The hardy, steaming, traditional dinner soups of winter have joined the bubbly casseroles in loss of menu popularity. The casseroles took too long to prep and the soups too long to cook. Neither fits our busy schedules. A friend reminiscing about her Grandmother’s soups, admitted she had the recipes, but with a demanding job and a long commute, no time to cook them. She shares my aversion to leaving appliances like crock pots, on in an empty house or having to clean them and store food in the morning and, honestly, they require more effort than one single, old-fashioned pot.

But what if there are recipes with the same appeal, which take less time, or a way is found to reduce the cooking time of others to 30-60 min. by changing the ingredients? The recipes below fill those requirements and at the same time, show how other soups can be changed to be more comparable with our lifestyle. All of these soups are actually better if made ahead a few days and keep well, chilled. I find they’re a quick fix on the weekends and great to have ready for a busy weeknight. Frankly, I enjoy being able to welcome some of my favorite winter soups back into my menus and hope you will too.

RECIPES

Meatball-Vegetable Soup:

Serves 8
2 Tbs. EACH butter and oil
1 onion chopped + ¼ cup more for meatballs*
1 EACH stalk celery and carrot-sliced
1 clove garlic- chopped
1 cup EACH canned kidney beans and chick peas-both drained
(1) 16 oz. can tomatoes with juice-crushed
(1)6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup frozen chopped spinach-drained
2 tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. EACH oregano, basil and salt
1 ½ cups cooked spaghetti in 1 ½ inch pieces
Chopped fresh tomatoes for garnish

Meatballs-

*These can be made in advance, even in bulk, and frozen-cook as directed
1 lb. ground meat beef and/or turkey-optionally mixed with some ground sausage
½ cup EACH fine bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg-slightly beaten
Pinch salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients, plus onion, and roll into balls 1 inch in diameter

Soup

Saute onion, celery and garlic in butter and oil until tender. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste ,add 1 quart water, bring to a boil and add meatballs. Quickly reduce heat and simmer 25-30 min. When meatballs are cooked, add remaining ingredients, except fresh tomatoes. Simmer, covered 10 min. Serve hot, garnished with fresh tomatoes.

Cheese Chowder:

Serves 6
2 large potatoes diced
2 stalks celery -sliced
1 large carrot sliced
1 medium onion- diced
¼ tsp. EACH salt and pepper
4 Tbs. EACH butter and flour
2 cups EACH milk and shredded cheddar cheese
(2) 17 oz. cans creamed corn
Combine vegetables and seasonings in a deep pot with 3 cups boiling water, Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered 10 min. Meanwhile make a white sauce in a separate saucepan by melting butter, stirring in flour to make a paste, quickly adding the milk and stirring constantly over medium heat until it thickens @ 3 min. Stir in cheese until it melts. Add cheese sauce, with corn to pot with vegetables. Heat gently but do not boil. Serve hot garnished with parsley or paprika if desired.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup :

Serves 6
¼ lb. bacon cut in 2 inch pieces
2 medium onions chopped
1 cup cubed, cooked chicken
(1) 3 oz. can green chilies drained and chopped
1 quart chicken stock
12 corn tortillas cut in wedges
¼ lb. grated Monterey Jack cheese
Cook onions and bacon in a large pot until crisp. Add chicken, stock and chilies. Heat though and serve topped with tortillas and cheese.

Mulligatawny Soup:

Serves 6
4 Tbs. butter
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4 large tomatoes-peeled and chopped
1 potato-sliced
2 cups cooked, cubed turkey
1 ½ quarts beef stock
1 tsp. EACH Worcestershire sauce and curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked rice-packaged precooked is fine
1 large apple-grated
Melt butter in a large saucepan and sauté onion until tender. Stir in all other ingredients except rice, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer 30 min. Add rice, heat through, check seasonings and serve topped with grated apple.

BEAN SOUPS naturally lend themselves to stock from a boiled ham bone as a base. The bone from a roast ham can be frozen until the soup is to be made. Simply boil it, covered in water, for about 2 hr.; pick the meat, no fat included, from the bone and reserve it separately. Strain the broth and add enough water to cover the PREPARED beans and proceed with the directions. Don’t add the reserved meat until after the beans are pureed. If the recipe calls for stock or water, simply use the ham broth to replace in equal amount. This can be a welcome addition to, or variation of the recipes below.

Senate Bean Soup:

Serves 6
½ lb. Navy beans soaked overnight in water to cover and drained OR (2) 15.5 oz. cans- drained
2 Tbs. butter
3 large onions-diced
4 stalks celery-sliced
2 quarts beef stock
½ lb. diced ham – If using meat from a ham bone, add extra to make-up this full amount
½ lb. potatoes diced
¼ tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and celery in butter until tender. Add all other ingredients but meat and simmer, partially covered – if using dried beans for about 2 hrs. until beans are tender, 20 min. if using canned. Add meat, correct seasonings and simmer 15 min. uncovered. Serve hot.

Black Bean Soup:

Serves 4-6– Adapted from Weight Watchers Favorite Recipes
2 large onions-diced
2 Tbs. oil
12 oz. bag dried black beans OR (4) 15.5 oz. cans-drained
(1) 15 oz. can whole tomatoes with juice
2 jarred Jalapeno peppers-diced
2 tsp. EACH garlic powder and ground cumin
1 tsp. EACH chili powder and red pepper
Water
Sour cream or plain yogurt-optional garnish
(If using dried beans soak in water overnight, drain and rinse)
In a large pot, sauté onion in oil until soft. Add all other soup ingredients with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 ½ hr. for dried beans, until beans are soft—30 min. for canned. Cool and puree to a rough texture. Return to pot, adjust seasonings, heat through* and serve garnished.
* WARNING- the longer Jalapeno peppers are kept warm, the hotter they become.

French Lentil Soup:

Serves 4-6
1 lb. dried lentils
3 ½ -4 cups water
½ cup red wine or ¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 large onion-diced
1 Tbs. oil
1 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
¼-1/3 cup sour cream for garnish
Saute the onion in the oil. Add the lentils, water, bay leaves and salt and pepper, bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 45 min. until lentils are tender. Add wine or vinegar as liquid reduces. Cool a bit, remove bay leaves and puree to a course texture. Reheat and serve hot garnished.