Stay Warm This Winter with Dottie’s Favorite Soups
Hey there, Hokies!
Dottie here and brrrrrrrrrrr…my feathers are freezing. Blacksburg winters are brutal! To stay warm during the winter season, I love to chef up homemade, hearty soups. There’s nothing better than a tasty bowl of soup and cuddling up on a cold winter day. Try one of my favorite winter soup recipes to warm you up this winter!
Chicken Noodle Soup ready in 1 hour 30 min
Ingredients
- 100g wide noodles, such as tagliatelle or other pasta
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 3 liters chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tsp chicken seasoning
- 120g celery, chopped
- 160g onion, chopped
- 45g cornflour
- 4 Tbsp water
- 425g cooked chicken meat, diced
Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add egg noodles and oil and boil for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse under cool running water.
2. In a large saucepan, combine stock, salt and chicken seasoning. Bring to the boil. Stir in celery and onion. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, mix cornflour and water together until cornflour is completely dissolved. Gradually add to soup, stirring constantly. Stir in noodles and chicken and heat through.
Tomato Bisque ready in 1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
1. Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, celery, salt, pepper, cayenne and basil for about 5-6 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
2. Add in the garlic and stir an additional 45 seconds before adding in the broth, tomatoes and sugar.
3. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes before blending until perfectly smooth with an immersion blender.
4. Add in the heavy cream, mix well and serve using more heavy cream and parsley as garnishes.
Butternut Squash Soup ready in 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Tbsp butter
- ½ onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ½ cube chicken bouillon
- 1 pinch ground cumin
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat; cook the onion, garlic, and thyme in the hot butter until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and chicken stock; bring to a simmer and cook until the squash is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Crumble the bouillon into the soup; season with cumin, allspice, salt, and pepper; remove from heat.
2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid of the blender in place with a kitchen towel and carefully start the blender using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a serving bowl. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in the pot.
Corn Chowder ready in 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups corn
- 6 oz slab bacon, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 large leek, cleaned thoroughly and sliced thinly into half-moons
- 1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia), diced small
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced small
- 2 Tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1 lb. yukon potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Over low heat, heat a 4-quart heavy pot then add the diced bacon.
2. Once it has a few tablespoons of fat, put heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown. Take off about 1 tbsp of the bacon fat and leave the bacon in the pot.
3. Add the butter, leeks, thyme, bell pepper, onion,and cumin and saute. Stir occasionally until the onion and bell pepper are soft.
4. Add corn, potatoes and stock. Cook for about 10 minutes and bring to a boil until the potatoes are soft. Mash some of the potatoes and corn against the side of the pot by using a spoon. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the slurry of cornstarch and water.
5. Bring to boil again and cook until the chowder thickens slightly.
6. Remove from heat then season with salt and pepper. Add the heavy cream just before serving and stir.
Baked Potato Soup ready in 1 hour and 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 bulb garlic large, 1/4-inch-slice cut off top
- 3 lbs potato (about 6 large baking potatoes)
- 6 slice turkey bacon
- 4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ground
- 6 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
- 6 Tbsp low-fat cheddar cheese shredded
- 6 Tbsp scallion sliced
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Wrap entire garlic bulb tightly in foil; place garlic and potatoes in oven. (You do not need to put them on a pan; they can go right on an oven rack.).
3. Bake garlic until soft when squeezed, about 45 minutes; remove from oven and let cool. Continue baking potatoes until tender when pierced, about 15 minutes more; let potatoes stand until cool enough to handle.
4. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Place bacon on paper towels to drain off any fat; chop bacon.
5. Unwrap garlic and squeeze pulp from bulb with hands into a large saucepan. Peel potatoes and add to saucepan; mash with a potato masher until smooth.
6. Gradually stir in broth, thyme, salt and pepper until blended; place saucepan over medium heat and cook until hot, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Spoon about 1 1/3 cups of soup into each of 6 soup bowls. Top each with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of cheese, 1 rounded tablespoon of bacon and 1 tablespoon of scallions. Grind fresh pepper over top if desired.
I hope you enjoy one, or all, of these delicious soup recipes this winter! These hearty soups are sure to warm you up from the inside out. They can also serve as home remedies for colds and the flu while helping decongest the respiratory system. Whether or not you feel under the weather, soups are perfect for the winter months. Stay warm, Hokies!
XOXO,
Dottie