Moving from Seattle to Minnesota has changed me in so many ways. Some are for the good: I no longer think any stranger who says “Hi” to me on the street is a homeless person who is half a second from asking me for money. Some are not as good: I’ve gotten lazy about opening my own door, what with how polite everyone is here. The other day I stood outside the grocery store for five minutes before Jelly Bean and I realized that a) the doors were not automatically sliding open (because we were standing at the “out” instead of the “in” – I wish I could say that was the only time that’s happened) and b) no one was coming along to open them for us. But lutefisk* notwithstanding, I really love it here – it’s so family friendly! – and so I’m trying my best to assimilate into my new(ish) home.
From what I can gather there are a few criteria to becoming an official Minnesotan:
– The ability to tolerate -40 degree F weather without complaining. Fail, big time. I’m okay until 10 degrees F. I’ll keep a stiff upper lip until zero. But anything that starts with a “negative” and includes the phrase “wind chill” has me whining and refusing to come out from my heated blanket. I am a weather wuss. (By the way, that F doesn’t stand for Fahrenheit in my vocab.)
– Enjoy Garrison Keillor. Oh land. Despite the fact that I say things in real life like “oh land” I cannot find a single humorous thing in “Prairie Home Companion“. Just hearing Garrison Keillor’s voice makes me get all rage-y. Especially once I realized that PHC takes up a soul-sucking two hours on my beloved NPR. Fail, again.
– Embrace the fashion. Minnesotan ladies have this adorable habit of being completely unaffected by the weather. They throw on cute little wool coats with jaunty pom-pom’d hats and walk around like it ain’t no thing. Me? I bought a puffy calf-length hooded parka that is essentially a walking sleeping bag. I have no peripheral vision and I can’t put my arms all the way down and I don’t care. Best part: I bought it in cherry red so they can find my body easier when I crash through the ice on one of the frozen lakes that my husband, who believes our neighbors when they say it’s safe, drives on. There is nothing cute about me here in winter. (Also, frozen lakes terrify me.)
– Hotdish. I’m sorry Minnesotans, it’s a casserole. The end. And tater tots have no business anywhere near one. Frankly tater tots have no business being anywhere other than in Napoleon Dynamite’s cargo pants.
– Say “BAYg” and “FLAYg” for “bag” and “flag”. (See also: “Nooooo” with at least three different tonal changes.) My kids have got this one nailed but alas my husband and I remain woefully un-Canadian-ized.
– Chicken and wild rice soup. Is heaven. Yes, my friends, it is in soup that I found my inner Minnesotan. Soup is my winter salvation. The colder the weather gets, the more I want to cook it. (Which is why we had soup for dinner four out of seven nights last week. Oops.)
So last week when I posted on Facebook – whining about the cold, naturally – I asked for some new soup ideas and boy did everyone deliver! (My fave answer from Beck: “My recipe is called Move The Heck Out of the Midwest”) But me being greedy I want more. This whole post is a ruse to get you to give me your favorite soup recipes so I can continue my streak of hot liquid food and drive my family nuts! (Also, any ideas you have for healthy soup go-withs would be much appreciated.) But I figure that I have to give a little to get a little so here are my tips for souping it up:
Tips for Soup-er Soups (so many puns, so little time!)
1. Meet your best friend: the crock pot (Slow cooker? Are they the same thing? I grew up with crock pot.) Throw it all together in the morning and come evening dinner’s ready! And get one of those huge ones – soup freezes so well you can always save the extras for another snowy day. (P.S. When you’re freezing soup, put it in a gallon ziploc bag laid flat on a cookie sheet. Once it’s frozen you can stack them like books. Saves so much freezer space!)
2. Amass some tried-and-true recipes that you can’t screw up. Up until this year I basically had three foolproof soups I could make: meatless chili, tomato vegetable, butternut squash (Can you tell I was a vegetarian for years??). Notice what’s not on my list: Chicken noodle. (Recently we had a soup potluck at my church and I brought a vat of chicken noodle figuring it would be impossible to screw up. Suffice it to say that at the end of the night every other crock pot was licked clean and mine remained virtually untouched. I think it was because I added two pounds of egg noodles which basically turned it into chicken kugel?) But now I’ve added sausage kale, baked potato and lentejas (Spanish lentil stew). I’m trying beef stew this week and I’m mighty hopeful!
3. Find some amazing cooking sites. Cookbooks are so old school! Now you can not only find a recipe but you can watch a video of it being prepped, ask questions of the creator (author? chef?), read reviews from other cooks, find variations to make it healthier and see so many glossy food-porn pics that your Pinterest board will steam up your screen. Take that Betty Crocker! My current faves are Allrecipes (what happens when you crowd-source cooking), Smitten Kitchen (for my inner gourmet – mostly I just look and drool and wish I had all the fancy gadgets she does) and Healthy Living How To (awesome for dairy-free, gluten-free and sugar-free but still tasty!). Please share yours in the comments!
4. Take shortcuts. Soup is pretty forgiving as far as recipes go so feel free to play around with the ingredients. (just don’t add 2 pounds of noodles – those things expand in water!) My favorite shortcut is to make a good soup base, like chicken/vegetable/rice, with very little water in it and freeze it in quart bags. When I’m ready I put one in a pot, add two quarts of water or stock and it’s got all the convenience of canned but way way better for you!
5. Don’t be afraid to try new things. One of the first soups suggested to me on FB was “knoephla” a German potato soup with some kind of dumpling? I’m not a fan of dumplings (Spain ruined me forever on soggy bread in my soup) but after several other friends raved about it as well I decided to open my mind. It seems like every culture has its regional soup delicacy with so many interesting ones to try! Other fun things to throw in soup: Greens like kale and chard, red lentils, hominy, coconut milk, cocoa powder (makes chili so good, I’m serious!) or new spices.
6. I don’t have a sixth tip. (Don’t forget to turn off the burner/crock pot when you’re done?) But “five ways to soup up your soup” wasn’t alliterative. I’ve have neuroses. Hold me.
Your turn: What is your favorite soup recipe? Have a favorite cooking site? What’s your favorite “go-with” for soup? Anyone else ever moved somewhere and had major culture shock??
*Lutevisk: Fish soaked in LYE. Apparently people actually eat it as Costco sells jumbo jars of it – in a two pack. Ever since hearing the story of how my great-great-something-grandmother Adelaide fell into the lye pit as a child and had her ears literally melted off her head, I’ve been leery of getting within ten feet of lye, much less ingesting it. But what I really want to know is who is the first person who discovered that soaking fish in lye actually works? How exactly did that come about? Homicide gone wrong? Dementia? Dare??
I always find it weird how there can be such culture shock within the same country- I moved from Toronto to Calgary a while ago, and it was a huge culture shock. Now I’m more okay with it, but…it took a while to get used to. Not only was winter a slap in the face (I hear you on the -40! It’s the place where C and F are the same!), so were the migraines from chinooks, the weird horsey-obsessed culture and the economy being driven by oil and gas, the fact that the city turns into a parody of the wild west for 2 weeks a year, and that I have seen a loose moose downtown on two separate occasions. Even though there are a million people in the city, I always see someone I know when I’m out, sort of like a small town. I also had a lot of culture shock moving to Austria and back, but at least then I expected the difference.
Who doesn’t love Smitten Kitchen? I also love Big Girls Small Kitchen, they have some solid soup recipes, but my usual go to is the NY Times Recipes for Health (such great recipes!), and Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
Calgary is a Big City that never got the memo. It’s such a small town! I LOVE Calgary. Embrace the weird horsey obsessions, check out Buffalo Horn Ranch for some of the best bison meat you ever had, move to Waterton during Stampede – you’ll do great.
Calgary is definitely on my list! Almost anything with a rodeo, horses and cowboys has got to be good!
Okay other than the weather your description totally makes me want to go to Calgary now! I love the Wild West and even better I love any occasion to wear a costume – do you get to dress up like a saloon girl? I’ll check out Big Girls but I gotta say I’ve had bad luck with the NY Times recipes – they seem to require more finesse than I have:)
Ok- so I am from Calgary too!! What is with that! The stampede gets annoying after a while, because of the crowds, but it is definitely cool the 5? years. And we’re so close to the mountains too! I love it here. We’ve got some of the fun bits of western culture, but you don’t get as many of the true red necks (who wouldn’t know what Kale or Pho was if it hit them in the face).
But I’ve also lived in a town of 5000 in BC for a while, where we once had a bear in the back playground of the school so they closed it… and by it I mean the back playground. No need to close the school or even the front playground! So Calgary doesn’t feel like a small town to me, but it is definitely nothing like the cities in the US!
Cbuffy- I’m vegetarian, so no bison for me, but, I hear Waterton is beautiful! I really should check it out this summer.
Charlotte – The outfits frequently trend more toward inappropriate daisy dukes and tied plaid shirts…I usually do plaid and/or jean dresses, but you could certainly get away with a saloon girl outfit and no one would look askance at you for doing so during Stampede. And weather update: -1 today, feels like -30 tonight/tomorrow, +4 by Thursday…. This city has weather ADD.
Nicole- you’re right, it’s certainly not red neck here, which I’m so thankful for, and I also love the mountains (I’m looking at them right now out my office window….). But being a Toronto girl means this city is still a small town for me:)
I’ve moved several times in my life, but I’ve never left the state. My biggest culture shock happened when I married a guy from Korea. Remember Mrs. Kim from the Gilmore Girls? Thankfully, my MIL isn’t like that at all! (But her maiden name is Kim. Funny!)
Because of my husband and his family, I learned to love Korean cuisine, which is famous for its hearty, spicy soups and stews. I highly recommend the soups and stews categories on Maangchi.com! It’s okay to skip some ingredients, like the dried anchovies (yuck!), they will still be delicious. Our favorites are hand-torn noodle soup (sujebi), ox-bone soup, ginseng chicken soup (cure for the common cold!), soy bean sprout soup, and kimchi stew (jjigae).
And now I’m hungry.
Ahhh I LOVED Gilmore Girls!!! Also: I have an oxtail – could you send me your recipe for ox bone soup? I have no idea what to do with it but I know I want to try eating it!! Bean sprout soup also sounds amazing…
Make Pho! So darn tasty, though it takes a bit of time to get the broth right. Here’s my favourite recipe: steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html with loads of pictures for each step.
Sure, here it is: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/ox-bone-soup
What’s wrong with dried anchovies? I feel like people are less likely to try them since they’re reminded of the canned ones (which are super salty and have a mushy texture). But they’re just fish. Just really really tiny fish.
A lot of Korean food is based off of an anchovy/fish stock, just like how a lot of Western food is based off chicken stock.
I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t eat fish or meat. But my husband loves both. It’s just a personal thing.
Oh. I assumed you ate meat because of the things you listed! Makes sense if you don’t eat fish!
That is ridiculously cold, I can’t even fathom. We get to single digits around here and that’s bad enough. Favorite soup recipe? We love split pea soup made with chicken stock, grated carrots, and ham. It’s very simple, very filling, and amazingly the whole family loves it! It’s an easy one to do in the crock pot.
That sounds delish! I love pea soup!
The explanation for lutefisk is unfortunately rather boring – food conservation. The fish used in lutefisk is dried, and at some point – probably due to an accident – someone figured out that the soaking / cooking / preparation process of the dry fish was rendered drastically shorter when they added some ashes (which is alcaline).
Where I live in Norway, the temperatures are back up to the high 20s again today, after a few days of pushing -20 F (and that was BEFORE the wind chill) – WAY to cold in my opinion. You’re not supposed to feel your bronchiae actually freezing on the inside whenever you draw a breath.
We (that is, my husband – the cook in the family) is making lentil dahl today – easy and really good! I can send you the recipe if you’re interested. Another really tasty and easy recipe is buffalo chicken soup from how sweet eats (http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/01/30-minute-buffalo-chicken-soup/).
Thanks for the background info on lutefisk Hanne! (So do you eat it? Should I get over my fear and try it?) And wow, you have all my sympathy for the temps in Norway! Totally agree withyou: Breathing should not be painful! I would love your dahl recipe and thanks for the Buffalo chicken – I’ll check it out now!
I most certainly do NOT recommend lutefisk – it’s just not food, in my opinion. No that we’ve got other ways of conserving the fish, I see no reason at all to ruin it with lye 🙂
I sent the recipe through your contact form; hope you receive it!
(that should be “now”, not “no”)
1. We had a soup potluck??
B. As a born and raised Minnesotan, I dispute the accuracy of “MN Characteristics.” I don’t like the cold and stay inside as much as possible; PHC blows and is only funny/cute/entertaining to old people; and not all of us wear cute winter wear.
Third off. You say MAYsure instead of measure so no critiquing our bags and flags. 😉 And you are just wrong on both hotdishes and tater tots. Sorry to break it to you but you are. I freaking love tater tot hotdish. Tater tot casserole sounds stupid. Hotdish is the way to go.
What – brash sweeping generalizations about whole populations of people aren’t always true?? 😉
1. It was Evening of Excellence – just for the YW, parents and leaders! Don’t worry you didn’t miss anything – I would have dragged you there otherwise!
2. Honestly I consider you an East Coaster merely possessing the body of a Midwesterner. Stop stealing other people’s bodies m’kay??
3. Whatevs – I have never seen you wear a real coat!! You are the epitome of cute plaid jackets or the black sweater coat.
4. Tater tot casserole does sound stupid… because it is;)
I agree as Minnesota born and raised. The other night i was laughing after our strength training workout because every single coat on the coat pegs was a down puffer coat. Every. Single. One. Of course, it was -20 plus windchill,but there’s usually one person who just “threw on a hoodie” to drive over…
Tater tot hotdish IS the best. Best, best, best! Sometimes I’ll use nacho cheese as the creamy bit instead of cream o chicken. Yum.
I also hate the cold, as do most Minnesotans, we just have to be subtle in the way we talk about it. Such as, “Cold enough for ya?” Instead of what I’d love to say, “*&^%$#@!)(*&^^%$#@!”
We do a soup/chili potluck at work at least once per winter and it’s one of the group favorites.
But, being a native Minnesotan, I also do not see the humor or obsession with PHC. I’m also terrified of frozen lakes.
I used to hate the cold and snow (in my adult years – all kids love it), but when I fell in love with snowshoeing it all changed. I bought proper warm, but lightweight, gear and now I pray for snow. Needless to day, last night made me happy! Even better, the roads were cleared so the commute to work was easy but it was beautiful out!
Oh, and I didn’t like tater tot hotdish to start, either, but once my sister made it and added green peppers to it, I can’t get enough. She also uses garlic mushroom soup in it to change it up. Genius, I tell you!
I recently discovered supercook.com, which I now love – you just put in what ingredients you have and it shows you recipes that use those. I’m 32 weeks pregnant right now with my 3rd, so sometimes I just don’t have the creative capacity I did a few months ago! So this site helps. I’m terrible at soup for some reason, so I don’t make it much. I also use food.com a lot because the reviews on each recipe are helpful. And I live in the southeast, have my whole life – so when it hits 15F here, EVERYONE flips out. Lol. And then a few days later it’s 70 in January (like later this week). So we go from chili weather to popsicle weather real quick.
Ooh thank you! Supercook sounds like my dream! I’ll check out the other two as well! (And congrats on the imminent arrival! Babies are such miracles!)
oh!! I also recommend Picky Palate and Cooking on Clover Lane – I’ve been following both for years!
Crockpot / Slow cooker. Crockpot is a brand name. ie: popsicle. So you are “supposed” to say slow cooker – but just like anything you blow snot into is a kleenex, anything you dump stuff into in the morning and find yummy dinner in the evening, is a crockpot. LOL And on that note, if you haven’t, fall in love with http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com. Soups and so much more. All with notes to make it celiac friendly. Crockpot is your friend in the winter when you need easy hot food. And your friend in the summer when you can’t abide the thought of turning on a heat generating source in your kitchen. (I have cooked many a meal on the patio, in the garage, etc…) You can make almost anything in a crockpot – lasagna, cake, other yummy casseroles, world’s easiest yogurt, and of course the old standbys. Even the BEST cream of mushroom soup made from fresh mushrooms. You’ll never open a can again.
Oh that makes perfect sense! And I don’t even have a “crockpot” brand so that makes it even funnier. And yes, I’ve seen the site before (that’s where I got my crockpot yogurt recipe) but I need to dig more into her archives – thank you!
I’m Canadian. I don’t say “BAYg” or “FLAYg”. If you are hearing that in Minnesota, how is that Canadian-ized? Granted, Canada is a big place so it’s quite possible that pronunciation exists in some places. But it’s not a general Canadian thing.
I was never a soup fan. I gave my parents lots of grief growing up as they tried to get me to eat soup. I’m still pretty fussy about what I like, but you can make some very tasty soups in a slow cooker, it’s true. Mostly I’d rather have curry. Or chili. Unless it’s tomato soup. Tomato soup I love.
I’m with you, JavaChick – I’ve always been confused when Americans try to do a Canadian accent and sound like the folks in Fargo. It’s not any Canadian accent I’ve ever heard! Maybe in the Prairies? I’m a Newfoundlander, so you know I don’t sound like that ;-P
And the whole ‘ou’ vowel thing – I know we say it differently, but it doesn’t sound like ‘ooot and abooot’, which is what I hear when people try to imitate it. Ah well – I know I can’t do any number of American accents to save my life, so it’s likely the same thing.
No, I never hear ‘aboot’ either. I’m from Nova Scotia and my Mom is from Newfoundland (though she’s lived in Nova Scotia for over 40 years now, so her NF accent is not that strong). I’ve lived on PEI, and now live in Saint John, NB.
Canada is big, and accents vary from place to place. I don’t think there there is any such thing as a “Canadian accent”. I’m sure Americans would say the same – depends on where you come from within the country. I find it very interesting, the differences you notice from place to place.
I’m from SK and I’ve never heard those accents either 🙂
I’m a native Minnesotan and the only way you’ll find the Fargo-type accent in the state is from some elderly men who live in small towns in northern Minnesota. It’s not a common accent and it makes me sad to think that most people from out of state think we sound like that. Which would be a reason I pretty much hate the movie Fargo.
I have never seen the movie Fargo! ALthough I did see that one with Kirsten Dunst in it and she was supposed to be Minnesotan and the whole movie I wanted to punch her for her ridiculous accent.
Yep- I’ve been sitting here saying “flag” to myself and it sounds exactly the same way most Americans say it. And I’ve never heard aboot either. Some Newfies sound…different, but it is hard to pin-point exactly what it is. It certainly isn’t “aboots”.
Most Canadians sound generally the same to me, and we seem to sound pretty similar to the people I’ve met in Montana/Idaho/Washington. Obviously Texas etc. has their own accent, and New York does as well (or at least my cousins from New York do). Maybe if you have a southern accent Canadians just sound extra different?
I’m totally giggling picturing all the Canadians muttering “flag” and “bag” trying to hear how they sound! And I’m very grateful for the education – seriously I have learned so much about regional accents that I’d never considered before!
I’m with all other Canadians on these replies, I sometimes laugh when people tell me “oh, you’re from Canada eh?”. Huh, I’m (French) Canadian but never said eh once in my whole life. Of course, I do have an accent, but funny thing is, people here (in the US) can almost never tell where I’m from :-)…or what “language” I’m speaking heehee (and no, I don’t say “ooot and aboooot” either, but know some Canucks who do…)
I once tried to say “oot” and “aboot” and “eh” just to irritate my husband whilst on vacation abroad, it just doesn’t feel natural at all (Edmontonian here).
I’m pretty sure Bob and Doug McKenzie made the whole thing up so we Canadians can travel secretly among our American neighbours. If not for my flag tattoo on my upper breastbone that might be possible.
SO interesting! When I questioned it here everyone would always reply that it was because Minnesota is so close to the Canadian border so I assumed they meant it was a Canadian accent? Good to know otherwise! The only part of Canada I’ve ever been to was Vancouver and it was utterly delightful:)
YOU MEAN I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE???? I’m Minnesotan – born and bred – and cannot stand Prairie Home Companion. To the point that now, when my husband turns it on, my 15-month-old runs to the radio, turns it off, and then says “Ok. Good.”
Hahaha I love it! My daughter would probably do the same if she ever heard it which, you know, she doesn’t on my watch;)
I LOVE the Smitten Kitchen! Her cookbook has rave reviews and is on my birthday list (which isn’t until July:)
Prevention RD is another good blog. She does a good job making recipes lighter but still having good flavor!
As for soup-I usually make a chicken or veggie broth with whatever veggies I have, canned diced tomatoes and tortellini. Penzey’s has a really good soup base I highly recommend.
Good to know (about your birthday list;)) I’ll check out Prevention RD! And we still love the baked potato soup recipe you gave us!
Acckk, I’m WAY too wimpy to live where it’s so cold, but admire all those hearty folks who rise to the occasion. And the whole Canadian/Midwest language and cultural thing is fascinating! Sounds like geography is a stronger force than nationality, and it’s good to know my notions of “Canadian” accents are totally off base.
We make chicken vegetable soup a lot–which is a bit of a production hauling the bones back out etc– but it’s a great way to stretch a left-over chicken carcass into a number of additional meals. And for quicker soups, I recently discovered that the costco organic chicken broth can be a cheap quick alternative soup base if doctored with lots of onion and garlic, then whatever leftover protein and vegetables are around can get tossed in and used up.
So I have two partially eaten roaster chickens stewing in my crockpot now thanks to you! I’m sure I’ll be cursing you as I debone the suckers but I’m also sure I’ll be quite grateful when we’re eating delicious homemade chicken noodle soup tomorrow! Thanks for the idea!
I love soup!! I also eat soup several times a week over the winter, which began when I fell hard for soup last year. Now I always have some in the freezer during the cooler months. Such a great way to add in a bunch of different veggies and I love that it’s easy to change on a whim (unlike in baking, another one of my very favorite culinary things).
And I love Smitten Kitchen, too. Her cookbook is fantastic, although the blog is equally good. I have a lot of favorite cooking blogs, but here are a few:
http://www.101cookbooks.com
http://www.orangette.blogspot.com/
http://joythebaker.com/
I also like Mark Bittman’s site (http://markbittman.com/) and How to Cook Everything is really good. For general searches I love Epicurious and Martha Stewart (especially Everyday Food). Looking forward to hearing which soups you try!
Oooh thank you for all the recs! I’ve been enjoying going through them! Especially Bittman’s site…
Tater tots in a casserole? Bleh. I can’t talk tho – I married into a german mennonite family and
old homestead recipes still get pulled out at family gathering. Some are tasty but things like Butter Soup (which is pretty much as awful as it sounds) make me proud to be scottish (I can say I’d rather eat haggis than butter soup!).
Winter fashion is like that here in SK too, altho once it reaches stupid cold (-40C plus wind) every february we all just give up, and just try to stay warm and start wearing your jacket (and i admit to adding ski pants, face mask and goggles too). The styley people here definitely do NOT take the bus with me…we all look like sausages in our 50 layers of warm. I am amazed we just go about our lives when it’s -40C with windchill. I’d kill for a snow day! 🙂
I am currently addicted to soups (so warm!!) for my lunches at work and have been making up a big pot every weekend (this week is spicy black bean). Lutefisk is evil. It’s up there with cracklins and head cheese for sheer gross out, no longer necessary, foods in my book…
Butter soup?? Does not sound at all good. ” I am amazed we just go about our lives when it’s -40C with windchill.” I am amazed too! Was just thinking about that today as I trundled Jelly Bean through 10 errands in and out of buildings and cars while it’s -35 out. But hey, stuff still has to get done, right? P.S. I’m totally busting out my ski goggles next time!! I already have a pair of fleece lined snow pants I pull over everything.
The first night after we moved from San Francisco to North Carolina a woman spoke to us in the grocery store parking lot and we started loading our groceries in the car even faster since we assumed she was a crazy person. Turned out she just wanted to show us the praying mantis that was hanging out on her car, lol! Now I love how friendly people are here.
And I agree, if I moved anywhere colder than here I would definitely buy one of those sleeping bag jackets! Warmth totally beats fashion.
We have a couple of friends who are native Minnesotan’s and every so often the accent comes out and we tease them unmercifully. It’s so adorable!
As for soup, I wish I had some good recipes! I even have a soup cookbook and yet somehow soup never occurs to me to make. I think because I hated soup as a child. I like it now but it doesn’t jump to mind when I’m thinking of what to make for dinner. You’ve inspired me though! I will definitely make one of those recipes next week. Or maybe get my dad’s split pea soup recipe. Yum! I do make a mean veggie chili though. And the fiance makes a stew that’s to die for and works with anything you want to throw in it.
(Confession: I adore tater tots, I’m so embarrassed! I think a casserole with them sounds amazing, except I bet they all have meat.)
Hahah! Do it! Look up tater tot casserole and try it! The ones I’ve tried have hamburger in them but I’m guessing you could find (or invent) a veggie version without too much trouble. And then let me know how it goes!!
I have nothing to add to this conversation except, I’m single and even a gallon of frozen soup can be a lot. For individual servings, put your soup in muffin tins, than stick the frozen muffins of soup in a ziplock back. And take out 1 or 4 for any serving size you wish. Ta da!
That’s a brilliant tip!
You are a genius! And here I’ve been dealing with litres of soup at a go!
That IS brilliant! I love it – I’m totally going to use this one too because those little portions would be perfect for my kids on nights when I just want to grab them something quick. Thank you!!
I just want to hug you while wearing my calf-length PURPLE sleeping bag (not BAYg) /coat, punching Garrison Keillor in the face (not really, I’m not violent), and complaining about the cold while scorning the people eating hotdish. (Though I have to say that Lorelai Gilmore has given me a soft spot for tater tots….not to eat myself though, casserole or otherwise.)
Soup is my speciality; I ususally make a basic recipe, freeze in glass jars, and then “pimp my soup” differently each time I reheat them for single serving lunches. IHere are my current faves:
pureed beet soup: https://cookiesandcrafts.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/warm-soup-on-a-cold-day/
Thai Coconut Corn: https://cookiesandcrafts.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/grab-bag-thai-coconut-corn-soup/
Curried Red Curry (with shredded chicken): https://cookiesandcrafts.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/soup-that-doesnt-suck/
Zucchini Cheeze Soup:https://cookiesandcrafts.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/grab-bag-zucchini-chedda-soup/
Yes! Let’s DO THIS. The hugging/punching/scorning/soup-ing – all of it!
I don’t know how you stand the cold – I can barely handle the winters in Kansas!!
Soup – always a good thing!! We had soup 3x last week and I’m sure we will have some this week. I have a new black bean soup that I’ve been wanting to try!
I enjoy cooking blogs but I still LOVE cookbooks!!! In the evening when we watch whatever mindless reality TV show happens to be on, I’m usually looking through a cookbook – I might have a few (hundred).
Okay, ironically, the greatest tip for me here is to how to freeze soup. I’ve recently gotten into freezing dishes so they are ready to cook, and it’s awesome…except the freezer is always too full! And, no, it’s not just because I have hundreds of things waiting in it. It just fills up way to fast! Will definitely try your tip. Thanks!
I hear you about the packed freezer! But hey, they say it’s more energy efficient that way so… yay? And so glad you liked the tip!
Sometimes I’ll go out to lunch with my mom and we’ll go to this EXCELLENT soup place…because my husband is not a soup kinda guy. He applied to med school all over the country but if we end up in Nebraska I may have to at least make some soup for myself!
HA!
I’m glad my “MOVE!” comment made you laugh.
Honestly, moving from Northwest Washington was all I dreamt of when my family lived there–I am not designed for perpetual cold.
The cold there is def a different kind of cold! There it just kind of seeps into your bones and you feel like you can never get warm because a) you’re mildly damp all the time and b) nobody has real heaters in their homes, just those stupid baseboard kind!
Just want to say that Emily Kuroda, who played Mrs. Kim, is a friend of my husband’s, and she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met! 🙂
I tried a recipe from vegancoach.com called Crack Soup, and it’s delish! It uses a vegan mac-n-cheese mix (!) with lots of fresh veggies. Sounds funky, but it’s tasty.
Since moving to CA from MA I’ve become more of a weather wuss than you! ;). And now that we’re in NorCal, I can’t even tolerate hot weather. Cold is 55 and hot is 85.
SUCH a wimp!
You have the best H’wood stories!! And I’m totally googling crack soup now! Here’s hoping I find a recipe and not something else;)
I would think at 10 degrees, just about everyone would have a stiff upper lip – whether they wanted it or not. 😉
My all time favorite soup is Chicken Tortilla Soup. I don’t know if you would have trouble getting green chilies in Minnesota. You can find many recipes on the web, just pick one with ingredients you like.
If we can find Lutefisk and Lefse in a Minnesotan grocery store, we can find green chilies! Hee-hee. And we’ll do it while wearing our puffer coats. Incidentally, this day went from a freezing rain advisory to a winter weather advisory to a winter storm warning! Woo hoo! I love me a winter storm.
“I would think at 10 degrees, just about everyone would have a stiff upper lip – whether they wanted it or not.” Buwhahah that’s awesome! I do like chicken tortilla soup in restaurants so I’ll def try finding a good recipe for it – thanks!
Random fact, for your delectation, dearest Charlotte: Crock Pot is simply a brand name (registered trade mark) for a particular model of slow cooker. So while I have a slow cooker – which I luuuuuurv – it’s not a Crock Pot (it’s some George Foreman thingy, actually). 🙂
That makes total sense now – thank you!!
Charlotte,
You simply have not lived in the Midwest long enough to “get” Garrison Keilor’s Prairehome Companion show. We are Montanans that would NOT think of listening to “that show” our older siblings loved. After moving to SD 16 years ago and witnessing first hand many of the things he talks about we now get it. So much in fact we went to a live broadcast in St Paul….fun thing to do in the Twin Cities. Maybe in time you too, will grow to appreciate the humor of the show, there is some great writing, until then don’t give it up as a waste, if it has won us over it could happen you will suddenly “get it”
as for soup…My husband and kids love my “Dutch Split Pea” and Dutch Meatball Soup”…go figure he’s Dutch!
J
True – maybe I just need more time!!
I listened to Garrison Keilor when I was younger (teenager), and loved it!
I am not a big soup fan, due to the meat and vegetables! However, I do make potato soup (it’s my mom’s favorite) quite often during the winter months. Oh, and I’m like you- I’m a cold weather wuss (I have an electric blanket in my car- plugs into the cigarette lighter!).
http://bakerunlive.com/2012/04/04/potato-soup/
Wait, what – they make electric blankets for cars?!? I am SO BUYING ONE NOW. Thank you for the recipe too:)
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Charlotte,
I am a wellness coach and love your post.
I will keep in touch for further updates.
Thanks,
Joelle
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