Shannon: Melissa's Amazing Turkey-Vegetable Chowder

At Gina Detlor's baby shower a few months back, Melissa Allestad made this chowder ... and I have to tell you, it's delicious. We usually just about live on Cabbage Patch Soup in the winter, but I think this year we'll be living on CPS and Melissa's chowder.

Thanks for sharing, Melissa! (BTW--Melissa just created a blog. Visit her at: Sunny Acres.

Turkey-Vegetable Chowder

This is my family's very favorite fall soup. I usually double the recipe for our family of 6, and we usually don't have leftovers. Very good with a loaf of nice crusty bread!

1/4 c butter
2 onions
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder
3 c chicken broth
1 potato, chopped
1 c carrots, thinly sliced
1 c celery, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp dried sage or poultry seasoning
3 c chopped turkey-ham
1 1/2 c half & half
10 oz pkg frozen, chopped spinach

Melt butter in a small Dutch oven, or heavy bottomed saucepot. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes. Stir in flour and curry powder. Cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, potato, carrots, celery, parsley and sage. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 10 t0 15 minutes. Add turkey-ham, half & half and frozen spinach. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 15 minutes. Makes 8 cups.

Shannon: Taco Soup 2

Kim posted a Taco Soup recipe here awhile back and mentioned that there were several versions. I just found (and made) one that is "Weight Watchers Friendly." :) You should smell what I'm smelling right now as this cooks in the crock pot. And the one tiny taste I took has me already anticipating my first bowlful.

Taco Soup 2

1 lb extra-lean ground beef or turkey (I used turkey)
1 large onion, diced
2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans (I used hot chili beans)
1 (15 ounce) can zesty beans (I couldn't find this so I subbed Pinto beans and chili powder)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix

Brown beef or turkey with the chopped onion. Add everything to a large pot and heat for 30 minutes OR add everything to the crock pot and heat on high for a few hours, till hot throughout.

One cup of this = 2 WW points, which means a cup has roughly 100 calories. This doesn't seem like taco soup as much as it seems like chili with corn and broth. Does that make sense? I can already tell we're going to love this.

Kim: Taco Soup

I'd never heard of taco soup when Renee passed this onto me. Since then, I've heard there are many different ways to make taco soup. So if you know of another yummy way, please share! This one is a family favorite.

Taco Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef (Renee uses ground turkey)
2 cans of corn
2 cans of kidney beans
1 can black beans
2 cans of diced tomatoes (with or w/o chilies)
1 16oz can of tomato sauce
2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 onion chopped (sometimes I use 1/2)

Directions: Brown beef and empty all contents into a big soup pot and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Optional: Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado chunks and shredded cheese.

This recipe makes a lot of servings, but it freezes well.

Fran: I'm in the mood for fall...

Okay, I promised I'd post a recipe so I thought I'd start with one my family really likes since I'm in the mood for Fall! (No groaning Cora! )

Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
3 cups chicken broth (Cora, use vegetable or beef broth)
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 cup flour
4 TBS butter
2 cups cubed cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream

Melt 1 TBS butter; add beef and vegetables, cook and stir until beef is no longer pink. Stir in parsley, basil, broth and potatoes. Boil and simmer until potatoes are tender (10-12 minutes). In a separate saucepan or using the microwave melt remaining butter and stir in flour. Add milk, stirring until smooth. Gradually add to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Mix in cheese, stirring until melted. Add sour cream; stir until heated through (DO NOT BOIL).

This recipe can be slimmed down by using low or nonfat ingredients in place of the full fat version. It is very good with cheesey biscuits (which I will post later) and a salad if you want more than just soup. All of my kids and my husband like this soup (which is saying a lot!)