Soup’s On!

I don’t recall having soup all that much when I was growing up. I vaguely remember using the remains of a roasted chicken for soup, but that’s about it.

So how do I explain my current interest in soup making? I have this need to be creative, and since I haven’t written one poetic word since last August, my creativity has burst forth as soup making. (I have also gotten the itch to sew, but that’s another posting…later.)

How it all got started
One day, early on in this past winter, I was making out my menu for the week and decided I would have Tuna Noodle Casserole on Friday. I would have to buy some cream of mushroom soup, however, since I was out. I have no idea what came over me. Why do I want to BUY soup when it’s so salty and has so many preservatives in it? I can make my own and at least I’ll know what’s in it! Wouldn’t you know, when I went grocery shopping baby bella mushrooms were on sale. Bought them. Good thought, bad choice. Although the soup was good, it was way to earthy for a good tuna noodle dish. I made it anyway and really did enjoy it despite the earthiness. I have since made another batch using white button mushrooms. Between the white ‘shrooms and some culinary suggestions from my daughter, Anne, this batch is way better! Another casserole will follow shortly.

And so began the desire to fill my freezer with soups…to the point where I had to go buy a small upright freezer to contain all the other stuff that no longer fit in my refrigerator freezer.

I have made cream of tomato, broccoli, asparagus and mushroom. All of them are delish, and I believe Anne has made adjustments to all of them…which is a good thing.

Next on my list will be Gramma’s Garbage Soup…boiled chicken bones, meat from said bones, carrots, diced tomatoes, and elbow macaroni or rice depending on my mood. As for the seasonings, well, I’ll have to call Anne and see what she would add. I believe my recipe calls for some Bell's poultry seasoning…not sure where that came from. Then there’s a minestrone recipe a friend gave me…she swears it’s to die for.

Packaging all these soups
About a year ago I bought one of those Food Saver vacuum sealing machines. I love it. All my soups, sauces, and meats get vacuum sealed in meal-sized amounts.

For the soups and sauces, I put an individual serving amount in the special food saver bag and put the unsealed bags in the freezer…standing up so they don’t spill. I love living on the edge! ☺ After it’s frozen then I seal them. Easy!

I freeze ground beef in half-pound amounts, which is perfect for making pasta sauce or two of them make a meatloaf. No guessing. Other meats are frozen the same way. And I also use a digital scale so I know exactly how much each meat package weighs.

All these smaller amounts are because it’s just me. When I have company, it’s easy to grab however many packages of whatever I need and cook away!

Another plus is I can buy in bulk, pay less, and not have to shop as often! Vacuum sealed keep better and longer. WIN! WIN!