Chicken Rice Soup ~ Easy, Fast and Frugal

Last week, I made some homemade chicken broth.  I had a quart left in the fridge that needed to get used, so I threw together a quick soup. 

I'm posting this, at the request of my friend Lisa.  Although, it's a pretty easy recipe, I thought I'd share! 

Chicken Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 quart homemade chicken broth
• 1-2 cups water (or additional broth) *
• 1 cup carrots, carrots
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup celery, diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
• 1-2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

• bring homemade broth to a boil in soup pot on stove, medium-high heat.
• add water (or additional broth) if needed
• add vegetables, cover and reduce heat to low
• simmer until vegetables are tender
• stir in chicken and rice
• heat through

Notes:

* I made the homemade broth (more about that in a future post) using the cooking juices and bones/carcass from a whole chicken cooked in the crock pot (recipe on my other blog).  The spices on the chicken made this a very dark, spicy broth.  I needed about 1 1/2 cups of water to dilute it enough to be a light flavored broth for a light soup. 

This soup turned out great!  It was a really quick, easy and frugal meal!  I really just cleaned out the fridge of some veggies that needed to get used and the homemade broth I had made the week before!  Joe picked up a loaf of crusty bread on his way home from work! 

There is just one small bowl left and I'm eating that for lunch today! 

Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup ~ Crock-Pot

If you read my recipe post for Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, then you know I added some potatoes and onions under the chicken to cook at the same time. 

When the Chicken with 40 Garlic Cloves was finished cooking, I removed the chicken to one bowl and the potatoes, onions and some of the garlic to another bowl.  I reserved those potatoes for this recipe: 

Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

Ingredients: 

• Roasted Potatoes, Onions, Garlic*
• 1 quart homemade chicken broth**
• 2 additional cups potatoes, peeled & diced
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

• Place previously roasted potatoes, onions and garlic in crock-pot with chicken broth, cover and cook on high for one hour.
• Using a stick blender,*** puree the potatoes and onions to your desired consistency and texture. 
• Stir in the additional potatoes along with the carrots, celery, water, salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until vegetables are tender. 

Potatoes and onions in chicken broth.

Pureed potatoes and onions in chicken broth.

Finished product! 

Mmmmm! 

  *I really love how easy it was to make this soup using the previously roasted vegetables.  I added extra veggies since I planned on pureeing the roasted veggies, but still wanted a chunkier soup. 

 **I made homemade broth using the bones and the cooking juices from the Chicken with 40 Garlic Cloves.  Store bought broth or stock can also be used. 

***If you don't have a stick blender, a food processor or standard kitchen blender will work.

I really enjoyed this soup.  It was very hearty and had lots of flavor.  We each had two bowls along with sliced French Bread for dipping! 

Even after our hearty portions, there was still about a quart of soup leftover.  I put that in the fridge for leftover night (probably Saturday)!

I'll be sharing this recipe with the following blog carnivals: 

• Food on Friday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap 

Chicken Noodle Soup

I didn't always like soup. I didn't particularly hate soup. It just wasn't a favorite. As a kid, when I saw mom and dad getting the big soup pot out, I usually rolled my eyes and groaned. Knowing that it was going to be chicken noodle soup and that we were going to eat it for a week....at least.

Years later, when my husband and I were first living together, I was sick. Had a pretty bad cold or the flu (I can't remember which). I left work early and called him at work to let him know I was home already.

When he came home from work, he lugged a bunch of grocery bags up to our second floor apartment. Can you guess what he had planned? Yep, you got it! He was making me chicken noodle soup! It was such a sweet gesture and I couldn't dare do the groaning and eye rolling! I just smiled as sweet as I could and thought to myself that I'd have to eat it. I couldn't hurt his feelings, I'd eat the soup.

Imagine my surprise when I actually liked it! I really, really liked it! My tastes have changed so much since I was a kid. So many foods that I hated as a child are now foods that I really enjoy.

I can never get my chicken noodle soup to turn out quite the way he makes it, but the one I make is pretty good too!

Here's the recipe I use:

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
• olive oil
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, choppped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. garlic, minced
• 3-4 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth or stock (fat free, low sodium)
• 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves (3 if they are small)
• 1/2 - 1 lb. dry egg noodles

Directions:

• In your favorite soup pot or dutch oven, saute chicken in hot oil until about 1/2 browned.
• Add garlic and vegetables and saute until onions are just about turning translucent (not browned, just to the point of slightly soft).
• Add broth and spices and bring to boil.
• Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20-30 mintues.
• Turn heat to medium and add egg noodles and cook until noodles are tender.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe I received years ago in an email file of several crock pot recipes that were Weight Watcher's friendly. I've made a few changes, one being that I don't use the crock pot for this recipe. To me, chicken soup is one recipe that shouldn't be crock potted. I don't know why, maybe because it's such a traditional meal and should be cooked the good ol' old fashioned way!

I'll be sharing this recipe with the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods at Kitchen Stewardship. The theme this week is broth/stock recipes. Be sure to check it out!

Check out Food on Fridays with Ann, too!

Beef Barley Soup

Beef Barley Soup is one of our favorites. I like to make a big (Crock-pot) of it on a nice, chilly day. If I serve this with sandwiches, I can get 3 nights' dinners from the one pot. If I skip the sandwiches and serve with biscuits, then we get 2 nights' from the one pot.

This soup freezes nicely, too. One of these days, I'm going to make a double batch of this soup and freeze in 4-6 portions. Combined with other soups I plan to serve this fall/winter, I should only have to make this particular soup once (maybe twice) during this soup season.

Here's the recipe....

Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb. London Broil, diced into small pieces
• splash of Olive Oil (enough to coat bottom of skillet
• 5 - 6 cans (14 oz each) beef broth
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• heaping Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf (2 if they are small)
• 1 1/2 cups mixed frozen veggies(peas, carrots, corn, lima beans, green beans)
• 14 1/2 oz. can diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
• 2/3 cup barley*

Directions

• In a skillet, brown meat in hot oil. Drain.
• Add all ingredients to slow cooker.
• Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

* Do not use quick-cooking barley, it's not meant for the long hours of cooking in the slow cooker.

I originally found this recipe in an email from Better Homes and Gardens. I adapted it to our tastes (i.e. I use more potatoes and veggies than the original recipe calls for, plus add more broth to accommodate the extra veggies).

For more great soup recipes, be sure to check out Life As Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap. This week's theme is Soup! MMmmm! MMmmm! Good!
I am also sharing this recipe with the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods hosted by Katie at Kitchen Stewardship. The theme on October 8th will be recipes that call for broth/stock. Be sure to check out her blog for more great recipes!

Corn Bread Casserole

My friend Lisa, at Extraordinary Life, asked me to post this recipe. It's not my recipe, but a definite favorite of my family and hers, too!

The first time I had Corn Bread Casserole (found out later that the official name of this is Spoon Bread Casserole) when my friend Barb served at dinner one night. It was love at first bite! I loved it so much, that she wrote down the recipe for me; telling me that she got the recipe from her mother-in-law.* I went home and made it that same week!

Actually, now that I think of it, I didn't make it at my home. I was visiting at Lisa's (when she was still local) house a few days after my first taste and told her about the recipe (the recipe card was still in my purse) and we made it for dinner that night at her house!

Since then, we've both made this casserole and passed on the recipe to guests several times! Everyone that tries it loves it!

Corn Bread Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pkg. "Jiffy" Corn Muffin Mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 can (8 oz) cream corn
1 can (8 oz) whole corn, drained
1cup sour cream
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all ingredients well. Pour into casserole or baking dish*.
Bake about 35-40 minutes, or until center is firm.


*I like to make this in a disposable foil pan. I usually double the recipe. And since it's a family favorite, I like to take it to family picnics and barbecues. I've even made it a few times as my contribution to Easter Dinner. Served with my mom's ham, dad's coleslaw and my baked beans....MMmmmm!

I'd also like to point out that about a year of making this recipe that I thought to be an original of my friend's mother-in-law, I found out that it's a recipe from the actual "Jiffy" company! So, it's not mine, not Lisa's, not Barb's and not Mrs. P's original recipe, but we keep making and serving it and passing the recipe along to anyone that asks!

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef Stew

My husband works outside, which means he suffers through the heat in the summer time or is chilled to the bone in the winter. Because of this, I try to make meals that will be a comfort to him.

I don't concern myself too much about our summer meals. I worry more about keeping the house cool and comfortable for when he gets home. The air conditioner is on most days, so eating soup or stew in the summer is okay.

But there's nothing like a nice, warm bowl of beef stew after a really chilly day at work.

Here's an easy recipe that I like to use:

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 pound, beef cubes
potatoes, cubed
onions, chopped
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
1 - 2 cans condensed tomato soup

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Note: I never use the same amount of vegetables. It varies each time I make it, according to what I have in my veggie bin. If I'm running low on potatoes, I add more carrots. If I'm out of celery, I skip it. It's really a fool-proof recipe.
Also, the only other liquid I add to the stew, is just a bit that I add to the can to get as much of the soup out of the can as possible. I use one or two cans of soup depending on how much of the veggies I use.

~ Corn Dog Casserole ~

Hot dogs and beans is a comfort food meal in our house. It's such a hearty and simple meal. So simple, that when I worked, we had this just about once a week.

Then, I simply emptied a can of Bush's Beans into a microwave safe bowl and heated them while I boiled some hot dogs.

Now that I am home most days, I've tried to fancy-up some of our old stand-by meals.

I originally got the idea for this recipe in one of those small cooking magazines at the check out register at the grocery store. I used to be a sucker for those things! But, I've been really good at controlling myself when it comes to impulse purchases.

I've made several changes to the original recipe to make it to our liking. But it's really fool-proof and can be easily changed according to likes and dislikes or according to what ingredients you have on hand.

~ Corn Dog Casserole ~

Ingredients:

6 cups of our favorite baked beans

1 (16 oz) pkg. cocktail sized hot dogs**

several squirts of ketchup and mustard (approx. 1/4 cup total)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional)

1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (prepared as directed on package) Directions:

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In large saucepan, combine beans, ketchup, mustard, hot dogs and onion; mix well.
Cook over medium-high heat until bubbly, stirring frequently.
Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole.

2. Prepare corn muffin mix as directed on packing.
Spread batter evenly on top of hot bean mixture.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

makes 6 servings.

***I usually use regular hot dogs since they are usually cheaper than the cocktail sized hot dogs. I cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

We really enjoy this meal. It's really a perfect meal for us, since we usually have the ingredients on hand. Not always the case with a traditional hot dog meal. We don't always have rolls and would often make an extra trip to the grocery store, which would often result in purchasing additional items that weren't "on the list". The corn bread topping is a wonderful hot dog bun alternative!