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French Onion Soup Crocks – What To Buy

(photo courtesy of www.foodplace.co.uk)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make a really great French Onion Soup, dripping over with thick gobs of melted cheese, you need a soup crock that can stand up to the heat of an oven or broiler. And it occurred to me after a recent recipe posting for Classic French Onion Soup that many of you who love this soup may not have the proper soup crocks to make it at home. Normal soup bowls are not recommended for such a preparation, so if you don’t have any French Onion Soup Crocks, here are my Top 3 recommendations:

1. Kitchen Supply 8035 White Porcelain Onion Soup Bowl with Handle

(1 Bowl)
While these bowls are on the expensive side at $14.99 each, they are oven-safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and have handles, making them very easy to remove from the oven and serve.

Kitchen Supply 8035 White Porcelain Onion Soup Bowl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Over & Back Lion’s Head Porcelain Bowls (Set of 8)
At less than $40 for a set of eight bowls, the Over & Back Lion’s Head set is an excellent value for a family or for small gatherings. They hold just shy of 1 pint of liquid, more than enough to serve big appetites. The downside? The bowls don’t have handles, and that might be a deal breaker for some of you.

Over & Back Lions Head Porcelain Bowl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Daily Chef Fireside Soup Bowl  (4 Pack)
These oven-safe soup bowls are the most expensive of the group, with a set of four bowls at just under $70. However, the soup lover and soup maker will both benefit from the dual-handle design, making the bowls very easy to slip in and out of the oven and onto the dining table.

Daily Chef Fireside Soup Bowl

Slow Cooker Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

To me, chicken noodle soup must have two things: plenty of chicken and plenty of noodles. That’s exactly what this slow cooker chicken noodle soup recipe delivers along with (mostly) hands-off cooking. (Serves 8)

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 quarts chicken broth
1 large onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups dried egg noodles
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

How to make Slow Cooker Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

• Place the diced onion, celery and carrot in the bottom of a large slow cooker and spread to distribute evenly
• Put the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables and sprinkle everything with the marjoram and thyme
• Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaf
• Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked
• Add the egg noodles and let cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender
• Taste for seasoning
• Remove bay leaf and serve

Classic French Onion Soup

FOS

Classic French Onion Soup

French onion soup is an example of a dish that is very simple to make but has an incredible depth of flavor. Cooking the onions for a long period of time caramelizes them and brings out their natural sweetness, which is a perfect flavor counterpart to the savory heartiness of beef broth. And who can resist a golden cap of melted cheese to bring the soup together? With just a handful of ingredients and a little patience, anyone can make a superb French onion soup.

How to make Classic French Onion Soup

4 large onions (Spanish, yellow, Vidalia)
4 tablespoons butter
1 quart beef broth/stock
½ cup shredded cheese (I recommend any of these cheeses: Emmental, Gruyère, Idiazabal, Parmesan)
Day-old French bread cut into ½-inch thick rounds

Peel and slice the onions into thin rings

Into a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add the butter and heat over medium

Add the onions and saute in the butter, stirring occasionally, for approximately 45 minutes until the onions are a deep, rich brown color.

Pour the beef broth/stock over the onions and stir well.

Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Place a piece of bread on the bottom of an oven-proof French onion soup crock.

Ladle the soup over the bread and top with cheese.

The soup can be finished by placing the crocks under a broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese has melted and turns bubbly and crispy. Or, put the crocks onto a sturdy baking sheet and into a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Be very careful with the crocks after they’ve been under the broiler or in the oven.

Looking for the perfect pot to cook up your next batch of soup? I recommend the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It comes in 11 different colors and is an excellent value for the price.

Quick Easy Clam Chowder

Clam chowder is one of my favorite soups ever, but I know a lot of people are intimidated by cooking anything with seafood and shy away from making clam chowder. Well, here is an easy New England-style clam chowder that can be on the table in no time. It’s the perfect clam chowder for beginners or if you just want a tasty bowl of chowder in a hurry.

How to make Quick Easy Clam Chowder

2 strips of bacon
1 small onion diced
1 cup chicken stock
4 medium potatoes (about 1 pound) diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cans (6 & 1/2 ounces each) of chopped clams in clam juice
3 cups milk
Freshly ground black pepper and salt

Scrub potatoes under cold water and cut into 1/2-inch dice. (Peel the potatoes if you like. I prefer to leave the skins on.)

In a small Dutch oven or soup pot, fry the bacon over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes until crisp and remove. Let drain on paper towel and break up into small bits.

Cook the onions in the remaining bacon grease for 3 minutes, until onions start to become soft.

Add the chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Add the clams and juice and stir everything to mix well.

Add milk and heat until just boiling.

Season to taste with pepper and salt.

Top the chowder with the cooked bacon bits and enjoy.

Looking for the perfect pot to cook up your next batch of soup? I recommend the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It comes in 11 different colors and is an excellent value for the price.

Simple Potato Soup

Potato soup is a great call when you have only a handful of ingredients to work with or you just want to make something and satisfying in a flash.  My wife loves potatoes, so I can always count on a happy diner when I start dicing spuds for a rib-sticking soup. Here is a basic potato soup recipe that is easy to make and easy to love. This is enough for 4 servings. Feel free to double – or triple – the recipe as needed.

How to make Simple Potato Soup

4 Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup diced celery
1 medium onion diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup cream ( or half-and half or milk with another tablespoon of butter)

Freshly ground black pepper and salt

Scrub potatoes under cold water and cut into 1/2-inch dice. (Peel the potatoes if you desire. I prefer to leave the skins on.)

Into a medium Dutch over or soup pot, add the butter and warm over medium heat.

Add the celery and onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables start to become translucent.

Add the diced potatoes and continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring well to prevent sticking.

Season with a couple cracks of ground black pepper and a dash of salt.

Pour in the broth and let the vegetables cook until tender, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Add cream and add salt and pepper to taste.

Feel free to top with bacon bits, croutons, ground Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley or my personal favorite – fresh dill.

 

Looking for the perfect pot to cook up your next batch of soup? I recommend the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It comes in 11 different colors and is an excellent value for the price.

 

Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup

One of the great things about slow cookers is that you can dump a bag of dried beans into the pot and let them cook all day without any prior soaking. Canned beans are certainly convenient, but for flavor and texture I much prefer using dried beans. Here is a super easy but delicious and filling ham and bean soup that can be prepped in just minutes in the morning and then leisurely enjoyed later for dinner.  This soup is absolutely perfect paired with corn bread and good butter. I really like Kerrygold pure Irish butter. It’s worth seeking out.

How to make Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup

2 & 1/2 quarts water
1 pound Navy Beans
1 large onion cut into thin rings
1 large smoked ham bone/ham hock/pork chop
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Rinse navy beans thoroughly with fresh water and pick out any bad beans or foreign objects.

Then, into a 6-quart slow cooker:

Place half the onion slices at the bottom of the slow cooker and spread to distribute.

Put the ham hock in the center of the cooker on top of the onions and add the beans.

Add the rest of the onions and sprinkle the thyme and teaspoon of salt across everything.

Put the bay leaf in the pot and add water.

Turn slow cooker to low and let cook 8 to 10 hours until beans are tender.

Remove bay leaf and ham hock.

Use a fork and knife to shred meat from the bone and return the bits of ham to the slow cooker and stir to incorporate.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

White Bean and Kale Soup

It seems that kale is all the rage these days, but incorporating greens like kale into soups goes back centuries. It provides a vibrant nutritional boost and crunch that brightens many a soup. Here’ s a simple, hearty white bean and kale soup fortified with kielbasa to turn a basic bowl of soup into a full-on meal. Serve with a hunk of good bread and butter and what else needs to be said?

How to make White Bean and Kale Soup

1 bunch kale, rinsed well in cold water
1/2 pound red potatoes diced ( I leave the skins on, but if you prefer peel them, it’s all good)
1/4 pound kielbasa
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 quarts chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

Cut stems from kale and dice the remaining leaves into pieces about 1/2 inch in length.

Cut kielbasa into1/2-inch “coins.”

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add the olive oil and warm over medium heat.

Add onion and saute until clear, about 4 minutes.

Add garlic and continue cooking about 1 minute more.

Toss in the kielbasa pieces and cook for another minute to get some of the flavor into the pot.

Add kale and teaspoon of salt and mix thoroughly to incorporate.

Pour in water and bring everything to a boil.

Turn heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add beans and cook for about 7-10 minutes more.

Taste and add salt as necessary.

Finish with a generous grinding of black pepper and serve.

(I like my soups spicy, and often add a dash or three of hot sauce to this one.)

 

Looking for the perfect pot to cook up your next batch of soup? I recommend the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It comes in 11 different colors and is an excellent value for the price.