Terri's Favorite: Cream of Spinach Soup

Terri Wilklow Wiebke's Favorite Soup: Cream of Spinach 

Terri and I at her home in Westcliffe, Colorado 2021

Terri is my younger sister by 16 months. We were each others first playmates until our younger sister, Julie was old enough to join the fun! Then we became the three musketeerettes! I currently live about 90 minutes from Julie in Florida but for 19 years, I either lived with Terri & her family, lived close by or traveled also 90 minutes to spend weekends out in the Wetmore Mountains at their ranchette. We always took turns cooking during those weekends. Once time I made this soup and she was hooked! Hope you are too! 

Ingredients: 

• 6 cups of cleaned/chopped spinach leaves 
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 cloves minced 
• 1/4 chopped onion 
• 4 cups of chicken or vegetable 
• 1/2 cup half & half or cream 
• Salt & Pepper to taste 

Instructions: Heat up a soup pot and add olive oil, garlic and onion and sauté (don’t burn). Once transparent add spinach and stir quickly for about a min so favor releases. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Using a hand mixer(I call a “boat moto”) purée the spinach soup to desired texture. To make creamy, mix 1/4 flour with hot water stir until NO CLUMPS! Bring to a slow boil, turn down and add cream. Keep heating until desired creaminess. Serve piping hot with a dollop of cream and a pinch of diced spinach! ENJOY!

Stephanie's Travels Green Chili Cheese Soup

 I always enjoyed traveling through Colorado for work and leisure during the almost 19 years I lived there. On one such trip to Buena Vista, I had lunch at a local restaurant that offered a variety of soups. We were able to try as many as we wanted but the Green Chili Cheese Soup was the winner and I eat at least 3 bowls!!!! I did not get the recipe but after thinking a lot about this soup, I decided to test kitchen my own version! 

Stephanie's Travels Green Chili Cheese Soup:

Ingredients: 

• 3 tbps olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup flour 
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 cans of diced green chili (I use Mild) you choose fire!
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (carton or paste works best)
• 2 cans of diced green chili (I use Mild) you choose fire!
• 1lb shredded Mexican Cheese mixture (16oz)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Garnish with Sour Cream and a pinch of Cheese Mixture

Stephanie's Green Chili Cheese Soup! 

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil with garlic and onion until translucent. Add 1/4 cup flour to the sautéed mix and stir constantly until a light beige color and all is moist. Add the 6 cups of broth and bring to a boil, stir constantly so as to not burn it. (Like gravy)At this point, you can use an immersion hand mixer to liquify the broth with any garlic or onion pieces. (Not necessary unless your like me and only want the green chili pieces in my soup!) Once soup has reached the desired thicknes, add the 2 cans of diced green chili (drained or not drained). If not drained, you will need to allow soup to reboil to get thick again. Once it gets to a slow boil, reduce to a simmer. Now add the cheese, a cup at a time, stirring constantly until all has been mixed into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is the time to see if you want to add anything more: Too Thick - add a cup of hot water or broth. Too thin - allow soup to simmer on very low heat for about 10 mins (make sure the soup is not sticking or burning). 

Most important tips:

• Drain or not to Drain the diced green chilis - if you reserve some of the juice you can add if the soup is too thick
• Make sure once the cheese has been introduced into the soup, you keep the heat low and mix constantly otherwise it will burn and taste BAD!     

 

Easy Pho Soup

 

Stella & Carmen with Grandpa

Pho Soup is new to both Dave and I. We started eating it out in Colorado with my daughter, Liz and her family. I absolutely LOVED the broth and I was able to eat the soft noodles. So one day back in Florida, I decided to try my hand in making Pho Soup with some left over vegetables and chicken. 

Ingredients: 

• Package of Asian Rice Noodles 
• 1lb Chicken Tenderloins - sliced or diced
• 6 cups Chicken broth (carton or paste) to taste
• 1 medium onion sliced thin
• 1 bag of shredded Coleslaw mix or Broccolislaw mix
• 1 cup of broccoli florets
• 3 tbps minced garlic (I buy the minced garlic in oil & always have in fridge)
• 3 tbps minced ginger (I buy the minced garlic in oil & always have in fridge)
• 1/4 cup sesame oil (or you can use Olive oil)

Instructions:

In a large pot at oil to medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger sauté for about a min then add the onion. Watch the pot and turn down it anything starts to burn. Add chicken to pot and allow to sauté until no longer pink on any side. Add 1 carton of chicken or vegetable broth on top of cooked chicken stir and bring to a gentle boil for about 10 mins. Add the Rice Noodles and cook about 5 mins at the same temperature (WATCH THE LIQUID SO AS TO NOT BURN!) Add more chicken broth if needed. 

Add the broccoli florets and the bag of Slaw mix and turn off burner. 

Serve hot in bowl and top with bok choy, or spinach leaves. Offer Soy Sauce and a hot Asian Sauce to add for flavor.