Homemade Soups for the College Student’s Soul

As the temperature begins to drop, long days trudging around on campus can fuel our desire for a big bowl of warm soup.

After all, it’s always there as a comfort food to take away shivers and heat us up, not to mention a big bowl of homemade soup typically reminds college students of being home with mom.

Since we’re not all trained chefs, transform your Ramen Noodles into a bowl of chicken noodle or try an advanced recipe that delivers a sweet and savory butternut squash soup.

Ramen Re-do

Ditch the sodium-filled seasoning packet and add some vegetables to make these noodles better for you. Nothing soothes you more than homemade chicken noodle soup and surprisingly a packet of ramen can be quite easy to transform.

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups of chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 1 stack celery, sliced
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup of shredded chicken, cooked
• And of course ½ cup of ramen noodles

Recipe:

1. Heat the broth, soy sauce, ginger, black pepper, carrot, celery, red pepper, green onion, and garlic in a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil while occasionally stirring.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes or until the noodles are done.
3. Let cool and enjoy.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup

Squash can be seen everywhere in the stores this time of year and everyone loves bacon, so why not combine the two into a sweet and savory roasted butternut squash and bacon soup? This soup requires a little more cooking, but will be so worth it after you take a bite.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 sliced bacon, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices of bacon, diced
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 ½ cups of chicken stock
• ¼ cup of crumbled goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Then, lightly oil a baking sheet .
2. Place the butternut squash, onion and bell pepper in a single layer onto the baking sheet. Add olive oil, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until squash is tender.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy. Then, transfer to a plate.
4. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add roasted vegetables and thyme. Cook for about 1-2 minutes while stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken stock and puree ingredients with an immersion blender.
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 5-10 minutes (if soup is too thick you can add more chicken stock until desired consistency).
6. Serve it up and garnish your creation with bacon, goat cheese and chives.