When I saw this recipe on Elly Says Opa, I knew I had to try it! My husband and I love potatoes, mushrooms, Smoked Gouda cheese and bacon, but we’ve never had them all in one dish.

In an effort to reduce the amount of dairy, I increased the amount of broth by 1/2 a cup and decreased the amount of milk by 1/2 a cup. I opted to use skim milk instead of half and half or cream. In retrospect, half and half would have lent more creaminess to the soup. I have included my changes to the original recipe in italics below.

In trying to add body and make up for the reduced amount of dairy, I went a little too crazy with the food processor. Pureeing nearly 2 full cups of soup produced a rather dingy looking dish. Despite it’s appearance, the soup was delicious!

Served with crusty homemade bread, this soup was the perfect meal for a chilly winter night. It’s warm, tasty and quite filling. The leftovers reheated nicely. We’re both looking forward to making this again.

Mushroom, Potato and Smoked Gouda Chowder
from Elly Says Opa

Yields 4 Servings

1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 lb. mushrooms (your choice, I like to use a variety), sliced
a few sprigs of fresh thyme or a good pinch of dried (I used 1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth (I used 3.5 cups)
1.5 cups half and half (or milk, or cream) (I used 1 cup of skim milk)
2 oz. smoked Gouda, shredded

In a stockpot or dutch oven, cook the bacon until it has rendered its fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In the bacon fat, cook the diced onion over low heat for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Add a little salt and pepper and continue cooking over low or medium-low heat until the mushrooms have released their moisture, about 10-15 minutes. Increase the heat and add the sherry or wine. Cook until almost all of the alcohol has cooked off.

Add the potatoes and the garlic, stirring to combine. Add the bay leaf and broth. Bring to a light boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the bay leaf. Put as much or as little of the mixture as you want into a food processor and pulse it. This isn?t necessary but it creates both texture and thickness to the soup. Return the pureed soup to the dutch oven. Add the half and half and Gouda. Simmer until the soup has heated through and the cheese has melted.

Garnish bowls with diced bacon and more cheese, if desired.

Since the New Year, I’ve been making an extra effort to create a thorough meal plan for the week. In doing this, I’ve also been taking more time to flip through cookbooks and search out new recipes. During my last pass, two recipes caught my eye: Ellie Krieger’s Tuscan Vegetable Soup (from The Food You Crave) and Cooking Light’s Tuscan Chicken Soup (from The Best of Cooking Light: Everyday Favorites)

Both had some sort of tomato product, chicken broth, spinach, onion and cannellini beans. I liked that the Cooking Light recipe incorporated chicken and roasted red peppers, while Ellie Krieger’s had more vegetables. I combined the best of both worlds, adding mushrooms in place of carrots and celery and substituting dried basil and oregano for thyme and sage. In my house, you never have too many mushrooms or too much oregano! I was happy to have the opportunity to use my homemade roasted red peppers.

The finished product was attractive and delicious. Served with crusty bread, it was a perfect dinner!

Tuscan Chicken Vegetable Soup

Yields 6 Servings

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 10 oz)
1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15 oz. can plain no-salt-added tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes w/ juices)
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach *
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic minced)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano

1. In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with the back of a spoon and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, zucchini and mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender (about five minutes).
3. Add the broth and tomato sauce. Season with garlic powder, pepper, basil and oregano.
4. Add the chicken and whole beans. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Add spinach and mashed bean (stir well to dissolve). Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

* You can either heat the spinach ahead of time, or allow it to defrost in the soup.

A warm bowl of homemade soup seemed like a fitting end to yet another snowy Sunday. I’ve been planning to make a Mexican-inspired soup for awhile, but had not had a chance to search for the perfect recipe. I decided to use this Tomato Cheddar Soup recipe as a general inspiration for a brand new creation.

I omitted both the milk and cheddar cheese, choosing to only top the soup with shredded cheddar. I swapped in Mexican seasonings and added corn, zucchini and black beans to the garlic and onion. Next time, I plan to add some diced red pepper and minced jalapeno pepper to round out the vegetables.

The resulting mexican tomato soup had the familiar feel of a tomato vegetable soup, but with a fun flavor kick. Adding a side of cornbread really completed the meal…perfect for a cold winter’s night.

Mexican Tomato Soup

Yields 4 servings

3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2/3 cup zucchini, finely chopped
1 28 oz can tomato puree
1 15 oz can fat free chicken broth
2/3 cup corn
2/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1) Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, zucchini and garlic; saute for 10 minutes, or until zucchini has softened.
2) Add tomato puree, broth, corn and black beans. Stir well to combine.
3) Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and red pepper.
4) Simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes to heat vegetables through and to allow flavors to combine.

I clipped this recipe for White Bean and Turkey Chili from a Cooking Light magazine a few years ago, thinking it would be good with shredded chicken. It seemed like it might be a little bland as-is, so I looked over some other white chicken chili recipes and made a few more modifications. In addition to reducing the amount of meat to two cups, I used two cans of Great Northern beans and one can of cannellini beans. I also added a chopped jalapeno to give the chili an extra kick and substituted tomato sauce for chopped tomatoes.

The resulting white bean chicken chili was rich and hearty. It was a perfect meal for a chilly winter night. The flavors developed nicely overnight and the leftovers were just as good, if not better!

White Bean Chicken Chili

Yields about 6 1-cup servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups diced yellow onion
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 15 oz. cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 8 oz. can plain, no-salt added tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1) Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion for 10 minutes, or until onion is tranlucent.
2) Add chili powder, garlic, jalapeno pepper and cumin; saut? for 2 minutes.
3) Add oregano, salt, pepper and beans; cook for about 1 minute.
4) Add broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer for at least 20 minutes.
5) Place 2 cups of bean mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.
6) Return pureed mixture to pan and add chicken. Cook for five minutes or until thoroughly heated.
7) Remove from heat and add dried cilantro and lime juice.

Since I have concluded my baking marathon, I’ve decided to return my focus to regularly cooking filling, flavorful, wholesome meals.

I found this Black Bean Chili recipe on allrecipes.com a few years ago. My husband was initially skeptical about trying a chili recipe with no meat. His fears were allayed when he found that this chili is hearty and tasty. The combination of beans and other vegetable result in a rich, flavorful chili. Pureeing some of the chili lends thickness to the finished product.

The only modification I have made to the chili recipe is to substitute 28 oz. of canned diced tomatoes for the fresh diced tomatoes. I’m not a fan of the consistency of fresh tomatoes, so I usually substitute some sort of canned tomato product or sauce.

Using some canned or frozen products and employing a food processor to chop the vegetables greatly reduces prep time. It was only recently that my husband and I realized how much time we could save by using our food processor (took awhile, I know). What started off as my husband prepping the ingredients for me, turned into a full-on cooking session. He was pleased at how easily the chili came together. It’s worth noting that this black bean chili does not need to simmer for a long time, making it suitable for weeknight meals.

As with most chilis and soups, this chili tastes even better the next day. It also freezes well.

Colorful, tasty sauteed vegetables

Black Bean Chili Recipe

Yields 6 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
10 fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt.

1) Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, red bell peppers, jalapeno, mushrooms and corn for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
2) Season with black pepper, cumin and chili powder.
3) Stir in diced tomatoes, black beans, chicken broth and salt.
4) Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5) Place 1 1/2 cups of chili in food processor and process until smooth. Stir the pureed bean mixture back into the stock pot.

Sunday marked the first snowfall of the year. A cold, wintry day calls for a warm hearty dinner. I love this recipe for Pasta e Fagioli. Since this soup is best when simmered for about an hour, it’s perfectly suited for weekend evenings when one has time to hang out in the kitchen. Preparing the vegetables was also a time-consuming process for me, as it took me awhile to julienne the carrots.

Due to copyright restrictions, I am unable to post the recipe here. However, you can find it on Top Secret Recipes. The flavor of this pasta e fagioli soup is very similar to the one found at Olive Garden, but this soup is thicker and seems to contain more pasta.

I have made very few changes to the original recipe. Due to personal preferences, I used crushed tomatoes in place of diced tomatoes and substituted ground turkey for ground beef. I also omitted the chopped celery, adding 1/4 tsp of celery salt for flavor.

When I prepared the pasta e fagioli soup this time, I found that the finished product was too thick, so I added 1 cup of chicken broth a few minutes before I served the soup. Next time, I might cut down on the pasta. According to Top Secret Recipes, this recipe yields 8 servings. In my experience, it yields 8 large servings! I’m going to try freezing some of the leftovers to keep on hand for quick weeknight meals.

Last winter, I fell in love with a tomato cheddar soup at Au Bon Pain. The soup was quite simple, but it was tasty. I figured that it would be easily enough to replicate, so I set out in search of a recipe. I ultimately settled on one from the website for Whole Foods Market, and altered it to fit my tastes. It’s worth noting that the tomato cheddar soup recipe currently displayed on their site is different than the one that I altered last winter.

Using some canned ingredients makes this a quick weeknight meal that can be easily made in 30 minutes or less. Since I dislike the texture of tomatoes, I often use a can of pureed tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes. The resulting soup has the same flavor, but a smoother consistency. The original recipe did not contain any seasoning other than salt and pepper, so I added a healthy amount of dried basil and oregano. The soup still tastes good without the spices, but it’s rather bland. In an effort to make this soup even healthier, I use reduced fat/reduced sodium chicken broth and reduced fat shredded cheddar.

The resulting tomato cheddar soup is thick and warm and flavorful – the perfect accompaniment to a slice of crusty bread. If you’re looking for comfort food, serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich!

Tomato Cheddar Soup

Yields 4 servings

olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced or pureed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup skim milk

1) Heat olive oil in a medium pot. Saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2) Add tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, sugar, basil and oregano. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
3) Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese and milk.

My husband and I live one mile from Panera Bread. Having quick, delicious take-out easily accessible is both a good and a bad thing. On cool fall and winter evenings, a tasty sandwich and piping hot bowl of soup really hits the spot. Since broccoli cheese soup is a favorite of ours, I figured we could save some money by occasionally making it at home.

This simple Cooking Light brocolli cheese soup recipe takes about 30 minutes to prepare, making it an ideal mid-week dinner. Served on its own or with crusty bread, it?s warm comfort-food at its best.

The original recipe calls for 2 ? cups of milk and 3 cups of chicken broth. I altered the recipe to use less milk and more broth. I also use skim milk, as opposed to 2%, because that is the kind that we keep in the house. The original recipe also recommends pureeing part of the soup to make it thicker, but I have never done this.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Yields 6 1 1/3 cup servings

cooking spray or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

1) Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender.
2) Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
3) Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended.
4) Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.
5) Stir in pepper.
6) Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.