Great Cold Day Soups

Here are two recipes that would be great to try on a very cold day. They are sure to warm you up!! One is more "healthy" than the other, but both are hearty and very tasty. If you try them, let me know what you think.

Baked Potato Soup (taken from Allrecipes.com)

12 slices of bacon*
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, chopped**
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt margarine over med. heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

* I used Turkey bacon to cut down on fat content
**I didn't use onions on my first attempt at this, but would suggest using them for more flavor.
Finally, you may decide to add more salt or use chicken broth in place of or in addition to the milk for more flavor and to thin it out a bit. It's a really thick soup!



Meatball Soup (given to me by Heather Griger)

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can beef or chicken broth (Or you can make your own with bouillon)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
16 frozen meatballs (1/2 oz. each)*
1/2 cup small dried pasta (use macaroni or smaller pasta)
1 cup loose packed frozen mixed veggies**

In a soup pot, mix diced tomatoes, broth, water, italian seasoning and bring to boil. Add meatballs, pasta and veggies to soup. Return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

*I used BJ's frozen Turkey meatballs and just cut them in half.
** I used frozen corn I had from the summer and some frozen beans from BJ's. You really can use whatever vegetable you want here.

Later this week, I'll have a wonderful soup recipe to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey!