Soup: Comfort Food Par Excellence!

Nothing tastes better on a rainy or cold day than a savory bowl of hot soup. Homemade soup is simple to make because you can use ingredients you already have in the fridge or pantry. In addition, making your own soup will give you more variety than buying a pre-canned or dried soup mix from the store. Although store-bought soups certainly have their place in our diet and in our food storage, why not spice up this familiar comfort food by trying some of recipes listed below? Each recipe gives you a chance to test out cooking with food storage, while helping your family get used to eating food storage products. BEST-EVER CLAM CHOWDER

Yield: Serves 4-6 1½ cups reconstituted Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Potato Dices 2/3 cup reconstituted Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Celery Pieces ½ cup reconstituted MyChoice Freeze Dried Chopped Onions Provident Pantry Iodized Salt (to taste) MyChoice Mesh Black Pepper (to taste) 2 cans minced clams 2 tablespoons Red Feather Butter 2 tablespoons Provident Pantry White Flour 4-5 cups of reconstituted Provident Pantry Instant Nonfat Dry Milk Dash of nutmeg ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke Dash of dried parsley Directions

1. Place prepared potatoes, celery, and onion in saucepan. Drain liquid from both cans of clams onto the veggies and add just enough water to cover them.
2. Add salt and pepper and allow mixture to simmer until potatoes are tender. Set aside.
3. In a heavy saucepan (different from the saucepan used before), melt butter and stir in flour. Whisk in milk and stir until blended. Cook, whisking often to avoid scorching, until mixture is thick.
4. Stir in liquid smoke and nutmeg, then cooked vegetables. Stir well. Add clams, heat for just a minute more and serve, topping each serving with a dash of dried parsley.

Nice to add: Bits Provident Pantry Freeze-Dried Ham or crisp Yoder’s Bacon COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP

Yield: Serves 6 This Scottish soup gets its name from chicken broth (the cock-a-doodle-do) and leeks (a delicious, mild-flavored member of the onion family that looks like giant, fat green onions). Leeks are very popular throughout the British Isles, but are also beginning to be appreciated in the U.S. They’re even a national symbol of Wales. Leeks are nutritious and very good in soup or stuffing. They are also good braised, creamed, or raw in salads. Note: Clean your leeks well before cooking, as the green leaves tend to trap soil that farmers mound around them as they grow. Ingredients 3 large leeks (or 2 cups reconstituted MyChoice Green Onion if no leeks are available) 2 tablespoons Red Feather Butter 2 tablespoons Provident Pantry White Flour Salt and pepper (to taste) 4-5 cups reconstituted Provident Pantry Chicken (Vegetarian) Broth ¾ cup Provident Pantry Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, reconstituted Directions

1. Clean and trim leeks and slice thinly. (They won’t make you cry!) You’ll want to include an inch or so of the green part of the leeks if it’s not too tough.
2. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan and add leeks (or green onions), stirring well. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to be translucent, then add flour and mix well.
3. Add chicken broth and stir so that flour is mixed into the broth.
4. Allow to cook on medium-low until leeks are tender and broth has thickened a little. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as desired.
5. Just before serving, stir in milk or cream and heat a little longer, but do not allow to boil.

Good to add (with the broth): 1 cup reconstituted Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Potato Dices; 1 cup washed, chopped kale; bits of Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Chicken; Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Ham, Yoder’s Bacon, or MyChoice Freeze Dried Broccoli. CREAMY SQUASH SOUP

Yield: Serves 6 Ingredients 2 ½ cups cooked winter squash (works well with Butternut, Banana, Acorn, Hubbard squash, or pumpkin) ½ cup reconstituted MyChoice Freeze Dried Chopped Onions ½ cup reconstituted Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Celery Pieces 1 tablespoon Red Feather Butter 3 cups Provident Pantry Vegetarian Chicken Flavored Broth 1 cup Provident Pantry Instant Nonfat Dry Milk—or 1 small package cream cheese, depending upon how creamy and rich you like it Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons Provident Pantry Sugar—optional, if you like sweeter soup ½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground ginger Directions

1. Cook your squash or pumpkin; you can do this in a variety of ways, see methods for cooking your squash below. Scoop squash from any remaining rind and measure out about 2 ½ cups (you don’t have to be exactly accurate on this).

2. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan and sauté onions and celery until onions are translucent but not browned. Remove from pan.
3. Heat broth in pan, and whisk in squash and seasonings. Remove about half a cup to blender; add onions and celery and blend until smooth. (If you’re using cream cheese, add this in chunks to blender with a little more broth mixture and continue to blend until smooth.)
4. Whisk this blended mixture into that in the saucepan. If you’re using milk or half-and-half, add it to saucepan and blender mixture just before serving and whisk well to blend. Heat to warm the soup, but do not boil.
5. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprinkle of ginger, nutmeg, or paprika.

Methods for cooking Your Squash:

• Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and scrape any slippery fibers from the seed cavity. Bake the squash, covered with foil, and in a pan with a little water. The water steams it to a nice tenderness in 45-60 minutes.
• Cut the squash into cubes and boil it in a saucepan until tender.
• Cut squash into pieces and cook in the microwave a few at a time.

Do you have a favorite comfort-food soup recipe for winter months? --Sharon Sources: www.allrecipes.com/butternut-squash-soup www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/comfort The kitchen of Sharon Jarvis