Soup Special

With colder temperatures now in the daily forecast, it is officially “soup weather” and time for what many people call their “comfort food.” In asking for some favorite soup recipes, we received six of them to share.
About her 8-can soup, Bobbye Mason, of Bruce,  says, “A little spice is always nice in life.  Even when you have to go to soup cans to achieve it.

Deanna Clements

“It originally was called ‘ten can’ soup, but somewhere along the lines, I forgot what other two cans were that went in it.”
She started making the soup to camouflage all the deer hamburger she “had to do something with every season, but now that (husband) Larry has stopped hunting, thank God, I can use regular hamburger meat.”
She says it is so quick and easy, but probably loaded with sodium from the processed soups. “All the guys in our family call it a favorite and love the ‘heat’ it packs.”

“Potato soup is one of the most requested meals from my granddaughter, Georgia,  second only to my chicken and dumplings,” said Cassie Ferguson, of Bruce.
“We love it with a pan of hot cornbread on cold winter nights, however,  Georgia will ask for it in July.”
Cassie has always liked potato soup, but wanted something that tasted more like a loaded potato.  “So I just took my basic potato recipe and played with it until I came up with what I felt like was a good, hearty flavor. And of course, you can never go wrong with anything that has bacon and cheese in it,” she said.

“The hamburger soup (husband) Carl’s mom made. She called it ‘poor man’s stew,’ said Missy Bryant, of Calhoun City. “It is quick, cheap and filling.”
The wild rice chowder is a variation of a  recipe from Shannon Lindell who was on WCBI in the mornings, she said.
“I leave out the carrots and celery because it is easier than picking them out later. Also when I have ham, I will freeze the little pieces to use in this recipe or other soups. It gets thick when it sits so I just keep adding milk when I reheat it.”
Missy says she likes both of these on cold days and that they both freeze well “if there is any left.”
Missy’s turnip green soup was a recipe she shared with us in 2008 when she was a “Cook of the Week,” so it is included also.

Bobbye Mason

Deanna Clements, of Tuscaloosa, got her chicken noodle soup recipe from a church member where she works.
“She always makes it for people who are sick and she was telling me about it. Everybody at my house likes it. I made it one time and Eli and two of his friends devoured it, and I thought that if you can find a chicken noodle soup recipe that three teenage boys get excited about, then it’s a keeper.”

She said sometimes she has to get a flavored rotisserie chicken to go in it if their Publix doesn’t have any of the “original” left, and “that’s also interesting when you have to go with lemon pepper or something else.  Not bad, just different,” she added.

Pat Ledbetter, of Bruce, got the 2 x 4 Soup recipe from Fay Nolan at a church soup/chili fellowship. She said she hasn’t had the recipe long, but has made it a couple of times. She likes it served with spicy crackers and Mexican cornbread.
“My gauge is that if (husband) Gary gets a second helping, then it’s a winner!” she said, and that it’s really good warmed over, too.

8-Can Soup
(Bobbye Mason)
Hamburger meat, sized to your desired ‘meatiness’, browned and drained
1 regular size can of tomato soup
1 regular size can of diced tomatoes
1 regular size can of Rotel
1 regular size can of vegetable soup
1 regular size can of chili with beans
1 regular size can of chili without beans
1 regular size can of whole kernel corn
1 regular size can of Veg-All
In large Dutch oven, brown and drain meat.  Dump the eight undrained cans of above ingredients into Dutch oven. Heat thoroughly.

Potato Soup
(Cassie Ferguson)
6-8 red potatoes
2/3 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup flour
Milk (I use 2%)
1 lb. cooked bacon, cooled and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Velveeta Queso Blanco cheese
8 oz. Daisy sour cream (NO substitutes)
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash and peel potatoes. Cube and place in large stock pot. Add just enough water to cover potatoes.  Boil until almost tender, do not drain. Stir together melted butter and flour. Stir mixture into potatoes until smooth. Add milk (I usually add about 2 cups at first.) Stir on low heat. Add salt, pepper, bacon, and cheese.  Continue to stir until soup begins to thicken. Add sour cream. If soup is too thick add more milk. (TIP: If I am in a hurry, I use a bag of home style hash browns for my potatoes.)

Hamburger Soup
(Missy Bryant)
1 lb. hamburger meat
4 medium potatoes
Small onion, chopped
Small can English peas
Small can cream style corn
1 quart home canned tomatoes (best) or 2 -14.5 ounce cans
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1/2 cup ketchup
Peel and cut up potatoes in enough water to cover well. Cook until done. Brown meat and onions. Drain well. Pour potatoes, water and all, into meat. Add peas, corn and tomatoes. Cook,  stirring often, 20-30 minutes. Thickens more the longer it cooks. (Mr. B doesn’t like hunks of tomatoes, so I put them in the blender. If your people don’t like peas, throw them in the blender too.)

Wild Rice Chowder
(Missy Bryant)
3 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup cooked ham, diced
2 medium carrots, grated
1 stalk celery diced
1 quart milk
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp. salt and pepper
1/4 cup plain flour
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
Combine everything except butter and flour. Cook over medium heat 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix butter and flour in small bowl. Stir into hot soup. Cook 5-8 more minutes. If you think it is too thick, add more broth.

Turnip Green Soup
(Missy Bryant)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small ham steak, chopped
2 cans turnip greens
2 cans great Northern beans
2 cans chicken broth
Saute onion and ham steak in oil until onion is clear. Open cans and dump the greens, beans and broth in. Boil and reduce down.

Chicken Noodle Soup
(Deanna Denley Clements)
Combine two quarts water and eight chicken bouillon cubes (can  add two more cups chicken broth if desired.) Bring to boil. Add five cups uncooked wide egg noodles. Boil 10 minutes or until noodles are done. Add two cans cream of chicken soup and one shredded rotisserie chicken. Season with salt and pepper. When warm, add 8 oz. sour cream and stir until dissolved.

2 x 4 Soup
(Fay Nolan, shared by Pat Ledbetter)
2 lbs. ground chuck, browned and drained
2 cans mild Rotel
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans minestrone soup
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, diced
Mix all together and heat in crockpot until bubbly.