March Madness Round 2 Soup Results - 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking

In an effort to keep up with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament here are the second round results from the Soup Bracket. A surprise? Beef and Barley continues to kill it. Who knew that a beef and barley soup would win 2 rounds in a row?

Beef and Barley Soup

Recipe:	Prep time/ease of ingredients (10 points)	Likeliness of making it again (30 points)	Overall flavor (50 points)	Value $ (10 points)
Beef and Barley Soup 2	10	30	48	8
Tomato Basil Ravioli Soup	8	25	40	8
Recipe 1 notes and review: I have to admit that when I first read the name of this recipe, I turned my nose up at it. Barley? Isn’t that an ingredient in brewing beer? I know it is used in many other things, but that’s the first thing that came to mind! This soup was fantastic. I have been looking for ways to incorporate things like lentils and whole grains in our diet, and this is a great option. The meat was very tender, and not at all chewy, and both the lentils and barley held up well, adding great texture and flavor. And nothing is easier than dumping everything into the crockpot and walking away. This one will make it into the monthly menu again for sure!
Recipe 2 notes and review: I love a good tomato basil soup. The recipe I normally make is done on the stovetop, so this was my first exposure to preparing a soup in the crockpot. The prep was somewhat similar to the stovetop, but again, nice to be able to walk away and let it do its thing. The flavor was pretty comparable to other tomato basil soups, but not over the top awesome for me. I really love the idea of adding ravioli into the mix – if not everyone in the family enjoys the soup portion, they can always nosh on the pasta. A win-win situation!

Final Score:

Beef and Barley Soup: 96

Tomato Basil Ravioli: 81

Review by Roberta

Slow Cooker Cream of Mushroom Soup

Recipe:	Prep time/ease of ingredients (10 pts)	Likeliness of making it again (30 pts)	Overall flavor (50 pts)	Value $ (10 pts)
Busy Day Chicken Taco Soup	10	30	48	10
Cream of Mushroom Soup	10	30	50	10
Recipe 1 notes and review: Sooooo easy to do; truly a “dump” recipe! Except for trimming the fat off of the chicken thighs, there is nothing to do. I was really surprised at how great this tasted–it was light, but had a great depth of flavor! Although I made it exactly as written, I love how easy this is to tweak, based on the type of salsa, tomatoes, &/or chiles used! I think that many people have these ingredients in their pantries; as long as you have the protein, can be made spur of the moment. Very affordable. I brought it to work for my lunch, and several colleagues asked for the recipe, based on the aroma alone! This is definitely a “make again”–my husband says “the sooner, the better”!
Recipe 2 notes and review: Love the step of sweating the onions w/ butter in the microwave–so effective and so easy! I chose to sauté a few of the mushrooms and use for garnish instead of leaving them raw–I just prefer the flavor in this rich soup. Quick to make, especially on “High” setting. The cost is very affordable, especially since I purchased the ‘shrooms on sale. Overall flavor, this is the winner. I loved BOTH soups, and the Taco Soup is more “figure friendly” with the fiber of the bean, etc. However, the depth of flavor and creamy texture of the Mushroom Soup was amazing! I am a sucker for creamy soups! I would definitely consider preparing this as a first course for a holiday dinner like Christmas or Easter.

Final Score:

Busy Day Taco Soup: 98

Cream of Mushroom Soup: 100

Holy high scoring game! Both winners in my book. Review by Beth.

Cordon Bleu Soup

Recipe:	Prep time/ease of ingredients (10 pts)	Likeliness of making it again (30 pts)	Overall flavor (50 pts)	Value $ (10 pts)
Cordon Bleu Soup	10	30	50	10
Dried Pinto Bean Chili	10	20	40	10
Recipe 1 notes and review: This recipe is a new family favorite! YUMMY! Easy to put together, includes ingredients I almost always have on hand, sooo good!
Recipe 2 notes and review: This was very good, just seemed to be missing something. We all enjoyed it for sure and it was a great value!

Final Score:
Cordon Bleu Soup: 100
Pinto Bean Chili: 80
Another perfect score! Review by Jessica.

Coconut Thai Soup

Recipe:	Prep time/ease of ingredients (10 pts)	Likeliness of making it again (30 pts)	Overall flavor (50 pts)	Value $ (10 pts)
Red Beans & Wild Rice Stew	6	10	40	8
Coconut Thai Soup	8	30	45	6
Recipe 1 notes and review: This looked SO gross. I cooked it the minimum amount of time the recipe said but when I mixed in the sausage at the end it just made it kinda mush together. It looked pretty unappetizing. That being said it tasted really good! It has a good flavor and I loved the wild rice. It made a lot so I felt it was a good value. I bought the wild rice in the bin section at Smiths and that was kinda a lot but I couldn’t find plain wild rice any where else so I marked it down a little for that. Remembering to soak the beans the night before made me have to put off making this because I’d forget. I have another recipe that makes beans in the crockpot and you don’t soak them the night before. I didn’t try that because I wanted to follow the recipe exactly.
Recipe 2 notes and review: this was SO good. Oh man! SO good. I did have a hard time finding the lemon grass but other than that everything else was easy. It cooked up easy and the only problem was that there wasn’t enough. This is a recipe that should be doubled because it’s just so yummy. It was yummy as it is but I also cooked rice and we served this soup over the rice just to make it more of a meal. I preferred it without the rice but it tasted good with it too. This is a keeper for sure.

Final Score:

Red Beans and Wild Rice Stew: 64
Coconut Thai Soup: 89
I like her honesty, “this looked SO gross!” Review by Becca.

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