Roasted Garlic Soup

Ahhhh, the time of year when everyone around seems to be sniffling and sneezing. Unfortunately, my husband is currently one of these people. In an attempt to take care of him without getting too close to catch his sickness I decided to use my garlic soup recipe to help him feel better. Since garlic is oh so tasty and a natural antibiotic it was a match made in heaven.

He was thankful for the steaming bowl of soup that cleared his sinuses and loved the soup as much as I did. This roasted garlic soup recipe is somewhat time consuming but is worth it in the end!

Every great soup starts with a great base. In this case homemade chicken stock. You can substitute store bought stock if you prefer but if you have the time and resources you should really make your own. You won't regret the extra effort. Especially when you warm the whole house with the savory aroma of roasted chicken and vegetables and taste the difference in the end product.

Homemade Chicken Stock
4 chicken thighs - bone in (very important)
6 cloves garlic
1 onion, sliced
4 large carrots, quartered
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add all ingredients to an appropriately sized roasting pan making sure fat side of chicken is up. Salt and pepper generously.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees F tested with a Safe Serve Meat Thermometer (Google Affiliate Ad).

Remove pan from oven and let chicken cool until you can pull all of the meat off the bone. Reserve for a later meal.

Add all chicken bones, fat and veggies to a large stock pot and fill with one quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 45 minutes.

Using a large fine mesh colander strain liquid into a large bowl and set aside.

Eat the carrots because you can't resist and discard the rest.

Keep oven preheated to 350 degrees F.

This is a really easy recipe for roasted garlic. Cut the top off of one head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and place in a Stoneware Garlic Roaster, White - White (Google Affiliate Ad). Roast 45-60 minutes or until garlic is tender. Let cool then squeeze out the garlic into a small bowl. Set aside.

Roasted Garlic Soup
1 head garlic, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 T. olive oil
1 head roasted garlic
1 quart chicken stock
1/3 c. milk
1 small potato, peeled and diced
2 oz. cream cheese
2 T. butter
salt and pepper

Garnish - optional
scallions, thinly sliced
parmesan cheese, shredded
croutons

In a large soup pot sauté garlic and onion with olive oil until translucent over medium-high heat. Add in roasted garlic, chicken stock, milk, cream cheese and potato.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Continue simmering 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Using an immersion blender Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Blender, Metallic Red (Google Affiliate Ad) blend the soup until smooth. Return to low heat. Add butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot and garnish with scallions, cheese and croutons if desired.

***If you love garlic and cook with it a lot you may want to consider a garlic press of some sort. It is very convenient and makes quick work of all that garlic! I don't roast garlic all that often but when I do I love to use my garlic roaster! It comes out perfect every time. Mine is ceramic but cast-iron works perfectly also! Both times are a great addition to a home kitchen!

     

Chili

Hot chili on a cool day....what could be better? Eating it with the windows open of course! There are many people out there who don't add beans to their chili, but I like beans for texture and to stretch this hearty soup.

Beef and Bean Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
4 t. cumin
3 t. chili powder
1/2 t. paprika
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can black beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
1 15oz can pinto beans
1 4oz can chopped green chili
1 quart beef broth
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot on medium-high heat brown ground beef. When ground beef is almost completely cooked add in onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery and saute until onions are translucent.

Add in tomatoes and let cook for approx. 3 minutes. Add in all spices and stir.

Drain and rinse all beans in a colander and add to pot stirring gently as to not mash the beans. Add in beef broth.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.

**If you want a spicier chili add more cumin and chili powder.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Every Wednesday night at my house is soup night. We all decide on a soup and try to make something new each week. With soup it's really not that hard. There are a million soups and often times I find myself using up veggies and other ingredients I have on hand in the fridge and pantry.

This is a great way to get kids to eat broccoli. My kids are pretty good about eating veggies but broccoli is not one of them. They can't see whole pieces of broccoli since this is blended and they love it!

This recipe is modified slightly from the book - CIA Book of Soups. You can find it at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon.

Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 16oz pkg broccoli
3 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small celery stalks, chopped
1/4 c. flour
4-5 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
juice of half a lemon

In a large stock pot heat oil and add broccoli, onion and celery. Cook until veggies are tender. I like to use the organic packages of fresh broccoli. I can't find organic any other way but you could substitute regular fresh broccoli, just weigh it to get an approximate amount.

Add in flour and stir to combine. Cook 3-5 minutes to cook off the flour taste making sure the flour doesn't burn.

Add in broth, stir again to combine. Let simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender (my favorite new kitchen item) blend soup until it is smooth. I got my Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Blender at Sur la Table but you can find then just about anywhere. If you don't have an immersion blender transfer soup to a blender and blend.

Return to heat and add milk. Stir to combine. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve hot with a little sprinkle of your favorite cheese!