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Written by Holly Bea
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Thursday, 18 January 2007 |
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 What is it about two feet of snow and sunsets at 4:45 p.m. that makes me crave a hearty bowl of soup?
There’s just something about winter months that make soup the perfect food. And while canned soups  were a favorite of mine as a kid, and I practically lived on Ramen Noodles the first year I was out of college, I’ve since discovered that there are super-easy soup recipes out there that leave the cans and mixes in the dust.
Here are some favorite time-tested recipes that are guaranteed to warm you up on a winter’s night. Best of all, most of these can be frozen, so you don’t have to eat the same soup every night for a week!
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Tortilla Soup in a Snap
This is the soup I make and take to all my convalescing friends, whether they’re recovering from surgery, have just had a baby or are fighting off some nasty flu.
Without exception, they’ve all raved about how great the soup is and what a terrific cook I am. The reality is, this is a shortcut soup, and culinary talent isn’t one of the ingredients.
Once you get all the ingredients, it can be assembled and ready to consume in about 30 minutes. I serve it with cornbread and a green salad.
The soup freezes well, too. I fill up storage containers with two servings at a time — easy to pull out in the morning and heat up after you’ve survived those icy Front Range roads.
Remove and discard the skin from one grocery store rotisserie chicken. Strip the meat and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Ingredients:
2 cans of beans (whatever kind you prefer)
1 can corn
1 can Rotel chiles and tomatoes
1 onion chopped and sautéed in butter until translucent
1 package of taco seasoning mix
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
1 large can of chicken broth
Heat all, simmer 20 minutes, serve with sour cream, grated cheese and tortilla chips. Seriously, it’s that easy!
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Five-Minute Minestrone
OK, so it takes five minutes to combine all the ingredients, and 10 minutes or so to heat. But don’t be fooled by how little effort it takes to make this soup — the tasty payoff will have your friends and family thinking you’ve been slaving over the stove all afternoon. This soup freezes well, too.
Ingredients:
2 cans vegetable soup
2 cans chicken noodle soup
2 soup cans filled with water
2 cans kidney beans, including liquid
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup snipped parsley
Mix it, heat it, and eat it!
Makes 6 generous servings.
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Good for Company Cheese Soup
This was served at a hoity-toity charity luncheon, and I refused to leave without the recipe. Imagine my shock to find out that Kraft “Cheez Whiz” was one of the ingredients. I don’t even care that it’s not real cheese, the recipe is worthy of serving to your new boyfriend, your mother or your boss.
Serve it with a hearty bread, a green salad and a good red wine. (I like Cline Cellars Red Truck with this one. Truth be told, I like the Red Truck with anything.
It’s a blend of Syrah and Mourvedre and is a terrific everyday wine at an equally great price of around $10.)
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
8 ounces Kraft “Cheese Whiz”
8 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups Sauterne (a great white dessert wine) or Chardonnay wine
Salt and white pepper
Melt butter in a sauce pan and slowly add flour to make a roux (pronounced roo). This will help thicken the sauce. Add milk and chicken stock, stirring constantly.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in Cheese Whiz and Swiss cheese. Stirring constantly, simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Just before serving, add Sauterne wine and let simmer for an additional minute or two. Makes 8 servings.
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Seafood Lover’s Chowder
OK, this one takes a little longer to make, and it’s a little pricier, too. After all, it calls for ingredients like crab meat, shrimp and minced clams. But if you love seafood, you’ll love this soup. Serve it with sourdough bread, a green salad and dessert, and it’s good enough for company.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup finely minced onion
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
3 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup heavy cream, mixed with 1/2 cup milk
1 cup crab meat, flaked
1 cup minced clams, fresh or canned
1 pound fresh shrimp, cleaned and cooked
Sauté onion in melted butter until tender. Add stock, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to boil and gently simmer 10-15 minutes. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1 cup of the milk with flour. Add to hot mixture; cook and stir until mixture thickens. Add remaining milk. Stir in cream-milk, shrimp, crab meat and clams. Reheat but do not allow to boil. Sprinkle with parsley. May be prepared ahead of time and frozen.
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Holly Bea is a freelance writer and avid entertainer who lives in Greeley.
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