Three soup recipes!

We had a birthday party recently, and we made three great soups that were each delicious! So in this colder time of year, here are some yummy soups to warm your mouth and belly!

The first one is from Allrecipes.com, called Sunday Gumbo. We don't usually cook with okra here, and it is unusual for us to buy shrimp. This tasty soup included both, and was nearly gone after our gathering! (It was gone before I got a picture of it, sorry!)

Sunday Gumbo Original Recipe Yield 16 servings 

Ingredients 

1 pound Italian sausage links, sliced 

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups frozen sliced okra

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, (we did it on the stove in a pot) brown sausage and chicken in oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. In the drippings, saute red pepper, onion and celery until tender. Stir in the seasonings; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, rice and sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.
2. Stir in tomatoes, shrimp and okra; cook for 10 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally.

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This second soup (below) was also popular, given to me by my mom, found in her Guideposts magazine, which she has received for years. She likes to give them to me when she is done reading them, and I enjoy 

the encouraging stories about the way God works. 

Warmhearted White Bean Chili

Need a comforting soup recipe? Cozy up to this twist on red bean chili!

By Brad Schlossman, Fargo, North Dakota

As appeared in
Brad Schlossman, CEO of the West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo, North Dakota, shares the recipe his wife added to the project.  When a mall food court came up with a creative way to help feed a food bank, many families contributed their favorite recipes to the cause.

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth (2 15-oz cans)

2 15-ounce cans white beans (rinse them first and they won't make you gassy)

4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped

½ cup onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 4-ounce cans green chiles

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 cup shredded cheese for garnish

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in stockpot except cheese. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for ½ to 1 hour, or longer. (We made it in a crockpot on low for about 4 hours)

2. Garnish with cheese and serve.

Serves 6

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The third one was also from my mom, and she found it in her CrockPot cookbook.

The Best Beef Stew
Makes 9 servings
prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 8-12 hours on low, 4-6 hours on high

Potatoes and beef= YUM!!

1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1" pieces
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 potatoes (I did 6 for our larger group)
1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped leek (I omitted this)
4 ribs celery, sliced
1 can chicken broth (1/2-1 cup, depending on how soupy you want it)
3 gloves garlic, minced (we left them whole)
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp water


Combine flour, salt and pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Add beef, shake bag to coat beef. Place beef in bottom of Crock Pot. Add tomatoes with juice, potatoes, sausage, leek, onion, celery, broth, garlic and thyme. Stir well.

Cover, cook on low for 8 hours or on High for 4-6 hours. One hour before serving, turn slow cooker to High. (I forgot to do this and the potatoes were a tad crunchy.) Whisk together 2 Tbsp flour and water in a small bowl, stir into slow cooker (to make gravy, which we didn't really want). Cover, cook until thicker.

This was a nice soup to be able to prepare the night before, and leave in the fridge overnight. Then I put the beef in the CrockPot with the veggies, and turned it on in the morning. It smelled soooo good all day!