Ham and Potato soup

allrecipe.com

Can you ever have too many soup recipes? I have a huge bag of potatoes that I need to use up and I grew up on potato soups so what better way to use them (besides a baked potato) then in a soup its a win win right ;) I however am not a fan of ham but trying to be an awesome mother and wife I still make ham for my family because they love it. I made one the other night and had sooo much leftover so after making grilled cheese with ham (mine was grilled cheese with jalapenos) I decided to make this soup. I was shocked how much I actually liked it I didn't even pick my ham out...nope I just pulled my big girl pants up and ate it. In fact this may be one of my favorite soup recipes! So don't blow this one off because you are picky like me :) Try it you may like it. On the original post about this the lady says the best part is you can use as many potatoes or as much ham as you want and boy did I ever. I decided that more goes further so I added what I thought was a good amount and it was pure HOT deliciousness!!!



3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery (I left this out because I didn't have any and you know how I feel about running to the store for one thing)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk


Directions
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Allrecipes.com

I don't know about you but I have been freezing my behind off. Winter is coming and I am not excited. I am not a winter person, I don't like to be cold at all. I am not one of those fun moms that go out and throw snowballs in the winter and I rarely help make snowmen. I'm not a scrooge or anything I just hate the cold! I am living in the wrong area I know. The best part of winter is hands down homemade soups!! There are so many possibilities some using leftovers some that you make a ton and then eat them for leftovers all week. This one made the whole house smell so yummy we couldn't wait to eat it. THIS IS MADE IN THE CROCK POT SO IT DOES TAKE AWHILE TO COOK!! After its all done you can place toppings on the table for people to garnish with. Toppings can include: cheese, avocado, fresh squeezed lime juice, etc.




1 pound shredded, cooked chicken ( I did this in the crock pot the day before)
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
I ADDED a can of black beans to ours and it was great!!
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas*
vegetable oil*




Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

**Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

Now if you don't want to make your own tortilla strips then you can do what we did and just use corn tortilla chips it just keeps life a little simpler.