Homemade Soups

Over the past few years, I have gained an appreciation for spending time in the kitchen. Since moving away to college I have found myself wanting to get more creative and shake things up with the meals that I make for myself. A girl can only eat so much pasta in a week! Last year are started making homemade soups. It started when I was sick with a cold one day in the winter and did not have any chicken noodle on hand, but I did have the key ingredients. I looked up a simple recipe and was very pleased with how yummy it was.

Since I have expanded my soup horizons with a number of recipes. Pumpkin, mushroom, chicken and orzo, and butternut sweet potato soups are now all tried and true in my recipe book. I discovered this morning that today is National Homemade Soup Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to throw it back and share the links to my two favorite recipes that I have tried so far:

Pumpkin Chipotle Soup

Mushroom & Brie Soup - this one gets better ever time and I recently tried it with goat cheese instead of brie...delicious!

<3 Ashley

What are your favorite soups to make?

Recipe Box: Roasted Mushroom and Brie Soup

Yuuuuummm :)

One of the reasons I love going home over breaks (aside from the obvious I get to see my family and friends) I get to experiment a bit more with my cooking. I do that here at school to an extent; but I can do more at home since I don't have to rely on myself to buy the food--does that make me a bad child? I'm a college kid on a budget...it's the truth! Over Thanksgiving break I found a recipe for roasted mushroom and brie soup. I made and OH MY! It was too good not to share!

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced

- olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 tsp chopped thyme

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1/2 c. white wine

- 4 c. vegetable broth

- 1/2 c. heavy cream

- 4 oz. brie cheese (1-inch pieces)

- Salt + pepper

Step by Step:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

- Slice mushrooms (if you buy them whole like I do) and spread them out on a line cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and put in oven for 25 minutes, mixing once half way through.

- In a medium saucepan on the stove, melt butter over medium heat and add onions. Cook 5-7 minutes. Toss in garlic and thyme and continue cooking until fragrant. Add flour and stir about a minute.

- Pour in wine and deglaze pan. Pour in vegetable broth and add mushrooms. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.

- Add brie and heavy cream. Let cheese melt and fish out the rinds if you didn't remove them beforehand. Salt and pepper to taste

- Puree in blender until desired consistency is reached. Serve and enjoy!

<3 Ashley

Will you try this recipe? What are your favorite soups when it gets cold outside?

What I Made: Pumpkin Chipotle Soup

Oh yes...yes I did!

Look Ma, I can cook! If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that last night as snowflakes were falling from the sky, I was bundled up in flannel pants, a long gray sweater, Christmas lights on, cuddling up to a bowl of soup. I soup was an idea had got from Taylor over at her blog Anticipation (which I read religiously!) One mention of pumpkin chipotle soup had me scouring the world wide web for the perfect recipe.

I found several recipes and ended up just using a bit from each to make my soup--read: I bought what I could at IGA and worked with it. It was so easy to whip up and I have plenty of leftovers to look forward to.

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic (I used minced and just threw in what I thought I would like)
- 1 tbsp chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (found in the Mexican aisle)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- 2 (14 oz) cans vegetable broth
- 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
Garnish
- cilantro
- dollop of sour cream

Step by Step:
- Saute chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for about 3-4 minute until translucent.
- Add chopped chipotle pepper and spices. Cook about 2 minutes (stir it up so it doesn't stick to the pot!)
- Pour in broth and pumpkin puree. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Pour mixture into blender and blend until smooth--use an immersion blender if you have one.
- Return soup to the stove, add whipping cream and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Dish out when ready and garnish as you will!

Enjoy!

<3 Ashley

Sound good? Do you have any wonderful fall recipes to share?