Cream of Pumpkin Soup

Ok, so I had some pumpkin thawing out and some cream I wanted to use up, so what better than pumpkin soup. I put the pumpkin in the crock and started heating it up.

In about an hour, I mashed the pumpkin with a potato masher then added some red bell pepper, (about 1/4 of one, sliced), 1/2 onion, and diced 2 apples.

Let that cook for another hour.

After a total of about 2-2 1/2 hours, it was smelling pretty good, so I let it cool for about 1/2 hour and added 1/2 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of whole milk, along with a can of drained green beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Put it all into a container and put the soup in the refrigerator for the night, (as I still needed to finish eating up the chicken noodle soup).

During the night I kept thinking I wanted this soup to be more creamy. So this afternoon,  as I pulled it from the fridge, I took out all the pieces of green beans and set them in a separate bowl. Then I put this mixture into a colander to drain out the cream and milk. Yep, I actually did this, so that I could take this soup and put it into my blender and blend away! As the blender was mixing, I added back the cream and milk to get the right consistency.  Then I put all of this, including the green beans into a 3 quart pot and heated the soup up. Now I have a cream soup!!! I  also sprinkled some cinnamon, and grated some nutmeg into it. All I can say, it was delicious and creamy, and perfect to my taste, I shall make this again. Only next time, I will do the blending before I put in the green beans and cook all in one day, using just the crock pot!

Thanks for popping in and seeing my craziness sometimes in the kitchen!
Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Stew

Again adding some of the recipes from my facebook. This is a great fall stew or I think a soup! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Stew

1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup grated peeled sweet potato
1 cup chicken or reduced-sodium vegetable broth or water
2 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
1 cup fat-free half-n-half
Black pepper to taste
¼ cup minced fresh parsley

1. Place onion, celery, sweet potato, broth and bacon in crock-pot or slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 6 hours.
2. Increase heat to HIGH. Add half-n-half, using just enough to bring stew to desired consistency. Add more water, if needed. Cook 30 minutes on HIGH or until hot.
3. Season to taste with pepper. Stir in parsley.
Makes 4 servings.

Vegetable and Red Lentil Soup

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1 can (14 ½ ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash (or 1 of each), diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
½ cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or thyme
½ cup croutons or shredded cheese (optional)
1. Combine broth, tomatoes with juice, zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, lentils, salt, sugar and black pepper in crock-pot or slow cooker; mix well.
2. Cover; cook on LOW 8 hours, or on HIGH 4 hours or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls; top with basil and croutons, if desired.
Makes 4 servings.

Pumpkin and Spinach Soup with Beef

1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced thinly
2 quarts regular-strength chicken broth
½ pound boneless beef chuck, fat trimmed, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 ½ pounds Hubbard squash or banana squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ -inch cubes (about 10 cups)
2 large (about ½ pound) carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ pound spinach, tough stems and wilted leaves discarded, rinsed well and drained
Salt and pepper to taste

In a 6-8 quart pan, stir butter, onion, and celery over medium-high heat until onion is limp, about 5 minutes. Add broth and beef; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add squash and carrots; cover and simmer until squash and beef are very tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut spinach into ¼ inch wide strips.
With a slotted spoon, lift out about ¾ of the squash and coarsely mash. Return mashed squash to pan along with spinach. Bring to a boil; then simmer, uncovered, until spinach wilts, 3-4 minutes. Skim and discard fat. Ladle soup into bowls. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 6-8
Per serving: 15 calories, 12 g protein, 5 g fat, 18 g carbo, 126 sodium, 21 mg chol.
Sunset Magazine Feb 1991

Things I change:I cook the beef by itself in water -2 hours, until it almost falls apart.

I don't mash the squash, I leave it cubed.

Love,love this soup!