23 October 2025 Smoked Creamy Tomato Bisque

Smoked Creamy Tomato Bisque

October 23, 2025 By

There’s something magical about combining smoke and soup. On a slightly chilly Sunday, I decided to fire up my Recteq pellet smoker and experiment with smoked tomatoes, red bell peppers, and onions. The result? A creamy tomato bisque that’s rich, comforting, and layered with flavor.

Why Smoke Your Veggies?

Smoking vegetables adds depth and complexity that you just can’t get from roasting or sautéing. The gentle heat and wood smoke infuse the tomatoes and peppers with a subtle sweetness and a hint of char that elevates this classic soup.

This smoked tomato bisque is perfect for cozy evenings or as a starter for a fall dinner party. The smoky undertones make it stand out from traditional tomato soups, and it’s surprisingly easy to make.

🛒 Ingredients

Smoked Vegetables

  • 12 Roma tomatoes, halved
  • 2 large red peppers, quartered
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp each, salt and pepper

Soup Base

  • 3/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp each, salt and pepper
  • 16 ounces chicken broth (use vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup)
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

🔥 Smoking Instructions

  1. Preheat your smoker (I use a Recteq pellet smoker) to 225°F.
  2. Arrange tomato halves and red pepper pieces on a baking rack, skin side down.
  3. Place chopped onion in a small metal dish.
  4. Drizzle olive oil over all vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  5. Smoke for 2 hours.

🍲 Soup Assembly

  1. Transfer smoked vegetables to a blender (I use a Vitamix).
  2. Add basil, sugar, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Pulse for one minute until mostly smooth.
  3. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in the cream, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  5. Serve hot and enjoy!

🥄 Yield

Serves 6

Cheers,
Veronique

Filed Under: American, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
17 February 2025 Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

February 17, 2025 By

Broccoli and cauliflower are two vegetables my husband doesn’t like so while he was away recently, I took the opportunity to make a batch of this soup that I portioned for lunches during the week.

This Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup is great with the Cheddar or without and only features a touch of cream for a bit of extra richness. Cream could also be kept out if the extra calories or the dairy concern you.

Do you want a vegetarian soup? Simply use vegetable broth!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped or 1 cup shredded
  • 1 medium broccoli head, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1 medium cauliflower head, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp. each thyme, garlic powder and onion powder
  • 32 ounces chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup heavy cream, optional
  • 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil then sauté the onion and carrots for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broccoli and cauliflower and cook, partially covered, an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add the seasonings and broth. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
  3. Purée in a blender or with an immersion blender until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and gently heat for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the cream and/or Cheddar, if using, and warm for 2 minutes.
  5. Re-season with salt and/or pepper to taste.
  6. To serve, ladle soup into bowls.

Yields 6 servings.

Filed Under: American, Soups, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , ,
20 October 2022 Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup

Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup

October 20, 2022 By

At our home, we make soup nearly every weekend when the weather’s cooler. While we have some favorites that we often default to, we also like to try new flavors to change things up.

Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup

This week, I did a velvety, stellar carrot, apple and ginger soup that was absolute fall in a bowl.

This recipe is super simple to prepare with just a few ingredients. After simmering all the ingredients in vegetable broth, I puréed the mixture in my Vitamix until perfectly smooth.

The results were outstanding.

Soup Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 4 cups peeled and sliced carrots
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 large garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 medium apple, peeled and diced (I used a Granny Smith)
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • ½ tsp. each salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup heavy cream, optional 
Soup Simmering
Soup in Blender

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the oil and warm for 1 minute.
  2. Add the onion and the carrot and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Add the ginger, the garlic and the apple and sauté an additional minute.
  4. Add the broth and spices and simmer for 30 minutes.
  5. Pour the cooled mixture in a blender (could also use a food processor) and purée until very smooth. This may need to be done in two batches depending on the size of your blender.
  6. Pour the soup back in the saucepan over medium heat and bring back to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the cream, if using.

Serves 6.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Gilding the French Onion Soup

December 8, 2021 By

At our home, we LOVE French onion soup. When we moved into our new home recently, we unpacked everything we owned, no more bins in the attic, no more boxes in the garage, we literally unpacked the equivalent of two full kitchens! In the process, I realized that we have 10 French onion soup bowls, so I decided we need to make it more often!

Cheesy Garlic Toast
Garlic Toast French Onion Soup

While I typically use my Traditional French Onion Soup recipe, I like to tweak it now and then. This past weekend, I replaced the regular toasted French bread I normally use with toasted cheesy garlic bread and it was fabulous. Yes, I know adding cheesy bread under the cheesy topping is gilding the lily, but, why not! 

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Cheese, French, Soups, Vegetables Tagged With:
8 January 2021 Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

January 8, 2021 By

At our home, we love soup. If we’re connected on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll see lots of soup pics, especially in the winter. I’m Canadian and my guy is Dutch, two countries big on soups, and while we each have favorites, this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup is one we both love.

Every so often when I have a few hours of downtime in the house, I’ll simmer or roast a whole chicken and then take the meat off the bones and bag individual portions and freeze for quick weeknight meals and for soup. For this soup, I do a double bag, about two cups. I’ll then simmer down the chicken carcass and make broth that I also freeze for future use, like this soup.

In this soup, you could use leftover rice or pasta for a great way to clear up the fridge with no waste. I often use linguine or fettucine. If you don’t have a blender/stick blender, simply skip that step and you’ll have a lovely soup that’s a bit chunkier. The soup gets its lovely coral color from the cooked carrots.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp. each dried thyme, salt and pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream combined with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 cups diced/shredded roasted chicken
  • ¼ pound linguine, broken into 2” pieces

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot warm the oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute.
  2. Add chicken broth, thyme, salt, pepper and cook for 10 more minutes.
  3. Add half the soup to a blender (or use a stick blender) and purée for about a minute. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and purée the second half of the soup and add to the 1st batch of puréed soup.
  4. Turn the heat to medium and add the cream/cornstarch mixture to the soup. Bring to a simmer and cook/stir for 3-4 minutes until the soup has thickened.
  5. Add the pasta, lower heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 more minutes, until the pasta is cooked through. If using cooked pasta or cooked rice, reduce the cooking time to 2 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes just to reheat the cold pasta/rice.

Serves 6 generously.

Filed Under: American, Chicken, Pasta, Soups Tagged With: , ,
15 April 2020 Hearty Sausage and Orzo Soup

Hearty Sausage and Orzo Soup

April 15, 2020 By

We love soup at our home, and I try to make it most Sundays so we can have a bowl during the week. This past week, we’d bought a few packages of fresh hot Italian sausage to freeze, and before they went into the freezer, I grabbed a few links to put in my soup.

Typically, I’d add kale to this soup, but I had a ton of spinach, so I added that instead. Whatever you have on-hand would be perfect.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 4 hot Italian sausage links (could use mild also), taken out of the casings and broken up into bite size pieces
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 celery ribs, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 8-ounce package of fresh, chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. each, salt, pepper, dry thyme
  • 48 ounces of chicken broth
  • 14-ounce can of pureed tomatoes
  • 5 ounces baby spinach
  • ½ cup dry orzo

Direction:

  1. Heat oil for 30 seconds over medium-high heat in a large, heavy saucepan. 
  2. Add the sausage and break up the pieces as the sausage cooks, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot, turn down the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the mushrooms and the seasonings and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the broth and chopped tomatoes, lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot partially and simmer for 45 minutes.
  6. Add the spinach and the orzo to the soup and cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Filed Under: American, Italian, Pork, Soups Tagged With: , ,
5 November 2019 Cream of Vegetable Soup

Cream of Vegetable Soup

November 5, 2019 By

Soups are our thing at our home and I try to make a giant batch on Sundays to eat throughout the week. This week, I had a ton of vegetables left and tried to use them all in this delish and easy to make Cream of Vegetable Soup. It’s perfect for #MeatlessMonday or any old day where comfort in a bowl is needed.

I puréed this soup and ran it through a fine sieve to get a super smooth texture but sometime I just purée it in the blender to keep some texture. Up to you, what you’re in the mood for.

Note that when I’m sautéing the vegetables, prior to adding broth, I let them brown quite a bit to boost up the flavor and give the broth a rich look and earthy flavor.

Who else likes to eat soup out of a cup??!

cream of vegetable soup

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium-large carrots, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp. each turmeric, garlic powder, dried thyme, sage and paprika
  • 64 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth, preferably homemade
  • ½ cup heavy cream + 1 tsp corn starch combined and stirred well, optional
Vegetables Sauteing
Soup Simmering
Soup Going Through Sieve (Optional)
Finished Soup

Directions:

  1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil then sauté the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add broth. Simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
  3. Purée with an immersion blender until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, add the soup to a blender and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Pass the puréed soup through a fine sieve if you’d like ultra-smooth soup.
  4. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and add the cream mixture, if using, and warm for 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into cups or bowls.

Serves 4.

Filed Under: American, Mushrooms, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
1 March 2019 Hearty Turkey Barley Soup

Hearty Turkey Barley Soup

March 1, 2019 By

This a rustic meal-in-a-bowl and perfect on a chilly winter day. It’s an easy way to use up turkey leftovers also.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • ½ medium turnip, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 6 cups turkey stock, homemade ideally
  • 2 cups cooked turkey, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 ¼ cups barley, rinsed and cooked to package directions
  • ½ tsp. each salt, pepper and dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves

Directions:

  1. To a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the turnip, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.
  2. While the vegetables cook, bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, the cooked vegetables, the barley, the salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and serve.

Yields 6-8 servings.

Filed Under: American, Chicken, Soups Tagged With: , ,
13 February 2018 Top Dishes for Mardi Gras Celebrations

Top Dishes for Mardi Gras Celebrations

February 13, 2018 By

According to Wikipedia, Mardi Gras, also called Fat Tuesday, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

I’ve always liked Mardi Gras. When I was a young child in Canada, my grandma used to dress my sister and me up in costumes and take us trick or treating on her street. Back then, kids dressed up just like for Halloween and collected treats.

Now that I’m an adult, the holiday is still centered on treats, in the form of actual food and I don’t miss a chance to celebrate with New Orleans-worthy dishes. Here are some of my top dishes for Mardi Gras celebrations.

Crawfish Bisque

Easy Mardi Gras Beignets

Easy Crawfish Etouffee

New Orleans Jambalaya

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Veronique

 

Filed Under: American, Chicken, Desserts, Entrees, Seafood, Soups, Vegetables
22 November 2017 Short Cut Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

Short Cut Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

November 22, 2017 By

Creamy Chicken and Rice SoupCreamy chicken and rice soup has been a favorite of mine since my youth going to St Hubert restaurant in Quebec. St Hubert is a popular restaurant chain and the rice and creamy chicken soup it makes is pure comfort in a bowl.

This week as I was prepping for my pot of Sunday soup, I decided to make my typical chicken soup, creamy. Then I decided to replace the hand-cut spaghetti (popular at my home) with the rice from a boil-in bag. The result – velvety texture, big chicken flavor and hearty enough to almost use a fork to eat!

The “Short Cut” Part

I had leftover cooked chicken and homemade chicken broth in the freezer so I used that, but you could poach your own chicken to use or simply buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and grab store-bought broth. I’m a big believer in taking shortcuts in the kitchen, especially when they result in the heaven-in-a-bowl that is this Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium-large carrots, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • ½ tsp. each dried thyme and sage
  • 1 tsp. each salt and pepper
  • 2 cups diced roasted chicken
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tsp. corn starch diluted into ½ cup cold water
  • 1 Uncle Ben’s Boil-In Bag rice packet, uncooked OR 2 cups cooked long grain rice

Directions

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
  2. Add chicken broth, thyme, sage, salt, black pepper and chicken and cook for 10 more minutes.
  3. Add the cream and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the corn starch mixture and stir for 2 minutes until the soup has thickened.
  4. Add the uncooked rice, lower heat to medium-low and cook 15 more minutes. If using cooked rice, reduce the cooking time for 2 minutes.

Serves 6 generously.

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Chicken, Soups, Vegetables Tagged With: , ,
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