Warming Winter Soups

mmm......I love a hearty bowl of soup during the winter. Soups are usually pretty easy (and cheap!) to make for a nice supper in the colder months.

Below is a sampling of soups we make often or have tried recently:


1.  Beef stew (made with leftovers from pot roast the day before)

We usually put our leftover pot roast (recipe found here) and juices into a large pot to simmer with additional water and seasonings, sometimes adding a few more vegetables and egg noodles.




2. Pinto Bean Soup

This is one we make often as long as we have a ham bone leftover from something. We just place the ham bone and dry beans in the crock pot, fill it up with water and season generously with salt. Let it cook all day and serve with cornbread- always hits the spot!

3. Potato and Leek soup

I found and made this great recipe from Our Neck of the Woods. Amazingly, it doesn't use any cream or milk, only water! It is very tasty.

4.  Hearty Chicken Noodle

This is one of my husbands favorites, and he makes a mean bowl of chicken noodle soup. We usually use homemade chicken broth and fresh herbs, so that we are getting that good nourishment that leeches out from the bones and innards of the chicken into the broth. We add carrots, celery, and organic shredded or chopped chicken to the broth, and egg noodles. It is the best thing when I'm feeling sick or don't have much of an appetite.

5. Classic Minestrone

I love this recipe from Martha Stewart. It packs in tons of veggies and is delicious, also a bit spicy. Great with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and a side of fresh crusty bread.

6. White Bean and Kale Soup

Another favorite of mine, this recipe uses a base of water, great northern or other type of white beans, garlic,   a little diced tomatoes, onions and seasonings, with kale added a little later in cooking. I like to add bacon sometimes for flavor and if the soup is too runny you can add flour or another thickening agent.


What are your favorite soups to make during the winter months?

Linking to:

Ready for Homesteading!

For Christmas we were lucky to receive several homesteading-related items to assist me in my quest to live more self-sufficiently and make our diet more wholesome. It didn't hit me until after we returned home and were unpacking how many gifts were along the lines of this theme!

Here are some of our spoils:

A Berkey Water Filter, which can purify any type of water to render it drinkable, in case something happens and we no longer have access to ours (our water runs on electricity and is from our well). In the event of an emergency, we could gather water out of a nearby stream or the pond across the street, or rainwater, and the filter would make it drinkable.

A food dehydrator, which will come in handy during canning season for tomatoes, beans, and many other veggies. Dried vegetables will work nicely in soups and stews for winter.

A food saver, which is great for keeping meats and just about anything else fresh in the freezer for long periods of time.

Homesteading-related books and cookbooks  :)

Bogs!! I love these--awesome for gardening and very comfortable for tromping around our homestead--and stylish too :)

Canning supplies (we already having a pressure canner, but can always use new lids and supplies!)

Cinnamon-infused local honey, yum!

the pastry board has a lip on each end so it fits over the top of your counter and can be flipped over for a smooth top

A pastry board for baking fresh bread, pies and other baked goods, and....

Two cast-iron enamel cooking pans (or dutch ovens). We have already been using these and they are awesome :)

I do believe I'm ready for full-force homesteading, don't you? 

Linking to:

Homestead Barn Hop