lazy sort of won ton soup

there's something very satisfying about won ton soup. i love the broth, the meaty yumminess, and the delicate wonton wrappers. it's not too heavy, not too light; it's just right.

unfortunately, i'm way too lazy to learn how to make won tons right now. as a result, when i want won ton soup, i (or often, the geek) must go out and pick some up. when i saw this recipe in real simple, i thought it would be an easy way to satisfy my craving. afterall, it has all the things i love about won ton soup. brothy goodness- yep; elements of the meaty won ton filling- uh-huh; won ton wrappers- yes. yay!

chicken, artichoke and corn soup with puff pastry "croutons"

it's so freaking cold outside that lately, all i want to eat is soup. nice, warm, comforting soup. while perusing soup recipes on food network, i came across a recipe for cream of chicken soup. many of the reviewers thought it tasted like chicken pot pie, which sounded fantastic to me. (although, to be honest, i never thought to myself, "gee, i wish i could drink this chicken pot pie!")

to add a twist to it, i also included corn and artichoke. years ago, i had a chicken, artichoke, corn chowder which was just delicious. the geek declared this soup tasty (although he did leave a couple artichokes in his bowl). he also declared undying love for the puff pastry "croutons".

asian noodle soup

i love noodle soups. i especially love easy to make noodle soups with lots of vegetables, because they manage to be light and filling at the same time. when the geek sees this bowl full of brothy, noodley, garnished goodness, he describes it as an 'aquarium in a bowl.' even when i point out that this contains chicken and not seafood, he still thinks that it looks like a bowl full of aquarium plant life where a fish could live. how do you argue with that?

luckily, this lovely and descriptive nickname does not deter him from slurping it up. except for the vegetables; he begrudgingly eats those.

white bean & kale soup

a few weeks ago, the geek and i visited the biltmore estate in asheville, north carolina. mid-january is not a busy time there, so it wasn't too crowded and lines were almost non-existent. by lunch time, we had toured the house and parts of the frozen garden. we were starving and freezing, so we headed over to the stable cafe to eat and defrost. when i ordered their white bean and kale soup, i wasn't sure what to expect. i was cold, it sounded warm, and i just hoped it would taste good too. 

it did taste good.

it also tasted very familiar. i had expected to try something new, something i hoped i would like. i did indeed like it; it tasted just like a soup my mom makes, a soup a lot of moms, dads, hungry people and restaurants in hawaii make. we call it portuguese bean soup. instead of white beans and kale it has kidney beans and cabbage. it also has portuguese sausage and elbow macaroni, but the shreds of pork and slightly salty, super delicious tomato broth are the same.