You didn't really think I'd finish up this series of soup recipes without at least one for chicken soup, did you?  What I love about chicken soup recipes in general is that you can add just about any vegetables you've got on hand.  If you don't have or like parsnips or zucchini, for example, you could substitute green beans or a leafy green vegetable or corn or pretty much whatever your ...

Thickened by mashed potatoes, this rich soup gets its hearty, smoky flavor from the addition of bacon and garlic.  Naturally, now that she's gone vegan, my daughter won't eat this any more.  I like to serve this up with some warm, crusty garlic bread and a big glass of cold milk.  We usually only get 4 servings out of this recipe because we eat it as a meal rather than as an side di...

This is one of my daughter's recipes.  Usually, we prefer to substitute bean sprouts for the noodles.  Unfortunately, I don't have the nutritional information for this spicy soup, but I imagine it's low-calorie, well-balanced, full of good-for-you stuff, and it is delicious.Makes 5 main-dish servings, about 1 1/2 cups of soup each.Ingredients: 5 ¼ C vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chic...

Here's a delicious soup that takes advantage of the late-summer spinach harvest - well, the spring harvest, too, and the winter harvest if you have a cold frame, which I don't - that I alter by making with vegetable broth to appease my oft-mentioned vegan daughter.  I like to throw a few croutons into the bowl just before serving, and I've seen this done with strawberries or fontina cheese by...

Here's a great and oh-so-tasty way to use up some of the fresh herbs and vegetables from your garden.  Don't bother making a special trip to the store for small pasta shells; whatever you have on hand will work just as well.  I usually use whole-grain rotini for the extra fiber.  And of course, in season, you can use fresh tomatoes from your garden in place of canned.Servings: 8Prep...

Words cannot adequately describe how delicious this sweet and savory soup tastes.  I don't make this often because it's a bit of work and my vegan daughter won't touch it, but it's a big hit when we've got company.  I usually make it the day before so I only have to reheat it and add the compound butter and garnish.  It pairs well with most meats as a starchy substitute for potatoes...

You can make this comforting soup in just minutes, always a plus in my book.  To give it a full-bodied, homemade flavor, I freshen it up with a handful of herbs, some garlic cloves and crushed red pepper.  For a meatier flavor, add a little crumbled cooked Italian turkey sausage to the soup.Serves: 8Preparation time: 35 minutesIngredients:4 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth 6 cl...

I'm adding this verbatim from the recipe I have, but I make a number of changes to it, such as using vegetable stock for my oft-mentioned vegan daughter.  We like it just fine without going to the bother of pureeing and straining it, which seems to me would remove much of the fiber.  And personally, I find the sodium information suspect, since the recipe gives you the option of using reg...

We eat this hearty soup as a one-dish meal, though I substitute vegetable broth for my vegan daughter's sake.  It uses easy-to-find ingredients and only needs a salad and some crusty bread to provide a filling supper.Servings:  4Ingredients:2 teaspoons olive oil3 leeks, medium-sized, well washed and thinly sliced4 cups organic chicken broth or stock1 cup water1 red potato, large-sized, s...

This hearty soup makes good use of fall root vegetables that we eat as a complete meal.  It's diabetic-friendly and tastes even better the next day once the flavors have had a chance to meld.   Servings:  8Prep Time: 30 minsCook Time: 1 h 30 minsTotal Time: 2 hIngredients:1 1/2 pounds beef, boneless round steak 1 tablespoon canola oil3 cans beef broth1 cup water 2 stalks celery...

In all honesty, I think a serving size of 1/2 cup is insanely small for this delicious bisque.  I serve it up a cup at a time for my family of three.  I prepare the squash seeds in the toaster oven with a splash of canola oil and a dash of salt at a low setting, stirring occasionally so they cook evenly, while the squash is baking in the oven.  In deference to my vegan daughter, I u...