Soup 101

When we first went gluten free, I couldn't think of a whole lot of foods we could have.  It was cold out, so I made A LOT of soup.  I advise for soups, that you make your own broth.  This means meat with a bone in it, and yes, the fat, and if chicken, the skin too.  This makes for the best broth, plus there is more nutritional benefit.  I do not advise for chicken soups, that you ever use boneless, skinless chicken.  This just makes for an exceptionally boring, blah soup.  Be daring, throw a whole fryer chicken in, and if you don't like the dark meat, throw in some whole breasts with bones and skin.  You'll be glad you did.  I'm going to make this into a design-your-own recipe.  Soup possibilities are endless, so this is just a soup 101 course. 

Step one: Find a BIG pot, or use an electric roaster, or crock pot that has a nice hot setting.

Step two: Pick your meat (if you're a vegetarian, sorry!).  Beef roasts or soap bones are nice, or, as mentioned above, chicken with the bone and skin.  I do have a recipe that is very similar to Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana that I will post on here too. That's my fav!   That uses Jennie O Italian sausage.

Step three:  Put your meat in your pot, and fill'er up with water. Add a few cloves of garlic, mince a couple of onions, lotsa salt and pepper.  Don't be afraid to experiment with different herbs.  I love fresh basil in my chicken and rice!  Cook for a couple hours, or until meat is tender and coming off the bone.

Step four:  Debone your meat.  Pull it, shred it, just make it into bite sized pieces.  Discard the skin, bones, and extra fat.  Put back into the pot.

Step five: Pick a starch.  Not that you have to, but I prefer to throw in either some potatoes, rice, or gf pasta.

Step six: At this point, you can be done.  Just let it finish cooking until your "starch" is cooked.  If you want a creamy soup, however, you can add a few cups of whole milk, maybe some heavy cream, but first mix your cold liquid with 1/2 c of corn or potato starch. This will thicken your soup some.

Those are just some soup basics. 

This is very much like Olive Garden's Zoupa Toscana. My fav Olive Garden soup!

2 packages Jenny-O Turkey Brats - casings removed
1 large can (like 49.5 oz) chicken broth
refill that can with water, then milk
about 3 lbs red potatoes, diced into bite sized pieces
1 large onion diced
several large cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you likey.
about 3 cups chopped kale leaves

Remove casings from brats and brown sausage in pan. Make sure its all chopped up like ground beef.
In large crockpot on high or large kettle on stove, combine chicken broth with equal amounts of water and milk. For creamier soup, substitute a couple of cups of the milk for heavy cream, just remember it adds fat and calories though. Add remaining ingredients, including browned sausage. Cook for several hours in crockpot or simmer on stove until potatoes are tender.