I HEART SOUPS

I really love making soups for dinner. I love eating them even more. They are especially good on a cold, long day. You can throw together a soup quickly and sit down with a nice glass of wine in no time at all. Well, this isn't the most cultured or high class type of soup, but it still hits the spot. It's also good to use up left over hot dogs.

Hot Dog Bean Soup

3 hot dogs, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 tsp. veg oil

1 - 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 11 1/2 oz. can bean and bacon soup

1 1/4 cups water

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet or pot, cook hot dogs in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Add other ingredients and heat through.

Notes: Can't get any easier than that, unless your hot dogs are already cooked. I substituted chicken broth for the water and added cayenne pepper and one can of diced potatoes to mine. You can easily double this recipe as well.

Chicken Soup with Mashed Potato Dumplings

Mmmm, Mmmm Good!! This is the greatest soup. My husband usually complains when I cook soup, but he was sad that he missed this one. It's great for leftover mashed potatoes, but if your house is like mine....you don't ever have left over mashed potatoes (they're my husband's fav). So, I keep a box of instant mashed potato flakes in the pantry just for this dish. I've made it with instant and homemade mashed potatoes. We couldn't taste a difference. This soup is good as leftovers, but the dumplings kind of dissolve, so you just get a great tasting thicker soup.

Chicken Soup with Mashed Potato Dumplings

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. veg. oil

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (can use canned chicken in this one)

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 med. carrots, sliced

1/4 tsp. dried sage

1 1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix

1 cup cold mashed potatoes

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp. chopped green onion

1/8 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil for 3-4 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in the broth, chicken, celery, carrots, and sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. In a small bowl, combine the mashed potatoes and milk. Then, add the biscuit mix, green onion, and pepper. Form into small quarter size balls. Drop each ball into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean. DO NOT LIFT LID WHILE DUMPLINGS ARE SIMMERING.

Notes: As stated earlier, canned chicken will work in this soup. I usually make the instant mashed potatoes in the microwave and throw them in the freezer while I'm preparing the other ingredients, so that it's cold when I need it. Also, I've started leaving out the green onions. I haven't noticed a difference in the flavor of the soup.

Refried Bean Soup with Pace Cornbread

I'm finally getting around to posting this delicious meal. I made it last week sometime. The soup is one of the easiest recipes I have. Just throw together a few cans, heat, and eat!! The cornbread recipe is from my mother in law and is a great side for any mexican theme dinner. I haven't been cooking much since I started working again last week. Last night was movie night with me and my husband. We made out the hide away bed on one of our couches, piled on a bunch of pillows, and watched movies all night. My husband cut up salami, summer sausage, pepper jack cheese, smoked cheddar, and mild cheddar. We ate it with crackers for dinner. It was great!! We even put an ice chest next to the couch so we didn't have to walk to the kitchen. I think we'll try to make movie night a regular ritual. Anyway, back to the recipe; the soup can have so many variations to suit your needs. I'll put some of my variations in the notes below. You have to try this on a busy weeknight!!

Refried Bean Soup

1 (~15oz) can fat free refried beans (you don't have to use fat free)

1 (15 1/4oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2oz) can chicken broth

1 can rotel

1/2 cup water

1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies

1/4 cup salsa

Optional Garnishes: tortilla chips, more salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except for garnishes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with any garnishes you like.

Notes: I like to make the soup and add a dollop of daisy and some shredded cheddar to each bowl. The original recipe called for spicy refried beans, but my husband isn't fond of spicy foods. Therefore, I use regular refried beans and mild rotel. I just add a little cayenne pepper to my bowl to spice it up. As you may have noticed, there is no meat in this soup, but it is plenty hearty. My husband doesn't even usually notice the lack of meat. But, if you are a big meat eater, you could add cubed, cooked chicken.

Pace Cornbread Squares (sorry, no picture)

1 pkg. Jiffy Cornbread mix

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

In a bowl, mix all ingredients, except the cheese, very well. It will be thinner than normal cornbread batter. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Sprinkle the cheese over top and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, till center is baked. Watch so that the bottom crust doesn't overbrown.