Veggies and Pesto Soup

Today’s recipe is a super delicious yet simple vegetable soup, that becomes amazing with the addition of pesto.
It was definitely inspired by the well known french dish Soupe au Pistou.
I love it because it’s light tasting (no creams or extra carbs in this one) and makes eating your veggies for the day a pleasure!
It’s a great choice for a meatless monday dinner or vegetarian dish (use vegetable broth instead of chicken, omit cheese for dairy free), and is definitely suitable for dinner guest.
You can use a prepared pesto in this recipe, or make your own simple version (no nuts or cheese). Both taste great.
If you are craving a good spring soup give this recipe a try.

YUM!


VEGGIES AND PESTO SOUP
*serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled, diced
1 cup diced leeks
6 cups chicken (or vegetable broth for meatless/vegetarian)
1 potato, peeled, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 2-3 fresh sprigs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup diced green beans, blanched
1 tbsp pesto
1/2 cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium sized pot, heat oil over med heat.
Add onion and carrots, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add leeks, cook 5 minutes more.
Add broth, potato, tomato, bay leaf and thyme and stir to combine; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add blanched green beans and pesto and simmer 15 more minutes.
Ladle into individual bowls, top with parmesan and enjoy!
*blanching turns blah greyish green beans a beautiful bright green that looks so good in your dishes, so I highly recommend the extra step.
It is easy to do, simply bring a small pot of water to a boil, add beans and cook 3 minutes, drain and place in a bowl of very cold water for 5 minutes, drain and use as needed or store in fridge until needed
*if you want to serve this as a main dish to make it a bit more filling, you can add 1/2 to 3/4 cups soup noodles (such as orzo, ditini, stars, mini macaroni or small shells) to the pot at the same time you are adding green beans, proceed as per recipe but stir occasionally.

*to make your own simple pesto, simply place 1/2 cup packed basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup parmesan, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until almost smooth.



taken by : http://spreadinggoodtastes.com/veggies-and-pesto-soup/

Taco Soup Recipe

Taco Soup! A new adventure in bold flavor and filling soup. And can we say delicious?  Oh most definitely!

I was not exactly craving any particular food, just something good, with a little spice and easy to throw together so I look like I have been slaving over the stove all day and people will be bowing down when they taste it dish!! (Don’t have too many goals, do I?)  And yes, you may call me the princess of sarcasm, because I learned from my mama, the Queen.
So I’m pondering, searching on line, flipping through magazines and studying cookbooks to find another recipe.  Yes, I know I write a blog about gluten free food but looking for recipes is my favorite hobby and was way before the blog.
The only problem with searching, leafing and pondering is it always makes me hungry!!  Strange coincidence that.

So on one of  my recipe searches I began studying soups.  Most of them are gluten free, as long as you leave noodles out. I can live without noodles, just substitute rice, right?

Soups can cover a multitude of sins in the kitchen and be a fantastic way to save money and weight.
I am sure I do not have the only family that eats down to one serving and then decides they do not like or want any leftovers.  I tried to solve the problem of not wasting food by eating it and then had a weight problem to deal with!
So now, when we get to that last small leftover that everyone acts like they can’t see; it goes in the soup pot with some robust seasoning and wha-la, they think I am the meal genius!!

This Taco Soup is an all time favorite.  It has a bold flavor and can easily be made even more bold with whatever spices you love.

It is one of those easy meals requiring very little prep work, but with fantastic results.
I mean how hard is it to chop some onions and brown some meat?  And with my handy dandy can opener, attack those cans, dump, dump, stir, heat and
the cooking award goes to ME!

My family loves the bold flavors found in Taco seasoning, but I usually mix my own: some chili powder, some cumin added to tomatoes and beans makes for some tasty taco flavors in our house!

This soup is the best of both worlds: it is great piping hot or even chilled, I love it both ways.
So the outcome of all this?

Wonderful, bold, delicious, easy to make Taco Soup! Oh, and don’t forget the corn chips!

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Taco Soup Recipe

 

Author: lets be yummy

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can Ro-Tel
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cans beans*
• 2 cans corn
• 1 package taco season mix**

Instructions

1. Brown meat and onion in a stock pot.
2. Drain any fat off the meat.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, liquid from the cans also.

Notes

*I have used pinto, kidney, and black beans. I usually use two different beans in a recipe but you could use two cans of the same type bean.
**You can substitute chili powder and cumin for a package of taco seasoning mix.
I have also used the Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party dip mix.

taken by : http://letsbeyummy.com/2015/02/15/taco-soup-recipe/

Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

My Nona (grandmother) makes Italian Wedding Soup for big family dinners. So, I made it for an Italian themed dinner and it was delicious! I have made the soup before at a cooking class but this time I was on my own. It is a very easy soup if you have already made the meatballs so I suggest making them before hand. I also suggest sautéing the onions first for better flavours.

Italian Wedding Soup

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

This delicious Italian wedding soup is easy to make and was traditionally served at Italian weddings. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• ½ pound extra-lean ground beef
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 onion
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 5¾ cups chicken broth
• 2 cups thinly sliced escarole
• 1 cup uncooked orzo or pastina pasta
• ⅓ cup finely chopped carrot

Instructions

1. In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into ¾ inch balls. Cook in oven for 5 - 10 min.
2. In large pot cook onions for a few minutes, in the same pot heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

3.2.2885

taken by : http://icookandcode.com/italian-wedding-soup-recipe/