Do y'all crave soup when it snows? I sure do. I'm fresh out of my soup beans and ham, so today felt like a good day to make some hot soup.

I dug out the veggie scraps I've been saving in the freezer, plus some homemade turkey stock, and I've got a BIG stockpot of chicken stew simmering on the stove.

I made stock from the veggies while the turkey stock and some fresh-cut veggies and spices cooked in the microwave. After combining everything in the big pot, I added a large can of cooked chicken, along with a can of cream of chicken soup for a bit of thickening. The canned chicken is a little stringier in consistency than I'd like, but that's what I had handy.

Last time I made something in that stockpot, I figured there were 20 cups (5 quarts). There's plenty of leftovers to share and freeze. Each 1 cup serving has 141 calories and 4.22g fat.

My belly's growling - it'll be the first thing I've had since oatmeal this morning!

yum!!!!!! sounds wonderful! i also made soup during the snowstorm. this one was black bean with jalapenos..[and red pepper, a can of tomatoes, carrots, onions - bay leaves, oregano, basil] and a whomping huge ham hock in it. skimmed the fat off. one of the best ones i've made!!!!

i also made a pot roast [yes folks, this really IS jiffypop saying that she cooked!!!!]. that does it for the rest of the winter, i think!!!

Yummmy! I love homeade soups & stews and YES it is the time of the year when I crave them most... I've actually planned on making a beef stew in the slow-cooker next weekend so I can freeze the leftovers and have a nice hearty dinner!

As for the pot roast Jiffy - I made one yesterday in my slow cooker with baby potatoes, broccoli & carrots... It was delish! Wasn't many leftovers as Steve and his brother had come back from a day of skiing in the mountains, but had a great Roast Beef sandwich for lunch today!

I tend to move toward soups in general during the winter months. That's pretty much what I live off of for my lunches. I eat the canned one though at work since they are easier and more convenient. On the weekends though I do like having a large pot of soup or stew.

Your Howies Lady! First post I've ever seen from you. Love your little boy.The two of you are so cute in his avitar. So nice to meet you. What a good wife and Mama you are to go to such trouble to cook such good stuff. I just buy Progresso. Yes, I love soup , but I'm to lazy to cook it just for myself. My son won't eat anything green so it would be casting pearls before swine.

My Grandmother would save her leftovers from a week or two ,make them into soup ,then insist the whole family come over and eat it. She was a product of the Great Depression and as bossy as Granny Clampet.

Yes, its certainly soup weather and I find it a most delicious comfort food.

Here's a link to literally dozens of fabulous soup recipes (all easy to make, nutritious and either low or fat free). Although most of them are vegan (and I love veggies), I have no problem throwing in lean chicken or beef. I'm working my way through this list and will reveal my favourites at winter's end. My sweetie's taken to calling our home the "soup kitchen"

http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/soups/

As for the quick and easy canned variety, for me its President's Choice "Too Good to be True" or Progresso (lots of chunky veggies, mmmmm).

As good as a nice bowl of soup is, it'd be even better accompanied with hunks of crusty bread, slathered in butter...but, I guess that would defeat the purpose....sigh

It has been warm here but I don't expect it to last, I know the snow will be back one of these days. Anyway, at work, we are having a "cultural" mini pot luck so I am making Menudo. I really really like it but it isn't the healthiest (it isn't all that bad either), so I don't make it for myself anymore. Making it for other people and being able to eat a small bowl myself is acceptable for me though. I like spicy soups in cool weather because they warm you up with spice and heat.

Mmm, spices make the dish, I think. Nice to see y'all.

Making this soup was really easy, and 20 cups probably cost me $10, if that. The veggies were just odd bits I accumulated in a freezer bag over the holidays (leftovers from the preparation of Howie's famous relish trays, don't you know). The canned chicken was given to me by my mom - she gets government food as a retiree and wouldn't have used it, she said. The turkey stock I made from simmering a leftover holiday turkey carcass in water for a few hours...Just strain out the bones and freeze. It's a little work at the get-go, but the payoff is many *very* easy meals.

I have 2 cups of leftover ham in the freezer, along with a bag of dried split peas. Do I hear split pea with ham soup? I think I do! That's MINE, because Howie's not a split pea fan.

Howie will tell you, I get a jonesin' for cooking every so often and make big batches of things to freeze. Then I whine for pizza. Now that we're back on track, though, I'm cooking more often. Having the kitchen remodeled into a warm and inviting place helped a lot!

The soup was yummy. I will be having another bowl when I get home tonight. I think I'll add a little hot sauce to spice things up a bit. Kimberley does not like hot food.

I do like hot food. I just don't like dangerous food. I must be a better cook than I was when we got married 13 years ago, for he doesn't put hot sauce on stuff nearly as much as he used to.

LOL Hot sauce does cover a multitude of sins. However it's not always because I don't like the food. Sometimes it's because I love hot sauce. And yes you are a much better cook than when we got married. I guess I'll keep you.

Hah she even put hot sauce in her soup tonight. LOL I'll win her over to the dark... err hot side before long.

Oh, c'mon...YOU put about 3 teaspoons in yours, and I put three drops in mine! Had to drink some milk with the soup! Milk was going bad, too. :P

I'm with you Kimberley. I like a little spice but I want to be able to taste the food and not peel off the skin on my tongue.

Nope the hotter the better.