Chicken Taco Soup and More Chicken Soup Ideas

Chicken Taco Soup

I shared my Chicken and Rice Soup that my mother loves.  This week we tried a recipe for Chicken Taco Soup that came with Daily Chef canned chicken. We loved it along with the corn bread I made.  My brother described it as having a mild chili taste – both he and Mom love Chili.  I tried to find the 6-can recipe on-line so I could share the link and could not locate it.  So below are the ingredients, which you dump into a crock pot (on high) or Dutch oven (stirring often on medium) to cook for 2 hours.  The chicken is the only can you need to drain.  All the others are not drained so they form your broth portion of soup.  I may try this soup as a beef version by using a pound of browned hamburger meat instead of the chicken.

Chicken Taco Soup Ingredients

1 – 13oz. can Chicken Breast

1 – 11oz. can diced Tomatoes and Chilies

1 – 28oz. can diced Tomatoes

1 – 4oz. can green chilies (I left this out since Mom claims not to like them)

1 – 15oz.can Kidney Beans

1 – 15oz.can Black Beans

1 – 11oz. can Kernel Corn

1 – Pkg Taco Seasoning Mix

1 – Pkg Ranch Dressing Mix.

Optional Garnishes:  tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese , chopped green onions

Here are two creamer versions of the soup, made with a can of cream of chicken soup, which I did find on-line: 7-can Enchilada Soup and 8-can Taco Soup.  If you are looking for a low-carb soup, try  South Beach Simple Chicken Soup.  A friend recently shared this very cheesy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe with us.

GHK February 2015 Issue

I also found several options for new chicken soups in the February 2015 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine on page 132 where they give 5 Ways to Make Chicken Soup using 2 cups of chicken and some broth to create variations. They also give complete instructions for Chicken and Bacon Chowder.  I plan to try all of them with my mother, except for the Coconut-Lime, which has mushrooms and cilantro – she says she does not like those ingredients.  The other soup variations include: Classic Chicken Noodle, Tex-Mex, Tortellini en Brodo, and Lemony Creek Soup.

For another easy version of Tex-Mex soup, try Our Easy Chicken or Beef Enchilada Soup Recipe.

For my soup/stew recipes with Pork, visit Our Verde Carnitas Soup and Recipe Variation

For my soup recipes with Beef, visit Grandma’s Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

For a soup recipe that can use beef, pork, turkey, or chicken, watch for Cabbage Roll Soup in the future.

Wonderful Cabbage Soup Recipe and Seven-Day Diet

You may have heard of the Cabbage Soup  Diet (aka Wonderful Soup Diet).  In my home, we enjoy Cabbage Roll Soup so I thought I'd give this a try.  There were a lot of recipe variations, so I made my own recipe below combining some of the suggestions and leaving out others.  I did some research and found that medical sites said the diet was okay as long as you do NOT do it for more than a week - it is only a system flush to jump start a healthy weight-loss program.  Doing the diet for too long may result in muscle loss instead of fat loss.  Their main concern with the diet is the lack of protein, even with the add-ons for diet.  They also warned that you will quickly gain the weight back if you continue bad eating habits instead of choosing healthy options.

With that in mind, I decided to eat the soup at lunch and dinner only and have a microwave scrambled egg for protein at breakfast.  Thanks to the tuna/egg diet, I am not a big eater, so I just had the soup at my meals without any of the add-ons.  The only day that I ate something different at breakfast was Dairy Day (see add-ons under recipe), on that day I had yogurt instead of the egg.  You must drink lots of water during the diet.  I drank a glass before and after each meal to make sure I met the requirements. On the rare occasions where I craved a snack. I ate 6-8 almonds and/or a zero-calorie flavored drink.   I also walked at least 35 minutes each morning. I lost 5+ pounds in one week on my modified version of this diet and broke a weight kinit I had not been able to get below in previous attempts. Unfortunately, 2.5 pounds came back in the following two weeks.

Conclusions: 

• If you want to lose weight quickly or jump-start weight loss, you may want to try this for 7-days.  If you want to repeat the week, you are supposed to wait 2 weeks before trying again.
• If you are interested in a flat stomach rather than rapid weight-loss, do NOT do this diet.  It causes belly bloat for the week and a few days after.  Instead, you may want to plan ahead and  try the 21-day belly diet of healthy eating habits.  During the diet, you may want to add the 4-week flat belly exercises to the few the book recommends.
• As with any diet or exercise plan, CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR before starting as foods can affect medical conditions and the effectiveness of some medications.  Although I had no real  problems on this diet, others I know had an adverse reaction and had to stop after first day.

Diet Cabbage Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) package of Shredded Cabbage or Coleslaw Mix
1 large onion, chopped
1 (28oz) can of diced tomatoes
3 celery stalks, sliced into small pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced thin (about 6 carrots)
4 cups prepared bouillon
Optional:
1 (14 oz) can of green beans
1 (8 oz) can V-8 juice

Steps:
Saute onions in olive oil until transparent in your soup pot.
Add bouillon,  and other vegetables, except cabbage, and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes.
Turn heat to low and place cabbage on top to begin wilting process.
After simmering 20 minutes, stir cabbage into soup.  Simmer 20 minutes more.

Notes:

• In order to have a full-week of soup, I had to make the recipe below twice,  
• Many of the on-line recipes call for a whole head of cabbage, which is double the mix I used.  However, that much cabbage would not have fit into my soup pot with all the other ingredients!   So you could double the cabbage if desired.  Cabbage is supposed to slow digestion, which is how the diet works. 
• If you skip the cabbage wilting stage, the cabbage will soak up all your broth as it cooks.
• The bouillon can be any flavor you like: beef, vegetarian, or chicken.  I used chicken.
• I included all the optional ingredients and it had a great flavor.  If you do not want to use V-8, you can add some spices or herbs that you like instead. If you want to add a clove or garlic, saute it with the onion,

7-Day Cabbage Soup Diet Plan - Add On Foods

• Every Day - Eat soup at meals and drink several glasses of water throughout the day.

1. Fruit Day - any fruit except bananas may be eaten with the soup at meals.
2. Veg Day - green vegetable, leafy vegetable, or a small baked potato may be eaten with soup.
3. Mix Day - anything from days 1 or 2 (Fruit & Veg) with meals.
4. Dairy Day - milk, yogurt, or single small banana with soup.
5. Meat Day - 10 ounces of beef, chicken, or fish once during the day with soup,
6. Mix Day - anything from days 2 or 5 (Meat & Veg) with soup.
7. Juice Day - brown rice or juice with soup.

Always consult a doctor before starting a diet or exercise program!

Grandma’s Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

Grandma's Vegtable Beef Soup cooking

With the cold weather we have been having lately, I have made my version Grandma Parrish’s soup.  Below I will give both my grandmother’s version and my quick-and-easy pantry version.  First I have to give a little history and math lessons. 

History included my mother making her own version of the soup, which stumped me because they did not seem the same to me.  So I asked grandma why at various times when she would serve her soup.  First, her soup broth seemed thicker and redder, why?  She said she included a can of store-bought condensed tomato soup for added flavor – the redness was just a bonus.  To make the soup thicker, about 10 minutes before serving she mashed a few of the potatoes on the side of the pan and stirred it back in.  Second, I thought her soup was neat because she used the pretty seashell style macaroni and mom used elbow.  Grandma said the pasta type did not matter; it was just a way to stretch the number of servings the soup made.  Then there was the beef.  I asked why Mom sometimes used chopped up stew meat instead of ground hamburger.  Grandma said she used that sometimes too, whichever she had on hand was what she was used.  However, she felt the benefit of using ground meat over cuts was that you get meat in almost every bite.

Now for the math lesson!  Grandma and grandpa had a large garden so she canned most of her own vegetables.  So her recipe says a pint since she either used a small canning jar, used half of a large quart (2 pints are in a quart).  A pint equals 16 ounces. Also, there are 8 ounces in a standard measuring cup.   So if you are buying from the store, look for cans close to the correct size. 

Grandma Parrish’s Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients:

1 pint tomatoes and juices
4 cups beef broth
1 cans 10-oz condensed tomato soup
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced into ½ inch thick circles
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into approximately 1-inch squares
1 pint green beans
1 cup celery cut into ½ inch thick moons
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup uncooked macaroni/pasta
1 lb. beef (browned in skillet and grease drained before adding to soup)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste when served

Steps:  Another secret Grandma shared was to prep and add vegetables to the broth and tomatoes according to cook time.  Carrots take the longest to cook, so they go in large stock pot first.  Then cut potatoes and add next. Then add the other veggies.  Add browned meat, cover and let all cook together for 20-30 minutes.  Bring to a boil, add the macaroni and let cook 10 minutes more than time listed on package.  Mash a few spoons of potatoes into soup, cover pot, and let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Shirley’s 30-minute Pantry Vegetable Beef Soup 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or stew meat (browned in skillet and grease drained before adding to soup)
1 14.5-oz can stewed or diced tomatoes with juices
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 14-oz cans beef broth (or make 4 cups using bouillon cubes and water)
2 15-oz cans mixed vegetables, drained
1 14.5-oz can green beans, drained (or corn or add your favorite vegetable instead)
¼ cup minced dried onions
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup uncooked macaroni/pasta
Optional: ½ teaspoon ground oregano
Salt and pepper to taste when served

Steps:  Brown meat in bottom of pot and drain off all grease.  Add all canned items and dried herbs to pot.  Bring to a boil and then add macaroni.   Let cook 10 minutes more than time listed on macaroni package.  If you want to thicken broth, stir in 1 tablespoon instant mashed potato flakes and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Hints for pantry version:

1. If creating my own broth from bullion, I use the water I drain from the canned vegetables as well as tap water to make the 4 cups. I feel like this helps to keep some of the vitamins that typically get lost when draining the canned vegetables.
2. If using hamburger, after draining the grease I put the hamburger meat on a cheap  unwaxed paper plate placed on top of a china plate.  This pulls more grease out of the meat and into the paper plate for easy disposal.  I then use a paper towel to wipe the warm pot free of grease before adding ingrediants for soup.

My mom says my quickie version reminds her of her mother’s soup. She loves eating it! Try both recipes and let me know which you like the best.

Our Easy Chicken or Beef Enchilada Soup Recipe

We like to experiment to try to copy our favorite restaurant dishes without a lot of fuss.  Many of our easy family recipes for comort food like one-dish casseroles or Tex-Mex options  (Chicken Taco Soup,  Tamale Pie, Vegetable Beef Soup, Chicken and Rice Casserole, Cabbage Roll Soup, Chicken Tortilla Casserole, Verde Carnitas Soup, Chicken Chalupa Casserole, Chicken and Rice Soup, and of course all the desserts too) are popular on this blog, so I keep adding new ones.  The easy recipe below makes a large pot of soup, perfect for a family or dividing into multiple ervings for meals. It takes about an hour with preparation and stirring.  Since we were going for easy, we used mostly medium flavored products to make it taste like restaurant-style soup without adding and measuring various spices.  You may use a mild version or a hot version of the canned products depending on the flavor you prefer.  See the notes at bottom of recipe before making chicken other variations or trying your own alterations.   The soup will look thin at first, but will slowly thicken as it cooks due to thickening agent in step 2.  

Short URL for sharing recipe = https://tinyurl.com/59ururv8 

Shirley's Easy Chicken (or Beef) Enchilada Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tablesspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup corn masa or fine corn meal
2 cups water (or less)
1 can 10 oz diced Rotel tomotaoes (mild)
1 can 10 oz enchilada sauce (medium)
1 jar 15-16 oz con queso/nacho cheese (medium)
4 cups chicken (or beef) broth
1 lb of cooked meat 

Optional for topping(s):

Chopped cilantro
Sour Cream
Avocado chunks (or dollup of guacamole)
Fine Shredded cheese
Slightly Crumbled tortilla chips

Steps:

1. In large pot, saute onions in oil.
2. In medium bowl, wisk together masa/meal with water until no lumps remain to create a thickening agent. Then pour into pot with onions.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except chicken, to pot.  Continue stirring until all blended together and masa mix not longer tries to separate and stick to sides.  
4. Add chicken and let cook until soup thickens and bubbles.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to pot and burning. 
5. Serve with desired topping(s) on each bowl.  
6. Store remaining soup in refrigerator or freeze into single portions for later.

Notes:  

• For chicken version, use chicken borth and canned chicken divided with a fork or pre-cooked shredded skinless/boneless chicken breast.  If you want beef, substitute beef broth and cooked hamburger meat (aka ground beef).  I have not tried it with Mexican sausage or ground sausage, so if you do let me and my readers know how that works.
• If you think the soup is too spicy the first time you try it, you can dilute the spice a little by stirring a tablespoon of sour cream into the serving bowl of each person who considers it too "hot".  
• Most enchilada soup recipes on-line use a 16-oz Velvetta cheese block cut-up and allowed to melt into the other ingredients during the stirring process.   I was going for easy. so I used a pre-melted jar and it still tasted the same to me, but you can use Velvetta and see if the flavor is different. 

Quick Chicken Alfredo Soup

Like my mother, I like soup and have shared my recipes on this blog before.  I have seen recipes for from-scratch  Chicken Alfredo Soup and easy recipes using a  jar of Alfredo Sauce to create a soup.  I wanted to try this soup but without pasta so it would be less carbs.  I decided to make my own version as a pantry soup (meaning you keep most items ready in your pantry so you can make it anytime).

You need the following ingredients:
1/2 Roasted Chicken 
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 (20 oz) can Alfredo Sauce
1 (15 oz) can Peas and diced Carrots

Bring everything to a boil in pan, then reduce heat to let simmer for 6 minutes.
Makes 4 bowls of about 1.5 cups each.

NOTES:

• I use the meat from thighs, legs, and wings for the 1/2 I put in soup.  I eat the breasts at other meals or chop them up for chicken salad.  Also, you can substitute 2 large (approx.10 oz) cans of Chicken Breast for the roasted if you want to have ingredients handy in your pantry for a quick meal.
• If you are using a 14-15 oz jar of sauce instead of Hormel Simmer & Satisfy Skillet Meal Starter Chicken in Alfredo Sauce like I use (not really much chicken in there), reduce broth to 1 & 1/2 cup.  
• Do NOT add SALT as it is already salty from broth and sauce.  Soup may seem bland to people who like some spice, so I recommend adding pepper or turmeric as desired into serving bowl rather than putting it in the pan.  This lets the people you are serving decide how they like the soup.  Kids may even want to put a little grated Parmesan or other shredded cheese on top.
• I added the veggies for color and to stretch the recipe a little.  If you do not want to drain veggies, then you will need to reduce broth to 1 & 1/2 cup to allow for the water in can.
• If you don't like peas and carrots, consider making Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo or using diced potatoes instead so it seems more like chowder.

Other soup recipes on this blog include:
- My Chicken and Rice Soup with Sage Seasoning
- Grandma’s Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
- Our Verde Carnitas Soup and Recipe Variations

My Chicken and Rice Soup with Sage Seasoning

Chicken and Rice Soup

I came up with this recipe as a quick and easy way to make chicken soup that I like and my mom might eat.  It started as a version of Chicken Noodle Soup.  However, mom prefers rice over noodles in her soup, so I came up with this variation on the noodle recipe.  I added poultry seasoning instead of listing a lot of spice items, since it already has sage and most of the spices and herbs used in dressing. My mom is a big fan of sage-flavored dressing.  If you want the noodle version, see tips at bottom.

Shirley’s Easy Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼” coins

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, sliced into ½” moons

1 cup chicken, shredded

1 cup uncooked rice

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning

Directions:

1.    Pour broth into soup pot and heat. 

2.    Add carrots, celery, onion and chicken.  Cook until carrots are near tender. 

3.    Once it broth is boiling and vegetables seem close to done; add seasonings, parsley, and rice. Cook for as long as the rice package says.

4.    Serve hot.  See substitution for deeper sage flavor.

Substitutions and Tips:

• You may use canned chicken (2 small or 1 large) drained or tear apart previously boiled or roasted chicken. 
•  My mom prefers this soup with white rice that is cooked until very soft.  However, I have made it with brown rice for myself and that works well too. If the rice soaks up too much of the broth, just add more broth before serving.
• I add a teaspoon of ground sage into the entire soup pot for mom before serving.  This gives it a more intense sage flavor, which is what she really likes.  If you like the flavor of sage, try it or adjust to ½ teaspoon if the flavor is too intense.  If you made it too strong, then add more broth to water the flavor down.
• I keep instant chicken bullion cubes handy to make extra broth in the microwave.  This way I can put additional cups of broth into soup as needed.
• When I use this recipe to make Chicken Noodle Soup, I replace the 1 cup of uncooked rice with about 1 cup of egg noodles.  However, you can use other noodles such as shell, bow tie, wagon wheel, or alphabets to make it more interesting for your family. I also use ½ teaspoon dried oregano and ½ teaspoon of dried basil instead of the poultry seasoning.

Here is a Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup that sounds really good too!

Comfort Food – Mom’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole Recipe

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

When I was in school, one of my and my brothers’ favorite things in the cafeteria (after hamburgers, corny-dogs, and Sloppy Joes of course) was Chicken Tortilla Casserole.  My mother worked in the elementary school cafeteria at the time so she made this in mass for the students.  She came up with an at-home version for the 8 of us, which I will share below. 

I do my own version of this recipe in a smaller portion since my family is only 3.  I was discussing the recipe with my brother the other day and he swore Mom used two kinds of soup but I was only aware of the one I used.  Surprise – when I found Mom’s original recipe in a 1979 Church cookbook, she did use two different soups instead of 2 cans of the same flavor.  I will share my version of casserole below as well. 

Mom’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

1 whole stewed chicken, boned, and pulled apart
1 bag tortilla chips, broken into bite- size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of chicken broth
2 Jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and chopped fine (optional)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Grated Cheese

Directions:

1.    Alternate layers of tortilla chips and chicken in 9x13 casserole dish
2.    Sauté onion and mix with peppers in saucepan.
3.    Combine onion/pepper with soups and broths in pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4.    Pour mixture over chicken and tortilla layers.
5.    Top with grated cheese
6.    Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.

My Quick Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

1 10-oz can chuck chicken, drained and pulled apart
1 10.75-oz can cream of chicken soup
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions, rehydrated in a cup with a small amount of water
2-3 Tablespoons salsa (I use mild to thin soup, but feel free to spice it up according to your taste)
1 cup broken tortilla chips
1 7-oz package of grated Cheddar Cheese (I use sharp, but feel free to use extra, medium, or mild)

Directions:

1.    In a saucepan, heat together contents of both cans with onions and salsa.
2.    Spoon some of the mixture into bottom 8” round or square (2 QT) casserole dish and spread to cover bottom.
3.    Spread tortilla chips over mixture in bottom of dish.
4.    Pour remaining mixture over top of tortillas.
5.    Top with grated cheese until all is covered.
6.    Bake at 350 degree until cheese melts, usually about 20 minutes.
Optional:  If softer tortilla chips are desired, let casserole sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

For different, spicier version of large family-size casserole, try new Cambell Soup recipe for Chicken Taco Casserole, which uses Rotel tomoatoes and taco seasoning in the mix. 

If you want another quickie chicken recipe, take 20 minutes to make Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup.  I made it for my mom and she loved it – I substituted 1 cup of kernel corn for the peppers since she does not like them.   We crumbled up a few chips in the bottom of each of our bowls and then ladled soup over them.

Low-calorie Green Ham Soup Recipe

Below is my own version of spinach (or verde) soup made more flavorful with ham, while remaining low calorie.  Do not let the title fool you, the ham is not green.  Since the spinach turns the broth from yellow to pale green, I call it green ham soup.


Green Ham Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
9 or 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach
4 cups chicken (or beef) broth
3 medium (or 6 small) potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
4 thick slices of ham, cut into small slivers
2 teaspoons paprika

Steps:

1. Cut potatoes and ham
2. Place broth, spinach, and potatoes in pot and cook over medium heat until spinach thaws and separates.
3. After pot begins to boil,  and add ham and paprika.  Cook for 15 minutes more or until potatoes are tender.
4. Allow to cool a little before serving warm.

This low-calorie green ham soup recipe soup makes approximately 4 servings of less than 300 calories each.

Tips:

• If desired, a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese may be sprinkled on top of each serving for added flavor.  This adds 10 more calories per serving.
• Alternatively, soup can be made creamy-tasting by stirring in 2 wedges of Laughing Cow soft cheese before serving,  This adds at least 8 more calories per serving.
• If this is TOO spinachy tasting, consider sawing the frozen block of spinach in half and saving half for another pot of soup later.  Reducing the spinach should cut about 8-10 calories out of each serving.
• Leftover soup may be refrigerated for a future meal.  However, do not freeze portions as potatoes will turn to mush during thawing/reheating.

Shirley’s Simple Cabbage Roll Soup

Do you like cooked cabbage but find it a bit bland?  Do you like cabbage rolls but find them too much work?  Well here is a quick and easy recipe you might like to try.  I was trying to find something to do with cabbage and going through recipe books.  I took what I liked from a few recipes and came up with this Cabbage Roll Soup variation of my own.

Simple Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb of meat

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg cole slaw mix

1 bell pepper (optional)

2 cans lowfat beef stock

1 large can diced tomotaoes

1 cup long grain white rice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.    Brown meat, onion, and bell pepper in a stew/soup pot, drain fat.

2.    Wilt the cabbage for 2 minutes on top of the meat mix.

3.    Add canned ingredients and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.

4.    Stir in rice and watch for soup to return to boiling.

5.    Then cover pot and cook 40 minutes on simmer.

Tips:

• You can us any type of meat you like in this soup.  We prefer a mild pork sausage or hamburger for beef.  I use sage flavored sausage when I make it for my mother. Many similar recipes call for stew meat to be used instead of ground round.  We have also made this with ground turkey or canned chicken.
• Buy the cole slaw mix that is just cabbage and carrots or use 1/2 head of cabbage finely chopped.  Cabbage mix is usually larger than the slaw version that comes with dressing.  Dressing is not needed. 
• If you do not do the wilt step, the cabbage acts like dried pasta or rice in a soup.  In other words it soaks up most of the liquid so the soup is more dry with less broth.  So do not skip step 2 above if you like lots of broth!
• You can use other types of rice like brown or wild if you prefer the taste or nutrition they provide.  Or if you want to make it more low-calorie, leave out the rice.
• If you want to stretch out the soup so you have more for a crowd and you do not like bell pepper, you may replace that option with other vegetables. Examples include: a cup of round-sliced carrots, 3 chopped celery stalks, or a can of green beans.  Fresh vegetables need to go in under the cabbage.  Canned vegetables may be added in the last 15 minutes of cooking to heat while preventing it from  turning mushy.

Our Verde Carnitas Soup and Recipe Variations

I occasionally like to post easy recipes I made up, my own variation or combination of other recipes.  This time I am letting you try a new one my family dubbed “Verde Carnitas Soup.”  After the primary recipe, I provide variations if you want something a little different.  

Main Ingredients:

1 - 7 oz. can Salsa Verde (the kind made with tomatillos)
2 – 14.5 oz. cans Chicken Broth
1 – 14 to 16 oz. can diced Tomatoes (drained)
1 lb. Meat (typically Pork cut into Carnitas or bite-size pieces)
         – see variations below for meat substitutions
1 cup Carrots (cut into bite size pieces)
2 cups Potatoes (cut into bite size pieces)
1 large Onion (chopped)

Spices and Herbs (to taste):

Cumin powder
Garlic minced
Cilantro torn apart

Other:

Flour
Olive Oil

Steps:

1.   Flour & brown meat in small amount of olive oil in bottom of 5 quart pan.
2.   Add other main ingredients.  Bring to boil then reduce heat and cover.  Cook until potatoes and carrots are tender.
3.   Add spices and herbs during last 10 minutes of cook time.
4.   Serve hot.  Should produce about 12 1-cup servings.

Variations:

·    Meat can be pork, beef, or poultry.  For pork, cut-up chops, rump roasts, or shoulder.  For beef, use floured stew meat, cut up flank steak, fajita meat, or pre-cooked hamburger meat without flour.  For poultry, do not flour and use: cut-up left-overs from roasted, boiled, baked chicken or turkey, or use canned chicken.

·    To make pork or beef stew, use only 1 can of beef broth instead of 2 chicken and do not drain juice from the canned tomatoes.  Then before serving, make it more like gravy by thickening with flour or corn starch, or adding some instant mashed potatoes to thicken.

·    To make a variation as chicken tortilla soup, leave out the potatoes.  If you like rice in your chicken soup, during boil add 1 cup of rice allowing 10-15 minutes more cook time in broth than on rice package for water.  Be sure to have tortilla chips, sour cream, and avocado on hand to add to soup.

If you want another quickie, but creamy soup recipe, take 20 minutes to make

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup.  If you do not like peppers, try substituting 1 cup of kernel corn for the peppers.

Crockpot Onion Soup Recipe

We love looking for great sounding recipes to try that are easy to fix.  We bought a recipe box at an estate sale and found this wonderful recipe for a simple version of French Onion soup that can be made in a crock pot.  

Crockpot Onion Soup

Ingredients: 

4 cups (or 1 quart) beef broth 
3 cups yellow onions, thinly sliced 
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar 
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup cooking sherry (or substitute water)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or substitute Swiss) for topping

Steps: 

1. Pour beef broth in crock pot.
2. Slowly stir and cook onions and butter in a skillet for 15 minutes on low.
3. Mix remaining ingredients (excluding cheese) into skillet and stir well.
4. Pour skillet mix into crock pot with broth.
5. Coook on low for 7-8 hours or on High for 3 hours.
6. If desired, put optional slice of crisp french bread in bottom of bowl before adding soup. Serve with grated cheese on top of each bowl.

For more soup recipes, check out our Other Soup Choices on this blog. 

Soups Using Velveeta Cheese Plus Other Soup Choices

If you have checked out the food option for this blog, you know we make a lot of soups because they are usually quick and easy.  The last few months have been perfect soup weather.  As a result we have tried out some richly flavored soups that use Velveeta Cheese as their base.  Below are links to some of the recipes we tried and like well enough to make again.

• Cheesy Potato
• Turkey Taco
• Cheeseburger Veggie
• Chicken Fajita
• Cheesy Tortilla (easier than Chili's Enchilada Soup)
• Broccoli Cheese (easier than Black Eyed Pea's Soup)

If you have tried any of these soups and have improvement suggestions or have another recipe you would like to recommend we try, please provide that in the comments of this post.

If you love soup too, you may want to review some of our step-by-step recipes for these soups:

• Verde Carnitas
• Chicken Taco
• Vegetable Beef
• Chicken Alfredo
• Cabbage Roll
• Chicken and Rice
• Tomato Gumbo
• Cabbage Diet
• Green Ham
• Enchilada 

Southern Living Fall and Holiday Recipes

Do you love Southern Livig magazine and their seasonal recipes?  If you do, then try out some of theses wonderful recipe ideas featured in the October - December 2024 issues and available on their website.  From quick and easy soups to main dishes, along with bread and desserts, surely you will find the perfect dish for your family and friends to enjoy during get-togethers for football games or upcoming Winter holidays.  For even more recipes, check out the magazine or do a topic search on their website to find something that may fit your group entertaining need.

Appetizers/Breakfast/Brunch

• Apple Cinnamon Rolls - or check out our Coffee Cake 
• Bacon-Egg-Cheese Croissant Sandwich - or check out our Big Daddy Breakfast Puff
• Riesling-Gruyere Fondue

Breads

• Buttermilk Cornbread 
• Heavenly Angel Biscuits - or check out our large-batch Angel Biscuits and if you prefer rolls over biscuits, try our Overnight Dinner Rolls or Yeast Buns 

Lunch/Dinner/Supper

• Butternut Squash Salad
• Cottage Cheese & Meat Lasagne
• Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup - or check out my Chicken and Rice Soup 
• Fennel-Butternut Squash Gratin
• French Onion Turkey
• Mashed Butternut Squash with Bacon - or check out our Acorn Squash
• Roast Pork with Crackling
• Smoky Pork and Greens Stew - or check out our Green Ham Soup 
• Sourdough Stuffing (Dressing) - or check out our Corn Sausage Dressing
• Stuffed Butternut Squash
• Vegetable Beef Soup - or check out my Vegetable Beef Soup
• White Chicken Chili 

Desserts

• Apple Cider Bundt Cake - or check out our Apricot Nectar Cake 
• Chocolate Bundt Cake - or check out our Dr Pepper Cake 
• Cranberry-Orange Cake Filling uses: between white or yellow cake layers frosted outside with buttercream, as surprise center of vanilla or chocolate cupcakes, or central topping between sheet cake and whipped cream
• Eggnog Snickerdoodles
• Hot Cocoa Cookies
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake - or check out our Sweet Potato Cake 
• Spiced Cream Cheese Bundt Cake - or check out our Brown Sugar Pound Cake 

Chicken Rice Casserole Recipe

Ok, I get the message, as I have been told the recipes on my blog are a little dessert heavy.  After all:

My family loves to bake,

And we eat what we make.

Anyway, below is a main dish recipe that my husband got from our friend Angie.  Next to My Chicken Rice Soup or Grandma’s Vegetable Beef Soup, it was one of my Mom’s favorites.  She always loved it when he surprised her with this casserole made with her favorites of bacon, chicken, and rice.  The only dish she loved more was when he made his Corn Sausage Dressing for holidays.

Chicken Rice Casserole recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut-up (or 6 split chicken breast pieces)

1 box Uncle Ben’s Original Wild Rice

1 can Cream of Celery soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

6 strips of bacon

Directions:

1.       Line bottom of oblong 8”x13” casserole dish with 3 strips of bacon.

2.       Mix rice, soups, and ½ the packet of seasoning (found in rice box).

3.       Pour rice mixture over bacon in dish.

4.       Lay chicken on top of rice mixture.  Sprinkle remaining seasoning packet over chicken.

5.       Lay remaining 3 pieces of bacon over chicken.  Cove dish with foil.

6.       Bake for 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees.

Hoppin John Recipe - New Year's Black-eyed Peas and Rice Dish

Hoppin John - Black-eyed Peas, Rice, Sausage, & Tomatoes

Below is a standard pork dish for New Year’s in the south, and some variations for year-round use.  This dish is typically served on New Year’s Day since black-eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck for the current year.  If you are not a lover of plain black-eyed peas, this is one way to bring more flavors to these vegetables as a side dish for the holiday.  Or you can make it a one-dish meal if you and your family really like black-eyed peas.  You can use my easy recipe below or check the side of the black-eyed pea can, since many brands include this recipe there showing the addition of celery or peppers.

Ingredients: 

2 cups cooked rice*
1 lb. roll sage pork sausage – cook until brown and crumble*
¼ cup chopped onion – sautéed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
2 (15 oz.) cans black-eyes peas – rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juices

Instructions: 

1. Cook sausage in large pan and add onions for sautéing when meat mostly brown.  Drain off fat. 
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low until everything is warm. 

*Notes: 

• Start rice first as it takes longer to cook and can be boiling while browning meat.  I cook my rice in chicken broth instead of water so it comes out with a buttery taste without having to add butter – otherwise the southern recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of butter.
• You can use any flavor of rolled sausage you want, my recipe calls for sage but you can use whatever you like best. 
• You may use Kielbasa-type sausage instead of frying a roll.  Just cut it into thin slices (looks nicer) or peel it and dice it into smaller chunks (seem to get more meat per serving) depending on your personal preference.
• Instead of sausage, you can use 2 cups of ham cut into small cubes.  If you have ham for Christmas, merely cut up and freeze your two cups from the leftovers.  Then move the ham from your freezer to your refrigerator before leaving for New Year’s Eve party.  Then add in the ham when sautéing onions to finish thawing for the dish.

Variations:

• If you don’t like dry rice, you can make the dish moister by adding one (10.5 oz.) can of condensed French onion soup to give the impression of a sauce or gravy within the dish.
• If you are making this as a side dish to go with another meat, then you can leave out the sausage or ham.  Instead brown and crumble 2 slices of bacon (or use purchased real bacon bits) to add flavoring and keep the tradition of pork in the dish.
• You can make the above recipe into a soup by adding an extra can of diced tomatoes and one (14.5 oz.) can of chicken broth.
• I have seen soup recipes where they make this with dried black-eyed peas, rice, and ham hock cooked together in double the amount of chicken broth needed instead of using water.  When the peas and rice are done, the ham hock is removed from the bone and the meat put back into the pea soup along with other vegetables and seasonings.