'Tis the season...

...for soups, that is! It has JUST started to get chilly around here, and I have immediately found myself craving a big pot of a hearty soup. I love to make a pot of something on Sunday and then eat it for lunch the rest of the week - it's so easy to just divide it up right away, then grab a container from the fridge and go.

I thought I'd share a couple of my tried-and-true soup recipes with you, in case you are looking for a little inspiration. Here are three that I've made and loved (and the husband did, too!).

Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar

from Smitten Kitchen

This is a recipe I go back to time and time again - the freshly roasted tomatoes give it amazing flavor (read: it doesn't taste like watery ketchup) and the broiled cheddar toast on top pushes it over the edge. I could eat this all winter!

Paula Deen's Black Bean Soup

from Something New is Cooking blog; 

originally from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine

I can no longer find the original source that I got this recipe from, but a quick Google search led me to several bloggers who had the same recipe I did. This is definitely a good weeknight recipe - the soup comes together in about a half-hour, and it's got great flavor from the mix of spices (and bacon!). We love to pair this with simple grilled cheese. The black beans provide all the protein you need in one meal, but a good dipper is a delicious accompaniment.

Cheesy Chicken and Potato Chowder

from The Comfort of Cooking

This was a new recipe that I tried last year, and it was a home run. It's luscious and rich, without being totally over the top. The creaminess comes from using freshly-grated sharp cheddar and a roux, along with skim milk - no heavy cream to be found. It's another one that is pretty quick to prepare, especially if you use leftover chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Shortcuts are the way to go!

What are some of your favorite soup recipes? If all else fails, chili is a standard back-up recipe in our house. We almost always have all the ingredients with need to pull a pot together - no two batches are the same, for sure, but it always turns out to be delicious.

White Bean Chicken Chili

A few snow days ago, my sister posted a picture to Instagram that totally made my taste buds jealous. She was using her day off to make a big pot of white bean chicken chili. I knew I had to recreate it as soon as possible!

My sister and I generally cook chili the same way: throw a lot of things in a pot, and keep adding things until it tastes right. Sometimes the method turns out better than others, obviously, but it almost never goes completely wrong. I knew I could use her picture of her ingredients to make a batch of my own that would be just as delicious.

This past Friday was cold and rainy - typical January weather around here. The Caps were playing that night, my cold was still hanging around, and curling up in front of the TV to watch hockey with a big bowl of chili sounded perfect to me. I had just about all the ingredients I needed to make Nat's non-recipe recipe, so, after a quick trip to the store, I was ready to go. This chili came together in next to no time (maybe 20 minutes!), and then simmered away for a few hours, making the house smell amazing! It was so hearty and delicious that I knew I had to share it here.

Keep in mind, these measurements are generally estimates - chili is very forgiving as far as ingredients go. If you have more specific questions about what I include, feel free to email me. I'll help as much as I can!

White Bean Chicken Chili
makes ~6 servings

Ingredients

• 2-3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 can diced green chiles 
• 2 cans diced tomatoes 
• 1 can corn, drained 
• 2 cans great northern beans, drained 
• 2/3 box chicken broth (may need a little more or less) 
• 1/2 cup spicy v8
• Juice from 1 lime 
• Chili powder 
• Cumin 
• Salt 
• Pepper 

Directions

1. In a soup pot, season chicken with salt and pepper, then sauté chicken, onions, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat until chicken is almost fully cooked (or fully, if you want to be safe). 
2. Add chiles, corn, diced tomatoes, and beans, and stir to combine. 
3. Add enough chicken broth to just about cover all ingredients, then add V8 and lime juice. 
4. Add chili powder and cumin to taste – start with a few tablespoons of chili powder and a teaspoon of cumin, and add more to taste, if needed. 
5. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. 
6. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and shredded cheddar!

WIAW: freezing cold edition

Y'all. We are officially in the midst of a cold freezing front! When I woke up yesterday morning, it was in the 50s, and by noon, it was in the 30s! I hear that some people even witnessed the first few snowflakes of the season. Feeling more like January than November around these parts, that's for sure. If you need me, you can find me snuggled under a blanket somewhere... or at least wishing I was.

I'm linking up for What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) again this week, so.... bring on the eats!

3/4 of the items in this picture are real shockers, aren't they?? No? Well... whatever. That top-right picture should throw you off a bit, though! Yesterday at work, I kid you not, there were three giant boxes of doughnuts from Dunkin' and a giant bag of Halloween candy. The fact that I managed to go the whole day and only have half a doughnut should be considered nothing short of a small miracle. My sweet tooth was sad.

Lunch was leftovers, per usual, and was really delicious! Since we had Monday off work, we decided to grill, so I pulled a package of bratwursts out of the freezer. We paired that with steamed broccoli and mayo-less potato salad (which I absolutely love). The potato salad turned out better than usual - I may have to recreate and get that recipe up here for you guys! It's quick and easy, and makes a great weeknight side dish.

Mid-afternoon, I went for a paper cup of pretzels (like a kindergartner, right??) - these are actually "pretzel puffs" with air in the middle... kind of weird. They made my mouth dry. Not the best snack I've ever had. Womp, womp.

Dinner last night was exactly what we were needing, given the frigid temps outside: homemade chicken noodle soup, courtesy of my sweet husband, with cheese toast on the side. I had some smoked Gouda in the fridge that I needed to use, and I pictured this getting melty and delicious... ummmmmm, no. I think something about the "smoked"ness of the cheese prevented it from melting the way regular Gouda does, and it just started blistering and getting weird instead. It still tasted delicious, but it definitely wasn't what I was imagining. C'est la vie!

We've got lots of soup left, and it will make perfect leftovers this week. At this point in the season, I can pretty much just leave my soup pot on the stove, because it will be in use constantly! There is truly nothing like a warm, hearty bowl of soup / stew / chili when the weather gets cold. What's your favorite recipe?

Crockpot Split Pea & Ham Soup

Here's the deal: I currently have a lot of ham. Like, a LOT, a lot. My in-laws (who are awesome! Hi Jack & Robin!) brought a ham for our New Year's Eve party, and while it was delicious, not very much of it actually got eaten. So I'm left with a LOT of ham leftovers, which means I'm working to find delicious, creative recipes to use up the ham, so that we aren't stuck eating ham sandwiches for every single meal. A girl can only have so many ham sandwiches.

One of my all-time favorite things that my mom makes is split pea and ham soup. I think pea soup is one of those things that you either love or hate (and it probably depends on the recipe you first experience). Personally, I love it. Specifically, I love my mom's, which is creamy and smooth, full of chunks of softened veggies like carrots and celery, and spotted with salty chunks of ham. I decided to use some of my ham to recreate my mom's soup - with a few changes, of course!

Crockpot Split Pea & Ham Soup
lightly adapted from About.com - Southern Food

Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
• 3-4 cups diced ham
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 1/2 qts. chicken broth

Directions
Spray crockpot lightly with cooking spray. Layer all ingredients into crockpot in order given - do not stir or combine. Pour chicken broth over the top of all other ingredients, and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. When finished cooking, gently stir to combine, and mash peas with the back of a spoon if necessary. Serve hot with crusty bread!

Terrible iPhone picture. Normal. Check those veggies, though! And ham! Yum.

~~~~~

The main difference between this soup & my mom's is that she doesn't use a crock pot - she makes the "simmering on the stove all afternoon" version. For me, though, a crock pot version was ideal. I layered all the ingredients in the night before, then C poured the chicken broth in and turned it on in the morning before we left for work. When we got home, we stirred it up, and there was a giant, hot pot of soup waiting for our dinner. Couldn't have asked for anything better!

Given how much ham we have, I added a lot - definitely closer to 4 cups diced. I liked it that way, though. I also prefer mine a bit saltier than my mom makes it, so I added a little more salt than was probably ideal (it needed a bit of watering down, to be honest, but it definitely wasn't inedible. I liked it - C thought it was a bit much). We froze half of it to eat later, I took it for lunch one day, and we had it for dinner a second night. That makes... 10 servings of soup? So cheap, so easy, so delicious. Winner, winner, split pea dinner!