Favorite Fish Chowder -- pg. 191

Normally, I dislike titles that assume things like "Favorite" or "Heartwarming" that they could not possibly know.  I guess that's still true.  I do like this recipe, though.  It was very easy, and only had one kind of fish in it -- cod, which also happens to be inexpensive.  The only seasonings are salt, pepper and lemon juice.  I was worried this would be bland and one-dimensional, but everyone really liked it.  Was it their favorite?  No.  Remember back at the beginning, I told you about the "Seafood Chowder"?  That's the favorite, the soup by which all other soups will be judged.  So I was going to give this four spoons, but you know what?  I am giving it 4.25 spoons because it's easier and tastes almost as good as the way-more-complicated and expensive "Seafood Chowder".  Don't call it Favorite.  Call it Easy Cod Chowder.

Oodles of Noodles Soup -- pg. 19

This soup is just ramen with a lot of work.  You chop up chicken, carrots, onion and celery.  Cook it and put it in your ramen.  That's about it.  Not impressed.   My family liked it only because they already like ramen.  So, just make a package of chicken ramen and save yourself some time.  Two spoons.

Tomato & Creamy Mushroom Soup -- pg. 109

Uhhh -- I didn't name this soup -- obviously it should be Creamy Tomato-Mushroom Soup because mushrooms are rarely creamy.  But in the end it doesn't really matter because this soup will never be made again.  It sounded like it would be good.  But it was just weird.  The flavors really didn't work together.  I used blue oyster mushrooms, and sauteed them.  They tasted good.  I chopped up the usual suspects (minus potatoes) and they usually work together -- so where did it go wrong?  Maybe that it called for beef broth, mixed with tomato sauce.  I don't know for sure, but I do know that no one liked it very much.  It was edible, though, so 2 1/2 spoons.

Asparagus Chicken Chowder -- pg. 172

Finally a modest hit!  Everyone loved this soup.  I'm a little nervous about the fat content, however, as it has 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream in it.   But, that's for 18 servings...still... Maybe next time I'll try it with evaporated milk or maybe half and half.  Pretty simple, too, so four spoons.  Steve said four and a half, but the consensus is four.

Hungarian Goulash -- pg. 54

It must stink to be a Hungarian.  Particularly if this goulash is the best you get to eat.  1.  I didn't like the pork and beef stew meat.  I'd do just beef.  2.  I think that it needs tomato sauce.   I think the Hungarian goulash I ate as a child had tomato sauce in it.  This recipe only has paprika and marjoram, and a lot of sour cream.  It was pretty bland, and did I mention the two different meats didn't work?  When I got a piece of pork it tasted wrong.  In a nutshell, it was a very bland beef stroganoff, with no mushrooms...and weird pork pieces.  I'd give it three spoons, for variety and it was very easy to make.  I think picky eaters would like it just fine.

Canadian Cheese Soup -- pg. 85

This soup is kind of like Americans view Canadian food...bland, eh.  Nothing special about this soup.  The family liked it only because I had grated cheese, crackers and bacon bits on the side.  It didn't taste bad.  It's just that if you're going to go through the effort of  making a soup, I'd make something else.  2 1/2 spoons

Heartwarming Chili -- pg. 216

I was so ready to have fun with this post.  You're just asking for it when you name anything "heartwarming".  Like Jaws is a heartwarming tale of a rogue fish trying to survive in a vast ocean...  But, the family loved this chili, so all my plans are for naught.  I'm scratching my head as to why this chili was "...the best chili I've ever eaten" -- Steve.   There are only three things different from the chili I used to make all the time:  1.  Green pepper, which I reluctantly added to be true to the recipe, because Steve claims to hate them (Is it clear that I added them because the recipe called for it and not because Steve hates green peppers?  I don't want to come off as a psycho wife.)  2.  It was half ground beef and half ground pork, and I usually only use ground beef because Steve is Jewish (just kidding on that one)  3.  I used the "Hot" chili seasoning packet and not the mild this time because Steve likes his food spicy (This is actually true.)  I doubled the recipe, and used one "hot" packet and one "mild" packet.  In the end, I think it has to be the hot seasoning because the pork didn't seem to change the texture that much and I actually disliked the green peppers (which I, too, am not overly fond of).  So because Keeley and Steve think this recipe is awesome, and it was super easy to put together, I have no choice but to call it indeed, heartwarming, and give it four spoons.

Broccoli Potato Soup -- pg. 106

Blah.  I will admit this was a very easy soup to put together.  It was just kind of lackluster.  I don't know what I'd add to make it better.  Salt for starters.    My daughter recommended bacon, but she puts bacon in everything.  But, it wasn't gross, so two spoons.

Country Mushroom Soup -- pg. 104

Please tell me why there are so many "country" recipes?  I mean, do you ever see Suburbs Clam Chowder... or City Stew?  But, for what it's worth -- I'd drive to the country for this soup.  It's very good and very easy.  Pretty much just chicken broth, a bay leaf, flour, onions, celery, salt, pepper, mushrooms and half & half.  I really couldn't believe it had this much flavor.  I have to give it four spoons.

Sausage Soup -- pg. 24

The soup is as simple as the name is.  It has turkey sausage, onions, potatoes, water, chicken bouillon, corn and evaporated milk, oh and it called for red peppers as garnish.  But, I diced the red pepper finely and added it to the soup.  It was really good!  Not take to a potluck good, but dinner good.  3 1/2 spoons!

Guess What?

Yup -- it's soup season again folks -- look for more postings soon!

Curly Noodle Soup -- pg. 41

Keeley has a cold and I needed to make her some chicken soup.  So I whipped out the soup book and found this recipe.  Very easy to put together.  It tasted good, nothing special, unless you count the colorful rotini as special.  I think 3 spoons should do it -- 2.5 for taste and a bump up for easieness.

Country Fish Chowder -- pg. 174

Everyone liked this one.  It was just about as good as the "gold" standard Seafood Chowder from page 176.  It's a lot cheaper, though.  It only has clams and flounder as the seafood, and the other one has scallops and shrimp.  Way good.  I'm giving it 5 spoons, because although it may lack a little of the extras of the Seafood Chowder, it's a lot less expensive and lower maintenance.

French Onion Soup -- pg. 120

What can I say?  It's French onion soup.  I like it.  It was easy to make.  Everyone ate it.  French onion soup is not one of my favorites, though.  So, I think I have to give it three spoons.  If you're a fan of French onion soup, and want an easy recipe, make this one.

Potato Clam Chowder -- pg. 185

Not so great.  Now, my family likes bacon.  A lot.  They liked that there was bacon in this soup.  To me, clam chowder shouldn't have bacon in it.  True...bacon usually makes everything better.  I just don't think a battle between the clam taste and the bacon taste is a good one.  I will give it two spoons.

Artichoke Beef Stew -- pg. 265

It's still in the crockpot.  I just wanted to get the post started so I don't forget like last time.  So far, so good, I'd say.  I've tasted it, and the beef is tender.  I just added the mushrooms and the artichokes.  It seems like a variation of beef stroganoff, since it's served on noodles.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Okay, it was pretty good.  It was a lot like beef stroganoff, but with artichoke hearts.  I'd give it 3.5 spoons.

Easy Seafood Bisque -- pg. 149

We have another winner!  I actually thought I had already blogged about this, but I've made twice now!  (If I have blogged about it, please disregard this one.  Nah--I'll delete it if I have...)  Anyhoo -- I know soup-within-a-soup = bad, but I am changing my slogan to soup-within-a-soup = good when it tastes good and is super-fast!  I used krab (imitation crab) and cream of potato (instead of cream of shrimp -- who has that lying around?) and cream of celery soup. It's very good.  I haven't even had leftovers of it...  So, for easiness and tastiness, four spoons!

Slow-Cooked Chowder -- pg. 183

Okay guys -- this is one to bookmark.  Not because it is great by itself, but because it is a great base chowder recipe.  I mean, think about it -- if you put this in the crockpot, you can add whatever you want to make it, say asparagus corn chowder...clam chowder...chicken mushroom...I know!  Call this one FILL IN THE BLANK CHOWDER!  As is, though, it tastes like a chowder that's missing something.  By the way, I actually made this about a week and a half ago, and forgot to blog about it...I'm giving it four spoons because I believe it's great if you add stuff to it.  Create you own chowder...

5 cups water           
5 tsp. chicken boullion
8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, diced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the first nine ingredients.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.  Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 5-6 hours or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in milk and parsley; heat through.  Yield:  12 servings

Mushroom Bisque -- pg. 136

I really wanted this one to be good.  It was easy to put together.  I love mushrooms...and bisque.  But, no go.  My husband came down to give me his "honest critique" of the soup.  Then I knew it was bad because I have to ask him if it's good and he volunteers his opinion when it's bad.  I think the problem was the creamy part of this soup came from sour cream.  Had it been some half and half it might have worked.  I like sour cream, and thought it might be good, though.  It wasn't that good.  I think I had a red flag with the 1 cup of minced parsley.  I mean -- who puts that much parsley in anything?  I think with half and half and some salt and pepper, it could be a three spooner.  But, as is, I guess two spoons.

Quick Chicken Dumpling Soup -- pg 37

Of all the adjectives you might like to describe your dinner, which come to mind as best?  I'm thinking, "tasty, delicious, mouth-watering, even yummy", and, yes, quick would be good, too.  Then, why not call it Quick and Tasty Chicken Dumpling Soup?  Simple.  It was just quick.  If I used another adjective, it would be "edible" or "bland".  This soup has three ingredients:  1) The dreaded "make a soup with a soup" 2 cans of cream of chicken condensed soup.  2) 3 1/3 cup milk, divided, and 3)1 2/3 cup making mix.  So, you mix the cans of soup with 1 2 2/3 cup milk and boil it.  Then mix 2/3 cup milk with the baking mix and drop spoonfuls into your boiling soup.  Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10 -15 minutes.  That's it. That being said, I cheated.  I added some white chicken meat to it.  I just couldn't bear it.  If I had to make over this soup, I'd add de-boned rotisserie chicken and some carrots and celery at least.  But, if you're into bland, moist biscuits and gravy, leave it alone.  It is edible.  My husband liked it.  Go figure.  I think 2 spoons.  Hey, it was quick...