Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

I have been making this soup almost as long as I've been married and it's one of my kids' favorite meals. I made it for dinner last night and when my 2 older girls saw it on the stove they got all excited and said "Potato cheese soup? Oh YAY mom!!!" The funny thing is, this is the easiest, quickest, dinner ever. This takes about 25 minutes to put on the table, less time than it would take you to drive through a crowded drive thru and bring home some over-priced, unhealthy fast food. This is my go-to staple dinner on crazy weeknights. Think Tuesday night: 6 year old has ballet, 10 year old has swim team, 11 year old has dive team, and 13 year old has basketball. Seriously, that's my Tuesday and this is what I served for dinner!! And did I mention it's delicious? You'll be surprised at how yummy this is, I promise!

Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

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2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Real Bacon Bits or chopped Cooked Ham (if I use ham I usually add 1 cup)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
6-8 small-medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped. (these potatoes are so yummy and buttery that I just leave the peels on, just chop and throw in your soup--so easy!)
3 1/2 cups Water **
3 1/2 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon powder
1 14 oz. can Corn, drained
1 14 oz. can creamed Corn, undrained. You want the creamy corn and liquid.
1 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheese, I use cheddar or a cheddar-Monterrey jack blend

Extra cheese, bacon, and chili powder for sprinkling on bowls, optional. Also, variation: If I have fresh broccoli on hand, I often chop some up (about 2 cups) and add it with the potatoes to simmer.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add onions and bacon bits. Sprinkle with pepper. Saute for about 3-5 minutes while you chop your potatoes. Add chopped potatoes. Pour water over potatoes, but you don't want to completely cover them. It's ok if some of your potatoes are poking out of the top of the water. So you will use roughly **3 1/2 cups water, you may use a little more or less. Add chicken bouillon powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, til potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork. Add drained corn and entire can of creamed corn. Stir. Add evaporated milk and cheese, stir in til cheese is melted and blended in. Serve warm in bowls. We like to put a little chili powder, extra cheese, and bacon on this soup, yummy!

These lovely soup photos were brought to you courtesy of my 13 year old son's I-Pod. And since I had to upload his photos on my computer, I was privileged to see some of the choice pics/images he had. Here are 2 of of my favorites. 13 year old boys, what more can I say? At least he's pretending to not like girls:

And I was disturbed when my husband laughed out loud at this:

Creamy Tomato Veggie Soup

This soup is SOOOO yumarama. We ate it for dinner last night and I made some cheesy breadsticks to dip in it, and I was so very very sad that my family ate it all and there were no leftovers for lunch today!! So I remembered last time I made this I doubled it--note to self: Double this every time!! While we were eating my health conscious 11 year old daughter asked me "Mom, is this soup healthy?" And I was so happy to respond "Yes, Rachel. This soup is basically cancer prevention in a bowl." But I promise it's super yummy too. You must serve this with something cheesy, either breadsticks or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Creamy Tomato Veggie Soup
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1 Tablespoon Butter
1 small-medium Onion, chopped
1 cup shredded Carrots
1 Tablespoon fresh Garlic, minced (about 3-4 garlic cloves)
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup fresh Basil leaves, roughly chopped or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Basil
1/2 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes in oil
2 14 oz. cans Tomatoes, undrained
3 cups Water
3 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder
4 oz. Cream Cheese (regular or 1/3 less fat work great here)


Heat butter in a saucepan, add onion, carrots and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add sugar, salt, and pepper and stir for 1 minute. Add basil, sun dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, water, and chicken bouillon. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add cream cheese and stir til melted. Next you will take your blender or food processor, and working in 2-3 batches, blend your soup together to mix up all the yummy veggies and cream cheese til it's creamy. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches or cheesy breadsticks. Go and hide an extra bowl of this dreamy soup to serve yourself tomorrow for lunch. The back of the fridge where no one wants to see or smell the leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving is a perfect place.

Shrimp Coconut Curry Soup

Our family loves Thai food, but not the price tag of eating out. So, like I said in an earlier post, I have been on a quest in the past 2 years to learn to re-create ethnic restaurant quality food at home. I created this soup and it was a definite winner! My husband, who is crazy about Thai food, really oohed and ahhed over this soup.
Note: If you don't like fish, no problemo (sorry I don't know how to say problem in Thai-ese, just Spanish). Just substitute 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced. Sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper and brown them in the olive oil with your onions and red peppers.

Shrimp Coconut Curry Soup
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Serves 6-8

1 lb. cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I just buy the bag of those cooked, peeled little frozen shrimps at the store. It's actually cheaper than raw shrimp. Go figure. Why it's cheaper for them to cook, peel, and de-vein it for me is a mystery that ranks right up there with why fresh pineapples cost more in Hawaii than they do on the mainland.)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 white or yellow Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 cups Water
2 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder, (or 2 cubes chicken bouillon)
2 14 oz. cans unsweetened light Coconut Milk
1 cup Carrots, shredded or sliced thin
1 16 oz. bag frozen Sugar Snap Peas, or 2 cups fresh Sugar Snap Peas
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce (a large bottle of this can be found @ Walmart in the Asian Food Section, it's cheap.)
2 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste (again, Asian Food Section of your grocery store.)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

4 cups cooked Brown Rice for serving (white works too)

Rinse shrimp to defrost it with warm water. Drain and pat dry. I usually marinate it for a little while before making this in 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, a dash of fresh ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. This brings out and improves the flavor of your little shrimps! I just do this the morning I plan on cooking this or like 1 hour before. This is optional.
In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add red pepper and onion, cook for about 3 minutes til softened a bit. Add water, bouillon powder, coconut milk, shrimp, carrots, peas, fish sauce, curry paste, and brown sugar. Simmer this together for about 15 minutes. Add in the lime juice and cilantro. To serve, scoop warm rice into individual bowls and ladle soup over rice. Garnish with extra cilantro if desired.

Turkey Minestrone Soup

This minestrone soup is SOOO good! Turkey sausage makes it healthy, and a secret ingredient makes it delicious. Several years ago I was at a recipe exchange party and one of my friends there had a recipe for minestrone soup. I was looking over her recipe and it was very similar to mine except for 1 ingredient: apple cider vinegar. I asked her about it and she told me it was the secret to her minestrone soup. Who knew??? I added it to mine and wow, it made such a difference! This is a yummy meal you can put on the table in 30 minutes, wouldn't Rachael Ray be proud? This soup tastes even better when served with french bread.

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Turkey Minestrone Soup:
1 lb. Italian Turkey Sausage, sweet or hot (spicy), depending on what you like
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 cups Beef Broth (or use 6 cups water + 6 teaspoons beef bouillon powder)
2 14 oz. cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Basil
2 medium Zucchinis, sliced
1 10 oz. package Frozen Mixed Veggies (I usually use one with green beans, carrots, & corn. Sometimes if I don't have that I thinly slice fresh carrots and add frozen green beans or a can of them drained.)
1 can Kidney or Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup dried elbow macaroni or other small pasta **(I cook mine separate while my soup simmers. I know it sounds like more work, but I just cook it on the stove next to the soup. I've tried adding the uncooked pasta directly in the soup and for some reason with this soup it just doesn't work out for me, the noodles either get too soggy or not cooked--I have MUCH better luck cooking the macaroni al dente and adding it at the last minute. If you have some secret to get this to work right, then add your pasta with your veggies and simmer together.)
Parmesan Cheese

In a soup pot, brown turkey sausage and onion. You can drain off a little fat if you want to. Add garlic and stir in for 1 minute. Add beef broth, stewed tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and spices. Add vegetables and beans. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add in cooked pasta and serve hot topped with Parmesan cheese.

Easy, Delicious Chicken and Dumplings

This is one of the ultimate comfort foods, and here in Arizona I love to take advantage of our very short but sweet winter to make soup for dinner. I LOVE soup, don't you? I first saw this chicken and dumplings recipe in a Family Fun magazine several years ago. I have simplified it a bit by using boneless, skinless chicken thighs (instead of whole chicken pieces you have to tear apart later) and I totally cheat on the dumplings! But if you want to make your own, I am going to include a recipe for those too! The ingredients for this are super simple, but you won't believe how good this tastes! Don't even think about skipping the step below where you brown your chicken, that's what makes this taste so amazing. You can have this delicious dinner on the table for your family in an hour, so let's get cooking!!

Chicken and Dumplings, serves 4-5. *I double this to feed my family of 8*
Recipe adapted from Family Fun
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2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
3 cups + 1/2 cup water, divided
1 Bay Leaf
1 teaspoon dried Parsley
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes or 3 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder
Black Pepper, to taste (I use 1/4 teaspoon)
5 Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken thighs and brown them on each side for 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and celery and saute briefly. Then add the carrots, 3 cups of water, bay leaf, bouillon, parsley, and pepper to your chicken and veggies. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the chicken for 30 minutes. While chicken simmers, "prepare" your dumplings~Yay! This is where I cheat.

Dumplings (please don't tattle tale to your grandma)
5 small refrigerated biscuits.
So you will just buy a package of 10 small biscuits like this:
I say "small" because you can buy a package of like 4-6 "grand" biscuits or just a package of regular sized ones, just buy the smaller ones. Ok so now you will take 5 biscuits and cut each one into 4 small pieces like this:
Once chicken thighs and veggies are done simmering, remove thighs from the saucepan and place on a cutting board. Whisk the 1/3 cup flour together with the 1/2 cup water, stir into to the soup. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and add back into soup. Simmer together for 1 minute and then drop in your dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Check your dumplings, they should be kind of soft and "dough-ey" on the outside, but on the inside they should be cake-like, like the inside of a biscuit like this:
If dumplings aren't done, just cover your pan and cook for a couple more minutes. Yum!

Homemade Dumplings if you don't have biscuits:
1 1/2 cups all purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Milk
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in this mixture and add milk, egg, and oil. Stir briskly to make a batter. Spoon rounded tablespoons of batter into your simmering broth and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

**A quick note, I always buy extra biscuits when they go on sale and bake them while the chicken and dumplings are cooking to serve on the side!

Best Chicken Noodle Soup Ever

So this picture is not pretty, but TRUST me when I say that this is the best home made chicken noodle soup you will ever eat in your life! My sister Heidi gave me this recipe years ago and it is a hit to all those who taste it! To make this soup even better, make home made noodles to go in it as well. Yummy!!  But here is a perfect soup for those snowy days...the one's we don't get here in AZ.

Chicken Noodle Soup

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2 chicken breasts

8-9 cups of chicken broth (or 9 cups of water plus 9 tsp of chicken bullion)

1 stick of butter (8 Tbls)

1/3 cup flour

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

Noodles

Cook chicken in broth for about 30 minutes over Med-High heat. Remove the chicken and cut into cubes. In a separate pan melt butter and then add flour. Cook for a few minutes to make a rue, and then slowly pour that mixture into the chicken broth. Add the cream of chicken soup, carrots, celery, and chicken in the broth. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Simmer until carrots and celery are cooked (or about 15 minutes before you are ready to serve). Then boil noodles (in a separate pan), drain, and add to the soup mixture.
This can be served over mashed potatoes or as plain soup

Chicken Veggie Tortilla Soup

I love soup, I love Mexican food, I love vegetables--so I created this chicken tortilla soup a few years ago and I love making and eating it! I honestly like it better than the $6 a bowl chicken tortilla soup the Mexican restaurants serve, because they kind of skimp on vegetables, etc.

Chicken Veggie Tortilla Soup
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1 1/2- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite size pieces(I prefer thighs, but use breasts when I don't have them on hand)
1 Onion, chopped
5 cups Water
5 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder or 5 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped/minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Zucchinis, sliced
1 14 oz. can Tomatoes w/Jalapenos or Green Chilies
1 14 oz. can sliced Stewed Tomatoes (if you like spicier dishes, you can use both cans with jalapenos or green chilies)
1 cup Cilantro, chopped
2 cups Frozen Corn
2 teaspoons Cumin
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice

Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheese, Cilantro, and Avocado for garnish

Place onion and chicken in a large saucepan with water and chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer til chicken cooks through. While you are cooking chicken, melt butter in a large skillet.

Add red & green pepper, zucchini, and garlic. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook veggies til they are softened but not mushy. Add vegetables to saucepan with cooked chicken. Immediately add tomatoes, cilantro, frozen corn, cumin and lime juice. Heat through. Serve in bowls topped with chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado and cilantro. You can even squirt a tiny bit of extra lime juice on your bowl if you really like limes like I do! Enjoy!

NOTE: If you live in Arizona and can't find the produce for this soup on sale that week, you can go to a 99 Cent Only store if you live near one! A bit scary I know, but I've never gotten bad produce there! They sell zucchinis 3 for $1, a huge bag of cilantro for $1, packages of 2-3 red and green peppers for $1, and they even have carrots and grated carrots, etc. I use the extra cilantro to make salsa and taco salad.