Thick and Creamy Split Pea Soup

There is nothing like home-made Split Pea Soup. Will you be gone all day? Do the prep work the night before, and let your crock pot do the cooking (see the alternate cooking method below).

We prefer a faster method, using a ceramic coated cast iron dutch oven.

Split peas, though high in carbs, is low calorie. A one cup cooked serving contains about 230 calories. One serving also contains over 700mg of Potassium, provides 16g of dietary fiber (more than half the daily recommendation) and packs 16g of protein (about 1/3 of the daily recommendation).

Split peas, though high in carbs, is low calorie. A one cup cooked serving contains about 230 calories. One serving also contains over 700mg of Potassium, provides 16g of dietary fiber (more than half the daily recommendation) and packs 16g of protein (about 1/3 of the daily recommendation).

Vitamins and minerals include Vitamins B6,  C, E, K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper Manganese, Selenium, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Choline.

Eighteen Amino Acids are also present in cooked split peas.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry split green peas, soaked, sorted and rinsed

2 cups of finely diced, cooked ham (or none for vegetarian preference)

3 carrots, finely chopped or shredded per your preference

1/2 cup diced onions

2 ribs celery, including leaves, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

12-15 sprigs of parsley, chopped, about 1/4 cup

1 tbsp salt or seasoning salt or your favorite blend of seasonings

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1.5 quarts of water (we used home-made chicken broth)

Method:

Using Dutch Oven on stove, low-boil Peas, bay leaf and seasoning in liquid for about one hour.

Remove bay leaf. With immersion blender, potato masher, or blender, purée the peas. Pour back into Dutch Oven, add other ingredients and simmer an hour or two until other vegetables are softened to your preference. 

SLOW COOKER - ALTERNATE METHOD: 

Layer carrots, celery and the other ingredients in crock pot. Pour water gently over layers. Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours OR Low for 8-10 hours, until peas are soft. Remove bay leaf, mash the peas to thicken, or stir to blend soup.

Portuguese Chourico and Kale Soup

Customer Gini Hayles so kindly shared a wonderful soup recipe using lots of different vegetables, and works with any type of meat, too. (thank you, Gini!)

She found the recipe here at the food network.

Doesn't Gini's photo make you want to rush over to her home to enjoy a nice bowl? Let's all invite ourselves.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium white waxy potatoes, like yukon golds, peeled and diced

2 medium onions, chopped

4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves, fresh or dried

1 pound kale, coarsely chopped

Coarse salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzos (chick peas), drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pound diced chourico, casing removed

1 quart chicken broth

Warm, crusty bread

Directions

Heat oil in a deep pot over medium high heat. Add potatoes and onions, cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic, bay leaves, and kale to the pot. Cover pot and wilt greens 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomatoes, chourico, and broth to the pot and bring soup to a full boil. Reduce heat back to medium and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

Serve soup with hunks of crusty bread and butter.

White Bean Soup

A big batch of this soup makes future meals convenient. We freeze individual size portions to be used at a convenient time.

Is your family on the run some nights? Need a meal which lasts on the stove for hours in order to accommodate everyone's schedule? 

This is a perfect answer to weekly meal planning. 

Prep Time: 1 hour (but we recommend soaking the beans overnight)

Cook Time: 2 -4 hours 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried white beans, sorted and rinsed, soaked overnight 

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 2 cups water

• 1 smoked ham hock

• 3/4 cup chopped carrots

• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion

• 2 gloves garlic, crushed and chopped

• 2 teaspoons dried parsley

• 1 1/4 teaspoons sage

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed rosemary

• 1/8 teaspoon (pinch) dried basil

Preparation:

• Cover the beans with 1 inch of water and soak them overnight, or bring them to a rapid boil, cover and set aside for 1 hour. 
• Drain the beans. Note: Canned Beans may be substituted if in a hurry. Dry beans are more cost effective.
• Place in large pot with other ingredients. 
• Bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat and allow the soup to cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until the beans are tender. 
• Cut ham from bone and put meat into soup.
• For creamier soup, place mixture into blender, placing hand on top of blender lid for safety.
• Serve hot.
• This herbed white bean soup makes 8 to 10 servings.

Black Bean Soup with "Green Sauce"

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence, Food Network

Though Tyler's complete recipe is shown below, we did not whip up his yummy Crema recipe.

This soup was difficult to photograph because it is so dark in color, but the flavor is delicious! (photos from Jack's kitchen)

Ingredients

    * 1 pound dried black beans

    * 4 cloves garlic

    * 2 onions, roughly chopped

    * 1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

    * 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro

    * Extra-virgin olive oil

    * 2 sprigs fresh oregano

    * 2 tablespoons ground cumin

    * 1 smoked ham hock

    * 1 jalapeno, split

    * 1 3/4 quarts low-sodium chicken stock

    * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crema:

    * 1 cup sour cream

    * 2 teaspoons lime zest

    * Lime wedges, for garnish

    * Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Pick through the beans and discard any debris - wash under cold running water. In a food processor, add garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro.

Set a large pot over medium heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add the oregano and cumin. Add vegetable puree and saute until just fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Add beans, ham hock, jalapeno, and stock. Slightly cover and simmer for 2 hours until beans are tender.

When cooked, remove bay leaves and take out ham hock. Cut ham meat off the bone, cut into pieces and set aside.

Using a blender or immersion blender, puree just enough of the beans and stock (about a third of the total pot) to thicken up the soup and bring everything together. Season with salt and pepper and fold ham meat back into the soup.

Make the crema by combining sour cream and zest. Serve each soup with a spoonful of lime crema, a squeeze of lime and some fresh cilantro.

Yellow Squash Soup

This delicious squash soup recipe was submitted by customer Jill Yelverton (April 2012).

Perfect for freezing, Jill's wonderful soup offers a flavorful and pleasant surprises.

(Many thanks to Jill for sending it)

Note: We enjoyed the flavor so much without the evaporated milk, that we left that ingredient out. So please use your imagination to visualize the extra creaminess the evaporated milk would have provided.

Ingredients:

•             1 1/2 pounds yellow summer squash

•             2 tablespoons butter

•             1 medium onion, sliced

•             1/4 lemon, sliced, seeds removed

•             1/4 cup flour

•             6 cups chicken broth

•             1 teaspoon salt

•             1/4 teaspoon white pepper

•             3 to 4 grinds of fresh nutmeg or dash of ground nutmeg

•             1 cup evaporated milk

Preparation:

Wash, slice and cut squash, onions, lemon.

In a large saucepan, melt butter; gently saute onion and lemon. 

Sprinkle with flour and cook slowly, stirring, until flour is absorbed. Add chicken broth gradually, then sliced squash, salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour. 

Puree soup in blender or food processor. Add nutmeg. 

NOTE: for safety reasons, pour until blender is 1/3 to 1/2 full, and keep your hand on the top of the lid, because hot liquid responds differently to blending than cooler foods.

To heat, stir in evaporated milk with a wire whisk and cook over low heat. Do not allow to boil. Garnish cream of squash soup with reserved squash slices.

Squash soup serves 8.

We found this soup extremely flavorful, and light. It's perfect alone, as a side, or in a cup. Thank you, Jill, for sharing your fantastic recipe!

Jack's Chicken Collard Soup

Ingredients:

1 singing chef  

1 chicken

2 celery stalks

1 rough cut onion

bouquets of your favorite fresh herbs

salt and pepper to taste

later add:

bunch of collards

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

For rich flavor, use fresh thyme, parsley and rosemary bouquets, or any fresh herbs your family enjoys. 

In our home, Jack returns from the herb garden singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair” -- “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme”.

The singing is guaranteed to produce a broth even richer in flavor.

Wash one chicken and place in Dutch oven, crock pot or large stock pot with a few celery stalks, rough-cut onion, bouquets of your favorite fresh herbs and seasonings, cover with water and simmer until meat falls off bones.

While chicken is boiling (about 1 hour on stove), cut, peel, dice, chop your favorite vegetables and greens. In this recipe, Jack added collards, carrots, celery and onion to the chicken. If using Swiss Chard or Spinach, we suggest adding the greens about 5 minutes before serving soup. Add white beans if a little more texture is desired.

Skin and debone the chicken, cutting into bite size pieces.

Place back into soup pot, cover with stock from boiling, and add vegetables. If more stock is desired, add store-bought or previously-frozen broth.

Serve with homemade herb bread.

(click here for recipe)

Enjoy! Be sure to freeze your left overs for quick sides and meals on busy days!

Turkey and Swiss Chard Soup

Turkey and Chicken soups are easy recipes because they make their own flavorful broth. It’s especially economical when poultry leftovers are utilized in making soups and stews. 

In our home we sometimes slow cook a whole bird. Other times we use leftovers or even just “the bones” to create that flavor which makes soups so yummy.

In this case, turkey leftovers were boiled with bay leaves, pepper corns, fresh rosemary and basil, and several other favorite seasonings.

The refrigerator was raided for any leftover veggies, and the freezer was searched for bags containing enough veggies to save them from being placed in the compost heap.

After the turkey was sufficiently cooked, excess fat and unwanted seasoning “dregs” were removed. Turkey was taken off the bone, and set aside. 

Carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, and celery were cooked. Then peppers, field peas, green beans, green peas, and corn were added. Finally, the turkey was plopped back in with the diced swiss chard. Swiss Chard is great because it offers lots of flavor. Stalks and leaves may both be used. I always add the swiss chard, spinach or bok choy at the last minute when making soups and stews, to keep the nutrition level high.

Soups are fantastic meals and sides - perfect for the freezer, and quick meals on days where cooking is not possible. We enjoy taking advantage of the Beasley pesticide-free greens by chopping them and placing in the freezer for future use.

The simple, delicious soup below was made using Chicken broth, zipper peas, onions, chopped swiss chard and herbs.

Don's Sausage and Lentil Soup

Today we are sharing one of my "soup-a-holic" Dad's hearty, delicious soups. Feel free to substitute fresh ingredients for dried or canned items listed below.

Ingredients:

1 carrot, diced                         2 cups dried lentils

2 stalks of celery, diced          1 tsp salt

1 large onion, chopped            ¾ tsp black pepper

2 cloves crushed garlic            ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1# hot Italian Sausage             ½ tsp oregano

8 cups of chicken broth          ½ tsp thyme

2 cans tomatoes                      ½ tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute until tender.
2. Remove vegetables from the pan and add Italian Sausage, removed from the casing. Brown and drain off fat.
3. In a large stockpot, place add chicken broth, vegetables and sausage. Open tomatoes, break them up by squeezing them with your hands and add to the soup along with the juice.
4. Add the lentils.
5. Season with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and fennel seeds.
6. Simmer until the lentils are tender…45-60 minutes. Remove 1/3 of the soup and puree it using a blender or hand held mixer, then return to the pot.
7. Taste for seasoning…if needed add whatever.

Hearty Chicken Soup

Jack's Hearty Chicken Soup

    

Chicken soup has long been a comfort food.

Add your family's favorite vegetables; potatoes, noodles or rice; and simmer.

Cut one chicken and place in dutch oven or large soup pot.

Cover with water and boil with your favorite seasonings until chicken is tender.

(salt, pepper, oregano, garlic)

For rich flavor, use fresh thyme and rosemary.

While chicken is boiling (about 1 hour), cut, peel, dice, chop your favorite vegetables.

For nutrition, try chopped turnips.

Skin and debone the chicken, cutting into bite size pieces.

Place back into soup pot, cover with stock from boiling, and add vegetables.

If more stock is desired, add store-bought or previously-frozen broth.

Because turnips are low in calories and carbohydrates,

they make a great starch substitute. Otherwise, add rice or noodles.

Enjoy! Be sure to freeze your left overs for quick sides and meals on chilly days!

Jack’s EASY Ginger & Nutmeg Carrot Soup

We enjoy our soups, and find it convenient to make a large kettle, freezing several individual and family size portions for future meals. 

A quick thaw and "soup's on!"

Ingredients:

2 lbs carrots, rough cut

6 cups of chicken broth (or your favorite stock)

1 rough cut onion

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

(OPTIONAL: cinnamon or more nutmeg)

Many recipes include brown sugar and half & half. Striving to exclude excess sugar and fat from the soup, we eliminated both, and found the flavorful carrots sweet in themselves.

Method:

Saute onion in olive oil.

Add carrots and 4 cups of chicken broth.

In covered pot, boil carrots until tender.

Cool slightly.

A little at a time, add cooked mixture to blender.

Caution: (do not fill blender completely -- about half way -- as the heat may blow the top off the blender)

After mixture is blended, return to pot and add seasonings, and remaining two cups of broth.

When serving, add toppings of fresh sour cream, cut scallions, sprig of mint or basil, or freshly ground nutmeg.

mmmmmm! Delicious. It’s one of our favorites!

Cabbage Soup

Having originated in western Europe, cabbage is a very sturdy vegetable which was domesticated about 200 years ago. Prior to that time, cabbage was picked wild as a medicinal herb. Used in coleslaw, soups, salads, casseroles, sauerkraut and a variety of side dishes, cabbage is low in calories and big in flavor. Instead of lettuce, try cabbage in salads, sandwiches, wraps or tacos, particularly in hot weather.

Cabbage Soup

One head of Cabbage, chopped.

Onions, beans, carrots, lentils, celery, peppers and your favorite vegetables, chopped.

Your favorite seasonings.

Simmer for hours until the house smells yummy and the vegetables have softened.

Serve with Grilled Tomato and Cheese sandwiches, Whole Wheat Muffins or Cornbread.

For a change in taste, try adding white "navy" beans for extra texture and protein.

Collard Green Soup

Many Greens like Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Spinach and all lettuces are among my favorite veggies! But there is something too bitter or "texturie" about traditional Southern Greens for me. Recently, Jack created a wonderful soup using those beautiful and nutritious collards, and I couldn't get enough. Maybe this recipe will convert you? Make a big batch and freeze several individually-sized portions for future meals. (Take advantage of those pesticide-free collards while they are in season!)

Since this is Thanksgiving Week, try using home made turkey brother, and left over (even unwanted parts?) turkey to make your soup!

Jack’s Collard Green Soup

1 (8-ounce) ham hock

2 (32-ounce) containers chicken broth

3 bacon slices, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup diced onion

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

2-4 ounces Chorizo sausage, sliced

1 mess fresh, pesticide-free collard greens, chopped into 1” squares

1 teaspoon kosher salt (if desired)

1 teaspoon pepper

1 carrot, shredded

2 celery stalks, diced

Prepare fresh Collards.

Boil ham hock and broth in a large pot; Add sliced chorizo sausage, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. (if desired, add a few more cups of water for a less stew-like soup). 

Cook chopped bacon in medium-hot skillet until crisp; remove bacon,

and drain on paper towels, saving the drippings in skillet.

Sauté onion and celery in drippings 5 minutes or until tender in bacon drippings; add bacon.

Stir flour and 1/2 cup water together until smooth (no lumps allowed). 

Stir into bacon, onion and celery mixture.

Stir bacon mixture and collard greens into broth mixture.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour or until collards are

tender.

Remove ham hock. After allowing to cool somewhat, remove meat from bone, dice meat, and add met to soup mixture.

Yields: 12-15 cups.

Prep: 10-20 min.; 

Cook: 1.5 - 2 hours

Prep time varies, depending how much has been previously frozen when greens are in season. This is an excellent freeze-able dish for a yummy meal when time is scarce.