Butternut Squash Soup

 I have tasted butternut squash soup in a box before.  It was pretty tasteless and there was no aromatic smell to it.  I decided to make some myself and I had the surprise of my life.  When I cut open the squash, the whole kitchen smelled like cantaloupe melon.  The smell was absolutely amazing, I would have never believe that it came from the squash if I had not been the one to open it.  You need a very sharp vegetable peeler and knife to cut this because the flesh is very hard. This have become one of my favorite soup, it came out so sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 4 soup carrots, chopped
• 2 cans of 14.5 oz chicken stock
• 1 cup onion, chopped
•  2 tablespoon butter
• fresh ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In  large stock pot, saute the butternut squash, potatoes, carrots and onion for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for 40 minutes.
4. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or a regular blender until the consistency you desire. if you are using a blender, be careful not to over load it or the hot liquid might explode outward.
5. Garnish with a little of freshly grated nutmeg.

The nutmeg add a little spice to it.  This soup is absolutely delicious and is sweetened by nature. Throw away the box ones, even the one I bought from Whole Foods can not compare to the fresh butternut squash soup.

I got this recipe on Allrecipes.com but tweek it to what I like.  Some people suggested sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.  I might try that next time, it would definitely makes the soup sweeter.  The potatoes makes this soup heartier and all you need is some toasted baguette and you are set for dinner.




Some people said that it was too hard to peel the butternut squash because it is so hard so they suggested that you bake it in the oven before cooking it in soup.  That is such a waste of energy and money so why not use a very sharp vegetable peeler? I have this Oxo vegetable peeler that is super sharp and the grip is amazing.  I am a very clumsy so this works great with something so hard to peel.

Kielbasa Pepper Soup

This is a lazy one pot meal.  I was tired from work and just basically threw everything that I had into the pot to make a hearty soup. Good thing I had some kielbasa in the fridge. I always have Latin blend frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, bell peppers and chicken stock.  Those are my staples and they have saved many nights when I do not feel like fast food and do not feel like going out to the grocery store. I have my many lazy moments and these things have saved me from a peanut butter sandwich for dinner.

The only thing that you really need to do is chop the kielbasa and bell peppers. Add whatever you want to the pot. Sometimes I add canned tomatoes, but I didn't feel like the tartness of the tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 link of kielbasa
• 1 cup of Krasdale Latin Blend Frozen Vegetables
• 1/4 cup bell red pepper, diced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Direction

Add everything to the pot and boil for 40 minutes.

I usually brown the sausage and add them after the soup is done.  Like I said, I was being lazy and did not feel like cooking so I just dumped everything and boil.

*The Latin Blend frozen veggies are basically frozen corn, onion, black beans, red and green peppers.  You can use frozen vegetables and canned black beans or whatever beans you like.

Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 chicken breast, cut into one inch chunk
• 2 cups Latin Blend Mix 
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring water and stock to a boil.
2. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for 40 minutes.

I served this with brown rice to make it more hearty.

Pasta Kale Soup

Chinese Ginseng Chicken Soup

I love this traditional soup and it is so easy to make.  There are only a few ingredients and I always have them in the pantry.  All except for the chicken of course. For the chicken part, I either use one Cornish Hen or 3 drumsticks and one chicken breast, or one chicken breast and a few chicken bones.  I sometimes buy chicken legs and debone it if the boneless chicken is not looking fresh when I am shopping.  So instead of throwing the bones away, I save them for soup or congee.

Ingredients

• 1 Cornish hen
• 10 red dates
• 2 teaspoon of ginseng powder or 4 ginseng roots
• 3 quarts water
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Trim the excess fat on the chicken.
2. Place all ingredients into the stock pot and bring to a boil.
3. When it comes to a boil, turn down the fore to medium low.
4. Skim off the foam that appears on the soup and boil for 2 hours.
5. Add salt to taste.

This soup is usually made with ginseng roots, they can go from few dollar to hundreds of dollar.  I happen to have the really expensive ginseng in powder form, therefore I only need a 2 teaspoons.  If it is the lower grade one, I would need a few ginseng roots for the taste.  You really do not need the expensive stuffs for the soup. I made the mistake of putting a tablespoon of the really expensive ginseng and the whole pot of soup tasted bitterly like ginseng.  I had to add 2 more quarts of water and chicken stock to mellow out the taste of ginseng.  So test out the ginseng before dumping everything into the pot. 

Remember, you can always add but not take out.

Chicken Soup

I do like the chicken soup that they serve in diners but when you are sick, you need something light.  I like bone in chicken breast because the bones gives it more taste. The taste is so clear, light and sweet, instead of the heavy thick salty soup you get at diners. I always serve this with rice and if I wanted more taste to it, I add diced sauteed Kielbasa on top.  

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 cup of water
• 1 large zucchini
• Kielbasa sausage
• 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Dice the kielbasa and saute in vegetable oil until crispy. Set aside.
2. Rinse the pot of excess oil and add water, stock, chicken, carrots, and celery.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for half hour.
4. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper, simmer for another 15 minutes.
5. Serve over rice with kielbasa on top.

Egg Drop Soup

I never knew how easy it is to make egg drop soup.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tablespoon corn starch or flour
• 1/4 inch ginger, julienne 
• 6 dried mushroom
• 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon scallion
• white pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the mushroom in hot water for 40 minutes until soften then cut into bite size pieces.
2. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Mix the cornstarch in some of the stock until it is dissolved. 
4. Add the ginger soy sauce and mushroom to the stock and boil.
5. Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the soup whisking the whole time.
6. Turn down the heat and slowly drizzle the eggs into the soup while stirring.
7. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

I made the mistake of not cutting the mushroom the first time I made this soup and eating it in a hot soup was not that easy.  It was really tasty and much better than the Chinese take out place because the take outs are a bit too salty and starchy for my taste.  I added only a little bit of scallion because I am not too crazy about them.  Sometimes I don't even add it at all. I suppose if you do not have the dried Chinese mushroom, button mushrooms can be substituted.

Mix Beans Soup

This is a great quick hearty soup. All the ingredients in this recipe are a staple in my pantry so when I need a quick meal, this is one of my favorite.  You just throw everything into one pot and boil, there is no searing and no oil splattering everywhere.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Krasdale Latin Mix Vegetables
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 stew tomatoes
• 1/2 can white beans
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a pot combine broth and water, bring to a boil. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Krasdale Latin Mix vegetables is the frozen mix that consist of black beans, sweet corn, onion, and peppers.