Here are some that I like. Le MadeleineÂs Tomato Basil Soup --4 cups (8 to 10) tomatoes, peeled, cored, chopped or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed --4 cups tomato juice or mix of juice with vegetable or chicken stock --12-14 washed basil leaves --1 cup whipping cream --1/2 cup butter (1 whole stick) --Salt & Pepper Combine tomatoes and juice in a large pan and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Cool then put into blender or food processor along with basil to puree. Return to pan and add cream and butter over low heat to warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Will serve approximately 6 to 8 people. **I use this basic recipe, but I include a couple of cloves of minced garlic. Also, I do not put the tomato-basil mixture into the blender. I prefer the texture of the soup with chunks of tomatoes and basil. I also add both freshly ground black and white pepper along with the salt. Also, I have substituted the tomato juice with V-8 juice. It is whatever you prefer. My version: LINDAÂS CHUNKY TOMATO BASIL SOUP --4 cups (8 to 10) tomatoes chopped or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes --4 cups tomato juice or V-8 juice (you can use spicy if you like a little heat) --1/4 cup finely cut sweet yellow onion --2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced --12-14 washed & dried basil leaves, chiffonade --1 cup heavy whipping cream --1/2 cup butter (1 whole stick) --Kosher Salt --Freshly ground white & black Pepper Combine tomatoes, juice, onion and garlic in a large pan and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Add basil, cream and butter and continue to heat over low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve with hot crusty French bread. CHILLED TOMATO BASIL SOUP 2 cups chopped onion 2 TBL butter, melted 2 cups peeled, seeded & cubed cucumbers 3 cups peeled, cored & cubed tomatoes 3 fresh basil leaves (or more) or 1 tsp dried 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups plain yogurt Salt to taste 1 tsp chopped fresh mint ot to taste Sauté the onion in butter 10 minutes. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, basil & broth. Cook, stirring frequently for 30 minutes. Remove from heat & cool. Puree the cooked mixture in a blender. Pour into a bowl & blend in the yogurt & salt. Chill thoroughly. Serve garnished with mint.

Thanks Organic Maria---This soup sounds terrific. I am going to try it using our Pacific Coast Dungeness crab as soon as we get some.

this one is the best!! Okay, are you ready? Here we go: · 1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped · 2 large onions, chopped · 16-28 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped · 2 green peppers · 4 stalks celery · 1-2 packages Lipton onion soup mix, or any dry onion soup mix (optional) · black pepper · any fresh herb(s) of your choice, chopped · 6 carrots, sliced · 1/2 pound green beans, sliced on diagonal · 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (optional) Day One: Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water. Day Two: Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today. Day Three: Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. No Baked Potato. Day Four: Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets. Day Five: Beef And Tomatos: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomtoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef one one of the beef days (but not both). Day Six: Beef and Vegetables: Eat to your heart's content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once. Day Seven: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day

The Taco Soup recipe I use makes 10-12 servings (or more) and sometimes I double it if I am preparing it for a bunch of hungry firefighters. I usually make it in a big stock pot, but you can make it in a crock pot if your crock pot is large enough (my largest crock pot can hold a single batch of this recipe but my smaller one cannot, and if I double it, I have to cook it in a large stock pot on the stove). This one gets rave reviews whenever I make it and it often is my go-to recipe when I'm cooking food to take to a bereaved family. I think the one thing that makes this Taco Soup more flavorful than any other taco soup recipe I've ever used is the packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix. Paula Deen's Taco Soup Recipe For chicken tortilla soup, I don't usually use a recipe, although I am sure that the first time I made it, I did use a recipe. Since then, I just wing it and vary how I make it depending on what sort of tomatoes and peppers I have on hand. Since I am a "pinch of this" and a "handful of that" type cook, it can be hard to translate that sort of cooking style into a recipe unless I were to go into the kitchen right now, whip up a batch and measure everything precisely as I did it. However, I looked online to find a recipe that is most like the one I use and I found the one from Rick Bayless. This one is so similar to what I do that I wonder if the first recipe I tried was indeed his. The only thing I do differently from the way he does it (and his way is superior, of course, as it gives you a smoother soup) is that I just throw everything in the pot and cook it. I don't take the time to puree any of it in a food processor or blender. So, here's his recipe: Rick Bayless' Recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup