Three Great Winter Soup Recipes

With winter fast approaching, what is a better cold day meal than a big pot of soup? In my opinion, pretty much nothing fills you up and makes you feel warm and cozy like a big, hearty meal like these. Contrary to popular opinion, it's not nearly as difficult or time consuming to make enough soup for dinner for an average sized family, plus plenty of leftovers for great lunches.

In addition to being delicious and satisfying, soup, unlike many comfort foods, is a fairly healthy option. Made with lean beef, vegetables, and seasonings, soup can be delicious without a lot of added fat. As an added benefit, you control the amount of sodium (which is very high in canned soups) and there are no preservatives.

Lets take a look at three of my favorite winter soups, and learn how to make them.

Beef Stew

This beef stew is a hearty, thick version that is surprisingly quick and easy.

Ingredients

1 pound stew meat, trimmed of at and cubed

2 medium onions, chopped.

6 medium potatoes, pealed and cubed.

1 pound carrots, pealed and sliced into rounds

1/4 cup corn starch or white flour

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

8 cups water

Procedure

1. In a large covered soup pot or Dutch oven, combine stew meat, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil and sauté over medium to high heat until meat is browned and onions are wilted, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

2. Add water and carrots. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower temperature and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.

3. Add potatoes and return to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are fully cooked and soft.

4. Combine cornstarch and approximately one cup of warm water in a small watertight container (such as a Tupperware or Gladware container). Shake to mix until a creamy liquid is formed.

5. Bring stew to a boil, and slowly pour in the combined cornstarch and water mix. Stir until completely mixed. This will thicken your stew to a more hearty consistency.

Served with a salad and a nice loaf of Italian bread, this meal is sure to satisfy the whole family.

Note: To lower the calories and carbs in this stew, skip the cornstarch and go with a thinner, but equally delicious, consistency.

Short on time? Make this stew in your crock-pot! The night before you plan to serve the meal, prepare all the ingredients. Sauté the meat, onions, oil, and seasonings the night before, then add them to the crock-pot. In the morning, add the water and vegetables. And cook on low heat all day. When you arrive home, add the cornstarch and water mixture, stir, and serve.

Minestrone Soup

This soup is a thick, hearty soup with lots of beans.

Ingredients

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 Cups Chopped Onion

5 Medium Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Stalk Celery, minced

1 Medium Carrot, diced

1 Small Zucchini, diced

1 Medium Pepper, diced

2 Cups Water

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 14 oz Can Tomato Puree

1 Can Kidney Beans, rinsed

1 Can Cannelloni Beans, rinsed

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed

1 Cup Dry Pasta, Rice, or Barley

1 Tsp. Oregano

Fresh Black Pepper, to taste

1 Tsp. Basil

1 1/2 - 2 Tsp. Salt

Procedure

Get a large soup pot or Dutch oven, and heat the olive oil up. Add in the onions, garlic, and salt. Sauté over medium heat for about five minutes.

Add the celery, carrot, basil, black pepper, and oregano. Cover the soup and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini, bell pepper, chicken brother, water, and tomato puree. Cover the pot and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add the beans and simmer for about five more minutes.

Add your pasta, rice, or barley (I like to use barley), and bring the soup to a soft boil. Boil until the pasta is tender.

Serve right away, or let it sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to further mix.

This recipe makes about 6 to 8 servings of soup. If I'm making it ahead for a week's worth of meals, I'll often double the recipe. To make a vegetarian soup, replace chicken broth with 2 cups of water or vegetable broth.

Rotisserie Chicken Soup

This soup takes a bit longer to prepare than the other two because it involves making the broth from scratch. Because of this, it's a perfect soup to make on a rainy or snowy weekend afternoon. This soup starts with a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken that can be bought at most supermarkets and bulk goods stores such as Sam's Club.

Depending on how much meat you like in your chicken soup, you can even get an extra meal or two out of the chicken. I don't like too much meat in my soup, so I often use at least part of the chicken breast in another recipe or in sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken

1 pound of carrots

3 stalks of celery (about ½ cup)

3 onions

1 pound of frozen corn

2 cloves of garlic

¾ cup small pasta (such as orzo)

1 tsp ground black pepper

About 15 cups of water

Procedure

1.Cut the chicken breasts off the rotisserie chicken, cube, and refrigerate until needed.

2.Peel and slice carrot. Slice celery. Peel and chop two of the onions. Set them aside in the refrigerator until needed. Do not discard carrot peals and celery scraps.

3.In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine remainder of rotisserie chicken, carrot peels, celery scraps, the one remaining onion (peeled and quartered), garlic (peeled and coarsely chopped), and pepper with the water.

4.Bring the water to a boil and lower heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about two hours.

5.Place a colander in a large glass bowl. If you have some cheesecloth, drape it over the colander. Slowly pour the broth into the colander, catching the broth in the bowl. Discard the items in the colander.

6.Place the glass bowl of broth in the refrigerator for about one hour, or until a layer of fat forms on the top.

7.With a spoon, skim the fat off of the broth and discard. If you don't get all of the fat, don't worry, just get as much as you can.

8.Rinse your pot, and then return the broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, and add carrots, onions, and celery. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

9.Add the frozen corn and chopped chicken breast. Return to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

10.Add pasta, and simmer for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add more water if needed (the pasta will absorb moisture as it cooks).

The beauty of soup is that it's not an exact science…don't like something in the above recipes? Swap it out for something you do like. Play around with the quantities until you come up with a combination that suits your own personal tastes. The big thing to remember is that while few things offer comfort, warmth, and smiles like homemade soup, it is actually not particularly hard to make. Enjoy!