In lieu of our annual Chili Party for Chapter R, cancelled due to an abundance of caution around the COVID pandemic, we are going to share some of our Soup and Chili recipes here.
White Chicken Chili from Barb Smouse
We first heard of White Chicken Chili from going to Don Pablo’s Tex-Mex Restaurant in Dickson City. We both loved the soup so much I sent them an email asking for the recipe, telling them how much we really enjoyed it. I got a very nice reply thanking us for enjoying their soup. Then they basically said ‘NO WAY’ will we give out our recipe. I went on the internet and found literally thousands of recipes for White Chicken Chili. Here is the one Barb started with. I’m not sure she looks at it to much anymore when she puts the soup together as it seems to get hotter every time.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz can diced jalapeno peppers
4 oz chopped green chile peppers
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 deaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 – 15 oz cans of white beans
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium low heat. Slowing cook and stir the onions until they are tender. Mix in garlic and the rest of the dry ingredients. Cook 3 minutes then add the rest. Cook in crock pot for three to four hours. Serve with the Monterey Jack cheese sprinkled on top.
Chili from Bill & Janice Rowe
This recipe is from Bill’s mother, who made it a lot when we were dating. It is best served with homemade bread which his mother made (10 loaves at a time, baking them in her wood stove oven).
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or venison
1 large onion, chopped
1 qt. tomatoes
2 small cans red kidney beans
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper
2 tsp. chili powder
Fry burger with onion until browned. Pour off grease and mix with remaining ingredients in large pot. Cook for several hours on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
John & Ginny Nutting
The first one is especially for Kay Johnson, since she is the only person (at least in GWRRA) plus Ginny and I that likes it. Creamy Asparagus soup. Second is Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. We found this online and it is now a favorite.
Creamy Asparagus Soup Yield: Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
| 2 lbs asparagus | 1/3 cup heavy cream, or more |
| 1 large sweet onion, chopped | 1 Tbsp dry vermouth, optional |
| ½ cup carrots, chopped | A squeeze of fresh lemon juice |
| ¼ cup unsalted butter | Salt and pepper |
| 5 cups chicken broth | |
| Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme | Or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves |
1. Cut tips from 12 asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
2. Cook onion and carrots in butter in a 4 or 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth, thyme, and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.
4. Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth. If you want a very creamy texture, you can put the purée through a food mill or press it through a sieve. Transfer to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids), and return to pan. Stir in cream. Stir in vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish with asparagus tips.
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Makes 10 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 1½ pounds chicken breast, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- 1½ teaspoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cups water
- 2 cups cream or half and half
- 2 tablespoons chopped mix of your favorite fresh herbs (thyme, tarragon, sage, oregano, parsley)
Preparation
- Rinse the wild rice in a strainer until the water runs clear.
- Season chicken breast with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper and set aside.
- Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and season with salt. Cook the vegetables 2-3 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Add bay leaves and minced garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add uncooked wild rice to pot and stir to coat in oil and butter. Cook the wild rice 2-3 minutes or until toasted and fragrant.
- Lower the heat to medium, sprinkle flour over the rice mixture, and stir to combine. Cook the flour for 1-2 minutes or until flour is no longer raw, but has not yet started to brown.
- Slowly add the chicken broth and water to the pot about 2 cups at a time, stirring continuously until you have added all of it. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower to a simmer.
- Add the cubed chicken breast, stir, and cover with the lid. Cook for about 40 minutes (stirring every 10 minutes) or until the wild rice is cooked to your liking.
- Remove the lid from the pot and add cream and chopped herbs. Taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.
(See tiphero.com and search for recipe)
Taco Soup Ed & Carla Dawejko
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
Rinse and drain all of the above. Then add:
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilis
1 can beef broth
1 package Ranch Salad Dressing
1 package taco seasoning
2 pounds browned ground meat
Crock Pot Beans Bill & Sylvia Maryott
1 Large or (3-15oz) Kidney Beans
1 Large or (3-15oz) Pork & Beans
1 Large 15.5oz Butter Beans (drained)
Fry One pound hamburgh, not crispy, with one medium onion chopped.
Fry 4 or 5 strips of bacon until crisp and crumble fine or three Tbsp bacon bits
Put all ingredients into a crock pot.
Mix:
- 1 cup catsup
- 2 Tbs vinegar
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
Add to crock pot and simmer until mixture thickens – about two hours or so.
Leftovers – freeze and get it out when you want it.
Manhatten Clam Chowder Arline Coffelt
My experiment turned out tasty and good as I made this up from what I had on hand.
1 small onion – cut up in very small pieces
A couple of stalks of celery – cut up in very small pieces
A couple of carrots – cut up in small size pieces
1 potato – cut up in small size pieces
1 regular size can of stewed tomatoes (I used DeMonte stewed ‘italian style’ that has garlic, basic, oregano on the label).
Some garlic (I used 2 tsp. of the in a jar ‘fresh’ cut-up garlic from the store – but you could also use garlic powder)
Some bacon fat (or a couple of slices of bacon fried, cut up and the fat from it)
Thyme – ½ tsp (I used dried leaves, not powdered)
Bay leaf – 2 leaves
Parsley – 1 tsp (I used dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can clams in clam juice
1 bottle of clam juice
½ cup of chicken broth (I used packaged chicken broth)
———–
Brown the onions, celery in the bacon fat (add the cooked bacon if you want – I didn’t have any so just used bacon fat.
Add the garlic if it is the ‘fresh’ kind to this.
When lightly browned remove from heat.
Put the cooked mixture into a crock pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients, including the clam juice from the can of clams.
Cook in the crockpot about 4 hours. Ran my little crockpot on high because it was full to the top – a larger crockpot probably run on medium or low because
You want it to cook slowly and not boil it…mine was just beginning to bubble at 4 hrs
and the carrots & potatoes were just nicely cooked but not mushy or overcooked.)
Split Pea Soup Dwayne & Norma Buchanan
1 lb dried split peas (2cups.)
7 cups water
1 teaspoon oil
2 cups fully cooked ham cubed
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup diced potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Cook on stovetop all day stirring occasionally