Soup Ideas?

[wulfy42]

Hi everyone. I am new to this website. I recently got back into making soups (which I have done off and on throughout my life). Never was very good at thickening my soup, but started using a corn starch slurry and simmering the soup to thicken it, and it's made a world of difference.

I have a variety of ways to make soup, but lately have just been using a medium sized sauce pan with a lid (though when simmering to thicken I don't use the lid). It makes plenty of soup for just me, and it's super fresh and tasty that way.

My favorite soup currently is a beef and mushroom noodle soup. I start by sauteeing onions and mushrooms, and I cut up some steak into little pieces and brown that as well before adding water in. I do about 50% water and 50% beef broth, then 1 scoup of better than buillion beef as well (gives it a bit more beefy flavor!!). I toss in 3 cut up pieces of Jallepenio (About 1/2 of one) but I will probably drop that to 2 pieces in the future.

Just recently I started taking about 2 spoon fulls of corn starsh and mixing it with an equal amount of broth, before adding it into the soup once it is simmering. I do it 1/2 at a time, and stir afterwards. I also add in basil, garlic powder,red pepper flakes, black pepper and a bit of salt.

I also break up spaggeti into 4 pieces and add that in as well. Finally I take 4 broccoli florrets and cut it up to almost be dust, and add that in as well. I let that simmer and thicken for about 30 minutes and then add about 1/5th of a jar of prego sauce, stir it all and let it simmer another 10 minutes or so, and then it is done.

It is VERY yummy, but curious if there are any soup experts on here that have recomendations on how to kick it up a notch.

I do have a crock pot/slow cooker and also an insta pot (which I used to use for soup making in the past, but I prefer my current method and it's almost as fast). I could make more and freeze it/keep it in the fridge, but honestly it tastes best fresh to me, and it's not that much work time to make. I currently either use the trimmings from the fatty pieces of rib eye steaks, or cut up tri-tip steaks.

Oh also for the oil/fat to sautee my onions/mushrooms and steak, I actually use the fat pieces from the steak that I have trimmed, then a tiny bit of added canola oil as well. The fat pieces add flavor to the soup (I remove them before putting in the onions etc, so it's just the oil/liquid fat left behind).

I use fresh ground pepper and salt as well, but my other spices (garlic/basil/red pepper flakes) are all dried. I may switch back to fresh garlic (in a jar/crushed) when I remember to actually buy some again lol. I keep forgetting but it would add more flavor.

Anyway that is my current favorite soup. I do make other types of soup and have even used Alessi tuscan bean soup mix in the past (quite yum). I'm down to experiment with other soups for sure. When I used to make roasted chicken, I would use the bones etc to make a great chicken broth and make a chicken soup with the left overs. It is not worth it to do all that just for me though, so now I just use boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs and don't have left overs or bones, so have not been making chicken soup much.

I do like lamb, and will probably substitute out my normal beef for a lamb version of the soup soon. I may even make extra and freeze it or just freeze the cut up pieces of lamb so I can make it over time.

Anyway just found this site because I am enjoying making soup again so much and wanted to introduce myself and get any advice soup experts on here might have!! I have always loved soup, and honestly even my best ever soups have never been as good as soups I have gotten when eating out. Beef wonton soup for instance at a local chineese place is so much thicker and beefier (heh) than mine. It has little cut pieces of steak, mushrooms, onions and noodles and is so delicious. My soup isn't nearly as good. I do notice that sometimes they made the soup have almost a geliton consistance (which is not good when it happens) so they must be using something different to thicken it.

Always happy to have advice on how to improve my cooking, so please let me know if there is anything you think I could improve or a different way to make my soups!!

Thank you

Wulfy

 

[dragnlaw]

Welcome to DC Wulfy.
I like soup and sometimes make cream soups of cauliflower or broccoli. I'm not really a big soup maker. There is also Onion soup and mushroom but I think my most favourite is Won Ton. Many time I make my own Won Tons, to this soup I have either very simple extras or half the fridge and it almost becomes a stew... I get a little carried away sometimes.

I just wanted to say, you don't always have to use a starch slurry to thicken.
You could use barley will help to give it body. Beef and Barley Soup!
If it is a vegetable soup (cauliflower/broccoli/potato/squash) you thicken it with the vegetable itself. Take out a good portion and blitz it in a blender or use a stick blender.
A lot of Cream soups add a blob of heavy cream at the end.
Knob of butter can give clear soups a nice mouth feel. Again, at the end. Or a drizzle of Olive Oil.
I'm sure many others who do soups on a regular basis will be showing you their favourites.

 

[msmofet]

 

[wulfy42]

Welcome to DC Wulfy.
I like soup and sometimes make cream soups of cauliflower or broccoli. I'm not really a big soup maker. There is also Onion soup and mushroom but I think my most favourite is Won Ton. Many time I make my own Won Tons, to this soup I have either very simple extras or half the fridge and it almost becomes a stew... I get a little carried away sometimes.

I just wanted to say, you don't always have to use a starch slurry to thicken.
You could use barley will help to give it body. Beef and Barley Soup!
If it is a vegetable soup (cauliflower/broccoli/potato/squash) you thicken it with the vegetable itself. Take out a good portion and blitz it in a blender or use a stick blender.
A lot of Cream soups add a blob of heavy cream at the end.
Knob of butter can give clear soups a nice mouth feel. Again, at the end. Or a drizzle of Olive Oil.
I'm sure many others who do soups on a regular basis will be showing you their favourites.

Omg, beef barley soup is one of my favorites I have not made it in awhile as I seem to go through soup periods where I make soup and then long breaks where I don't. I still have a package of unopened barley from last time (almost a year ago now!!).

I don't usually do many cream soups at all. I do use cream of mushroom soup for many dishes, but that is usually it for creamy soups. My beef and barley soups are usually just brocolli + barley + beef and sometimes potatoes and mushrooms. It is so good and yes, it's much thicker almost like a stew. Might have to start making them again as it's getting colder out and more soup like weather lol.

Been doing the beef/mushroom/onion thing though as it's much less work, the barley takes awhile, I let it rest in water a bunch before adding it to my soup and I tend to slow cook it in a crock pot (not just cook on the stove in an hour). It's more work, and more beef as well (hehe). Still it's so yummy. I also make alot more, which means left overs and it's just me....so that can get a bit overwhelming within a week or so (never been fond of freezing my soups, so just store in the fridge and then.....eat that soup every day for a week lol).

I think one of my favorite things about the barley soups was that it did come out thicker and was very beefy in flavor. Heck, I don't like carrots (especially cooked) but I can even enjoy them in beef barley soup because of the intense beef flavor of the broth...that makes the carrot....more beefy and less carroty (heh new word).

Anyway thanks for the suggestion and reminder. I had even forgotten I had that bag of barley!! I do have friends come over sometimes so making a big crock pot of it before they do is a great idea!!

Thanks

 

[wulfy42]

View attachment 70818

Omg I love that song by blue oyster cult. It's great everywhere (including in my playlist) but my favorite was when it was used as the intro for the original mini series The Stand by Steven King. Is my favorite mini-series of all time, and probably my favorite use of a song ever other than maybe in the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Thank you for the welcome

 

[dragnlaw]

LOL, I used to freeze portions of my soups - and find them a year later piled up under something else at the back of freezer. I love them the day I make them and don't mind having again the next day, but that's enough. So I froze them and forgot them.
Guess that's why I don't make them often. Just knowing they would pile up in the freezer.
Clear soups, other than onion and won ton, I really don't care for at all. It is the cream soups that I like.