With the weather in cool weather swing in the Midwest, I have been adding a lot of hearty soups and stews to our menu plans. Beef stew is one of my favorite dishes to make because it is so richly satisfying with so many of the pantry and fridge staples that I already have on hand. I have tried many beef stew recipes and never found, “the one,” for our family…that is until now. In fact, this is the first pot of stew that I have ever even gotten my family to attempt eating, let alone beg for the leftovers the next day.

This stew is so rich and decadent,  because of the use of bacon in this stew. The bacon fat is what all of the vegetables get coated in for cooking and then the cooked bacon is set aside for crumbling on top of the stew once it comes out of the oven.  I filled the broth with red wine and beef broth, but the wine could be replaced with the beef broth if you don’t have that on hand. Either way, this soup is delicious and filling.

I know this dish might not be for the diet conscious, but it is for those nights when you want something comforting and satisfying on the weekend. I served these big bowls of stew up with bacon crumbles and fresh parsley. On each plate I nestled my easy Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins to round out the dinner.

I have discovered if those muffins are involved…

I can get my kids to try anything that might be put in front of them.

That is my secret to picky eating in my house.

Serve a muffin.

Few things say fall is here to me like the delicious flavor of roast turkey. While many think of roasting a turkey as only a routine done on Thanksgiving, I think of roasting a turkey as an easy weeknight dish that can be turned into delicious packed sandwiches for my kid’s lunchboxes and a lifesaver for busy weeknights when I don’t feel like cooking.

When I worked in Massachusetts, there was a tiny little shack of a restaurant that was situated just across the street from our complex where I worked. People would line up for miles and miles around this little hut and after eating one sandwich from there, I was able to see what the fuss was all about.

The owner would get up at 3 in the morning to begin the process of roasting turkeys for her customers. The turkeys were transformed into turkey sandwiches that were served smeared with a delicious cranberry spread.  The other turkeys were made into turkey salad sandwiches and delicious turkey-filled soups. It smelled like Thanksgiving every day there and, I can tell you, there is just nothing more distracting than a smell like that when you are trying to accomplish the day’s work.

This is my little replica of a roasted turkey sandwich that I have been missing since we moved away. We vary our toppings depending on what is in the fridge. These can be served with fresh veggies and cheese, served open-faced with a little gravy on top, or smeared with a little cranberry spread (should you be feeling festive).

The best part is that these are just as easy as roasting a chicken, especially since I love to buy the boneless turkeys at grocery local store (I buy the Kirkwood Boneless Turkey Breast at Aldi, $7.99 for 3 pounds).  To keep the turkey moist, I add a cup of chicken broth to cover it.

I guarantee that once you try this meat for your sandwiches, you will never want to go back to the processed deli meat.

And who doesn’t want to enjoy a little taste of Thanksgiving on an otherwise ordinary day?

Recipe:

Weeknight Roast Turkey Sandwiches

Ingredients

1- 3 pound boneless, white turkey breast (thawed)
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
Salt & Pepper
Poultry Seasoning
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Drizzle the skin of the turkey with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning generously on the top of the turkey breast. Pour 1 cup of the chicken broth in the bottom of a roasting pan to keep the bird moist.  Roast the turkey at 350 degrees for 90 minutes. Allow the bird to roast uncovered until the skin is crisp & golden. Cover with a foil tent after it has reached the desired color.

Allow the turkey to rest fifteen minutes after cooking before cutting.

Note: To store the meat, pour the other half of the can (one cup)  of chicken broth in a container to cover the turkey meat  and keep it moist.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serving Size: 8

For years I have been trying to master the right tomato soup recipe for my family. It must not be too chunky. It must not be too creamy. It must not be too acidic. It must not be too sweet.  I never thought I would find a tomato soup that we would all love… until this week.

This tomato soup is all of our favorite flavors in the perfect merriment for our family.  Chicken stock, whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and a little heavy cream are all mixed together. To cut the acidity, a pinch of sugar and a healthy dose of pesto round out the flavors.

We happened to have half of a loaf of crusty bread that had been neglected from a night of pasta eating. I decided to put the loaf to work and create crouton soup toppers to dress up our tomato soup. The kids loved this addition and my husband agreed that it made the soup filling and even more satisfying.

Bowls were scraped to the bottom.

Bellies were satisfied.

We all agreed that this tomato soup was the one we had been waiting for.

If you try it, I think you will agree.

Recipe:

Homemade Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup jarred pesto

Directions:

In a large pot saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for one minute. Add crushed tomatoes and the whole tomatoes (including their juices). Use your wooden spoon to break the whole tomatoes apart  into the crushed tomatoes. Add your chicken or vegetable stock, salt, sugar, and pesto. Let this simmer for fifteen minutes. Turn your heat to low and then add the heavy cream. Garnish the soup with crouton toppers and Parmesan cheese.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Serving Size: 8

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Recipe:

Crouton Soup Toppers

Ingredients:

1 loaf of stale bread (any variety)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Kosher salt or garlic salt (sprinkled liberally)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cube bread into desired size and toss into a bowl. Sprinkle all of the seasonings on top of your bread cubes. Drizzle olive oil over the cubes and then toss gently with your fingers. When all pieces have been coated, put cubes into a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Allow to cool. Place in an airtight container and these can be stored for up to weeks in this container.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

Serving Size: 8

Soup season is well underway in our house and I am always on the hunt for new soup recipes that I think our family will love. This Italian Sausage Soup with tortellini combines two of our favorite soup flavors together in one pot and is a homemade soup worth making again and again. This soup is a combination of my favorite flavors from my California Italian Wedding Soup and my Pesto Chicken Tortellini Soup, all in one pot!

My children are doing sports activities once a week now and their activities just so happen to be right around the dinner hour. My strategy for keeping our family out of the drive through has been dedicating my Sunday afternoons to making a double batch of soup that can save me on those nights when dinner planning seems impossible. Between my soup leftovers and my slow cooker recipes, these dinner saving strategies have really paid off in the last few weeks.

This Italian Sausage Soup has a hearty broth filled with tomato sauce, red wine, beef broth, and sweet Italian turkey sausage. The freshness in this soup comes from the zucchini, diced tomatoes, parsley, basil,  and then the cheese filled pasta.

I like to add half of the cooked tortellini into the soup and save half of the tortellini in a separate container for later in the refrigerator. By adding more beef broth and then the other half of the tortellini later in the week, I can stretch my soup for another couple of servings and have fresh-tasting pasta time when I reheat it.

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as our family does and that you can make a fun soup night a part of your weekly routine too!

Recipe:

Italian Sausage Soup  With Tortellini

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a large pot, brown your turkey sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.Saute garlic for one minute in the drippings (be careful not to burn this).   Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage.   Bring to a boil.   Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Skim fat from the soup.   Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. In a separate pot, boil the water and prepare the tortellini as directed. Reserve half the tortellini in a container to add to the soup when you reheat it. Gently pour the other half of the tortellini into the soup pot. Serve the soup in individual bowls with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Serving Size: 8

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Is there is anything more satisfying than a  homemade soup on a chilly day? As soon as the weather turns cool, we do a weekly pot of homemade soup to satisfy all of our soup cravings.  I used to have a house full of people who did not enjoy soup. After dedicating a year of cooking to finding soups that they would eat, I am proud to say that every person in our house looks forward to soup night now.

Soup is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the week.  Each Saturday, I make a double batch of soup for the week. Our first night of after school activities happens on Monday so we enjoy a bowl on that night, instead of dining out.   There is less of a brown bag slump on Wednesday when I send a thermos of soup with my kids to switch up their usual pb & j routine. Surprise guests for lunch? No problem, homemade soup is always a winner!

Soup and homemade bread is an inexpensive endeavor for a weeknight meal. One lunch at that fancy bread & soup place in town  for our family of four can easily cost $25 for what I consider to be, “pauper’s food.”  When I can make a huge pot at home for less than $10 that can feed our family for entire week, I know that we are eating well and staying within our grocery budget.

I am looking forward to trying and sharing many more soup recipes with you this fall and winter. Today I want to share six of my favorite soups that I think you will love and a few ideas for the perfect sides to enjoy with them! You will absolutely love these soups, I just know it!

If you are looking for a soup with that tastes deliciously homemade, but can be prepared in about 30 minutes and happily feed your family for a week, then this is the soup for you. The trick with this soup is starting with a good well-seasoned base and then working from there with quicker cooking techniques and ingredients.

Soulful, satisfying, rich, delicious, comforting, and restaurant-worthy! This is the soup that my children now beg for whenever they feel under the weather. My daughter has deemed this, “mommy’s magic soup,” and it really is magical. This is definitely a lot cheaper than going out for soup and you can enjoy these leftovers all week long! Loved by all in our family, it is a recipe that I will be repeating again and again!

Easy Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup

Serve This With: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes

Sometimes all you are looking for a dish that is simple, satisfying, and easy on your wallet. This dish is all of that and more, and this soup happened to be the first time that I have attempted a lentil soup in the kitchen. The results were nothing short of fabulous and a batch of this soup yielded a week’s worth of delicious lunches just for me.

If you haven’t cooked with lentils before, you should really give them a try! Unlike dried beans, lentils do not require any pre-soaking overnight prior to being cooked. Instead, most cooks recommend that you first pick over these legumes, and remove any that look broken or damaged. A quick rinse after you have picked out the damaged lentils, and you are ready to go. The ease and minimal prep time for cooking these is why lentils are a wonderful and easy addition to any soup!

Lentil Soup

Serve This With: Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Each family member has their own favorite soup and my husband  firmly states that this California Italian Wedding Soup is the most comforting and satisfying soup on our family’s soup agenda.  Satisfyingly hardy with meatballs blended with ground turkey & beef , but also surprisingly light with fresh basil, spinach, and hints of lemon in every bite… it truly is a delicious soup treat for the whole family.

You won’t believe how easy it is to make this soup and with a double batch of baked meatballs in the fridge, you will have a great soup to feed a small army with a minimal amount of effort!

California Italian Wedding Soup

Serve This With: Portuguese White Bread

Black bean soup is one of my own favorite lunches because it is rich and satisfying, while offering a delicious meat-free option for lunch. The addition of roasted red peppers in this soup makes it a clear winner because it balances out that heaviness that can exist with a basic black bean soup.

The spices are perfect in this, the roasted red pepper adds a beautiful color and flavor to the soup, the sour cream adds that perfect balance of creaminess, and the beans add that filling soup combination to help keep you full throughout the day, while the chicken broth makes this soup light enough that even black bean soup haters could learn to love it… well, most black bean soup haters.

Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Serve With: Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

This soup… oh, this soup. Words seem indescribable to explain how it tastes like love, like comfort, and like coming home. If ever there was a soup that a girl could be proud of, this is my soup. It is rich and creamy tasting, but lightened with lemon. It is, in my humble opinion, the best pot of soup I have ever made.

If you are looking for a soup that is entertaining worthy, than this is the soup for you. Paired with my bread machine pitas, it is like going out to your favorite Greek restaurant, but enjoying every moment of that experience in the comfort of your own home.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Serve With: Bread Machine Pitas

This tortellini soup brought together all of the flavors that my family loves, but is a versatile recipe that could be created with what is at your supermarket that day or what your family loves to eat. For our vegetarian readers, the chicken tortellini and chicken broth can easily be switched to a cheese-filled tortellini with vegetable broth instead. I used basil pesto in this, but you could also try a sun-dried tomato pesto or omit the pesto altogether if it is not a favorite of your family. Versatility is the beauty of a good soup recipe  and this recipe is quite versatile!

The broth for this is so rich and flavorful, thanks to the addition of the pesto, and the tortellini is tender and mixed with the brightness of the flavors from the diced tomatoes and spinach. It is delicious and satisfying.

Pesto Chicken Tortellini Soup

Serve With: Sinfully Sweet Cornbread

If you aren’t part of our Facebook community than you are missing out on some great information and discussions happening there. Last week I discovered that Walmart carries chilled rotisserie chickens for $3.98. It has shaved a couple of dollars off of my soup budget this week and I love to use these to start the base for my chicken soup recipes.  Feel free to join in on our discussions and share your latest grocery finds!

The soup pot is on! What is your family’s favorite soup? Feel free to share your favorite recipes or links to your favorite soup dishes!