Potato Soup

4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
3 stalks finely chopped celery
1/2 finely chopped onion
3 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

1. Combine potatoes, celery, onion and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium then cook until potatoes are tender, 10-15 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk, avoiding lumps. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4-5 min.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 pkg quick cooking long grain and wild rice w/ seasoning packet
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
Fresh garlic, minced (3-4 large cloves)
Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

1. Saute carrots, celery, onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water, chicken and vegetables. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons , to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

4. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10-15 minutes.

Old-Time Beef Stew

Courtesy of Paula Deen

2 lbs. stew beef
2 T. vegetable oil
2 c. water
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1-2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
Dash ground allspice
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
6 new potatoes, diced
2 T. cornstarch

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, celery and potatoes. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Taco Soup

1lb lean ground beef
1 onion
2 cans black beans
2 cans Original Rotel Tomatoes
1 can whole kernal corn
1 Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packet
1 Taco Bell Taco seasoning packet
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz water

Brown beef with Ranch and Taco Seasoning and onion...Dump it all in a 6 quart stockpot and simmer until hot.

***This freezes VERY nicely! I like to freeze a few containers that feed the whole family and also a few individual containers for lunches and such...and depending on the price of your ground beef it costs about $8 to make!