Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup

This past weekend was the coldest of the season this year. Brrrrrr, here in St. Petersburg, Florida the high on Sunday was 54! It was so cold I couldn't wear sandals, which is, of course, in Florida the meter for how cold it is. We wear sandals all year long. Also, of course, cold weather calls for soup and I made one of my very favorites. I had always stayed away from squash or pumpkin soup because I thought they would be sweet like pumpkin pie, but when I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine I decided to give it a try. While it does have apple in it, it's not sweet. It is quite savory and very creamy, but without heavy cream. In fact, the recipe calls for whole milk, but I used 2% and it turned out great. The potato and the squash really thicken it up. The recipe also says to blend the vegetables and apples immediately after you cook them.  If you've tried to blend anything hot, especially with liquid in it you know the steam likes to explode out of the top of the blender. You can do this if you must, but I like to cook them and let them cool for a while before blending. The garnish, prosciutto, fried in butter, just takes
it over the top!

Cold weather or not, you should try this soon!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 medium apples, thinly sliced

1 large white potato, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash, fresh or frozen

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup apple cider

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into bite-size pieces

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

 

Directions

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the onion, apples, potato and squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and flour. Add the cider and cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Puree in a blender in batches until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the prosciutto, more cheese and chives, if using. Serve with bread, if desired.

Aztec Chicken Soup

It's soup night and a perfect way to use some of the delicious veggies I bought at the Saturday Morning Market this week. Several years ago I discovered some great low carb cook books by Dana Carpender including, 500 Low Carb Recipes. It has some amazingly delicious ideas including this soup.  The beauty of this recipe is not only is is low carb, it's also low fat if you don't add the cheese. (Why anyone wouldn't want a little cheese, I don't know, but....) I've added chick peas to the original recipe which are tasty and up the fiber content. You will love the fresh taste of this yummy soup!

This recipe makes 10 servings, but it freezes well. You can also easily cut it in half.

Ingredients
3 quarts chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked chicken or boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2-3 ribs celery, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small carrot, shredded
1 small zucchini, diced
2 cans(14 1/2 each) diced tomatoes, including juice
1 can chick peas, drained
1 package frozen chopped spinach
2 TB dried oregano
2 TB dried basil
2 tsp pepper
At least 8 oz Mexican Queso Quesadilla or Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
5 ripe avocados, diced

Directions
1. Heat the broth and the chicken in a large pot over low heat.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, garlic, celery, green pepper, carrot, and zucchini together until they're limp. Stir the oregano, basil and pepper into the vegetables and saute for another minute and add them to the soup along with the tomatoes, chick peas and spinach. Let the whole thing  simmer for 1/2 to 1 hour to let the flavors blend.

3.When you're ready  to serve the soup, put 1/4 - 1/2 cup of cheese (more won't hurt) in the bottom of the bowl, and anywhere from 1 - 3 chipotles, depending on how spicy you like your food. If you want it even less spicy, just add some of the adobo sauce, or leave it out completely. Ladle the hot soup over the cheese and the peppers. Top with avocado.

Serve with tortilla chips or cheese quesadillas.