<There´s nothing more welcoming on a cold February day than a pot of hearty homemade soup on the stove. A steaming bowl of soup will satisfy your appetite while it warms you to your toes.

You don´t need alot of experience in the kitchen to make great homemade soup. Start with a few basic ingredients...diced potatoes, carrots, or other vegetables with cooked chicken, turkey, beef or seafood. Add herbs and simmer in seasoned broth for a nourishing, delicious soup.

For a quick, no fuss pot of soup made from leftovers, begin with low fat, canned broth or boullion cubes.

Making your own soup stock will take longer, but after you taste soup made from your homemade stock, you might agree that it's worth the extra time. It also allows you to control fat and salt content. Click on the bowl of soup for chicken and beef stock recipes. Also read how to easily remove the fat, leaving your stock virtually fat-free.

Many recipes that begin with beef stock combine a basic vegetable beef soup with barley, minnestrone, rice, or pasta. These additions create a thicker, richer broth.

Traditional chicken soup recipes usually include noodles, but chicken with pasta, rice or hearty vegetable combinations are also very popular.

Creamed soups or chowders, such as New England style clam chowder, are usually made with a white sauce plus half & half or heavy cream. The fat and calorie content of of these soups can be greatly reduced by replacing the cream with with evaporated skim milk.

A large Dutch oven is big enough for some soup recipes. Many other soup recipes will make generous quantities of soup. You'll need a stockpot for those. If you have a family of soup lovers, you might want to invest in a stockpot large enough to hold a double batch of their favorite soups to freeze and enjoy later.

Soups generally freeze well. To freeze soup, let it cool completely first, then ladle into airtight containers. Always defrost soup in the refrigerator. Use frozen soups within 4 months.

Whether it´s golden chicken noodle, chunky vegetable beef, or a rich and creamy chowder, soup just makes you feel good inside... it´s the ultimate comfort food!

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To serve your homemade soup.....

Set of 4 French Onion Soup Bowls These beautifully glazed classic ceramic soup crocks are perfect for serving your homemade soups and stews. Each one has a 16-oz. capacity.

Emile Henry Soup Tureen Serve your homemade soups from this traditional and elegant tureen. The lid has a notch for the ladle. It has a 4-quart capacity and is oven-safe up to 450 degrees. The lid has a notch for the ladle. It's available in white and in several other colors.