Soups
Summer Soup
Summer is around the corner, but there is no need to eliminate soup from your diet. Soups are delicious and healthy food options. Here is a Summer Soup that can be served hot or cold. Alter it to include ingredients you enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- 1 zucchini
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 2-3 cups of water
- salt to taste
- cayenne pepper to taste
- 3-4 cups chopped kale
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion or chives
Directions
- Blend the tomatoes, red pepper, zucchini, sesame seeds and water in blender until smooth and creamy. Then add salt and cayenne to taste.
- If you will be serving warm, heat this up and add chopped greens and onion. If serving cold simply add super fine chopped kale and onions.
Tom Yum Soup (Hot & Sour Thai Soup)
Tom Yum soup (Hot and Sour Thai soup) is one of my favorite soups. It offers such a great number of distinct flavors which complement each other beautifully. I love the fresh ginger, lime, lemongrass, and cilantro flavors contrasting with the spiciness of the red chilis!
I order Tom Yum soup out almost every time I eat at a Thai restaurant and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to make this recipe and how much it tasted like what I have when out.
Ingredients
- 2 cans College Inn chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon of Better than Bouillion Fish stock
- 2 stalks fresh lemongrass, or 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated (another 1/2 inch, sliced)
- 2 red chiles, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 large shitake mushroom, sliced or 6-8 button mushrooms cut in half
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled with tails on
- 2-3 tablespoons lime juice
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
- Bring the stock to the boil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the lemongrass paste, ginger, and chiles. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes to let the spices infuse the broth.
- Uncover and add the fish sauce, sugar, and mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes. Toss in the shrimp and cook for about 8 minutes until they turn pink. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, green onions, and cilantro. Taste for salt and spices; you should have an equal balance of spicy, salty, and sour.
Slow Cooker Pork with Noodles Soup
A day or two of cool weather and soup sounds good! Slow cooker pork with noodles hits the spot. This recipe is great for those who want to set it up and walk away. This is a nice hearty soup packed with flavor. I serve this slow cooker pork with noodles soup as a main meal. Left-overs are great as well.
The crock pot or slow cooker sure is a wonderful kitchen tool. Setting up dinner in the morning and walking in to the wonderful smells of dinner, can't be beat.
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 tblsp. sesame oil
- Kosher salt
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- 1 head bok choy, roughly chopped
- 3 1/2 ounces dried rice vermicelli noodles
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 scallions, sliced
Directions
- Combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker.
- Add the pork, then cover and cook on low 8 hours.
- Add the bok choy to the slow cooker; cover and cook about 20 more minutes.
- Add the noodles to the slow cooker, making sure they are submerged. Cover and cook 10 more minutes.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the meat. Divide the pork, bok choy and noodles among bowls, then ladle in some of the broth. Sprinkle with the cilantro and scallions.