Soup Spectacular

So my culinary adventures this week have been somewhat uninspired. I just wanted to default to oldies but goodies to keep things easy in the kitchen and my stomach and pocketbook full. I've posted about soups before and they have been on the menu at my house since Sunday. I love soups because they are relatively simple, taste great and they can serve as multiple meals or as the first course at lunch and/or dinner.

Tonight I whipped up my adapted version of the classic Vegetable Beef Barley (that is really a Turkey Veggie Barley) in 45 minutes.

I prefer to use ground turkey instead of the usual ground beef. I browned the ground meat with a little onion and minced garlic.

I absolutely hate soup recipes that only have frozen or canned vegetables, the Beef Barley Recipe that I use calls for both sliced carrots and celery along with canned diced tomatoes (look for no salt added) and  a bag of the frozen mixed vegetables. I usually decrease the barley from 1/2 cup to 1/4 of a cup and use low-sodium chicken broth instead of bouillon cubes or beef stock.

Instead of the standard dried basil and bay leaf, I used 1/2 tsp of herbs de Provence and 1/2 tsp of pepper to keep my taste buds happy!

Ok, so this soup is a slight stretch from the original, but it is still delicious!

Souper Suppers!

As much as I love cooking sometimes I'm just too exhausted to prepare a meal. Soup is my solution to a healthy meal when I'd rather be sitting on the couch instead of washing dishes in the kitchen. I usually make a large pot of homemade soup and than freeze it in individual containers for the perfect portion to use when I'm in a mealtime crunch. I just warm up my soup on the stove and add a small salad and slice of whole grain bread and my meal is ready in under 20 minutes.

Although my freezer soups are usually for just my own enjoyment I love Souperstars idea of making soup night an easy entertaining night with friends. An economical and easy way to entertain, not to mention the fact that even your friend with no culinary prowness will probably be able to whip up a decent soup. I'm contemplating starting my own soup night. What are your favorite homemade soup recipes?