Soup up your meals

Lentil soup

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed chunky tomatoes

2 cups dry lentils

8 cups water

1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced (optional)

Fresh parsley

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Clean and soak lentils in cold water for 20 minutes.

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.

Add onions, carrots, and celery, cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

Add lentils, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

When ready to serve, stir in spinach, if using; remove and discard the bay leaf, season to taste with salt and pepper and finish with a sprig of parsley.

– Courtesy of Ricky Eisen, president and owner of Between the Bread in New York City

Santa Fe chicken tortilla soup

(Using canned chicken, prepared salsa and store-bought chicken broth allows you to have this on the table in less than a half-hour.)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

1 can (12.5 ounces or 3 cans 4.5 ounces each) Swanson Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

1 1/2 cups Pace Chunky Salsa

1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

3 cups Swanson Chicken Broth

2 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend

Stir chicken, salsa, corn, and broth in a 3-quart saucepan and heat to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

Place about 1/3 cup tortilla chips in the bottom of each of 6 serving bowls. Ladle the soup over the chips and sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon of cheese. Serve immediately.

Editor’s note: I like to sprinkle extra tortilla chips over the top of the soup for garnish.

– Recipe courtesy of Campbell’s Kitchen

Italian sausage tortellini soup

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 55 minutes

Serves: 6 

1 (3.5-ounce) link sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups beef stock

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup tomato sauce

1 zucchini, chopped

8 ounces cheese tortellini

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Place the sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat and saute for 10 minutes, or until well browned. Drain the fat except for about 1 tablespoon, add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes more.

Add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any fat that may surface.

Add zucchini, tortellini, green bell pepper and parsley to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until tortellini is fully cooked. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with the cheese.

Pasta E Fagioli (tastes similar to Olive Garden)

Total time: 25 minutes

Serves: 10

Yield: 9 quarts

3 teaspoons oil

2 pounds ground beef

1 bunch carrots, slivered

2 medium onions, chopped

6 stalks celery, diced

48 ounces canned diced tomatoes

2 cups red kidney beans

2 cups white kidney beans

88 ounces beef stock

3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons pepper

5 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

48 ounces spaghetti sauce

8 ounces dry pasta shell macaroni

Saute beef in oil in large 10-quart pot until beef starts to brown. Drain some of the fat, if you like. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Drain and rinse beans and add to pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and macaroni. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

Wild rice soup

4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

1 cup chopped onion

4 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 celery sticks, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 quart chicken broth

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

3 cups cooked wild rice

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup dry sherry, optional

Heat a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add bacon and fry until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

To the fat add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper and saute, stirring occasionally until tender and translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in chicken broth, raise heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover, and stir in chicken and cooked wild rice. Continue to cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and sherry, if using. Simmer 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls and top with crispy bacon.

Tip: Look for packages of precooked wild rice at your grocery store.

White bean chili

Serves: 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 cup diced onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chicken stock

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15-ounce) can white kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for
4 to 5 minutes or until brown. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion to the saute pan and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wood spoon to deglaze.

Pour the stock mixture into a large saucepan and add the cooked chicken, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles, cumin, parsley, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add white kidney beans. Cook 10 minutes.

Ladle the chili into soup bowls and garnish with the Parmesan cheese.

Readers Corner

I have received several phone calls and letters this week. As you know, I love mail, so thank you. Several are your favorite personal recipes, and others are recipes I have requested.

I asked for your Spanish rice recipes, hoping to find one similar to my mother’s. I received two. The ingredients look familiar, and I am eager to try them. I will share one with you this week and the other next week, space permitting. I have several other good recipes from readers coming up, so stay tuned.

This one is from reader, Anita Stickel of Tampico, who wrote that her daughter, Terri, makes this Spanish rice recipe every year for the family reunion.

“She has had the recipe since her high school days (class of ’79),” Anita writes.

Spanish rice

Serves: 4

1/2 cup uncooked regular white rice

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup sliced onions

2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes

1 small bay leaf

1 1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons minced green pepper

2 whole cloves

2 tablespoons sugar

Cook rice as label directs. Drain if necessary. In hot butter in skillet, cook onions until golden and tender. Add salt, tomatoes, green peppers, cloves, bay leaf, and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and cloves.

Add rice; mix well.

Turn into greased 1-quart casserole.

Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. If desired, top with shredded cheese before baking.