You're not canning this are you??? Hope not! No dairy for canning. It got me to thinking though..... Can you can broccoli? If you wanted to use it for cream soups, the texture wouldn't matter, right? The "cream" part could be done later, but what about just broccoli and maybe onion in chicken broth? Susan, have you tried googling for canning recipes for soups? KatieC's roasted garlic soup is fantastic!! I will buy tomatoes this year to can this if I don't get enough!! I did mine in pints and could just grab a jar and take it to work with me. Here's the recipe: Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup (2006, YUM!!! my note) Recipe By :Katie C 12 tomatoes -- *see Note 2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces 1 large onion -- quartered 2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste) olive oil 2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3) 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried) cream -- to taste DO NOT CAN WITH CREAM. Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until almost smooth. Add cream to taste. To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000 ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft. *Note: These measurements are approximate...I use whatever it takes to cover the cookie sheet. This makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of soup. Note from Annie: I didn't have a stick blender so I just put the veggies through my Foley food mill after roasting them. It worked great. Deanna

Funny - my "original" recipe for the Green Bean & COM soup calls for Worcestershire instead of Soy Sauce LOL! I wonder which original is original! LOLOLOL! As an alternative, I had this at a friends house last year and it was really REALLY good... maybe it might work for you? Best Ever Green Bean Casserole Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007 .Prep Time:25 minInactive Prep Time:-- Cook Time:45 minLevel: EasyServes: 4 to 6 servings.Ingredients For the topping: 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon kosher salt Nonstick cooking spray For beans and sauce: 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup chicken broth 1 cup half-and-half Directions Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F. While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

You're welcome! Thanks, iris, nice idea, I love water chestnuts. It's not that thick soup you sometimes get. The broth was nice and had a lot of flavor. I'd have used more pepper but we added less because of some people in the group. I'm not sure about the dried shiitakes we had used, they seemed kind of slimy to me in the soup, and one other person also thought that, too. The other people there thought the mushrooms were fine. All in all, the soup was very good! I'll make it at again at home. Let me know how you like it!

Well, I am very late (don't know how I missed this earlier in the week) but I want to say that if you are not considerably better now, then you need to go back to the doctor. I can't tell you how many times I have cared for people at death's door who were told they didn't have pneumonia, except they did. And your story (sick with virus, better, then much worse) is so typical of the onset. Lavender Lass, Chicken and Dumplings made by my grandma was my favorite birthday treat! but I never make it now, for some reason. Anyway, right now my favorite soup is a chicken vegetable based concoction that I came up with a few years ago. Essentially, I started out to make basic chicken vegetable from a roast carcass -- after making the stock, added mushrooms, greens, corn, broccoli etc. I had some pumpkin (from my supply of frozen that I put up every fall) so I threw that in. Then I added some diced cooked bacon. Decided that I wanted more protein but didn't have more chicken so I tossed in a codfish filet. Lastly, on a whim, I added jerk seasoning. Sound bizarre, doesn't it? But it is so good! I think that it is the pumpkin and jerk seasoning that takes it to the next level. I made it after Thanksgiving with the turkey remains. My other favorite soups are my "walk down the vegetable aisle and get one of everything" vegetable soup -- don't skip the tomatillos! -- Cincinnati-style Chili, and a multi-bean soup that DD's kindergarten teacher helped them make in class: Thanksgiving Soup 2 cups mixed beans, washed, soaked overnight and drained 2 quarts water 1 ham bone bring to boil & simmer 2-3 hours Add: 1 large onion, chopped, 1 large can tomatoes chopped, 1 teaspoon chili powder, juice of 1 lemon, and salt/pepper to taste Simmer about 20 min. I think that I will make the chili today, come to think of it. Happy New Year to all! (and Get Well Soon!)