Split pea with ham hocks
Chickpea curry
Chicken lemon lentil
Chili

I am saving this post for the recipes…

Chicken soup and lentil soup. Especially lentil soup, I can’t recommend it enough. Look up merdzimek chorbasy or turkish version of it (dunno how to spell it correctly but the name is same).

Italian style chickpea or lentil soup is always great, you can make them almost the same too (just swap out the legumes)

Sometimes I turn leftover rice into avgolemono, a delicious lemony Greek soup.

My absolute favorite is potato soup, but made like it was a fully loaded baked potato so it has sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon in it.

Ham noodle soup with those extra thick home style noodles and the ham cooked so long it’s stringy

I used to make a lot of chicken pot pie-esque soups in years past, lots of potatoes and carrots, but lately my go-to is to sautee some onions, bell pepper, celery, carrot, zucchini and whatever else is handy, using sesame oil and a little chili oil, then add water and make packaged ramen noodles in the pot, discarding the powder packet and using soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce, sometimes with chopped green onions, minced fresh ginger, garlic and/or crushed peanuts. At the end I throw in a little of whatever meat leftovers I already have, thinly sliced. Very flavorful, sort of a pho vibe, and has the homemade satisfaction.

I’ve also tried this with non-Asian flavors such as generic Cajun seasongs, cumin, paprika, garlic and chili powder. Ramen noodles are cheap and versatile.

I have a green chili stew recipe I love; one of my favorite foods.

• 2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp oregano
• 2 to 3 lbs red or gold potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 3 large cans chopped green chilies
• 5 to 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 to 4 tsp canned chopped jalapeños
• 1 ½ to 2 lbs pork loin, cut into small chunks
• 1 to 1 ½ tsp salt, to taste
• Sour cream

Heat the oil in a 2 quart saucepan, add the onion and garlic, and cook, covered, over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the onion can wilt.

Uncover the pan, raise the heat to medium, and stir in the cumin and pepper.

Stir for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the onions start to show signs of browning, then add the chicken broth, oregano, salt, green chilies, jalapeños, & pork. Add potatoes until pot is full.

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for at least 1 hour.

Remove from heat and let settle for 5 to 10 min.

Serve hot, add sour cream to servings per taste. Garnish with cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, cracklins, etc.

Potato and leek soup. Making it it tonight. Can’t wait!!

Roasted butternut squash with carrot and red pepper, needs a good kick of ginger and black pepper.

alphabet soup

Miso or Thai Tom Yum(?)

Chicken soups. Especially the never plain ones with few ingredients.

Split pea with a mountain of crackers

All my fellow mushroom soup lovers should make some Hungarian mushroom soup sometime. So good.

My favorite soups that I occasionally make are duck pho, lobster bisque (it has been way too long since I’ve made this one, but it’s a lot of work), fish chowder, French onion soup, and Hungarian mushroom soup.