Hi all.  I love fall, and the cool weather we have had here in MIssouri for the last two days.  I am afraid it is going to warm up again, and I don't want it to!  LOL  I love fall, the colors, the leaves, the pumpkins, wearing my favorite sweaters, hayrides, etc.  And I do love soup weather as well.  So I decided to share some of my families favorite fall soups and other recipes with you.  I love to cook, and love the compliments I get from my cooking, but like many of you, I simply don't have time to spend 2 hours in the kitchen preparing it!!  So most of mine are crockpot meals (saves electricity anyway), and other quick meals.  Well, here are a few:

1.  South of the Border Chicken Soup

(Serves 4-6??)

(I have posted this before, because I love this soup even in summer with fresh corn and tomatoes instead of frozen or canned, but it is especially good on those cold chilly days.  I shared the recipe with my friend tractorchick72 here on HSB and it is one of her new favs and she says her son loves it as well!!)

1 tsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups cooked adn shredded chicken

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chilli powder

2 cans (14.5 each) diced tomato

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 can (10 3/4 oz) can tomato soup

2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) chicken broth

Saute' garlic and onion in oil.  Stir in reamaing ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.  Optional: Garnish with a dollop of sour cream adn some crushed tortilla chips.  (Yes you can do this in the crockpot!!!!  Super easy!  And this soup freezes very well!)

Yummy Beef Stew

(serves 8)

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

3T vegetable oil, divided

1 cup water

3 large potatoes, peel and cubed (1 inch)

4 medium carrots, sliced

1 large green pepper, 1/2 inch cubes

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsps salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 T instant beef bouillon granules

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoews, undrained

Brown meat in oil in a Dutch oven.  Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours.  Stir in bouillon and tomatoes and heat through before serving.  (This recipe was from a Taste of Home book.  The original recipes calls to put the stew in a nice hollowed out pumpkin and bake it.  Then when scooping out the stew, you scrape the inside of the pumpkin to get some pumpkin in your stew as well.  I am not a real big pumpkin eater unless it is in pie, so I don't do this.  But it does sound interested and fancy doesn't it???)

3.  Broccoli Cheese Soup

(serves 4)

1 cup chopped broccoli

4 cups chopped fresh broccoli

2 cups peeled and diced red potato

1/2 tsps garlic powder

2 2/3 cups chicken broth

1 Bay leaf

3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

12 oz can evaporated milk

Saute' onion with non-stick cooking spray in a Dutch oven.  Add 2 cups broccoli, potato, garlic powder, bay leaf, and chicken broth; bring to a boil.  Cover, and reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Puree broccoli mixture in batches and then return to pan.  Stir in remaining broccoli, cheese and milk.  Cook until tender.

4.  Jeanie's Sausage Bean Chowder

This recipe came from my mom's best friend.  She died about 6 months before mom did and I was so glad when I went through my mom's recipes to find this one, still in Jeanie's handwriting on a recipe card!!!  This is one of hubby's favorites!!!)

(serves 6)

2 lbs sausage, browned and drained

2 (16 oz each) cans pinto beans

46 oz tomato juice

4-5 diced potatoes

1/3 cup dried onion

1/2 green pepper, diced

1 Bay Leaf

1/2 tsp each: thyme, and garlic salt

1 1/2 tsps Lowrey's seasoning salt

Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven (or crock pot) and simmer for 2 hours or until potatoes are done.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

5.  Best In The West Bean Bake

This recipe originally came from my Aunt Mary, my mom's sister, and now the whole family has this recipe and fixes it often.  It is like a baked bean soup almost, and don't forget to serve lots of cornbread with this one!!  YUMMY!!!!  This reminds me of deer season each year at my grandmother's.  They boys would gather early adn go hunting, and the women folk would gather early making hot soups and cornbread and biscuits, pies, cakes and cookies for the gentlemen.  At lunch time, the men came in to show down, and the women folk would clean up afterwards, and then add to if needed for supper.  Supper was the same, eating, and cleaning up.  But the times in between the kids played, the women sewed or crocheted, and visited.  I miss those times!

1 lb hamburger

1 onion, chipped

1 lb bacon, chopped

1/2 cup BBQ sauce  

4 T prepared mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

4 T brown sugar

16 oz can red kidney beans, undrained

16 oz can pork and beans, undrained

16 oz can butter beans, undrained

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Brown hamburger, bacon and onion in a Dutch oven.  Combine remaining ingredients and bake for 1 hour at 350.   Of course this is another that could be done in the crockpot.   The butter beans sound unusual??? Yeah, maybe it is.  I don't like butter beans, but I love them in this dish. LOL  If you don't like them, or the other beans, substitute your own choice.

6.  Easy Texas Chilli

1 lb lean ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups water

1 T chili opwder

1 tsp salt

16 oz can chilli beans, undrained

6 oz can tomato paste

Brown meat with onion and garlic in a Dutch oven until meat is no longer pink.  Return meat to pan and stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

7.  White Bean and Ham Soup

2 cans (15 1/2 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 carrots, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 T butter

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

1 bay leaf

Mash one can of beans, set aside.  IN a large saucepan, saute carrots and oinon in water and add remaining ingredients, including the mashed beans.  Cook over low heat until heated through and discard bay leaf before serving.

8.  Sausage With Four Beans

(serves 6)

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled Italian tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) of EACH : cannelli beans (or great northern), pinto beans, butter beans, kidney beans

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

2 garlic cloved, minced

1 Bay leaf

2 tsps dried parsley flakes

1 tsp dried basil

1.2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage links

4 pieces precooked bacon, crumbled

Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart crock pot, making sure to polke the sausages down into the liquid.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.  Cut sausages into serving size pieces and serve with bean mixture.

9.  French Onion Soup

(serves 6)

2 T butter

3 large onions, peeled and sliced

1 can (14 1/2 oz) beef broth

3 cups cold water

1 Bay leaf

6 sliced french bread, toasted

\1 cup shredded mozerella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a large skiller and cook onions over medium heat until golden brown.  Add broth, water, and Bay leaf.  Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and preheat broiler.  Ladle soup evenly into 6 ovenproof bowls.  Top each with a toast slice and sprinkle with mozerella and parmesan cheese.  Broil 5-10 minutes or just until cheese is golden.

10.  Italian Bread Soup

(serves 4)

2 cans (14 oz eac) chicken broth

4 cans (14.5 oz each) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undiced

3 cups Caesar-style croutons

1 cup chopped onion

1 pkt. ( 0.7 oz) Italian dressing mix

grated Parmesan cheese

shredded fresh basil

salt and pepper, to taste

In a slow cooker, combine chicken broth, tomatoes, croutons, onion and dressing mix. Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

I hope your family will love these soups as much as mine does.  Maybe you can start making your own family memories with these yummy cool weather soups.

Please feel free to print out these recipes.