Let’s Talk About Your Favorite Soups

[Colleen]

@jenc I have not heard of those soups but I am definitely going to look for it. As I mentioned Cullen’s cholesterol is up so he is cutting back more on salt. Thank you for the tip! You will probably try it before I do so let me know what you think.

[jen-cueva]

Hi @colleensteele; I’ll let you know what I think. It’s also a bargain to catch them on sale, like me.

As with most anything, I always add spices and herbs, even garlic, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Manny makes fun of me, saying I can’t eat something as it is. LOL

The Tuscan lentil or something like that sounded good too, but it was sold out.

Does Cullen have any favorite soups? Or is he not a soup lover?

[DeLois Tweedy]

I haven’t heard of those soups either, but it sounds good. I have to watch sodium so closely, that I make many soups so I can control the sodium (and fat). I enjoy cooking, so that’s a plus. If I have things to chop, I will sit at my kitchen table and chop away so I can conserve energy to have when standing in the kitchen. I have found that most recipes makes a lot, so after one leftover meal, I usually freeze the rest in portions. That helps on days when I don’t feel well – soup and grilled cheese!

[jen-cueva]

Hi @deetweedy, I also enjoy cooking. I have a foldable still that I use in the kitchen when I need to chop and prep ingredients. I also love soups, so I appreciate saving them in portions in the freezer.

I have chili with lean beef, red beans, and cajun chicken sausage in my freezer. The horrific food costs make sense to freeze for later; it helps when we are exhausted and feel too bad to cook.

My hubby, Manny, isn’t an avid soup fan like me. So these tips help. I love a great grilled cheese and soup. It’s my go-to meal at the hospital—fruit and salads. I’m often denied both at once because of the sodium restrictions.

Does your daughter also enjoy cooking? What are your favorite things to cook? Thanks again for sharing.

[DeLois Tweedy]

In my freezer is broccoli cheddar, minestrone, roasted red pepper soup, and I just made veggie broth yesterday for freezing. I have on my list to make white chicken chili soon. I made lots of soup during the cold weather, but now am beginning to think abt spring/summer foods!

I understand adding herbs, spices, and garlic (I can go thru some garlic!). I add these to most of my dishes so the low/no sodium does not taste so bad. Can’t wait to get the herbs growing!

Thankfully, my husband likes soups. Then again, he likes most any food lol. Yes, my daughter has turned out to be quite a good cook. I guess she had no choice with 6 mouths to feed. 🙂 One of my most fun things I do with my grandchildren is cook with them. We love making a dish or item as a snack for the afternoon when we are together.

[jen-cueva]

Wow, @deetweedy, I could shop in your freezer for various soups. Hehe, I love it!

Can you share how you make your roasted red pepper soup? That’s one I’ve never made.

Check out the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili that @mike-naple shared in this post earlier. Scroll to the top, and you’ll see his name and response with a link to the recipe. It sounds great, and I keep forgetting to make it.

OMG, yes, I go through so much garlic, too. It’s pretty much in anything I cook. That’s great that you can grow your herbs. My neighbor has a raised garden box on his patio. This past weekend, he showed me his mint, cilantro, lettuce, basil, and strawberries. He offered some mint since it was what he had most so far. He’s teaching his almost 2-year-old daughter about gardening. It’s so cute.

What types of things are on your Spring and Summer menu? Fresh peas, asparagus, etc.?

It sounds like your whole family is learning to cook. How old are your grandchildren?

[DeLois Tweedy]

Hi Jen, I love the fact that your neighbor grows herbs and is teaching his daughter the love of gardening. I haven’t gotten my herbs going yet, it’s still too cold where I live. Have you ever grown garlic? I haven’t, just garlic chives, but that’s a whole different thing. I will check out the black bean and sweet potato chili. It sounds good – and interesting. You can find the roasted red pepper soup recipe at The Cozy Cook site. She has several good soup recipes, but I usually have to tweak most recipes to fit my heart healthy/low sodium diet. Her pinto bean soup is good too. I have learned how to cook pintos in my insta pot which is very time saving.

Our usual gardening consists of green beans, corn, sweet peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions, cantaloupe and watermelon. My husband does most of the growing; when I was able, I planted more things. Gardening was my thing. Digging in the dirt was very therapeutic for me.

My son is a great cook as well. He is a master grilled, lol. His son is 28, but lives in Canada now, so I don’t get to see him much. My daughter’s children’s ages are 17.5, 13, 10, (girls) and her little boy will be 4 this summer. It’s quite a bit of fun to watch him roll out cookie dough and cut out cookies 😁

[jen-cueva]

Hi @deetweedy, unfortunately, I’ve not grown garlic before, but it would be nice, especially with me using so much. I don’t remember my late grandparents growing any either. They only grew the spring onions and other crops and herbs you mentioned.

I’m in San Diego, so usually, it’s warmer, but it’s been wetter and cooler this year than usual. So, he only had those few things grown for his daughter this far. I’m excited he plans to share, as he has extras. He owns a smoothie shop and has taught his young daughter to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables since I’ve been their neighbor. This little one eats a better-balanced diet than I do most days. She snacks on broccoli, peaches, apples, watermelons, and other healthy snacks.

We had a birthday dinner for me in October with a few neighbors at a nice Mexican restaurant. His daughter’s favorite go-to other is a shrimp quesadilla; I thought I didn’t believe I knew what a shrimp was at her age, hehe.

I bet your daughter’s little boy is adorable rolling out cookie dough. I admire that people continue to teach their children and grandchildren eating and cooking skills.

I’ll look up that recipe for the roasted red pepper soup. Like you, when I find something I want to make that is new, I adjust the recipe to our likely and dietary restrictions. I believe I have seen or maybe followed The Cozy Cook sometime before.

Thanks again for sharing. I look forward to hearing about the garden bounty as the temps warm up in your area soon.

[DeLois Tweedy]

Thanks for directing my attention to the recipes Mike posted. Regarding the sweet potato and black bean chili, I have all the ingreds. on hand and will make it. I have used recipes from this referenced food site before. I will use my veggie broth I made this week!

Any time I use canned beans and some other canned items, I rinse them well, especially if I can’t find low sodium/no sodium cans. I also use no sodium chicken and beef broth alot in my cooking.

The clam chowder Mike referenced sounds delicious also. I don’t have all the ingredients on hand, but it’s going on my list. I love clam chowder! Anything seafood!

[jen-cueva]

Hi @deetweedy, please share your thoughts on @mike-naple’s black bean chili recipe before me. It’s always great to have some of these things in your pantry and on hand to throw on a pot of soup or chili at any time. Those are most often my most favorites meals.

Like you, I rinse my beans and use low-sodium stock if I have none in the freezer. Those are usually the most flavorful stocks. The other day Manny accidentally tossed my chicken stock out that I was planning to freeze for soups after I boiled some chicken for my cheesy chicken pasts recipe.

[DeLois Tweedy]

Hi Jen. Hope this goes through. I’ve had trouble (again) posting to the site. On another topic we were discussing foods, tofu specifically. I mentioned Hot and Sour soup. I finally made some using tofu cubes as part of the ingredients. It seems to absorb the flavors of the ingredients used with it. It was very good, and took care of my wanting Hot and Sour soup!

I also made New England Clam Chowder recently – oh my, it was delicious if I say so myself! My daughter said it was amazing. I’m probably finished with soups now that summer is on its way.

[jen-cueva]

Hi @deetweedy, Yep, this was a successful post! Sorry to hear you faced issues posting. Our tech team constantly works to improve the site to prevent this. Keep us updated when that happens.

It’s great you tried tofu and enjoyed your hot and sour soup. I haven’t used my tofu yet, so I’ll wait for more. No rush, though! Sometimes, we need a taste to get that craving filled.

I love a great clam chowder! Yummy, I bet your clam chowder was delicious. What types of clams do you use in yours?

Last week, I made chicken veggie soup and enjoyed half-grilled cheese on sourdough for two days. I used a mix of frozen and fresh veggies, herbs, and a small shredded chicken breast. For protein, It didn’t bother me that I was the only one who ate it.

I enjoy soups year-round. I love getting tons of nutrients from the veggies in one bowl. Less chewing means I can eat more.

Thanks for sharing, Dee. I hope you’re enjoying a lovely week.