Ham, potato, & cream cheese soup

Ham, potato, & cream cheese soup - from Kathy Wrisley

4 cups potatoes chopped in little squares
2 cups carrots, chopped in bite size pieces
1/2 cup onions
8 cups chicken broth
4 cups ham
2 bars of cream cheese
4 cups milk or 1/2 and 1/2

Boil onions, potatoes,and carrots in broth until softened. Add meat and milk for extra yummy soup use 1/2 and 1/2. Let it continue to boil just slightly while you thicken it with a mixture(of 2 cups milk whipped with 1/2 cup of flour) slowly wisk this mixture into the veggies, meat and broth. Once it is thickened add the cream cheese, for best results chunk the cream cheese into small squares. Mix this in and stir and stir until it blends in to a nice thick cheesy consistency.

Beef Barley Soup

Beef Barley Soup from Tim Sprunger

3 - 4 C raw beef cubes - use stew meat or roast or shanks. Cut into small cubes
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 C chopped onion
14 oz beef broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 C med pearl barley
9 oz pkg frozen french cut green beans

Heat oil in dutch oven over med heat; brown meat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 min or until tender. Add broth & 4 C water, salt, pepper, thyme, & bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1 hour. Stir in barley; continue cooking, covered, 1 hr until barley is tender. Add green beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 min or until beans are tender. Remove & discard bay leaf.