Soup Sunday

 

I have adopted the philosophy of a fellow blogger - Sunday night should just be soup night - who else agrees with me on this? Especially during the Winter months when it's chilly (or just plain freezing out). A warm bowl of goodness is just what's needed to end the weekend on a good note and I recently made two new (to me) and delicious soups. Well - really one was a stew and one was a soup - but who cares?

Cowboy Stew

What You Need

• 4 slices bacon; chopped
• 2 packages (12 ounces) turkey sausage; cut into slices
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion; diced
• 3 cloves garlic; minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes (with liquid)
• 2 (16 ounce) cans baked beans (with liquid)
• 1 (7 ounce) can of chopped green chilies (with liquid)
• 1 (15 ounce) can sweet corn (with liquid)
• 2 medium russet potatoes; peeled & cut into cubes
• 1 cup water

What To Do

• Cook bacon until brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan & set aside.
• Add the sausage to the pan with the drippings and brown on both sides, adjusting heat as needed do the brown bits on the bottom do not burn. Remove to the plate with the bacon; set aside.
• Add beef, onion and garlic to the pot and brown until the beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for one minute.
• Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, bacon, sausage and water. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
• Add additional water if the stew gets too thick.

This was absolutely delicious and so filling! I did end up adding a bit more than the 1 cup of water that the recipe called for. I cannot wait to make it again because it was so very divine!

Corn Chowder

What You Need

• 8 slices bacon; diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion; diced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic; minced
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 4 cans of sweet corn
• 2 cans of diced potatoes; drained
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup half & half or heavy cream

What To Do

• Cook bacon pieces in heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Use a slotted spoon to move bacon pieces to a plate.
• Add butter to bacon grease and melt over medium heat.
• Add diced onions and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring often.
• While whisking, pour in water and increase heat to medium-high. Add in corn , potatoes, thyme, paprika and salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer.
• Simmer, stirring every so often for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
• Use a blender to blend about half the soup until smooth. Stir the blended soup back into the pot.
• Add in half and half, stir and heat through.

I really enjoyed this soup too - I will say, if you are not a big fan of corn, this soup is not for you! It's definitely a soup that is heavy on the corn flavor! 

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Anyone else love soup for a chilly Winter night? Honestly - I love soup all the time (even in Summer) but I especially love it during the Autumn and Winter!