It’s Fall…time for soup!!!

Weight Watcher’s Free Veggie Soup

Points Value = 0!

2 x 400g (14oz)cans chopped tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Pinch dried chili flakes

2 carrots, chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

4 cups vegetable stock

½ cup peas or beans (optional)

1. Place all ingredients except peas or beans in a saucepan. Season with salt and black pepper.

2. Cover and cook at medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

3. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth. If you prefer a chunky soup, just blend half the mixture at this stage.

4. Return the soup to the saucepan, add the peas or beans if using, and reheat before serving.

This soup can be frozen for up to 12 weeks.

French Onion Soup Gratinee

INGREDIENTS

* 4 tablespoons butter

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2 large red onions, thinly sliced

* 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced

* 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth

* 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

* 1/2 cup red wine

* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

* 2 sprigs fresh parsley

* 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves

* 1 bay leaf

* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

* 4 thick slices French or Italian bread

* 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature

* 1/2 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature

* 4 pinches paprika

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DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.

2. Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.

3. Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.

4. Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.

5. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!

from Allrecipes

Every week this winter I made up a huge stock pot of soup and froze it in daily amounts. I cheated and used a bought soup mix with dried stock,peas,onions etc and then increased the water to 3-4 litres. I then added an entire bunch of celery chopped, 2 grated potatoes,4 grated carrots,1 large onion chopped finely, and 1/2 cup each of pearl barley,yellow lentils, and green and yellow split peas. Sometimes I added grated butternut pumpkin or grated swede and tins of tomatoes. I also cooked boiling bacon and minced that when cold and put that in at the last, Mmmmmmmm. Very thick soup and very filling, no need for anything more to go with it.

All these sound so good. I have saved this thread to my favorites so I can refer to them all fall/winter. YUM!

I know what you mean, Linda. It’s supposed to be a ‘cooler 85 tomorrow’–I found myself getting excited that it’s not in the nineties!!

Sweater weather? What’s that? I was thrilled to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt today since I knew I’d be in a chilly room all day for training. . .

In Texas, people start buying firewood when the temps. dip down in the 60’s! 🙂

Tomato-Lentil Soup

Serves 8

“I often pair this soup with crusty bread and a green salad tossed in a creamy dressing for a casual, hearty vegetarian meal,” writes Paulette Mitchell, author of A Beautiful Bowl of Soup. “The alliance of tomatoes, lentils, and fresh herbs is very pleasing. The soup actually improves when made in advance, so that the flavors have a chance to marry.”

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable stock

2/3 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

One 6-ounce can tomato paste

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried dill

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 teaspoon minced fresh sweet marjoram, or 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

One 28-ounce can tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice

Salt to taste

Sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley or thyme for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock, lentils, carrots, celery and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, stir together tomato paste, parsley, thyme, dill, tarragon, marjoram and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

3. Remove bay leaf from soup. Stir in the tomatoes with juice. Add 1 cup of the soup liquid to the tomato paste mixture and stir until smooth; add to the soup and stir gently until heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

4. Garnish each serving with a sprig of fresh herb.

Advance preparation

This soup will keep for up to 5 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. When reheating, stir in vegetable stock or water to thin as desired.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving

Although this soup comes up high in carbohydrates, the source is nutrition-packed beans, so it’s worth the splurge.

Calories

140

Total fat 2.5 g

Saturated Fat

0 g

Protein

8 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 640 mg

Carbohydrates 26 g

Sugars 9 g

Fiber 6 g

Vitamin A

80% DV

Vitamin C

35% DV

Iron

20% RDA

From A Beautiful Bowl of Soup by Paulette Mitchell (Chronicle Books).

Now I’m extemely hungry, but it’s suppose to be well over 100 degrees today so I think I will wait to have soup..

Ok, I’ve got a few recipes that I will dig up, but I gotta say, an easy, yummy one is:

1 can tomato soup

1 can skim milk

cheese

shredded cheese

Warm soup and water in a saucepan to almost boiling. Melt big chunks of cheese till melted (velveeta or store brand knock off works great, but any cheese will be fine).

Pour into big soup mugs. Add more cheese. Stir. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Dunk grilled cheese sandwiches into soup and enjoy. (Note: grilled cheese sandwiches should have at least 2 kinds of cheese.)

If you can’t have cheese, I’m really sorry. I say that with utmost sincerity. If you don’t like cheese, step away from this recipe. *gives hairy eyeball at non-cheese folks* Hey, I can do this; I don’t like a common food staple that almost everyone likes.

Joan, how much cheese do you actually put into the tomato soup/skim milk mixture? I know, it is probably a silly question.