Who doesn’t love a good soup?! There are many things to dread about the colder weather, but one thing my family loves is that it’s “soup season!” Though just like anything, it can be easy to get into a soup rut. You have about four different soup recipes up your sleeve and by December, you’ve already made them all. Twice. So here I’ve put together a collection of my family’s favorite soups. And there are twelve of them! That means if you only made one per week, you have enough to get you through three months–the entire winter season! (Technically speaking. We all know in New England, winter is twice that long. So make them all twice and your favorites 3-4 times!) You’ll still have plenty of diversity to keep your taste buds tingling all winter long, no matter where you live.

Soup is such an easy and versatile dish to put together. You can truly customize it to suit your family’s tastes. For example, a lot of these recipes originally called for 1-2 onions in the soup but I’m not a huge onion person, so my version always cuts the onion portion in half. I like the flavor it brings so I never leave it out completely, I just downsize. You can put as much or as little onion or other vegetables in as you like! I’m also not a bean person. But if you like beans in your chili or minestrone, add them! My family can attest that if you follow these recipes exactly, the results will be delicious. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay tethered to them if you want to try it your way. Have fun with these and experiment! You have all winter!

A note about stock–I’ve included my recipe for homemade chicken stock at the end of this booklet. I really think it’s the best way to go when making your own soup. And it’s super easy. I roast whole chickens quite a bit–they are quite economical and not as hard to do as you think. I might roast a chicken for Sunday dinner, or just so I can shred the meat and save it for weeknight suppers. When I do this, I turn the bones and leftover meat into stock. It’s a great practice to get into if you haven’t already. I hope you love these recipes as much as we do!