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Jump start your diet with these delicious soup recipes

Soup is filling and diet friendly.

Autumn arrives this coming Tuesday and the weather is cooling off in most regions of the country. Many of us want hot food, but we also want something light. Soup is a perfect match for warm fare that's also not a belly buster.

Most soups are diet friendly and healthy. Higher calorie soups tend to be cream based. To control your calories and weight, opt for stock based soups, or eat a small portion (1/2 cup) of creamy soup paired with a salad.

Homemade soups aren't difficult to make and the best tasting soups start with a homemade stock. Below are recipes for basic stocks and two delicious soups anyone can make at home.

Chicken Stock

15 cups water
4 pounds chicken pieces, neck and giblets
Additional 1 cup water
2 onions, peeled, quartered
2 whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 celery stalks, quartered
2 carrots, quartered
6 fresh parsley sprigs
8 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Add chicken pieces and water to an 8 quart stock pot. Bring to a boil, skimming froth frequently. Add remaining water and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered, skimming froth frequently, for 3 hours. Pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard solids. Cool stock before skimming fat. Chill in a tightly sealed container.  Keeps 1 week refrigerated or 3 months frozen. Makes 14 cups.

Brown Stock

4 pounds beef bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces
3 pounds stew beef, cubed
3 onions, quartered
2 cups water
Additional 16 cups water
3 carrots, quartered
3 celery stalks, quartered
5 unpeeled garlic cloves
7 long parsley sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast beef bones for 25 minutes. Add onions and carrots and roast for 30 minutes, until browned. Transfer bones and vegetables to an 8 quart stock pot. Skim fat from roasting pan and place on stove top on high heat. Add 2 cups water and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add this liquid to the stock pot with 15 cups cold water and bring the liquid to a boil. Skim froth. Lower heat to a simmer. Add celery, garlic, parsley, salt, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer the mixture for 4 hours, skimming occasionally. Strain stock through a fine sieve and let cool. Chill stock. Remove fat. Keeps refrigerated for 1 week, keeps frozen for 3 months. Makes about 10 cups.

Fish Stock

2 pounds whitefish, including bones    
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped                         
1 white onion, cut into eighths
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns  
6 sprigs parsley
4 sprigs thyme                                      
1 bay leaf
4-6 quarts water

Place all other ingredients in an 8-quart stockpot. Fill stockpot with water and bring to a simmer, decrease the heat to low and cook for 1 hour, periodically skimming off any fat and impurities that rise to the surface. Pour stock through a mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables and herbs. Store cooled stock in tightly sealed glass container until ready to use. Yields about 1 gallon.

Southern Comfort Hearty Beef Soup

2 tablespoons oil                                            
1 pound beef stew meat, cubed
1 cup yellow onion, chopped                                     
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped                                  
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup celery, chopped                                              
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil                                           
6 cups canned beef stock
1 cup water                                                                  
2 cups fresh snow peas
1 cup fresh corn                                                          
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt                                                        
1/4 cup fresh parsley

Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Add beef and brown, about 10 minutes. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, celery, carrots, basil, stock and water. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Add peas, corn, pepper and salt. Simmer until vegetables are tender.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Serves 10.

Gulf Coast Fish Chowder 

4 ounces meaty salt pork, rind removed, diced into cubes
2 white onions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced
5 to 6 cups fish stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 pounds skinless haddock fillets, 1 inch thick
2 cups heavy cream
For garnish:
Fresh Italian parsley
Fresh chives

Heat salt pork in a large stock pot until pork is crisp golden brown and has rendered some fat. Transfer pork cracklings to a dish and set aside. Reserve fat. Sauté onions, thyme and bay leaves in butter until softened. Add potatoes and enough stock to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously until almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat.  Season with salt and pepper. Add fish fillets and cook over for 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and let chowder to sit for 10 minutes while fish continues cooking. Stir in cream and adjust if needed with salt and pepper.  Serve hot sprinkled with pork cracklings, parsley and chives.  Serves 10.

Soup is cuisine’s kindest course.  -  Anonymous

All recipes from "A Cowboy Cookin' Every Night Southern Style" by Carol Bardelli