Thai Coconut Curry Seafood Soup

I've been working on this recipe for the last few weeks and have craved it so much that I believe I have finally perfected it!

This recipe does not have any measurements because you really have to do it to suit your tastes and adjust to your number of servings...

Put cold water in a soup pan. Add red curry paste to taste to make the broth.

Throw in some chopped red or orange bell peppers and sliced green onion.

Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Cut up some white fish (I use tilapia) into bite-sized pieces. Also cut up raw shrimp into small pieces.

Place into the simmering broth and cook for 7-8 minutes or until shrimp are opaque and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Pour in one or more cans of coconut milk and some chopped fresh cilantro. Heat through, but don't let it boil.

Serve soup over a scoop of cooked white rice.

Squeeze fresh lime juice into the soup and stir well before eating.

Sausage Bean & Kale Soup

I think I've made something very similar to this in the past but it turned out well enough that I didn't want to forget what I did. So here it goes...

Saute chopped onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Add chopped kale and stir until it begins to wilt.

Cover with water.

Add chicken and beef bouillon, salt, pepper and parsley.

Bring to a boil. Add some chopped potato and some white beans. Return to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Add homemade potato sausage meatballs and heat through.

Serve with snails... ;)

Miso Soup

My youngest son has fallen in love with miso soup. So I bought all the ingredients to make it and whipped up a batch last week for lunch.

There are so many things you can add to miso soup: gr onion, spinach, seaweed, buckwheat noodles, tofu chunks, shrimp, carrots…

Here is the ratio of water to paste that I liked for our soup, but you can change it to taste:

4 cups water

3 Tablespoons miso paste

salt, to taste

With this amount of soup you only need to reconstitute about 1/2-1 teaspoon of seaweed. Unless you REALLY like seaweed! ;o)

I also learned that miso is fermented soybeans and has many health benefits. You can read about them HERE.

“As they say in Japan, a bowl of miso a day keeps the doctor away!”

White Bean & Meatball Soup

This soup was completely made up on the spot and inspired by our homemade potato sausage that I made into meatballs. I baked the meatballs in the oven and then threw them in the freezer to use later…

Pop this soup in the crock pot and you’ll have a hot bowl of soup before you know it!

8 cups water with bouillon (I use Better Than Bouillon) or beef stock

1/2 onion, chopped

1 can white beans, drained

1 1/2 pounds of precooked meatballs (fresh or frozen)

3-4 potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

salt and pepper

Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, throw in about 1-2 cups of baby spinach.

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

This is a knock-off recipe from the Olive Garden’s Chicken and Gnocchi Soup at CopyKat Recipes. I’ve never had it at the OG but I bought two packages of gnocchi at The Dollar Tree and figured I’d give it a whirl. And there is nothing better on a cold fall day than a steaming hot bowl of soup and a nice piece of bread!

I made a few tiny changes to the recipe, including the name. When Andy (my middle son) tried it he said it was just like chicken ‘n’ dumplings in a soup. So that’s what we’re gonna call it… Chicken & Dumpling Soup. Well done Andy!

4 tablespoons butter 

1 tablespoons extra virgin oil

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

1 cup onion, finely diced

2 minced garlic cloves

4 tablespoons flour

4 cups whole milk

1 cup frozen carrots, thawed and diced

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 14 ounces can of chicken broth

1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1 pound potato gnocchi

Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the flour. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding the milk. 

Place gnocchi into a pot of boiling salted water. When the water returns to a full boil, drain the pasta.

Into the roux, add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning. Simmer until soup is heated through.

Sausage Bean Soup

My friend Annalise of Sweet Anna’s just threw together this soup in August (yes, the beginning of August was soup weather in the NW. Ugh!) and I saved it just waiting for Fall to arrive. And just like Annalise, I made it by throwing together stuff I had in the pantry (or freezer), so there are some little changes: I used bulk sausage instead of links, cooked my onion and garlic with the sausage (I’m also a very lazy, no, time efficient, cook), and used beef broth instead of chicken. Oh, and unfortunately I didn’t have a parmesan rind (but I really wish I did).

The original recipe is HERE and mine is as follows…

1 pound bulk pork sausage

1/2 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced or chopped

3 cloves of rough chopped garlic (I used 6 in ours)

5 cups beef broth

2 cans beans, drained but not rinsed (I used kidney and black)

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Brown sausage in olive oil in a large stockpot. Before it is completely cooked, add onion and carrot and cook until soft. Be sure to scrape up all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 to 3 hours. Serve with thick slices of warm bread.

Egg Drop Soup

Our family loves going out to Chinese food! Our favorite meals always start with a cup of egg drop soup. But it’s missing when we eat Chinese at home… Until now.

Egg drop soup is soup-er (sorry about the pun) easy to make!

1 14oz can of chicken broth

1 cup of water

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/8 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

1-2 eggs (depending on how egg-y you want your soup)

1 tablespoon cold water

Heat chicken broth, water and green onion in a medium saucepan until almost to a simmer over med-high heat.

Mix sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce and 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.

Reduce heat and stir soy sauce mixture in to the broth. Bring to a boil on high and boil for 1 minute. Then reduce heat to med-low.

Beat eggs with the 1 Tablespoon of water.

Using a fork, stir the eggs into the soup. Cook until the eggs are opaque.

Baked Potato Soup

This thick and hearty soup is a favorite around our house. It is best served with hot biscuits from the oven and garnished with real crumbled bacon, cheddar, green onion and cracked black pepper.

3 -4 large potatoes, baked and removed from skins or boiled

3 tbsp sliced green onion

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp dill weed

salt and pepper

4 cups milk

Cook green onion in butter. Stir in flour, dill weed, salt and pepper. Add milk all at once. Whisk until smooth. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Cook 1 minute more. Add potatoes and mash lightly.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

This is a quick and easy soup that is filling enough for dinner and is great with corn muffins!

1 cup frozen brocolli

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp thyme

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can cream of potato soup

3/4 cup shredded cheddar

black pepper to taste

1/4 cup shredded cheddar

Bring brocolli, corn, onion, water and thyme to a boil. Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes. Stir in milk, meat, soup, cheese and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Serve and sprinkle with cheese.

Crab and Corn Chowder

I sort of made this one up based on some recipes I read and my baked potato soup recipe, but Andy LOVED it and said it was the best thing I had ever made out of crab!

By the way, the rest of us liked it, too!

2 cups frozen Southern-style hashbrown potatoes

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 cup real crab meat

3 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon

Cover with a bit of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sliced green onion

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp Old Bay, or to taste

4 cups milk

Melt butter in large pot. Saute onion for 1 minute. Add flour and Old Bay. Add milk all at once and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Add crab and corn mixture to milk mixture. Stir well and heat through well.