Simple Soups

Although I share a lot of recipes that I find in my cookbooks and online, I do know how to whip things up from scratch too.  One of the my favourite things to eat in the winter is soup.  Homemade soups are pretty easy to make because they don't require exact measurements.  To make both of these soups I used a blender.  If you are in the market for a blender I am currently coveting the Vitamix Blender.  I don't yet own this beautiful piece of equipment but when I do (my finacee has promised me one after our wedding in February) you will hear about.  I don't like my blender but until I can an upgrade it will have to do.

The other thing I love about soups is that you can get 2-3 servings of vegetables in one bowl without even thinking about it.  These two recipes will give you a great base for soup making and I recommend playing around with your ingredients and seasoning a bit to come up with something unqiue.  Also it is all about the garnish.  Nothing makes a soup look complete than a tasty garnish.  These soups both last several days in the fridge and I like to reheat on the stove in a small pot because it just tastes better than reheating in the mircowave.  Finally both of these soups are naturally thick so there is no need to add flour making them naturally gluten-free.  Oh yeah, one more thing, I forgot to take a picture of the potato soup.  Sorry, it is was so good it slipped my mind.

Roasted Red Pepper with Sweet Potato Soup

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion (yellow or white), chopped
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 small or 1 large sweet potato, thoroughly washed and cubed
4 red peppers
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock (more or less is ok depending on the size of container you buy)
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
other spices as desired
Chives, green onion, walnuts, sour cream or yogurt all make great garnishes

1.  In a medium sized soup pot heat oil on medium heat and saute oil and garlic until translucent.  Add sweet potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cover.
2.  Put oven rack on the top row.  Turn oven on to broil.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.  Cut peppers lengthwise, cut out stem, seeds and white membrane.  Then cut lengthwise in half again.  Place peppers skin side up on cookie sheet.  Put in oven until pepper skins are fully blackened. Remove from over and put peppers into a bowl and cover for 10-15 minutes.
3.  Carefully remove blackened skin from peppers with a paring knife.  They should come off easily.  Disgard skins and chopped peppers and add to pot.  Add spices.
4.  Allow to simmer until sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
5.  Start blending soup in a blender.  This part can be a touch messy.  I recommend using another pot or large bowl and blending the soup in batches.  Do not fill your blender more than 2/3 full or you will be splattered with hot soup.  I recommend using a ladel to scoop soup into blender.  Blend on medium to high until soup is smooth or to your desired consistency.
6.  Serve soup in bowls and add garnishes according.

Leftover Mashed Potato and Bacon Soup

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion (yellow or white), chopped
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
4-6 cups leftover mashed potatoes (if you don't have left over potatoes then cook potatoes in broth similar to recipe above).  Also I make my mashed potatoes with the skin on.  And this adds nicely to the  soup
1/2 - 1 package of cooked bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces.  I cook my bacon in the oven.
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
green onion, chives, grated cheese, crumbled bacon make great garnishes

1.  In a medium sized soup pot heat oil on medium heat and saute oil and garlic until translucent.  Add stock and bring to a boil.
2.  Add remaining ingredients less garnishes.
3. Let simmer covered until ready to serve.
4. Pour into bowls and add garnish.

* You may want to add a little milk to the soup for extra creaminess.