Coltoge Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 T butter
3 1/2 C potatoes, peeled and diced
5 C clear fat-free chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp caraway seed
2 C light cream

Directions:

In a soup kettle, cook onions in butter until soft. Add potatoes, stock, salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in cream and let cook without boiling for a final 8 minutes. Serve very hot.

Thanks to ctgmom86!

Loetha's Beef Stew

Ingredients:

3 cups hot mushroom soup (or cheat using 2 cans of condensed mushroom soup to make life easier)
3 cups hot tomato soup (or cheat using 2 cans of condensed tomato soup)
1 cup dry Bellan wine (that would be red wine)
4 cups chopped cooked roast beef
4 heaping handfuls of chopped, steamed vegetables (or cheat and use two 16-ounce bags of frozen cut broccoli, carrots, etc.)
1 teaspoon crushed, dried thyme

If using Sandy's cheating version, add 4 cups of water (Sandy actually prefers her stew a little less "brothy" and only adds about 1 cup of water)

You put everything in a huge Dutch oven and cook on medium heat until boiling, stirring frequently. Then lower the heat a bit (not a lot), uncover it and stir it once in a while for another four or five minutes until the vegetables feel the way you like 'em!

Now, this recipe is for 10 people. Loetha would double it when cooking for the crew at Arcana. Ya'll might want to cut it in half. So you'd only use 1 can each of the condensed soups, 1 bag of frozen veggies, etc., thus feeding a family of five on a cold winter's eve, which we still have a few of this season...


Thanks to Sandy Lender!

Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

5-6 med potatoes diced and cooked

1 med onion diced

3 can of canned milk

3 cans of diced clames water and all

Directions:

Put potatoes and onions in you pot. Add the three cans of milk, and you diced clams with juice, heat for a hour do not let it boil.

Thanks to Tina!

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 c chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 10 oz; we also use
turkey, if that's handy instead)
1 c frozen whole-kernel corn
1/4 c dry white wine
1 T seeded, chopped jalapeno pepper (sometimes I leave this out if I
don't have it)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 (14.25 oz) cans no-salt-added chicken broth (we use the regular all
the time)
1 (14.5 oz) can peeled, diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium tomato soup (or
whatever kind you have)
1 c crushed unsalted baked tortilla chips
1/2 c fat-free sour cream

Directions:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 2 minutes. Stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla chips and sour cream.

We also sometimes like to add a can of black beans, and sometimes add chopped avocado as a garnish if we have them.

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

3 med. or large potatoes cut into bite sizes
1 1/2 cups celery cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots cut into bite size pieces
1 medium onion chopped
8 oz. sour cream
1 quart heavy cream
6- 6 oz cans of Snow's chopped clams (or fresh chopped clams)
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 stick of butter

Directions:

-Drain the clam juice from the clams into a stew pot, add vegetables and onions. Cook until veggies are tender (add water if there isn't enough clam juice).
- Add clams, heavy cream. Cook on low stirring occasionally. When the chowder gets hot stir in the sour cream. Just before the chowder comes to a boil (don't let it boil, though!) add a thickener (flour mixed with warm water- added slowly until the chowder's consistency
is right for you.)
- Add the butter, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of parsley if you want.

This takes about an hour to prepare and cook and should serve about 4-5 people.

Thanks to Patricia Perry!

Crock-Pot Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breasts or tenders, boneless, cut in 1-inch cubes
8 to 12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound shrimp, cooked
2 cups raw rice, cooked

PREPARATION:

Combine chicken, sausage, chopped bell pepper, and chopped onion in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, wine, oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and pepper; stir gently.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. About 30 to 45 minutes
before eating, add cooked shrimp and hot cooked rice; heat thoroughly.
Serves 8.

Thanks to Pamela Kinney!

Chili

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 hot chile pepper - jalapeño, serrano, or habanero, seeded
and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup pure mild chili powder
3 pounds coarsely ground beef
1 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano or Italian leaf oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice, or chili style
tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 cup (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
3 to 4 tablespoons tequila
shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, optional
sour cream, optional
canned nacho-sliced jalapeño peppers, optional

PREPARATION:

In a large Dutch oven or kettle, cook the onions in the oil, covered, over medium heat. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden, but not browned, about 5
minutes longer. Add the garlic, minced chile peppers, and ground cumin. Cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Add the chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minutes.
Add the ground beef, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until the meats are no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, cayenne, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, with cover slightly ajar, for about 1 1/2 hours.

Add the beans, crushing some of them against the side of the pot to help thicken the chili. Add the tequila and season with additional salt and cayenne to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Good or better when reheated and freezes well for up to 3 months, though it may need an extra dash of cayenne before serving.
Serves 8.
Top each serving with shredded cheese, a teaspoon of sour cream, and jalapeño pepper slices, if desired.

Thanks to DeNita!

Country Chicken Chowder

Ingredients:

1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 cans Chicken Noodle Soup
1 can water
1 can Cream Corn
2/3 cup Evaporated Milk
Pepper

Directions:

Saute onion in margarine in soup pot. Add the soup, water, Cream Corn, Evaporated milk and pepper and heat.

Enjoy.

Thanks to Robyn L!

Billie Jo's Chili

Ingredients:

2 Pounds 90 % lean ground beef
1 tbsp. each salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, dried oregano,
and black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ tsp., ground red pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cans (10 ½ oz ea) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 large onion, chopped

Directions:

1) Combine ground beef, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, black pepper, garlic and ground red pepper in large bowl.

2) Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Brown beef, stirring to separate meat. Drain and discard fat. Add tomatoes, salsa and onion; mix well. Transfer mixture to crock pot.

3) Cover; cook on LOW for 6 hours.

Makes 6 servings.

Thanks to Billie Jo!

Bo's Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb of hamburger
1 large onion
1 large can of tomato juice
1/2 can of Chili Man (or your favorite chili powder)
1 cup elbow macaroni
salt
pepper
sugar (optional)
2 cans of dark red beans
2 cans of red beans

Directions:

Place the hamburger in a skillet, add salt and pepper (to your taste). Cook over a med heat and slowly brown.

While this is browning, open the can of tomato juice and pour into a large soup pot. Open the beans and let them drain.Finely chop the onion and place it into the tomato juice. Rinse the beans and add to the tomato juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place on low heat and simmer.

When the hamburger is brown, strain the grease off, rinse hamburger in hot water and add to the soup pot. Cover the soup pot and let it simmer for 1 hour.

After the first hour, add the macaroni to the pot, cover and let simmer for 1 hour. NOTE: Keep a cup of water handy and check often.As the macaroni cooks it will drink up the liquid and more will be needed. (Some people prefer to add more tomato juice instead of water.)

After the second hour, add your chili powder. The recipe calls for half a can but you can add to your taste. Also, if you are one who likes sugar in their chili, add the sugar to taste. Let this simmer for 1 hour.

After the third hour, remove the pot from the heat. You can now serve it - or if you can stand to wait, reheat it the next day. It tastes even better then.

Thanks to Bo!