Easy Soups to Make | Frugal Cheap Soup and Meal Ideas | Winter Soups

I've come up with a few different types of easy yummy Fall and Winter Soups to make that will appeal to many people and are relatively easy to prepare.

A lot people, me included at one time, are inclined to think that soup is rather a difficult dish to make. However I've discovered that this isn't the case, and that making soup can actually be really enjoyable and have a delicious result.

It's easy to make soup from leftovers - a favorite is Stuffed Peppers Soup, or Golumpki soup made from my leftover Lazy Golumpki stuffed cabbage casserole recipe. I've even turned leftover Pot Roast into a soup for lunch or dinner.

Easy Soups to Make

A Crockpot is my best friend for cooking Fall and Winter meals.

First, we have an old favorite of Crockpot Slow Cooker Leek and potato soup. There are two ways you can enjoy eating this, either cream, or not blended, and each way has its own distinct merits. If you blend it, you'll truly enjoy the soft texture that this technique creates and it looks wonderful as well, perfect for serving up at dinner parties, or even enjoying while chilling out sipping wine around the fireplace in winter or playing cribbage or your favorite family board games.

The ingredients also go very well when prepared as a cream soup too, so if you blend it, add in some of this and you'll have a meal of pure indulgence.

However you can also leave the soup unblended, allowing you to enjoy the textures of the leeks and the potatoes, as well as the broth it produces. This can be perfect for those cold winter nights when all you want is a hearty, warm dinner.

Homemade soups are always a great dish to bring for someone who's under the weather, has a new baby in the house, or loss of a family member. Ready-to-Serve, and bring along a gift-basket of colorful Handmade Dish Cloths from Moomettes Shops for easy kitchen clean-up.

Handmade Clay Orange Dish Cloths for Fall

Fall and Winter Vegetable Soups

Butternut squash soup can also be blended or not. The wonderful thing about butternut squash is that it's unusual yet yummy, and you can combine it with most of the same ingredients that you use to make leek and potato soup.

The basic principles of soup making are to chop up all the ingredients, saute them for around ten minutes and then add the stock. I like to use my homemade Chicken Stock from a roaster, or homemade scrappy veggie stock. When I don't make stock from scratch, I buy boxed Chicken Stock or Beef Stock from the grocery store, whatever is on sale.

Boil until the ingredients are cooked and semi-soft, season with salt and pepper, any of your favorite seasons to taste, and blend if you prefer.

Roasted Red Pepper soup or Tomato Soup is easy and satisfying! Serve with croutons or crackers and a artisan grilled cheese sandwich for lunch or dinner.

Traditional Cabbage Sauerkraut Kapusta Soup

Kapusta soup is yummy for Fall Oktoberfest, Christmas, Easter, or any winter day!

Search my blog for other soup favorite for all seasons!

Artisan bread is the perfect accompaniment to this type of dish, and the combination will satisfy you up, while making you feel warm and contented. Add some chunky homemade Sourdough bread, Dill Seed Onion bread or Ciabatta and sweet cream butter from Cabot in Vermont, and you'll have a meal to be proud to serve.

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Crock Pot Potato Leek Corn Chowder | Soup Recipe

Stay on track to achieve your weight management goals with Crock Pot Potato Leek Corn Chowder Soup. If in season, use fresh corn or canned kernel corn to help you They´re a terrific addition to any meal and a delicious way to achieve better health this year.

Crockpot Potato Leek Corn Chowder

Fresh corn in the summer is our favorite, especially when picked up at our local farmstand! Butter and Sugar variety starting in July in Connecticut is our corn of choice, and later in the summer Silver Queen is available.

I will buy fresh corn in bulk when on sale, cook it, shave it off the cob, and freeze for the winter. I will use the leftover cobs to make corn cob broth.

Winters can be especially hard on us here in New England and I've been putting my slow cooker crockpot to good use making crockpot freezer meals, soups, chowders and stews.

With the high cost of produce, I planted container garden vegetables and grew Leeks this summer. Preparing for winter, I harvested the Leeks which are part of the onion family, and flash froze them. Then I bagged using my FoodSaver, and froze them to use in skillet meal dishes, soups and stews.

A big part of enjoying healthier eating is buying healthier foods, and that means making smart choices where it matters most – at the supermarket. Choosing the freshest, healthiest foods is an important first step toward making healthy and delicious meals your whole family will love.

Be thrifty and frugal in the kitchen and stretch your food dollars by using leftovers for your family meals. Chicken can be used in a variety of ways. Mix it with rice to create a chicken casserole dish. Stir fry it with frozen vegetables and pasta. Make chicken salad for a light dinner on a busy night.

Other meats are just as versatile as chicken. Leftover beef roast can be used for stews and soups. Combine with egg noodles and sauce to create beef stroganoff. Slice thin and stir fry with vegetables for beef fajitas.

Easy kitchen cleaning with these crochet Handmade Dishcloths in my Moomettes Crochet Shop !

Check out my other delicious soup recipes here! You might enjoy our favorite Butternut Squash Soup recipe

Crockpot Leek, Potato and Corn Soup or Chowder

6 slices bacon, chopped
5 cups shredded frozen hash brown potatoes
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, cut into 3/4 inch dice pieces
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 can (about 14 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 ribs celery, sliced
1 can (4 ounces) evaporated milk
1 package or can of corn, or a few cups of fresh corn from the cob (shaved)
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel-lined plate. (I choose to microwave my bacon rather than saute in skillet)

Set aside 2 Tbl. bacon. Combine remaining bacon, potatoes, leeks, corn, soup, broth, celery and evaporated milk in crock pot slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours. Stir in sour cream and serve, sprinkling each serving with reserved bacon.

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Homemade Ice Cream with Half and Half | Ice Cream Maker | Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

For a cool summer treat, try making your own homemade ice cream or frozen yogurt. It's healthier, frugal and cost-saving too!

Homemade Ice Cream Mint Chocolate Chip with Dash Mug Ice Cream Maker

Have you seen the price of ice cream and frozen yogurt in the grocery stores? Or, have you gone to an ice cream shop to treat your family or grandkids and fallen over when going to pay? (I know, it's still worth the memories being made.)

For years I've been making homemade ice cream in the summer when the grandkids over. Always on the lookout for healthier choices, I'm now trying it with half and half rather than heavy cream. The cost of food has skyrocketed these last few years.

My favorite is a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker which makes 1.5 quarts.

I recently got a Dash Mug Ice Cream Maker that comes with 2 mugs, since it's just the two of us now. I save the Cuisinart for when the kids are over, or want to send them home with a homemade treat.

Using the Dash is perfect for when you only have a hankering for a special flavor, or only want a small taste and portion control. The two mugs work out well when each person wants a separate flavor. They're small enough not to take up much room in the freezer when pre-chilling the bowls.

I picked up some Crofton ice cream containers for the freezer at Aldi. They were in sets that were cup size, pint size, and 1.5 quart size. The cup size is great for portion control and the quart size is perfect for when I have a crowd.

Check out my other recipes for Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream, Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream and Copycat Dole Pineapple Whip

Easy kitchen cleanup with Handmade Kitchen Dish Cloths from Moomettes Crochet Shop !

Here's my adapted Ice Cream Recipe made with Half and Half cream:
(For the Dash Mug, follow manufacturer's directions)

Homemade Ice Cream Using Half and Half

Ingredients

2 cups half and half (chilled)

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean, split) (or extract of your choice)

Pinch of salt (optional)

Steps

Whisk together half and half and sugar: In a large bowl, whisk together the chilled half and half and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.

Incorporate xanthan gum: Slowly whisk in the xanthan gum, making sure there are no clumps.

Add vanilla and salt (optional): Stir in the vanilla extract (or scraped vanilla bean seeds) and a pinch of salt for extra flavor (optional).

Chill the mixture: Cover the bowl and refrigerate the ice cream base for at least a few hours, or ideally overnight. This allows the xanthan gum to fully activate and thicken the mixture.

Churn the ice cream: Once chilled, follow your ice cream maker's instructions to churn the mixture. This process can take 15 to 20 minutes depending on your machine.

Freeze and enjoy! After churning, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 to 6 hours before scooping.

Notes

Using good quality vanilla extract or a real vanilla bean will significantly enhance the flavor of your ice cream.

For a richer ice cream, you can substitute some of the half and half with heavy cream.

Enjoy!

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