Almost everybody likes to eat soup. Soup is the perfect dish or start of a meal for cold days because it will warm you up immediately. But even in the summer you will enjoy a good bowl of soup. After all, many soup ideas originated in Southern Europe. It will also fill you up when you just need a snack, no matter what time of the day it is. You get hungry in the middle of the night and you need something to settle your stomach? Heat up a bowl in your microwave. It is only going to take you a minute or two before you can dig in. You can surprise your family with soups that are special at certain times of the year. In the fall, find a good pumpkin soup recipe. Your family will love it! Pumpkin soup is also a great idea if your kids like to carve pumpkins for Halloween. You did not throw out all that good pumpkin flesh right?
You can make most soups a few days ahead. If you make a big pot, you can keep a terrine in your fridge for when your teenage son has a snack attack. Offer all family members or guests a bowl of soup while they are waiting for the main course to be ready. If you never tried to make a regular supply of home cooked soup for your fridge, you have no idea how convenient that can be. Make sure that you have more than one recipe for your soup. Most soups freeze real good. If you make a big pot, you can put half in a soup terrine, and the other half you freeze later. You can do this in individual portions, or in a container that can hold enough for one meal for your family. If your day is very hectic and you have to work overtime, dinner can be served in no time without having to cook a new meal.
Soup is usually very healthy. The liquid will keep you from becoming dehydrated. The vegetables will provide you with fiber and vitamins. The meat will take care of your protein intake.
Minestrone soup is probably the most versatile soup. Make it the first few times following a recipe for minestrone soup. Just about all food groups can be represented. Every recipe for minestrone soup has a few returning ingredients and you will see some variations as well. Orzo is part of the original recipe for minestrone soup, but depending on what region of Italy your recipe originated, it can be other pasta as well.
Italian restaurant cooks follow of course a recipe for minestrone soup that was approved by whoever owns the place. They got it all measured out, and the result is identical every single time. But once you have tried out a few different recipes in your kitchen at home, you are ready to make your own creations. Start with switching out ingredients. If you do not have what your recipe asks for, check your fridge to see what you could replace it with. Soon you will come to the conclusion that the perfect recipe for minestrone soup is the one you can put your leftovers in. Those peas your family decided not to eat last night? Put them in your pan. You cooked elbow macaroni and your daughter ate at her boyfriend’s house? Use it instead of the orzo. Meatballs in marinara sauce you would hate to throw out? Cut these up and add it all to your pan instead of whatever other meat your recipe for minestrone soup tells you to take.