Soup recipes from the RS Quarterly Birthday Party

Carloyn W. made two delicious soups for the Quarterly Birthday party and shared her recipes with us. The chicken noodle soup can be adapted to use up that leftover turkey meat. Some of my favorite memories of childhood involve eagerly deboning the leftover turkey, the seductive smell of the simmering broth and the toothsome bite of my Mom's homemade egg noodles, just the way I liked them... Happy Thanksgiving all!

Tomato Basil Soup

This recipe is super easy!  I used the recipe from the Cooking Light Soups cookbook, but added some things and changed the proportions slightly to match what I had on hand.  Here is the base recipe with my notes in parenthesis:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 shallots, minced (my addition)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
3-14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (I used Gourmet Garden basil- comes in a tube in produce section)
Whole basil leaves or chiffonade (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add shallots and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Stir in broth, salt and tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes.  Stir in sliced basil.

2. Place half of soup in a blender; process until smooth.  Pour pureed soup into a bowl; repeat procedure with remaining soup.  Ladle soup into individual bowls.  Garnish with whole basil leaves, if desired.  (We served with orzo pasta and heavy cream).  Yield: 4- 1 1/2 cup servings.


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I made this one up as I went along, but here's a description.
Clean out a whole chicken.  In a large stockpot, heat 2 Tbsp oil.  Add whole chicken, turning it occasionally to brown the sides.  Add 1 chopped white onion and sautee along with the whole chicken.  After all sides of the chicken are browned, fill the pot with water until it covers the chicken, about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the pot.  Add 3 bay leaves, thyme, black pepper and sea salt.  Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for 4-5 hours.  As the water evaporates, keep adding more to cover the whole chicken.
Remove the chicken as best you can (it will be very tender and break in several pieces).  Pour the broth through a strainer into a large bowl to strain out the onions, bay leaves, spices and additional chicken.  Pour the broth back into the stockpot.  Remove any additional chicken pieces from the strainer to be used in the soup.  Separate chicken from the bones, cut in bite-sized pieces and add back to the broth.
Bring the broth back to a boil.  Once boiling, add whatever chopped vegetables you want to use (I usually used onions, carrots, celery and peas) along with a bag of egg noodles (I usually use whole wheat egg noodles).  Cook until noodles and vegetables are tender.  Salt to taste.

Sheryl's note: To make thiswith leftover turkey, just remove the turkey meat from bones and place the full carass in a pot of water - the carass should fill the pot but you should still be able to place the lid on. Add 3 bay leaves, a sprig of thyme, pepper and salt. Proceed as Carolyn suggests, except do not add the cooked meat until the end so it is just warmed through and doesn't toughen. Peas can be added at the same time as the leftover turkey meat.