Halloween Hayride Cheesey Noodle Soup

Since it's that time of year again when the nights turn cool and crisp I thought of this soup. I love Fall with nature's warm array of colors and harvests more than any other season. My memory always takes me back to when our children were young and we would have huge parties and need a cup of something hearty when we would come in from a cold hayride. This was always a crowd pleaser. Enjoy !

3 cups water
3 pkt.s chicken flavored seasoning broth
1 med. minced onion
1 bunch chopped broccoli with trimmed down stem
1 cup noodles
1+1/2 cups cubed Velveeta cheese
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. milk

Bring water and broth
to a boil. Add broccoli,onions,and
noodles and cook till tender.
Stir in cheese, butter, and milk and heat through.
Soup should be of a thinner consistency so add
another Tbs. of milk if it becomes thick.
Serve with your favorite topping s if desired such
as oyster crackers,slivered almond, real bacon, or chopped ham .

Corn 'N' Frank Chowder

Please give this yummy corn chowder a try soon.
Feel free to throw in a chopped
leftover cooked potato if you so desire it.


1 lb. beef hot dogs, sliced
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 TB. butter
1 16 oz. can cream style corn
1 cup whole white kernel corn
1 cup milk
3/4 lb. velveeta cheese, cubed
salt and pepper

Saute peppers , onions and sliced franks
in the butter in a 3 qt. saucepan.
Add remaining ingredients and stir over
low heat until cheese is melted.
Six 1+1/3 cup servings

Favorite Minestrone Soup

Mmmmmm Mmmmmmmm Good ! This is a hearty meal- in -a -bowl soup with beans and pasta. I sometimes turn my leftover ham and cabbage dinner into this soup because the broth gives it an excellent flavor. And you may add any type pasta but the spaghetti is my choice.

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup cubed ham or( low fat
alternative such as turkey bacon)
1 clove minced garlic
3 cups water or cabbage broth
1 14 oz. can chopped stewed
tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup canned chick peas,
( kidney ,lima or white
beans can be substituted)
1/2 cup finely shredded cabbage
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 TB. minced dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup broken spaghetti

Brush bottom of large pan with olive oil.
Heat and cook the onions, celery, garlic and bacon
or ham until slightly tender.

Add the liquid and tomatoes in with the rest
of the ingredients but spaghetti
and simmer till tender about 1/2 hour.

Break the spaghetti into the soup and cook about 10 min.s until tender and serve.

Makes 6 servings

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Recently I've been trying to cut back on certain high caloric foods. Soups are not something that I'm particularly fond of, but they happen to be an easy way to incorporate lots of veggies and healthy proteins, such as lean meats and beans so I've been trying to add some more soups to our weekly menu. I found a similar recipe to this in Martha Stewart's recipes and thought that sweet potato seemed like a great alternative to the typical white potato in soups. I changed a few things and this is what I came up with. It ended up working out quite well. We will be repeating it, probably even after I've given up on my mission to cut calories.. er... I mean, I'll be making it forever because I'm going to eat healthy for the rest of my life. Yeah. That's it. Definitely...

But seriously, try the soup. It's good.

Kale and Sweet Potato soup

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt
2 cans of cannellini beans, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small green onions, rinsed, white and light-green parts thinly sliced
2 large sweet potato/yams, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 bunch kale, (3/4 pound) washed and chopped
6 cups homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pinch of dried rosemary or a tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary

In a large soup pot saute the green onions, garlic, onion and kale, until the kale wilts slightly. Add the beans, sweet potato, rosemary and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the sweet potato is fork-tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This is my version of a famous restaurant soup I love. If your not as big a fan of spinach as I you could cut it in half but it needs some for flavor. I simply serve mine with some warm bread and make a meal but you could use it as a first course to your meal if your entertaining. It's so........ good ! All I can say is " try it you'll like it!"

Simmer for 45 minutes in a large pan ;

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 cups water
2 Tbls. instant chicken broth

In the meantime in a medium pan add;
1 stick butter
2 stalks finely chopped celery
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 + 1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
Cook on low heat until vegetables are soft stirring often.

Add;
1 cup chopped fresh spinach and cook till wilted.

Stir in;
1/3 cup flour
Cook stirring for about 3 minutes until flour is blended with butter.
Stir in;
2 cups milk
Cook on low heat stirring constantly until it bubbles and thickens .
Add;
1 Tbls. dry minced onion
1 pinch of italian seasonings
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Set this aside .

Remove chicken from broth and set aside to cool.
Mix the remaining broth from the chicken(around 4 cups)
and thickened vegetables together in the pan.
Add;
1 16 oz. pkg. gnocchi ( potato dumplings )
cooked chicken breasts, (cubed)

Cook the soup for about 10 minutes on low heat until
gnocchi are tender stirring often.

Thin with some water if necessary and serve.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Potato Soup with Ground Beef

This is the recipe for Potato Soup my Mother always made for us and it uses ground beef instead of ham . It's simplicity at it's best. It's so good with crusty buttered bread for dipping . In fact I'm thinking I need to make this soon now that fall is upon us. If your cooking for one or two I am sure you could cut this recipe in half. I personally think soup is better the next day after the flavors blend in the refrigerator . Thanks for stopping by our blog and "Happy Fall Ya'll !!!!"


2 stalks, chopped, celery
2 medium onions, chopped
1 + 1/2 lb.s ground beef
6 large potatoes, cubed
8 cups water
salt and pepper

Brown ground beef in 6 qt. pan over medium heat leaving it chunky. Drain grease off the beef and add in the celery, water, onions, and salt and pepper and simmer about a half hour over low heat.

Meanwhile cube potatoes and add to soup. Bring it back to a simmer and cook another half hour or until potatoes are tender and season again with salt.

Split Pea Soup

I enjoy a rib sticking soup as a meal in the cooler weather so I throw this soup together and make a muffin or homemade bread to go with it. But " To puree or not to puree, that is the question ? ..... I don't puree my soup although the recipe says to but if you prefer it that way instead just remove the hock and process the soup. Then add the ham off the hock and some heavy cream if you like it to the soup afterwards.



1 8 oz cup dry split peas , rinsed and sorted
1 small meaty ham hock
8 cups water
4 tbls. butter
1 med. chopped onion
2 potatoes ,peeled and cubed
2 stalks chopped celery
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Place the peas in the water with the ham hock and simmer 2 hours on low heat stirring occasionally. In a small pan heat the butter and cook all the vegetables until slightly tender. Add those to peas and cook til beans are tender about an hour. Add salt and pepper. Remove the bone to cool and take meat off it. (puree the soup if desired at this point) Add ham meat to the soup along with the heavy cream and serve. Serves 6 to 8 people

Cabbage Soup

A neighbor gave me this recipe over 30 years ago and it's my husband favorite soup. There are several versions of this so called "Diet Soup" floating around but this is the one I use. We love to add lots of pepper to ours for spicy flavor !

3 thinly sliced carrots
3 thinly sliced stalks of celery
2 medium onions , diced
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1 large can tomatoes, mashed
6 packets of instant beef broth
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
8 cups water

Pour tomatoes in 6 qt. saucepan and mash them up.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer 2 hours or until tender.
Add salt and pepper and serve.

This soup is only 45 calories a cup for those who prefer to use it as a diet soup.

Cheddar Vegetable Soup

This is for all you soup lovers ! If you like most vegetables I think you're really going to enjoy this soup. The distinctive garlic flavor sets this soup apart from most other cheese soups . Because it's on the hearty side I like to serve it along side a salad with rolls or muffins. I hope you give this one a try !

2 very thinly sliced carrots
2 very thinly sliced stalks celery
1 small finely chopped onion
1 small clove minced garlic
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups strong chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup half & half
1+1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp orange cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt


Melt the butter in a 6 qt. saucepan and add carrots and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat stirring constantly. Add the remaining vegetables and cook another 5 minutes again stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in the flour and cook over low heat stirring for 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly stir in the chicken broth. Add salt and pepper and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender about 20 minutes stirring frequently. Add milk, half & half, and cheese and reheat just until it's hot. Serve. Makes 6 servings