(Photo by Lindsay O’Neil)

How-To: Cook Hearty Fall Soups

By Kyle Jane Heskett

There’s nothing quite like coming out of the chilly air and into your home to a warm bowl of soup. What’s even better is when the soup is healthy, hearty, and easy to make. These three soups are ones that I personally have made and love. Coming into fall and with winter around the corner, try these recipes for a delicious easy-to-make hot meal!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
This is a recipe I got from my pastor’s wife. She has four kids and makes it all the time for them. It’s easy to double the recipe for an even bigger crowd because it has so few ingredients. I usually add a little extra broth for my personal taste but tweak it any way you’d like! It’s so easy!

Ingredients:

1 big chicken breast or 2 small chicken breasts
32 oz. chicken stalk
1 can (14.5 oz.) fire roasted tomatoes
1 can Cuban black beans
1 can corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the chicken for about 30 minutes, or until it is no longer pink in the middle. Shred it when it is finished. Combine all of the ingredients and bring them to a boil in a pot. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado, or anything you want! If you want to make this recipe even easier, buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and shred it. Also, add cumin, red pepper flakes and paprika for more spice and flavor!

Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe is courtesy of draxe.com.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons of butter
4 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons of dried sage
¼-½ cup coconut milk
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add onion, apple and sage to cook for about 8 minutes.
Add the squash and the broth and bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15–20 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth (you may have to do it in batches). Return the mixture to the pot and stir in coconut milk until it reaches the consistency you want. Heat through and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste before serving.

For more information, including the health benefits of this recipe, visit:

 

Sausage Soup
You can substitute turkey sausage and sweet potatoes to make this soup even healthier!

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian Sausage, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 russet potatoes, chopped in pieces
32 oz. Chicken stalk
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
4 celery stalks
1 zucchini, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
4 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook the sausage in a pot until it is just a tad pink and put it to the side. Use the same pot to sauté the onion, celery, zucchini and garlic with salt and pepper for about 3 minutes. Add broth, sausage, tomatoes, potatoes and thyme to the pot, and cook uncovered on low for 40 minutes. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Happy Cooking!