Chili - Slow Cooker

I made this today and we all enjoyed it.  Lots of good flavor.  I based what I did off of this recipe I found on Allrecipe.  Nice easy recipe to put in before church and eat when we got home.

Slow Cooker Chili
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion - diced
1 bell pepper - diced (I used a red one)
2 gloves garlic - diced

Brown ground beef and then place in crock pot.  In same pan, saute onions, peppers, and garlic til cooked down and soft.  Place in crock pot with beef.

Add the following:

3 cans beans - I used 1 can kidney beans & 2 cans pinto beans
1-2 cans tomato sauce plus a little water to clean the can out
1 can diced tomatoes
oregano  - maybe 1/2 tsp
cumin - maybe 1/2 tsp
chili powder to taste
salt
pepper


Mix all together in crockpot, cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 

We also added about a cup of rice, but it got too mushy so next time we will add it closer to the end of cooking.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe comes from one of my friends from high school.  We made it on Sunday, it is really good and really easy.  They have a lot of good recipes over there.  Here's the link.

Mulligatawny Soup

We are avid fans of Sienfeld so if you watch this show you will have heard of this kind of soup. After watching one day I was wondering what is Mulligatawny anyway. So I looked it up and found this recipe and made it. There is recipe that claims to be the soup Nazi's copy cat version, but I haven't made it, although I would like to. This one is pretty good. I like a lot of curry so I add 3 TBSP, but if you like a lighter flavor don't add so much, also the cream will calm down the curry flavor too. I love curry, so I you have any awesome curry recipes please share. Anyway, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion 3-4 stalks celery, chopped 2 carrot, diced 1/2 cup butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons-3 tablespoons curry powder (depends on how much you like, I like a lot) 8 cups chicken broth

1 apple, grated or chopped 1/2 cup white rice 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut into cubes salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 1 pinch dried thyme 1 cup heavy cream (milk will work too), heated

Directions:

1.	Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.
2.	Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.
3.	Add hot cream or milk and serve.

Chicken Tortilla soup from PW

Been waitin' for this one! Discovered it today...it's dinner tonight! I had to make some substitutions based on what we had at home, but wow! Super fine recipe (per her usual...).

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/

Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Prep Time: 10 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 8

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Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-½ teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• ¼ cups Diced Green Bell Pepper
• ¼ cups Red Bell Pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cans Black Beans, Drained
• 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
• Garnishes:
• Sour Cream
• Diced Avocado
• Diced Red Onion
• Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
• Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)

Homemade Tomato Soup

I'm in love... with this soup!!

Homemade Tomato Soup

2 cans (14 oz) chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 stalk celery, diced (I didn't have any celery, so mine went without and was still awesome)

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 TBSP butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 min. (I would line the bottom with aluminum foil or else it will be a bugger to clean off - trust me :)

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 min. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until veggies are very tender, about 15-20 min. Add basil and cream. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. (I don't have one of these, so I use my blender - works great and it makes it easy to pour into bowls!!)

Hearty Black Bean Soup

It was cold and blustery today here in Phoenix (o.k 58* and windy, but that is cold to us) and soup sounded good.  I got this recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook.  I was a little skeptical while it was cooking, but it ended up being very tasty and was perfect for the day.  For my family I essentially halved this recipe.

Hearty Black Bean Soup

3 medium carrots, halved and thinly sliced

2 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (30 oz.) black beans

2 cans (14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth

1 can (15 oz.) crushes tomatoes ( I used diced)

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (I left this out)

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until vegetables are tender.  

Optional: If you have left over meat - smoked sausage, browned ground beef or roast you can toss it in for the last 30 minutes of cooking.  You can also serve over hot rice.

I didn't serve over rice because I wanted soup but I did cook up an Italian sausage and threw it in there for the last 30 minutes.  It really was good and the kids ate it up.  Unfortunately the bread didn't come out of the oven until an hour after we ate, but it was still good with crackers.

Homemade Tomato Soup

I remember a year or so ago, there was a request for tomato soup. My friend Marne shared this one with me and I thought I'd pass it along.

TOMATO SOUP (Marne Southwick Clark)

(If you would rather use fresh tomatoes than bottled, quarter and squish a little over 2 quarts worth of tomatoes. Add 2 tsp. salt and cook them for about 30 minutes.)

1/2 cube butter
2 Tbsp. oil
1 chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)
2 quarts bottled tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup flour
4 cups chicken or beef broth, DIVIDED
1 cup cream, evaporated milk, or any milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat butter and oil. Add onion (and garlic if desired) and sauté until tender.

Add tomatoes, bay leaf, and other spices. Simmer 10 minutes.

Mix flour with 1 1/2 cups broth. Stir broth mixture into tomato mixture. Add remaining broth and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Ladle soup out into a blender, and blend until smooth (you will have to do this 2 or 3 times per batch of soup).

Pour from blender, through a strainer (if you want to get rid of any skins and seeds), and into a large bowl.

Add cream or milk to soup, and add salt and pepper to taste.

And if you're making this soup, you've got to try these new mini Premium soda crackers. Mary recommended these to me when I was sick a while ago. We all love them - even Maxie! They are so cute and little and so you don't have to crumble them to dust to put in your soup - unless, of course, you like cracker dust! Really - they are yum.

Cheddar and Potato Soup

This is in response to Heather's call for favorite potato recipes. It's probably similar to Mom's potato soup but when we lived in Chicago, this was in the newspaper recipe section. It recommended using Wisconsin cheddar cheese and we all know to use Idaho potatoes. Actually our favorite cheddar has to be Tillamook Medium Cheddar blocks (alas, only found in the west that we know of!) This is our favorite cold day soothing soup. (This is not my photo :).

Cheddar and Potato Soup
Serves 6
(From the Chicago Tribune recipe section)

¼ c. butter
Grated onion to taste or ¼ c. chopped onion
¼ cup flour
1 ½ tsp. dry mustard (optional-I use)
3 ½ c. chicken broth
1 cup grated carrots
2 medium Idaho potatoes diced
2 ½ c. half-and-half
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in butter over moderate heat until soft. Stir in flour and dry mustard. Continue to stir for 1-2 min. without browning flour. Add broth and bring to a simmer, stirring until soup is smooth. Add carrots and potatoes.
2. Simmer for 30 min. partially covered. Add half-and-half and bring again to a simmer. (Recipe may be done ahead to this point. Reheat soup before continuing.)
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Variations/substitutions:

• Use 4 chicken broth cubes and 3 ½ cups water if you don’t have chicken broth.
• Use milk if you don’t have half-and-half—use potato flakes or potato pearls to thicken if it’s too thin using milk (this works great).
• Use rehydrated dry carrots if you don’t have fresh (I blend them up first).
• Use minced onion- about 1 tsp. (add with carrots and potatoes) in place of fresh.
• Sliced celery added with carrots and potatoes is a nice variation.
• Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, or serve with broccoli or little smokies.

Easy Chicken Corn Chowder

I made this last night for dinner--it was so easy, SO fresh, and SOOO Tasty! I got it from this blog.

Chicken Corn Chowder with Alvocado and Tomato
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks of celery, diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
2 lb bag frozen corn or 8 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
½ Cup heavy cream
8 oz sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, sauté onion, carrots and celery until slightly softened, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for for 1 minute then add chicken broth, corn and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes, until heated through. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.

2. Top with avocado and tomato. Add fresh ground black pepper if desired.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

I know we have a few Taco Soup Recipes on here... but this one was requested by Amy so I thought I'd post it here for easy reference.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup
http://soup.allrecipes.com/az/SlowCookerTacoSoup.asp

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.
Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.

Green Minestrone

I know this recipe sounds a little more like "Green Eggs and Ham" than anything appetizing, but it really is super yummy. I also just used bacon rather than fancy pancetta, and no garbanzo beans for me.

Green Minestrone


Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
4 slices pancetta or 1/4 pound thick cut prosciutto, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1 can white beans, cannellini
1 can garbanzo beans, ceci
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup ditalini pasta or mini penne pasta
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
10 ounces triple washed spinach, stems removed and coarsely chopped, or any other dark greens
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, plus extra to pass at the table
12 to 16 leaves fresh basil, torn or shredded or 1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Heat a soup pot over medium high heat. Add oil and pancetta or prosciutto. Saute 2 minutes and add onions, celery, garlic, zucchini and bay to the pot. Season vegetables with salt and pepper, to your taste. Saute vegetables 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add white beans, garbanzo beans and chicken broth to the pot. Cover soup and bring to a boil. Add pasta and green beans to the soup and cook 8 minutes, or until pasta is just tender. Stir in spinach to wilt, 1 minute. Stir in grated cheese and ladle soup into bowls. Top soup with torn or shredded basil or chopped parsley.

Chicken Noodle Soup

sweet onion
celery
carrots
chicken bouillon cubes
egg noodles
chopped chicken
margarine (optional)
flour (optional)
canned milk (optional)

Add one sweet onion (skinned and left whole), two stalks celery (each stalk cut in a few pieces), 1-2 cups carrots (chopped), and 7-8 bouillon cubes to water (10-12 cups-ish) in large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Turn to low and simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove onion and celery. (I only boil the celery and the onion in the broth for the flavor and then remove them. If you wanted to add less onion and celery, chopped fine, and leave it in, that is another option.) Add noodles (my favorite brand is Country Pasta Homemade Style Egg Pasta . . . see photo) to broth and boil on medium heat for 30 minutes. (Do not add too many noodles and then leave the house to run errands while on medium heat or it will burn. Trust me.) Turn to low and add chopped chicken (I like to buy a whole rotisserie chicken and remove the meat and chop it up). Add salt and pepper to taste. This makes a clear broth soup. If you prefer a slightly creamier chicken noodle soup, add roux (see below). Keep soup on low heat until ready to serve.

Roux:
Melt 1 cube margarine. Whisk in 1/2 cup flour. Stir until smooth. Add 1 cup canned milk. Whisk again until smooth. Stir constantly on medium heat until mixture thickens. Add to soup after adding the chicken (while soup is on low). This adds a great flavor to the soup (I mean, how can it be bad with a cube of butter, am I right Mary?).

Butternut Squash Soup

Matt's sister gave us a home-grown toddler Butternut Squash from her garden. When I say it is toddler sized, I mean it was as big as a toddler, weighing in at 30 lbs. Needless to say, we needed butternut squash recipes like we would need water in a desert. This is one winner that we found. It does take some effort, but it is very much worthwhile.

Butternut squash Soup
by:Emeril Lagasse
1 large butternut squash, about 3 pounds, halved, seeds removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus 12 whole leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
6 cups light chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream, or more to taste
2 tablespoons butterPreheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly coat the squash halves with 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Season the inside with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until very tender, about 45 minutes. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and reserve. Discard the peel.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the remaining vegetable oil and, when hot but not smoking, add the sausage. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions wilted and starting to caramelize, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, sage and marjoram, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked squash and chicken stock, stir well to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor or blender, puree the soup. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean saucepan. Add the cider vinegar and stir to combine. Add the cream and adjust seasoning, to taste.

In a small saute pan, cook the butter over medium-high heat until it begins to turn brown around the edges. Add the whole sage leaves and cook until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the leaves to paper towels to drain.

Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the crispy sage leaves.

Broccoli Cream Soup

Oh my. This recipe melts my icy cold heart into puddles of goodness. I cannot describe how happy this makes me. I waited until the kids were in bed last night and made this for dinner along with Carol's Breadsticks (have you posted that recipe yet Carol?) and was in HEAVEN. Then I had the leftovers for lunch today and made more for dinner tonight. I should probably say that I only made 1/2 of the recipe each time so I don't sound like an uncontrollable broccoli monster. Annalise told me that this is her favorite soup. All my kids like broccoli (I know, what?), but Kyle didn't like it with the "stuff on it". Kait just ate leftover breadsticks for dinner. Carb-monger. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it a smidgen as much as I do. Fair warning: This is a soup. Not a chowder or stew-like concoction. The sauce will be thin and delish.

9 cups fresh broccoli florets *
4 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped *
8 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided *
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp onion salt *
1/4 tsp garlic salt
pinch of basil, thyme, sage
dash hot pepper sauce *
7 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whipping cream

In large saucepan bring broccoli and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. In a small skillet, saute onion in 2 Tbsp of butter until tender; add to broccoli mixture. Stir in the bay leaf and remaining seasonings. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into broccoli mixture; add buttermilk and cream. Heat through (do not boil). Discard the bay leaf.

* Mary's notes:
1. I really enjoyed using the * while typing tonight.

2. I have never used 9 cups of broccoli. That seems excessive to me who just wants more of the creamy nectar. I chop until it seems like enough for my taste.

3. It's good with the sauteed onion, but it'll cut out a full step (and pan) if you just grate frozen onion into the broccoli/chicken broth mixture. Worth it for me. If you do this remember to only add 6 Tbsp of butter to the roux.

4. Onion salt and hot pepper sauce. Yeah, like I've ever remembered to buy those. I'm sure they'd be great, but you're not missing out if you forget to add them.

Taco Soup

Again, from Mary Jones (see cornbread recipe below). I'd forgotten about this until this morning when I was fantasizing about cornbread. I usually make the beef/tomato version, but this is very tasty too and SUPER easy.

1 family size chicken soup with rice (plus can of water)
1 can Texas or Ranch Style Beans (plus can of water)
1 can Rotell tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies
1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded
1 can corn or 1/2 bag frozen corn
Water - see how you feel about it after the 2 cans listed above.

Combine and simmer for an hour or so. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Corn Chowder

This one's for you, Jane . . . .

Ingredients:
2 c water
2 c chopped potatoes
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
1/4 c chopped onion
1 1/2 t salt
1 can baby corn Niblets
pepper to taste
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

White Sauce:
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c flour
2 c milk or half n half cream

Directions:
Simmer vegetables in water for 10 min. Meanwhile make white sauce by melting margarine, whisking in flour, and adding milk or cream. Stir on medium heat until boiling. Boil 1 minute. Turn vegetables to low heat. Add white sauce, salt and pepper. Stir in parmesan cheese. Keep on low heat until cheese is melted (do not boil). Serve warm.

Vegetable Cheese Chowder

This is SO GOOD! We made it thursday, and have been having leftovers...it's amazing!

4 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup minced onion
2 tsp salt
4 cups water
1 10-oz package frozen broccoli
3 tbsp chicken base
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 pound processed American cheese (slices)


Prepare potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. Place in large soup pot and add salt and water. Cook till vegi's are tender about 20 minutes. Add broccoli, chicken base and milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes. In separate pan, melt margarine and add flour and dry mustard; stir to make roux. Add to soup and stir till thickened. Cut cheese into cubes and add to soup. Stir till cheese is melted. Keep hot, but do not boil, till ready to serve. makes 8-10 servings.

Chili

CHILI (Carol Reed)

This is my favorite Chili recipe which I love to put in the crockpot.

2-3 cups beans (Kidney or chili beans)
1 lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped
Garlic Salt
Salt/Pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp red pepper seeds
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
8 oz. can tomato sauce
Can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup water (or so)

Brown hamburger & add chopped onion, green pepper, cook till veggies are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer all afternoon. Add grated cheese right before eating.

Easy Taco Soup

We make this whenever I don't have time to make anything from scratch. It's so fun and easy! And it makes GREAT leftovers (especially for lunches at work).

1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can refried beans
1 can whole corn (I use Frozen Corn)
1 can diced tomatoes (with chilies is good)
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro or parsley (or both)
onion powder to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
cumin powder to taste

*All of these ingredients are absolutely necessary or it tastes weird...

Heat all canned ingredients (DO NOT DRAIN) in a large pot on medium. Add spices as desired. Serves 6. If you'd like to serve one or two more, add a can of black beans and another of refried if it needs to be thickened.

Serve hot in bowls with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream (if you put it in a baggie and cut a tiny whole in the corner, you can squirt the sour cream on top of the soup in a fun design). Garnish with a sprig of parsley or cilantro.

Pesto Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
salt and pepper
1 (15oz. can) kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 (15 oz. can) white beans (rinsed and drained)
6 cups chicken stock (or broth)
1 to 2 cups thin egg noodles
10 to 15 oz. of green beans (frozen or canned, I've used both)
3/4 cup pesto sauce

Directions:
Heat pot on medium high. Add olive oil. Add onion, potato and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the canned beans and chicken stock. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Remove lid after it reaches a boil, then add the noodles and green beans. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 15 min then remove from heat. Add a ladle of soup broth to thin the pesto, then add the pesto to the soup.