BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Home Cooking Favorite Fall/Winter Soups, Stews, Stoups?

The only good thing about colder/grey weather seems to be more in-house cooking, especially soups and stews.

What's your favorite soup or recipe for colder temps?

I have a polish stew I make and people always ask for the recipe. The truth is, I don't have one written down. But it goes something like this.

6-10 cups of water (added to overal cooking)

2 packages of Kielbasa cut into 1 inch pieces and seared on each side.

4 pieces of bacon fried and chopped.

1 ham hock/bone left over from another meal.

1 can of Saurkraut

2-3 peeled/chopped apples (sweet)

1 onion (quartered and tossed in)

2 bay leaves

2 whole garlic cloves

6 - 7 red potatoes

2 carrots finely chopped

celery tops or 1 stalk

1 tomato squeezed and thrown in the pot

boullion (2 chicken 2 beef)or chicken stock

Season to taste. Pretty much anything goes.

I keep the onions/garlic in big chunks to fish them out for the kids (ehmmmmmm, husband) you can chop 'em if you like.

I make a crusty bread to go along with this. It keeps well both for leftovers and freezing.

___________________________________

Elleise
Clairvoyance Editor

Everybody is sick in my house right now (including me) - so I made our favorite soup for when we have stuffy sinuses.

It is basically a simpler, Americanized version of the Thai soup Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Chicken Soup).

I do half of this in the crock pot, but you can easily do it faster in a soup pot, too.

This list looks long, but most of these ingredients will last you several recipes. Most ingredients will be found either in the Fresh Produce section or the Asian Foods section of your grocery store.

1 Tbsp green curry (adjust up or down as you like heat - this is fairly mild)
1 can coconut milk
2 Cups chicken broth (low sodium is fine)
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium is fine)
2 Tbsp Fish sauce (you can find this in the Asian food section)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp minced garlic
Fresh ginger - peeled and sliced, about 6 slices that look like quarters
4 chicken breasts - cut into chunks
1 bunch green onions - chopped
8 oz. mushrooms sliced
Jasmine rice

1. Combine all broth ingredients in crock pot (everything from green curry to garlic). Whisk until broth is smooth.
2. Add ginger "coins" and chicken chunks to broth. Turn crock pot to "LOW". Cover and cook for 4-6 hours.
3. Add green onions & mushrooms, stir, and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.
4. While soup is finishing, prepare Jasmine rice. Combine 1 cup rice with 1 1/2 cups water in medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes until all water is absorbed.
5. To serve - Place about 1/4 cup rice in bowl and ladel soup over the top. (If you are doing a low-carb diet, then you can just skip the rice, the soup is still really good.)

This is my really simple version. Mary-Anne has a much more authentic version on BellaOnline's Thai Food site here:
Chicken Galangal Coconut Soup

Feel better Michelle, and get off that computer and go get some bed rest.

Hope you and the family feels better soon. They need you.

When I was a kid, my grandmother introduced me to Cream of Celery soup. I cook with it now, but every once in a while I need to just make it with milk and eat it.

I love chicken and dumplings in the fall and winter. It's a real comfort food.

Here's my recipe which came from my mom.

Ingredients

2 c sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs baking powder
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 c milk
1/4 c, plus 1 tbs softened butter or margarine
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c diced carrots
2 (10oz) cans condensed cream or chicken soup
1 whole chicken

Directions

Cook and debone chicken. Set aside.

Sift together flour, sat and baking powder.

In separate bowl, combine egg, 1 tbs butter and milk and blend well. Stir into dry ingredients, just enough to moisten.

Roll out to 1/4" thick, spread with butter.

Sprinkle dough with poultry seasoning, then roll it up, pinching ends t seal. Slice to 1/2" thick pieces.

Put chicken soup, celery, carrots and chicken into a large cooking pot, then add 2 cans of water. Heat to medium and don't boil.

Drop dumplings into soup mixture, cover and steam without lifting lid for 15 minutes.

This soup is delicious and sticks to your ribs on a cold night.

Joan, why did you have to go there about those chick'n'dumplings? I haven't had such a tasty dish since I left homein 1984. Makes me miss home and my family. thanks for the nostaligic moment.

I always make a squash bisque for Thanksgiving that I really, REALLY love! I make a huge pot and freeze it, for easy winter dinners later on.

Kimmie, I feel the same about chicken and dumplings. My mom used to make them in the winter and they are one of my favorites from childhood too.

Kim, could you post your squash bisque recipe? I just love soups made with squash and have been trying new ones lately. I get lots of squash in my organic food orders.

I saw that V-8 juice now has butternut squash soup in a container but it's really pricey. I'd rather make my own.

Sure! Here it is.

QUICK TIP: Poke holes in the squash and microwave it for a few minutes -- the skin will come right off and you'll save a lot of aggravation trying to peel acorn squash which is NOT EASY raw!!

**********

SQUASH BISQUE

1/2 stick butter
1 1/3 cups finley chopped onions
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 medium acorn squash (you can use butternut, but I have never tried that) peeled, seeded, and cubed
6 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, or to taste

ROASTED RED PEPPER GARNISH:
Drained roasted red peppers from 12 oz jar pureed with 3 Tbsp olive oil and chives (I always use dried -- about 1 tsp or so).

1. Melt butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and carrot, cover and cook 6 minutes or unitl tender. Add potatoes, squash, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until veggies are very soft. Let cool.

2. Using a hand blender, process the soup until smooth and there are no chunks left. (You can transfer to a blender or food processor, but that is a big mess -- the hand blender can be used right in the pot and is super easy!)

3. Stir in cream, milk, salt and pepper. Heat over medium heat.

4. Drizzle some garnish over the top of each bowl.

What I love about this recipe is you can prepare through step 2 up to 3 days ahead. Just refrigerate until you are ready to add in cream, etc.

If you try this recipe, I guarantee you will LOVE IT!!!

Thanks for the recipe! I'll try it this weekend.

Once I learned to bake the squash, skin and all, and THEN try to peel it, life was so much easier.