Freezing Soups

As the days get colder, I find myself looking forward to a nice warm soup. Plus, there is a lot of produce coming out of the garden that I need to use or get into the freezer so making big pots of soup and freezing it is a great use for it.

Some days are better than others when it comes to making meals. Sometimes, I'm on the ball and have all the ingredients I need and time to cook. Other times, my fridge seems empty and I can't make it to the store or there simply isn't time to cook with all the other things we are doing in the day or I'm just plain tired and don't want to cook. When days like that come, it's nice to have some meals as back up in the freezer that I can pull out and warm up. 

Casseroles, lasagnes and such are great, but they sure don't warm up quickly when you are out of time. Soups though are easy. I freeze them flat in large ziplock bags. If there's time, I can thaw them in the fridge overnight and throw them in a pot to warm up quickly or in a crock pot to warm up if I'm going out. If there's not time, they can be partially thawed under running water and once I can break it into chunks, put it in a pot and warm it the rest of the way up. 

There are so many kinds of soups, the list could go on and on and on. Borscht, Potato, Cream of Broccoli, Zucchini Barley, Chicken Noodle, Carrot, Potato and Leek, Chile, White Bean and Ham, Split Pea, Minestrone and there are many, many more that I couldn't possibly name them all. It's nice to keep a variety and be able to change it up. You should leave out the pasta if the recipe asks for it and cook it in when you warm it up.

Even if you just have a yummy broth and when you cook it, add some little pasta and parmesan cheese, that works great.

When I make soup, I try to make a big pot and divide it into meal size portions to freeze. We usually eat one of the portions right away so I don't have to make a second meal at the same time and freeze the rest. Label them with the name of the soup, how big the portion is and the date.

I've also kept buns frozen in the freezer to go with the soups. They warm up pretty quickly in the oven wrapped in tin foil so they don't dry out. Otherwise, biscuits can be made pretty fast while the soup is warming or crackers also go with soup just fine. I also really love toast with butter to go with it. My favourite would be a dark rye or pumpernickel.