Burr... It's Cold Outside...

After a cold long day, there is nothing I love more than coming home and having a warm dinner. I especially love eating soup to warm me up when I'm frozen. My Grandma Janice taught us how to make lots of dishes, and some of my favorites are soups! I mean, who doesn't love Grandma's homemade soups! I know I sure do! Here are a few soups that my family makes to warm us up...

Growing up, I never wanted to eat my vegetables. I used to always tell my mom that I was full for vegetables but not for dessert (or whatever else I wanted). But, she found out one way she could get me to eat my vegetables. Whenever she would make broccoli cheese soup, if the pieces were small enough, I would eat the broccoli! I mean who doesn't love anything doused in cheese? Mom would make this recipe that Grandma loved and the whole family would enjoy it!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 head of broccoli

1 head of cauliflower (optional)

1 c. Trio Cheese

2 c. water

Pepper to taste

Mix water and cheese. Chop up the vegetables then steam them. Add to the cheese sauce and add pepper to taste. Cook for 10 min, stirring frequently. Serve hot.

What is the one thing you always want when your sick? Chicken soup! Well, my grandma taught me how to make homemade chicken noodle soup and now whenever I'm sick I crave her soup! It is warm and just oh so good! Its also a great accomplishment when you're done making it because its completely homemade! Another great thing I do is I freeze it in serving size freezer bags so when I'm feeling under the weather I just pull out a bag and throw it in the microwave and ta-da its done and tastes oh so good! :)

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Soup:

1 whole chicken

Chicken bouillon, cubes or powder

Carrots

Celery

Boil the whole chicken until fully cooked, about an hour. Let cool overnight or long enough to get cold. When it is cold, scrape most of the fat off the top and take the chicken out. Shred the chicken from off the bones and put it all back unto the chicken broth. Then add as much water as you want soup to the chicken and broth. Put it all over medium heat and cover. Bring to boil and simmer. Add as many chopped carrots and celery as you want. Add chicken bouillon to taste. Boil soup until vegetables are soft.

Noodles:

1 c. flour

2 eggs

Mix until all is mixed then use a rolling pin to flatten out. Then cut into strips. Add the strips to the boiling soup and cover. Allow for noodles to cook, about 5 min. Then let cool some and serve hot or warm. Can freeze for later!

My family loves Thanksgiving day turkey! But really, you can only have so much turkey until your sick of it! So to help get rid of the turkey without wasting it but still enjoy it, we make Turkey Soup! Its takes time to make but its so good when its done and the best part is... you can freeze it! How great is that? So when you're sick of turkey everything, just throw it in the freezer and save it for a cold day! :)

Turkey Soup

1 ½ - 2 large onions

3 stocks of celery

3-4 carrots

2-3 cups of shredded turkey

1 ½ c. cooked rice

2 ¼ sticks of butter

1 ½ c. flour or cornstarch

3 quart turkey stock

1 pint milk

In a big pot add 3 quarts of water, 1 Tbsp salt and carcass of turkey for 3-4 hours (make sure there is still 3 quarts of water at all times). After it is done boiling, remove bone and strain. Keep turkey stock in the pan. While it is boiling, finely chop the vegetables. Saute vegetables in ¼ c. butter. Cover with water and cook on medium for 20 min or until tender. Melt the two sticks of butter and add the flour or cornstarch in a bowl until creamy. Stir in flour mixture to the stock. Add vegetables, turkey and rice. Cook for 10 min. Serve hot. Enjoy!