Easy and Nutritious Soups

There is nothing quite like a warm, nutritious and delicious bowl of soup to chase away that winter chill. Soups are easy to prepare and can provide a complete meal in one dish.

Top Tips for Soup Making

Soups are prepared using a stock. Homemade stock is made by slowly simmering meat, fish, vegetables, ad/or bones in water with seasonings, then straining before adding other ingredients.Good-tasting, time-saving stocks can be prepared using cubes or envelopes of beef, chicken, or vegetable-flavored bouillon, cans of condensed broth or consommé, and dried soup mixes.

Canned Soups. To avoid the "straight-from-the-can" taste of canned soup, try mixing soup combinations (such as beef broth with tomato soup or cream of mushroom soup with chicken and rice soup). Add more vegetables and a touch of your favorite spices.

Sauté vegetables in margarine or oil before adding them to soup. This seals in their flavor and keeps them firm. Give onions a little extra cooking time: slow cooking brings out their natural sweetness.

Most soups improve with age and can be made a day or two in advance and leftovers freeze well.

It is easy to remove fat from a soup if you chill it first. The fat will solidify on top and can be easily removed with a spoon.

For soup with a rich brown color, brown meat carefully before adding to soup stock. Add a little bouillon to a cream soup or a weak homemade stock to increase flavor.

Soup can be thickened with flour or cornstarch. Blend either one with an equal amount of liquid from the soup to form a "slurry". (General rule: One tablespoon of flour will thicken about 1 ½ cups of soup, and one tablespoon of cornstarch will thicken about 3 cups of soup.) Gradually add the slurry to the simmering soup. Cook and stir constantly until the soup is thickened and the uncooked starch flavor disappears.

Chicken and Rice Vegetable Soup (Serves 12)

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onionchopped

2-3 Tablespoons margarine

8 cups water

4 cups cooked chicken or turkey, shredded

1 cup carrots, diced 1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes

8 teaspoons granulated chicken bouillon

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

¼- ½ teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

2/3 cup long-grained rice, uncooked

In a large pot, cook celery and onion in margarne until tender; stir in water, chicken, carrots tomatoes, bouillon, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf; stir in rice. Cook 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Nutrition Facts (per serving): Calories 170, Fat 4.5 g, Calories from Fat 40, Sodium 1100mgTotal Carbohydrate 15 g.

Corn Chowder Serve 4

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons celery, finely diced

2 Tablespoons onion, finely diced

2 Tablespoons green pepper, finely diced

1-10 oz. Pkg. Frozen whole kernel corn

1 cup raw potatoes, diced, ½ -inch

1 cup water

¼ teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

¼ teaspoon paprika

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups low-fat (1%) or skim milk

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add celery, onion, and green pepper, and saute for 2 minutes. Add corn, potatoes, water, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Place 1/2 cup milk in a jar with tight-fitting lid. Add flour and shake vigorously. Graually add to cooked vegetables and add remaining milk. Cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Nutrition Facts (per serving):Calories 190, Fat 4 g, Calories from Fat 35, Sodium 220 mg, Total Carbohydrate 32 g.

- Barbara Farner, Extension Educator Nutrition & Wellness, Matteson Center