Hot Pepper Mix – crunchy and not too hot

Gail’s Strawberry Banana Jello Fluff – what can I say? It’s Jello.

That Judi sure likes to bake! Thank you Judi.

Attendees were: Kevin & Lynne, Paul & Judi, Raymond, Ed & Linda, Dawn & Emily, Karen, Carlie & Tammy, Bill, Cindy & Juliana, Deta & Dave, Richard, Gail & Thomas.

First Annual Soup Party

January 28, 2012

Hosted by Kevin & Lynne

Reviewed by Gail

Lynne started this community event to get together during the mid-winter blahs. And what could be better than hot soup, good friends, a toasty wood stove and a few beers? My secret is to pace myself, so I manage to get a good taste of each entry.;-)

2^nd Runner Up

Gail’s Smoked Chicken and Leek Soup. Here was a decadently savory broth with tender, tiny strips of leeks, shredded carrot and bits of smoked chicken. This soup was not as salty as the others and came off light in comparison. It could have benefitted from the addition of some fine egg noodles.

Runner Up

Judi’s Cabbage Soup. This soup was a pleasant surprise. It was the first soup I tasted and was so delicious, it was hard for the other entries to measure up. It had an attractive presentation with 1 inch pieces of pale green cabbage floating in a light clear broth with chunks of diced red tomatoes, carrots and Kielbasa. The vegetables were tender and perfect – not crunchy and not mushy. There were a few too many vegetables to broth ratio, but not so much to even come close to thinking it a stew. The flavor of the broth impressed me the most. It was savory and rich tasting, but not too salty. Recipe follows.

Grand Prize

Carlie’s 17 Bean and Bacon Soup. This was the only male entry and was absolutely delicious in its simplicity. When asked, Carlie said he “should have used more bacon”. There were tender, meaty, half inch pieces of bacon floating over an interesting variety of beans. The beans were a very pleasant surprise as they melted smoothly over my tongue. This soup was rich and flavorful, with a nice dark color, a good balance of savory and salty and a good proportion of beans to broth. I only wished there was more. Thank you, Carlie!

The Rest of the Tasty Offerings

Linda’s Italian Wedding Soup

Cynthia’s Vegetable Beef Soup

Deta’s Potato Soup

Karen’s Broccoli Cheese Soup

Lynne’s French Onion Soup

Janice’s Chili

And lots of go withs – breads, desserts, pickles.

Attendees: Kevin & Lynne, Judi & Paul, Ed & Linda, Bill & Cynthia, Carlie & Tammy, Karen, Gail, Richard & Thomas, Kerry & Janice.

Judi’s Cabbage Soup

Dice cabbage in one inch pieces and par-boil until just tender in a large box of Swanson’s Chicken Stock. Add diced onion, a large sliced carrot, a can of diced tomatoes, some sliced kielbasa, parsley, oregano, thyme, and 1 can beef broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until done.

Pot of Gold

Serves 4-6

This recipe is my long time favorite from Girl Scout camp. My family loves it too. I’m not sure which company created this recipe. It was either Campbell’s, Bisquick or Kraft. My research found versions of this recipe still floating around, but not the original. The original was made with water instead of milk and used Bisquick and water for the dough (we were camping). Use yellow sharp cheddar instead of white and you will have big fluffy dumplings leaking golden cheese in tomato soup.

1 large (26 oz.) or 3 small (10.5 oz.) cans condensed tomato soup

2 cups 1% milk (or water)

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Dash salt

1/2 cup of milk

2 Tbsp. canola oil

4 oz. extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, cut into 8 cubes

Put soup in large kettle with lid. Slowly whisk in milk. Bring just to boil and immediately turn heat down to simmer. Don’t let it boil or milk curdles!

In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and oil in a cup. With a fork, vigorously stir milk mixture into flour mixture.

Grease hands and scoop up about 1/8 of dough. Set the cheese cube in the middle and wrap the sides up and around it, sealing the cheese inside the dough. Drop gently on top of simmering soup. Repeat until all cheese and dough is used.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Boiled Peanut Soup

Serves 4

I started out with a recipe for “Hotel Roanoke Peanut Soup”, but of course I can’t follow any recipe exactly. I prefer different cooking techniques and usually less salt and fat. What I ended up with was sooo delicious! It reminded me of that addictive flavor of boiled peanuts.

The original recipe follows. Be sure to use a broth that is not too salty. This is a good time to use leftover broth from poaching chicken. You can use either smooth or chunky peanut butter. The butter can be left out.

2 Tbsp. butter (optional)

1 small onion, diced 

1 stalk celery, diced 

1 quart chicken broth 

1 tsp lemon juice 

2 tbsp flour 

1/2 lb (1 cup) peanut butter

Salt to taste 

1/4 cup ground peanuts

Heat a 2 quart metal saucepan until hot and dry. Remove from heat and coat with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat while preparing vegetables.

Sauté onion and celery in butter in the pre-seasoned saucepan over medium heat until onion is translucent.

Put sautéed vegetables in blender. Add 2 cups of broth, lemon juice, flour, and peanut butter. Blend well.

Pour back into saucepan and stir in remaining 2 cups of broth. Bring to boil and simmer until thickened, stirring frequently. Taste and add salt as desired.

Sprinkle ground peanuts on top before serving.

Hotel Roanoke Peanut Soup

Posted 2/11/10 by Sandy at dailyrecipes@yahoogroups.com

1 small onion, diced
1/3 tsp celery salt
1/4 lb butter
1 t salt
2 celery ribs, diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup ground peanuts
2 quart hot chicken broth
1 lb peanut butter (creamy)

Melt butter in sauce pan and add onion and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes (do not brown). Add flour and mix well. Stir in chicken broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Add peanut butter, celery salt, salt, and lemon juice. Sprinkle ground peanuts on top before serving. Makes 20 1/2-cup servings.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Serves 8

This recipe started out as a copycat of Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup. But I have made it so many times over the last four years that I have improved it quite a bit!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

1 medium Onion, diced

1 Tbsp. chopped Garlic

1 tsp. ground Cumin

1 tsp. Chili Powder (no salt)

dash of hot pepper sauce

1 cup Masa Harina

2 qt. Water (divided)

2 Tbsp. Chicken bouillon

1 can (15 oz.) diced Tomatoes

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

1 pound American cheese

Heat a 4 quart kettle until hot and dry. Remove from heat and coat with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat while preparing vegetables.

Sauté chicken, onion, garlic and spices in kettle over medium high heat, stirring constantly until chicken is not pink and onion is translucent.

Stir in Masa Harina. Stir in 1 quart water until all lumps dissolve.

Stir in remaining quart of water, chicken bouillon, tomatoes and green chiles. Return to boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Drop individual slices of cheese, about four at a time into kettle and stir until melted. Continue until all cheese has been added.

Serve with hot buttered tortillas.

Real Cheeseburger Soup

Serves 6

Thomas asked me to make Cheeseburger Soup for dinner. I read at least six different recipes and put together this one. It has everything on a cheeseburger and includes the fries!

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 stalk celery, diced

4 cups diced peeled potatoes

1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed tomato soup

1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 ½ cups milk (1%)

¼ cup diced dill pickles

¼ cup ketchup

2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

½ pound American cheese

Heat a 4 quart metal kettle until hot and dry. Remove from heat and coat with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat while preparing vegetables.

Sauté beef, onion, carrot, celery and potatoes over medium heat, breaking up beef into small chunks, until beef is browned and onion is translucent.

Stir in soups, milk, pickles, ketchup and mustard. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Drop individual slices of cheese, about four at a time into kettle and stir until melted. Continue until all cheese has been added.

Serve with a hearty sourdough bread and now you have the bun!

Another Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Awarded by my DH

Whenever I bake potatoes, I always throw a few extra in the oven. They are handy for quick home fries and soup.

Serves 6 – 8.

2 strips thick meaty bacon

1 large onion, diced – reserve ¼ cup

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small carrot, shredded

2 cups water

5 medium baked potatoes, peeled and diced

2 quarts milk

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup (4 oz.) extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

8 slices American cheese

Heat 4 quart metal kettle hot and dry. Remove from heat. Lightly coat with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat while preparing meats and vegetables.

Bring heat to medium high and sauté bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.

Sauté onion and celery 5 minutes. Add carrots and cook 3 minutes. Add water. Bring to boil then turn down to simmer 5 minutes, while peeling and dicing potatoes.

Add potatoes, milk and bouillon. Heat just to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.

After five minutes or so, when potatoes are heated and softened, mash about half the potatoes or use a hand blender. Be sure to keep a good number of chunky bits.

While soup is simmering, crumble bacon into tiny bits and add to soup.

Stir in cheddar cheese. Drop in slices of American cheese and stir lightly until melted.

DO NOT BOIL! Keep heat to very low or it will curdle.

Turn off heat and serve with reserved diced onion sprinkled on top and a hearty bread on the side.