Winter Therapy: 10 Comforting Soups to Chase Away Your Blues
We got at least a foot of snow here overnight, and it’s still coming down hard. E and L both have colds, and I’m thankful we don’t have to stir from the house for any reason. We can just hunker down until it’s all over. The nester in me is thinking about baking bread and making soup.
I’m sure many of you feel the same – there’s nothing better in the midst of a winter storm than a big pot of nourishing soup. With that, I’ve put together a roster of our 10 favorite soups, the ones I make over and over throughout the fall and winter. If you read my weekly dinner menu, you’ve seen some of these before. If you’re looking for something simple yet delicious to fill bellies and put smiles on faces, then I promise, there’s something here for you.
Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Cheese. This comforting chowder, speckled with diced redskin or Yukon Gold potatoes and spiked with creamy Havarti cheese and bits of savory bacon, will please even the person who thinks soup isn’t a meal.
Chicken Soup with Thyme, White Wine, and Orzo. This is definitely a family favorite. With the addition of white wine and parmesan, this recipe takes chicken soup to a whole new level. It’s not your grandma’s chicken soup – it’s way better.
Tuscan White Bean Soup. I’ve never been a bean soup lover, but this soup changed that. Creamy and delicious, flavored subtly with fennel and rosemary and garnished with rosciutto and parmesan, you could even go so far as to say this soup is elegant. A palate pleaser all the way.
Steakhouse Soup. This is E’s favorite, hands-down, and its simplicity is what makes it a stunner. Bites of tender steak and waxy Yukon Gold potato are blanketed in a zesty steak sauce broth. If you need more color, sliced carrots are a perfect addition.
Creamy Tomato Soup. Be gone, Campbell’s. On a chilly night, there’s nothing better than homemade tomato soup with a buttery grilled cheese sandwich for dunking.
Chicken Tortilla Soup. This restaurant classic couldn’t be easier to make at home. It has the flavor you’ll be looking for, without the need to make a trip to your local Tex-Mex chain.
Pumpkin Curry Soup. My personal favorite. This easy soup, which is comprised almost completely of simple pantry ingredients, is both sweet and spicy.
Easiest Seafood Stew. This is a recent discovery, but it deserves to make the cut. Simple to make and simply delicious, if you’re a seafood lover, this is the soup for you.
Fall Vegetable Soup. You may be thinking, “borrrring,” but this vegetable soup is anything but boring, and it isn’t just for autumn, either. Make it with whatever you have languishing in your vegetable bin or even your freezer. The flavorful broth will make any combination of vegetables come alive.
Zesty Scallop and Corn Chowder. This surprisingly spicy chowder is anything but ordinary. Spiked with smoked Spanish paprika and cayenne, with a savory undertone of bacon, it never fails to delight.
Cheers!
