David Letterman has an interview show on Netflix entitled, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” They don’t because they are well known either as an actor, musician, or famous for being famous. Since I’m none of the above, I need an introduction.
My name is Mary Ann and I’m married to Lisa’s dad, Bob. We’ve been married almost 8 years and have been together since before the Grandkids were born. After we got married, I was dubbed, “GrammyAnn.” A play on my name. I love it! And so blessed to be a part of the “farmily.” Enough about me…
Let’s Talk Soup!
I love soup. It doesn’t matter if It’s 100 degrees outside or 30 degrees. The base of a good soup is making the roux. My mom, Ann, who was a fantastic home cook, taught me this years ago, but it never registered with me until recently. If you start with a roux, you can make all kinds of different soups. Here’s a recipe for a failproof roux.
Basic Roux
Equipment
- dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick real butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 32 oz carton of low sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Melt butter in a dutch oven. Remove from heat. Stir in flour until it's combined. Put back on the stove and heat, continuing to stir for a few minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. I usually use a wooden spoon or a large plastic (not picnic) spoon. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. It will begin to thicken a bit.From this roux, you can make different soups.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 yellow squash diced
- (2) 15 oz cans of low sodium black beans rinsed and drained
- (2) 15 oz cans of fire-roasted tomatoes low sodium (if you can find them)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 4 splashes of chipotle tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Start your roux. After you melt the butter, add the diced vegtables. Stir until soft for about 5 min. Take it off the stove, then add your flour. Refer to directions above to finish the roux. To this roux, I add 2 chicken bouillon cubes.
- Add the black beans, the fire roasted tomatoes, and the spices. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to simmer.
- Serve with cornbread. Even better the second day.
Corn Chowder
Equipment
- dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- (2) 15 oz cans of corn rinsed and drained
- 15 oz creamed corn
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 4 splashes of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (I love Mrs. Dash chipotle seasoning)
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
Instructions
- Start your roux. After you melt the butter, add the diced vegtables. Stir until soft for about 5 minutes. Take it off the stove, then add your flour. Refer to directions above to finish the roux.
- Add remaining ingredients. You can also use fresh corn. You can also add diced rotisserie chicken, but this soup is just as good without it.
Thanks for Reading!
So happy I got to talk soup with you. So many possibilities. From my little kitchen to yours: Thanks for reading!
Mary Ann (aka GrammyAnn)