Suddenly it’s cold! Just as we’re rushing to prepare for the Holidays. Busier days? Chillier weather? Soup can warm you & your family up in a hurry.  No, not a can of soup.  Your soup! Easy to make with just the taste you like, soup can fill your home with delicious smells.  It’s a simple way to give your family a hardy, healthy meal full of veggies. (Also great way to use up leftovers!)  With meat or without meat, soup has tasty warmth for a chilly day, especially when you need a hearty meal in a hurry.

Fall veggies are great for delicious, hardy soups: Leeks, onions, parsnips, carrots, beets, broccoli, sweet potatoes, squash, peppers, and corn. Start with the basics and then add what you like:

• Chop an onion, some celery, and a couple of sliced carrots. Cook in a tablespoon of olive oil until the onion is soft. You can also include some garlic in the mixture if you want.

• Add a few cups of veggie or chicken broth & bring to a boil. 

• Add “hard” veggies like parsnips, potatoes, leeks or cabbage 

• Season with a bay leaf & a pitch of thyme, or any of your favorite spices

• Simmer until the veggies are slightly soft.  About 15-20 minutes

• Add broccoli, corn, or green beans (soft veggies) in the last 5 minutes

• TIP: Don’t overcook the veggies. They’ll get mushy & the soup loses taste

• Taste and season the way you like it

“Play” with your soup.  If you want more protein in your soup, add cooked beans or brown chunks of chicken or beef first. Set aside the meat and add in the last 5 minutes. Try the recipe below!

What do you get? Delicious warmth, a dish you made for your taste, a meal you can make any time and serve when you need it, hearty nutrition with a big dose of vitamins and energy, and some $$ saved in your food budget!

RECIPE: hearty chicken soup

Make it with or without meat

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion 

• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper & 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

• 1½ tablespoons minced garlic 

• 2½ teaspoons chili powder

• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed

• ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 2 cups shredded COOKED chicken (optional)

TO MAKE:

NOTE: If using meat, cook before you make soup

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 cup each onion, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. 

• Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano; continue cooking, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

• Stir in chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, rinsed black beans, cilantro & lime juice. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of COOKED shredded chicken; simmer, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.  Check the taste for salt & pepper.

Tips & Tricks: soup

• PREPARATION: Cut up pepper, onion & chicken Place in airtight plastic bags in the fridge up to a day before.  You’ll be ready to go when you want to make the soup

• THICKER Soup: A teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in about 1/3 cup of broth can thicken your soup.  Dissolving the cornstarch before you stir it into the soup prevents lumps.

• HEARTIER Soup: Add cooked rice or noodles for a heartier dish.  Cook separately & add at the end so rice & noodles don’t get “mushy.” 

• BUDGET HELP: Use beans instead of chicken or beef for good protein and save you $$.  Beans give you fiber for healthy digestion, antioxidants for better health, and fewer calories.

• BEFORE YOU SERVE:  Add ½ Tablespoon sour cream;  slices of avocado and a few tortilla chips to each bowl.

• STORAGE: Soup keeps well up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.  The flavor even gets better!

Soup Side dishes:

• Dippers for Soup: Got some stale bread? Toast it up. Cut it in finger-sized strips and serve with soup.  Delicious dunked into soup.

• Crunchy side dish: Try fast & easy Carrot, Beet & Apple salad.  Shred or cut into small pieces 1 large beet, 3 carrots, 2 apples.  Mix with 1 tsp olive oil & 3 tsp apple cider vinegar.  Tangy, crunchy full of healthy flavor.

WARMING- UP WITH SOUP:

ENJOY!