Baby It’s Cold Outside: Five Soups to Warm You Up on Those Cold Winter Days

A good bowl of soup doesn’t just warm the stomach, but also the soul.

Cold winter days call for one thing in my book. What’s that you ask? A big pot of soup. This is where there is a slight issue in my house. My husband is more of a “Meat & Potatoes” kind of guy. So then my challenge is to always make something that is hearty and, as we say in the south, “Sticks to your ribs”. I truly believe everyone should have a whole arsenal of soup recipes, but if nothing else, about 5 staples they can always fall back on. When listing my soups, I think of a few different categories:  Chili, Potato, Vegetable, Broth-based, and regional favorites.

In our house, I typically lean towards Chili on that first cold day. Chili recipes are as different as each individual person. From traditional beef, to vegetarian, to white chicken… the possibilities with chili are endless. Here is the recipe that I have come to use after several years of tweeking online and family recipes.

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can hot chili beans

1 can mild chili beans

1 pkg hot chili seasoning

1 pkg mild chili seasoning

Directions:  (1) Brown ground beef. (2) Add onions and bell peppers. Cook until tender/translucent. (3) Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil. (4) Cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 1 hour.

This can be easily altered to be gluten-free by simply using prepackaged gluten free seasoning. Also, if you were reading closely, you noticed that I did not drain the grease. This is completely a personal choice and every person is entitled to their own decisions when it comes to removing the fat. We like to serve with a grilled cheese or over pasta.

What’s more hearty than Potato Soup?

Potato soup is almost what I would consider a universal staple. Every country has their own spin on what potato soup should be. Here in my neck of the woods, we enjoy a good loaded potato soup. I stumbled across this recipe in the most unlikely of places, the side of a package of Morrison’s Country Style Peppered Gravy mix. With a little apprehension, I gave it a try. And let me just say, I have never regretted it once. Here is what you will need:

1 ½ cups Country Style Peppered Gravy Mix

7 cups Water

1 lb pkg Frozen Hashbrown Potatoes

8 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

½ cup green onions, chopped and sauteed

1 ½ cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Sour Cream (optional)

Directions:  (1) Combine gravy mix with 1 cup of slightly warm water. Mix with a wire whisk until  thoroughly blended. Set aside. (2) In a large pan, combine 6 cups of water with potatoes. Bring to a full rolling boil. Continue boiling for 5 minutes before adding gravy mixture. (3) Add gravy mixture to the boiling potatoes, stirring vigorously. Continue stirring until mixture thickens, approximately 1 minute. (4) Reduce heat and stir in sauteed onions, crumbled bacon and shredded cheese. (5) Garnish with sour cream and additional cheese if desired.

Vegetable Soup Interpretation

I have my own idea when it comes to a “vegetable soup”. To me, a vegetable soup can be anything that has a broth base (versus cream base) and where a vegetable or group of vegetables are the star(s) of the show. In our house, the #1 requested soup is my rendition of veggie soup. It is better known as Stuffed Pepper Soup.  This soup has also been known to make an appearance outside of the month of January at our dinner table. The easy to follow recipe can be found here. I omit the cinnamon in the recipe and add 1 Tbsp beef base, but once again it’s all about personal preference.

Food feeds both the body and soul – there are clear reasons to eat a balanced diet, but there are also reasons you cling to your mom’s secret chicken noodle soup recipe when you’re sick.

-Michael Mina

Chicken Noodle  Soup

Chicken soup is usually the first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they are feeling under the weather. But it doesn’t always have to be a sick day staple. I enjoy a good bowl of this brothy goodness when the temps dip below freezing, as well. My mother’s chicken noodle soup was simple, but flavorful. And it is no longer a secret as of today. Here it is for those wanting to warm up:

1 whole chicken

4 T chicken bouillon or base

10 C water

1 large onion, finely chopped

10-14 oz egg noodles

1 C chopped carrots

1 C chopped celery

Directions: (1) In large pot, simmer chicken in boiling water for approximately an hour and a half. Thirty minutes into cooking time, add chicken bouillon, onion, carrots, and celery.  Remove chicken.

(2) Add egg noodles. Boil until tender.

(3) While noodles are cooking pull out chicken bones, chop or shred meat, and place meat back in water once noodles are ready. Serve.

“Pork and chicken grease, the aromatics of choice for the Cajun.”

― Ken Wheaton, Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears

Gumbo

The last category that I try to stick with when classifying soup recipes is Regional Favorite.  Now when saying that, I am not necessarily saying the region in which the individual lives. But instead I am meaning a soup that is a favorite in the area it originated from. Some examples of regional favorites are New England Clam Chowder, Southwestern Tortilla Soup, the Midwest’s Beer Cheese Soup, or like right here in Kentucky we have a dish affectionately referred to as Burgoo. But that is a topic for another day. The regional dish that absolutely stole my heart is Gumbo.

Any good Cajun will tell you that Gumbo truly is the spice of life. It is a dish, like many other soups, that can be altered based on what you have on hand or your preferences. But, that same Cajun mentioned above will also tell you that you can’t mess with the “Holy Trinity”. And no, I’m not referring to that Holy Trinity. In Creole cooking, the Holy Trinity is the combination of onions, bell peppers, and celery. These are a must when making many recipes that come from the lovely state of Louisiana. Most often at our house, there will be 3 separate proteins added to the gumbo: Chicken, Smoked Sausage, and Shrimp.  Here is a super simple recipe to follow if you are wanting to give Gumbo a try. As with anything, add the proteins and vegetables you like.

I hope these recipes find their way in to your kitchen this month, even if only for a test try.

What are some of your favorite soup recipes? Drop the recipe or links in the comment section below.

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor.

-Marge Kennedy