Best homemade soup recipe?

[MyPaperBleedsInk]

Let's hear some of your favorite recipes! I've recently been interested in making my own soup and I'm looking for more ideas.

Last night I made chicken noodle with cut up carrots, onions, and celery... shredded chicken, chicken brother, and egg noodles. Sometimes I make the pasta myself, sometimes I buy it in the store for convenience. Tastes the same either way.

My next goal this weekend is to make cheeseburger soup. But I'd like to have some more ideas to get me by this winter months.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

I got this recipe from my sister and haven't tried yet, but will do sometime this week.

Perhaps you go ahead with me with the preparation or simply want to add this recipe to yours

Baked Winter Squash Soup
Ingredients:
2 acorn squash (about 2 pounds each)
2 butternut squash (ditto)
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
8 teaspoon dark brown sugar
3 carrots, peeled and halved
1 large onion, thinly sliced
10 cups chicken stock
3/4 teaspoon ground mace
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste
creme fraiche for garnish
snipped fresh chives for garnish

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds.
• Place squash halves in roasting pan.
• Place 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar in cavity of each squash half.
• Arrange carrots and onion slices around the squash.
• Pour 2 cups of the stock in the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.
• Remove pan from oven and allow vegetables to cool slightly.
• Scoop squash pulp out of skins and place in a soup pot.
• Add carrots onions and cooking liquid.
• Add remaining 8 cups chicken stock and mace, ginger, cayenne, and salt.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Puree the soup in batches in blender or food processor until smooth.
• Return it to the pot, adjust the seasonings, and heat through.
• Serve each portion garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche and sprinkling of chives.

 

[OhioTom76]

I used to work at TGI Friday's, and while many of the recipes I see for "copycat" versions of their stuff are way off, this one is pretty much spot on from what I recall:

http://www.food.com/recipe/t-g-i-fridays-black-bean-soup-102274

Plus it reheats very well. It will look runny and watery at first, but you need to let it simmer for a long time and it will thicken up a lot and get a much darker color.

They also made a really good cream of chicken and artichoke soup that I am trying to hunt down the recipe for, but haven't had any luck yet - and I forgot the ingredients to unfortunately, but worth keeping an eye out for.

Another favorite is just a quick minestrone. I use equal parts Barilla marinara sauce, and Swanson chicken broth along with Ditalini pasta and a can of beans (typically kidney or navy beans) then I throw in all sorts of veggies that I have on hand, such as celery, carrot, spinach, zucchini, etc... I then brown a little ground beef in a separate pan, drain it, and toss that in too.