Savory Honeydew and Almond Gazpacho

SAVORY HONEYDEW AND ALMOND GAZPACHO

Serves 4

For a smoother, more velvety texture, strain this soup through a fine sieve before serving. If you like, make the gazpacho a day or two in advance; just keep it well chilled until ready to serve.

Ingredients

1/3 cup whole blanched almonds, preferably Marcona almonds, plus more for garnish 
3 tablespoons lime juice 
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
6 plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped 
1/2 medium honeydew, seeded, peeled and cut into (1-inch) chunks (about 4 cups), plus more for garnish 
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put all ingredients into a blender and purée until smooth. Serve right away, garnished with chopped almonds and thin slices of honeydew, or chill well before serving.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 10oz/289g-wt.): 150 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 330mg sodium, 22g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 17g sugar), 5g protein

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks
1 teeny onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
2 quarts chicken broth
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, to add at the end
crumbled bacon and green onion or chives as garnish (optional)

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. The potatoes should be fork-tender. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup, or a hand-held immersible blender. I suppose you can also leave the potatoes in chunks, if you really wanted, but I wanted a smooth soup.

After smashing the potatoes, crumble in both packages of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or chives, and I'd assume cheddar cheese would be just delightful.

Tortellini Soup

5 cups chicken broth
3.5 cups shredded carrots (10 oz)
1 cup chopped yellow summer squash
3 cups torn fresh spinach
1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

In a large saucepan, combine the broth, carrots and squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and tortellini. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tortellini is heated through.

**Yield: 7 servings

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

2 cups water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 package (16 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (or fresh?)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 pound process American cheese, cubed

In a large saucepan, bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add broccoli. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup liquid. In another large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Whisk in flour until blended. Add the milk and cheese. Cook over medium-low heat until cheese is melted stirring frequently. Stire in broccoli and reserved cooking liquid.

** 4 servings