According to our co-op sales flyer January is national soup month. So I thought I would share some things I have gleaned over time. Hope these ideas are helpful to somebody. If anybody else has some ideas they would like to share, I would love to hear them! Feel free to share them in the "comments".
- When cooking a roast or chicken save the broth & freeze it. Use it in your next soup instead of bouillon cubes or powder. It has a lot less sodium than bouillon, plus you know exactly what is in your soup - not a bunch of ingredients you can't pronounce! Be sure to watch out for tiny bones unless you decide to strain it really well prior to storage. If you are short on freezer space, you might be able to can the broth with a pressure canner.
-Think outside the cookbook with spices. Just because the cookbook doesn't list the herb for a particular dish doesn't mean it won't taste good. Sage is normally used to flavor chicken dishes, however it tastes delicious in beef soup, too.
-If you have a kitchen herb garden don't hesitate to use the spices you are growing. I was until this past summer. Then I started using them - and presented some pleasant surprises to my families taste buds. I discovered that rosemary is excellent in meatloaf. It is best to start off with a small amount and slowly increase the amount of herb you are experimenting with until you acquire a taste that's 'just right' to your taste buds.
- Have you ever wondered why chicken noodle soup helps you feel better when you have a cold? The minerals from chicken bones cooked in the broth is what is helping you feel better.
- If using a crockpot try cooking some of the vegetables for a few minutes to help give them a "kick start". If I'm using carrots, celery, or onion I put them in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil and cook for a few minutes. It sure beats having crunchy soup! :-)
