7 Southern Utah Soups

Soup season is upon us. Colder days call for a steaming bowl of soup or stew to take the chill off. So, as we pull on our winter boots and wrap ourselves in scarves and hats each day it is nice to come home to a little winter comfort food. But we didn’t want to offer you just any soup recipe. We asked Southern Utah residents, writers, food bloggers and even a chef for their favorite soup recipes. Whether it is a cream soup, an Italian tortellini soup or an old fashioned Chicken Noodle there are enough soups here to institute a weekly soup night.

So, dust off your favorite soup bowls, round up a hearty bread and dip your spoon into some comfort food.

And if you plan on eating soup often, here are a few pantry soup basics you should stock your kitchen with this winter. As long as you have some of these staple you can whip up a soup in no time.

 

 

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Photo by Karynn Jorgensen, Bloomshoot Photography

From Jeff Gayson, owner and chef of Garden House in Cedar City. A favorite with Garden House soup junkies. Recipe from Jeff’s Cook and Taste Soup class. This makes a huge amount. Feel free to halve the recipe.

Roux

1 lb Butter or Margarine

1 lb Flour

Roux Directions:

Melt butter, slowly add flour while stirring with a whisk. Mixture should be consistency of cream of wheat. Cook for 10 minutes while whisking to remove raw flour taste. Do not burn. Cool before using.

Soup

1 large onion diced

¼ Cup butter

1 Gallon chicken stock

1 Gallon milk or cream

2 lbs of Asparagus, chopped

2 TB pepper

3 TB Poultry seasoning

1 batch of Roux

Optional: Cheddar, swiss or any cheese shredded.

Directions:

Sauté onion in butter until soft. Add stock and vegetables. Strong simmer until veggies are tender (don’t overcook or they will lose their flavor.) Stir in seasonings and add milk or cream. Bring to a simmer. Add roux slowly so it blends in while soup returns to simmer. Add cheese and blend thoroughly. Serve warm.

 

Slow Cooker Lamb Stew

From Rachelle Hughes, Alive! Utah editor

“I make this lamb stew with locally bought lamb when I can get it.You may double this recipe. I only cook for 5 people and this recipe makes about 6 servings.”

Stew

1 lb lamb — cubed, browned and drained

salt and pepper

1 medium carrot sliced

2 to 3 potatoes peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 inches)

1 onion sliced thinly

1/8 Cup quick cooking tapioca

2 Cups water

1/2 Cup of chicken stock

1 Cup of frozen peas.

1 Bay leaf

Directions: Add vegetables to bottom of crockpot. Top with lamb. Sprinkle with Salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients, except for peas. Cooon low for 8 to 9 hours. Add peas. Turn on high and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Tip: If your stew seems too thick add another 1/2 to 1 Cup of chicken stock during the last 1/2 hour.

Italian Wedding Soup

From Glend Edmunds (Ivins) Southern Utah Food Blogger. Visit her blog Food Garden Recipes for Healthy recipes

Meatballs

¾ lb of ground turkey meat

1 egg

2 TB of Parmesan Cheese, grated

1 tsp oregano

1 ½ tso minced garlic

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

Soup

1 yellow onion, diced

1 TB of olive oil

8 Cups of chicken broth

½ C orzo pasta

1 TB of Italian seasoning

3 carrots diced

1 lb fresh spinach

Directions:

Dice one yellow onion and add this to your pot or pressure cooker with 1 TB of olive oil. Sauté until onions are translucent.

Next, add 8 cups of chicken broth. Add pasta, Italian seasoning and carrots. Bring to a simmer.

While the ingredients are simmering in the pot, begin making your meatballs. For perfect balls use a melon scoop. The meatballs should be smallish. Gently drop these into the simmering pot until you have made up all of the meatballs.

Add 1 pound of spinach to the pot, then shut your pressure cooker, and let it cook for 1 minute.

Release the steam, and slowly take off the lid. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 

Taco Soup

 

From Karynn, Jorgensen, photographer for Alive! Utah. This soup has a little kick that spices up winter blah days. But it’s best feature is how quick and easy it is to make. It can be thrown together in about 15 minutes.

Soup

2 or 3 cups shredded chicken (You can use canned chicken for this or a preroasted chicken)

1 can Corn with liquid

1 can Kidney beans with liquid

1 – 4 oz can Green chilies or add a jalapeno with its seeds for more heat

1/3 to 1/2 Cup salsa

1 can Stewed tomatoes chopped with liquid

1 to 2 Cans of Water

3 tsp chili powder for mild soup. Add more chili powder for more heat

1 Dash garlic powder

1 dash salt

1 or 2 squirts of lime juice (optional)

 

Toppings

Baked corn chips (we love the Chili lime chips by Tostitos) they add a little kick to the soup. If you don’t have the lime flavored chips, add a little lime juice.

Sour Cream

Grated Cheese

Directions: Combine all soup ingredients in a large pot and simmer until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Top with chips, cheese and sour cream.

Tip: If you want a thinner soup add more water.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

From Lara Reber (Cedar City) Mom of 5 and Elementary School choir director. This is pure comfort food for sore throats, stuffy noses and upset stomachs.

Soup

3 Cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded. I used a quart of my canned chicken (a post for another day)

2 Cans chicken broth

5 to 6 chicken bullion cubes

1/2 cup dehydrated carrots or chopped fresh carrots

2 stalks of celery sliced

1 onion sliced

1 Cup frozen peas

1 Pkg frozen Grandma’s brand wide egg, homestyle noodles

2 dashes of garlic powder

Allow frozen noodles to thaw while everything else is cooking. Cook chicken breasts and bullion in one gallon water, if using raw chicken.

Add vegetables to water and bullion. Cook until sligtly tender. Add cans of chicken broth. Add noodles one at a time to pot. Cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are al dente, stirring often. Add garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving Tip: Serve with a dollop of homemade sour cream or a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

From Stacey Stephenson (Cedar City) Mom, substitute teacher and cake decorator. This soup is outrageously delicious and so easy to make.

1 lb of mild Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

2 16 oz cans of chicken broth

1 can chopped or diced tomatoes

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 pkg of frozen 3 cheese tortellini

1 six ounce pkg of frozen spinach.

Directions:

Remove casings from sausage. Chop and brown sausage with onion until sasauge is cooked. Add garlic, saute (but do not brown) Add broth and tomatoes and simmer. Add frozen spinach. Cook until spinach is done. Add tortellini last and cook until al dente.

Tip: If you freeze the soup add the tortellini the day you serve it.

Texas Black Bean Soup

From Linne Marsh (Washington) Alive! Utah contributor and freelance writer. “I love to serve this with cornbread.”

Texas Black Bean Soup

From Linne Marsh, Alive! Utah contributor (St. George)

“I also like to serve this soup with corn bread.”

Yields 2 1/2 quarts serves 8 to 10

2 cans (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes or Mexican stewed tomatoes, cut up

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes or tomatoes with mild green chilies

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

1 can (11 oz) corn, drained

2 cans (4 oz each) chopped green chilies

4 green onions (thinly sliced)

2 to 3 Tbs chili powder (This makes it spicy, so if you can’t stand the heat, opt for 2 Tbs)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried minced garlic

In slow cooker, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. This soup is great vegetarian style, but if you are a meat lover you can add 1/2 pound of ground beef or shredded chicken.

 

7 sensational soups to keep you warm and well fed all winter. Enjoy.