@bromfield2:
I usually cook the noodles or orzo seperately, then add them to the soup just about the time I serve it. This usually keeps it from absorbing the soup and becoming smushy IME.
The broth/soup should be added to the pre cooked noodles just before serving. I put them right in the individual serving bowl.
I eat homemade soup, chowder or chili for lunch daily from October - March or April. I make a pot on Sundays and have a bowl daily through Friday. Sometimes I’ll share with my husband! I do what above posters have mentioned making my own stock with a roasted chicken or a Rotisserie Costco chicken. I also supplement with Better than Bouillon https://smile.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Organic-Chicken/dp/B00016LAFM/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1483729807&sr=1-1&keywords=better+than+bouillon This stuff is awesome and is made with different bases - chicken, vegetable, ham, etc. I pretty much always start with sauteing onions, celery and carrots and then adding everything else.
This weeks soup is chicken orzo. I like orzo better than chicken noodle because I think orzo stands up to re-heating better and is less likely to turn blobby. The key is to stop cooking it as soon as it’s al dente and not fully puffed.
@fractalmstr you should haunt the instant pot thread.
I like engorged noodles but DH doesn’t. I cook ahead of time, but they still engorge if you put in frig overnight. Sometimes if they aren’t the main part of the soup, I’ll just keep them separate and add to each bowl.
Aldo, I agree good soup takes awhile to simmer and cook well. I never use the cockpot. I always use stock instead of water.
I always skim oil off the top once the soup is done. If the soup is coming out watery (i.e. lacking flavor) then you just need to adjust the ratio of ingredients to water. Add more stuff or add less water, basically. I generally do a taste test then add additional seasoning while cooking uncovered to allow for evaporation which increases intensity if I think the flavor is too weak.
If you add finely chopped potato to the soup (I prefer sweet potatoes but don’t know how that works for diabetics) then that will help thicken the broth. You could also use potato starch which is a pretty potent thickener.
every soup I make starts out with olive oil and onion or leeks. Then it just depends on the particular soup. We usually have a potato and kale, chicken soup and a sausage and lentil with potato soup. I think it’s about layering. I save vegetable peelings all week (carrot/celery/onion/parsnip/etc) and that will go in to my chicken soup stock and back out with the carcass. Then I add fresh vegetables to the soup for serving. I will toss in garlic or ginger, depending on my mood. I almost always stick a chunk of Parmesan rind in to the soup (or my sauce;) Usually finish with a fresh grating of parm or sprinkling of Gruyere at the end. Our kids love soup, so it is in rotation every week.
When I make minestrone…i add the noodles for,the last 10 minutes of the cooking. For that I use Ditalini…about the same size as orzo.
For other soups…like chicken noodle…I cook the noodles totally separately.
Never, ever, ever put raw onions in your broth. Brown or sweat them first in oil.
My own black bean soup [okay, based on a published recipe, but I think of it as my soup after 15 years of tinkering]:
1 pound dried black beans
1 large green pepper (cut in half and seeds removed)
2/3 cup peanut oil or salad oil
1 large yellow onion (peeled and sliced)
4 garlic cloves (crushed, not minced)
1 small hot green pepper (cut in half and seeds removed)
3 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Rinse the black beans and soak overnight in 10 cups of water, with a teaspoon of salt and the green pepper.
In a large heavy-bottom soup pot, bring the beans (with soaking water and pepper) to a boil. Simmer (uncovered) until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the green pepper pieces and discard.
Heat the peanut/salad oil in a deep frying pan or heavy saucepan. Sauté the onion, garlic and hot green pepper until soft. Remove as much of the bean broth as possible (I use a baster to suction the broth from the beans) and add it to the frying pan. Simmer this mixture for 10 minutes or so. Strain the onions, garlic and hot green pepper from the broth and discard. (A colander works fine if you didn’t mince the garlic; otherwise you need a sieve or the garlic will come through and make the soup too salty – talking from sad experience).
Add salt, pepper, bay leaf, cumin seed, and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer (covered) for about 2 hours or until it thickens. Add the vinegar and olive oil after an hour so. You may have to add some water if too much of the liquid cooks away. The longer it cooks, the better. I often cook it early (even the day before), let it sit (overnight), and then add some water and cook it again. The two-day method makes the best soup.
Ham and Bean Soup:
Rinse and then soak overnight one package of Hurst HamBean brand 15-Bean Soup beans, and 1/2 a package of any brand of navy beans. Do not drain after soaking.
http://www.hurstbeans.com/products/1/15-bean-soup
Meanwhile, buy 4 smoked ham hocks from a local butcher shop (or use a leftover bone-in ham from Sunday dinner). Put the smoked ham hocks, in a very large pot, fill with water, add some Colgin brand Mesquite Liquid Smoke, and Ham Better than Bouillon soup base. Simmer for hours until all the meat falls off the bones. Strain and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, skim off the fat, pick through the strained chunks and bits for the ham and dice the ham, discarding bones and skin.
Slice up an entire bag of baby carrots and add to the pot. Puree 2 white onions and an entire washed celery bunch including leaves with some broth and crushed garlic from a jar. Dice a red pepper. Puree some frozen tomatoes saved from your summer garden. Simmer it all in a pot with the broth and soaked beans/liquid and ham for hours (add more water to fill pot at the beginning if not almost full), stirring often enough so that the beans don’t stick/burn onto the bottom. Add a dried bay leaf or two, maybe some cumin too, and more liquid smoke as needed, along with the seasoning packet that came with the 15-Bean bag of dried beans.
Serve the next day after refrigerating overnight. It will thicken up nicely. Remember to remove the bay leaves.
Add a dash of balsamic vinegar to your bowl, to taste.
http://www.betterthanbouillon.com/products/
https://www.colgin.com/mesquite-liquid-smoke/
You can add some chili powder, a dash of Worcester sauce, a squeeze of lemon and a squirt of brown mustard for more flavor layers, to the big pot.
Enjoy!
(Beans, soup base and liquid smoke purchased at the grocery store).
Yum. One of the best things about having a HoneyBaked Ham for Christmas is making ham bone and bean soup on Boxing Day! My recipe is pretty much like the above, sans the liquid smoke, and I tend to add a little chili powder as well. I also toss in whatever beans I have on hand, since I like the colors (black, white, red – you name it) and I tend to use a fair amount of green lentils to give it a nice mushy undertone. It’s obvioulsy never quite the same from year to year.
I made ham and bean soap for the first time with leftover Honeybaked ham…just a typical recipe with chicken stock not water…it was incredible!
I have a hambone from HoneyBaked that I am saving for soup…yum!!
I saved a hambone too! I love bean soup!
I’m going to try that Ham and Bean soup, that sounds really good! I love split pea soup and will make it using hamhocks also as I rarely make a ham.
The best soup definitely comes from making homemade stock which takes some time but if I want to make a quicker version of chicken soup I poach some chicken breasts in canned chicken broth or stock and then use the enhanced broth and the meat from the chicken breasts for the soup. I have read somewhere that when making homemade stock if you add a small amount of cider vinegar ( a couple of teaspoons) it helps leach calcium from the bones.
I don’t use garlic or onion in chicken stock but prefer to use leeks.
Darn it, I want bean soup now.
I appreciate the recipes and thoughts about cooking soup/broth slow. But sometimes I need a good soup quicker. Like in an hour. How about those recipes? 
Nope. You gotta make it ahead of time and freeze. I’ve still got three quarts of this year’s Thanksgiving turkey soup in the freezer. [Not as good as usual, to be honest with ya. I went light on the spices, but it perks up with the proper treatment when reheating.]
This is quick and yummy!
Bean and Bacon Soup
Ingredients
4 strips of bacon
2 TBsps. olive oil or butter
1 large carrot (can use several smaller), chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped ( about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
2 15 ½ oz cans great Northern beans, drained
Salt and pepper
3-4 cups water or chicken broth
Cook bacon- either saute in a pan or cook in microwave til crisp. If sautéing, turn frequently to prevent burning.
Heat olive oil or butter in large soup pot over medium heat ( or you can use the bacon grease from the cooked bacon).
When hot add carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add celery, onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the beans and the water or broth. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Uncover and mash with a potato masher or large spoon to partially mash beans and thicken the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with crumbled bacon on top. Serve with crusty bread for a more complete meal.
*If you want to make a bigger batch you can add one more can of beans and another cup or two of water or broth.
I always make this with broth not water.
The “trick” is to use just enough water or fluid to cover your stock. If you use too much liquid, it waters things down. I like getting beef shin meat cut by the butcher. It makes a hearty and healthy beef broth. Of course, it is best to brown the meat, barely cover with water, boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Same with chicken or other poultry carcas(es)–barely cover with water.
If you want things fast, you need a pressure cooker, instand pot or canned soup.