As usual during the holiday we get too busy and have a change of plans.
That happened last week for "soup day". For one reason or another I can't even remember now, I couldn't make soup on Sunday.
In fact I really didn't make soup on Monday either, in spite of my blog title, what I did as a remake of an old favorite that I had not made in a long time....Scalloped Potatoes and Ham!
I last blogged about this recipe on December 28, 2008 and I think I've only made it once or twice since. But I had some ham leftover in the freezer from Thanksgiving so figured it was close enough to soup to fit the bill!
Quick post today, but if anyone would like to try making this, the recipe is below. I give it 5 STARS! It is that good!
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (serves 6) ½ cup butter 2 tsp. salt 3 cups milk 1 large onion chopped (or 4 tsp. onion powder) ½ cup shredded mild cheddar cheese ½ cup flour ¼ tsp. pepper 3 cups cooked cubed ham 5 cups sliced potatoes
Heat butter in large sauce pan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly (I like using a whisk), for one minute. Remove from Heat and gradually stir in milk. Return to heat, cook til thickened and bubbly.
Fold in ham, onion and cheese. Pour over potatoes in a large bowl and stir gently to combine. Pour into buttered 12 x 9 x 2” baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncover and continue baking for 1 hour or til browned & bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
I've been trying to make a new soup every Sunday while I watch Sunday Night Football. I live in California so Sunday Night Football SNL starts at 5:30 pm. I usually start cooking during the pre-game show. I actually made the soup I'm going to post about today on December 7th.
On December 6th, I decorated my tree and living room. This year I decided to keep it simple. Thanks to COVID-19, we are not have our usual Christmas get-together with all my siblings and their spouses and their children and grandchildren. It will be just me, my son and daughter and my mom, and that's why I kept my decor simple. I kinda love it, let me share some photos. The Nutcrackers have all been gifts from my mom and daughter and some I've found here and there throughout the years in thrift stores.
This Nativity was made by my mother in 1983. She and her sister were taking ceramics classes at the local high school. She made one for each of her four children and one for each of her sisters. All her sisters are gone now and they left their Nativity to one of their daughters and we all display them at Christmas.
Some are hand painted in detail and some like mine were done in a pearlized paint which has tiny little crystals that reflect and refract light so the color varies depending on what color light is shining on it. I love it, it's a treasure I will cherish forever, until I give it to my daughter April.
So because I was totally exhausted on Dec 6th after decorating all day long I decided to make my soup the next day while watching Monday Night Football. Oh yeah...I'm a big fan of NFL football. The Dallas Cowboys are my team, but I just love watching anyone play. Right now as I write this I'm watching the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Buffalo Bills. I'm rooting for the Steelers since that is my sons favorite team.
Anyway...on to the soup. We have a favorite restaurant called Woolgrowers. It's a Basque restaurant and you can read my post about it HERE, it explains everything.
Woolgrowers serves a world famous cabbage soup. When you sit down at the table, you don't even have to ask for it, they automatically bring a big bowl of this soup, a bowl of beans, a bowl of hot (temperature-wise) salsa, a basket of sliced French bread and a plate full of real butter pats...again YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK FOR IT!!!
Since we've been in shutdown, we have not eaten in sit-down restaurants, so I wanted to see if I could make the soup. I searched online and found a link to the recipe.
Woolgrowers Vegetable Soup
3 carrots
2 large potatoes
2 leeks
1 small cabbage
1 small can tomato sauce
1 Tbl Chicken Base
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 Tsp thyme
10 cups water
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions: Bring water to a boil and add chicken base, I used Better Than Bouillon Roasted chicken base). Chop all vegetables and add to water. Fry chopped onion in a little oil, drain and add to water and vegetables. Add seasonings and tomato sauce, simmer for two hours.
And you get this deliciousness. The funny thing is that I had no idea what a leek was, or what it tasted like. I didn't even know how or what parts of the leek to use. Thank goodness for YouTube. I tasted it raw and love it, bet it would be great raw in a salad!
My mom had made a fresh pot of beans earlier that day and we spooned the beans into our bowls and then the soup and some La Victoria Salsa. We had some sliced French bread and everyone agreed the whole house smelled like Woolgrowers and the soup was spot on exactly like Woolgrowers!
It was a win! I highly recommend making this soup, it will sing to your soul and make your heart happy!
I know everyone in the world probably already has a chicken noodle soup recipe that they love, and most are probably pretty much the same, but believe it or not...I had NEVER in my life made Chicken Noodle soup!
I grew up eating Campbells canned chicken noodle soup and I loved it, it was good enough for me as I didn't get the craving for chicken noodle soup that often...but that was cause I had NEVER in my life had Kristen Hampton's World Famous Chicken Noodle Soup!
Who is Kristen Hampton? Kristen is a gift to this world! She's this quirky character who works for WBTV in Charlotte NC doing a segment called Good News and she goes out and about and looks for the good in the world, the good in people and she reports on those things. Her fame has exploded and she's a Facebook and YouTube sensation, just google Kristen Hampton and you will find lots of information about her.
Recently she did a live video run simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube in which she shows us how to make her World Famous Chicken Noodle Soup while she urged people to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans to help the people that have been devastated by Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta, two hurricanes in the same vicinity just six weeks apart, they had not even cleaned up from the first hurricane when the second one hit. To date she has raised $9,418.00.
Here's the video, it's rather long but she's so entertaining that you don't even notice. And you can still donate to the cause.
So I just wanted to get down on my blog the ingredients on how to make this soup because it was as Kristen would say "Dadgum-delicious!" Kristen doesn't give you measurements, you just gotta wing it.
Ingredients:
1/2 Onion
Garlic - I used two cloves minced in my garlic press, but I think three would have been ok.
6 Carrots
5 Stalks Celery
2 boxes Chicken Broth (low sodium) She says Chicken Stock but I couldn't find any and the broth worked just fine
Cooked Chicken - I baked 4 big boneless chicken breasts and only used two for the soup. Baked them with nothing but salt and pepper as seasoning.
Salt - Pepper - Thyme (used dried, couldn't find fresh)
I started out by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and placing them inside a foil envelope, (two sheets of foil, one on top one on bottom and then you fold all four sides so the chicken is in a little foil envelope. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, set aside to cool, don't open the envelope so the juices go back into the meat.
During the time the chicken is baking, you can be chopping your veggies. Once chicken is cooked, add olive oil to your soup pot, then added the onions and cook them for about 3 to 5 minutes, just until they soften, then I added the celery and carrots which I cut pretty thinly added salt and pepper, but not a lot because the Better Than Bouillon has lots of salt in it. Now cook, stirring frequently for probably another 5 to 6 minutes.
Once the veggies are to your satisfaction, add the chicken broth, both boxes and then what I think was the secret ingredient, I add a big spoonful of Better than Bouillon! I don't know how long this product has been around but I just recently started hearing about it and I can't wait to try all the other flavors, check the other flavors out here.
Then you wait for everything to come to a boil again and then taste it and see if you need to add more BTB, I know that next time I will probably add another box of chicken broth or water. Also at this time I added a sprinkle of dried thyme.
While waiting for the soup to come to a boil, chop your chicken, I've seen other people shred the chicken but I like smaller bite-size pieces best.
Once it comes to a boil, add egg noodles and sprinkle with dried thyme, I used wide egg noodles. I put in the whole package and like Kristen says "that's too many noods", it was too many noodles, next time half a bag instead. Let that boil for 5 minutes or so and then add your chicken, let it boil a bit and taste to see if you need more BTB, which I did and next time way more pepper.
And that it is it. Very good chicken noodle soup, easy to make and so hearty and comforting. Definitely going to be something I made again and again. If you have a great soup recipe, please share in comments or send me a link to the recipe.
