Potato Stew

This is a fairly simple soup with a lot of nutritional value and if you leave out the bacon it makes a nice vegetarian meal. (It's also less fattening.) It goes together quickly - the only prep work is peeling and cutting the potatoes if you use frozen vegetables and pre-cooked bacon. And it cooks up in about twenty to thirty minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 chopped spinach
• 1/4 crumbled bacon
• garlic salt

Peel and cube potatoes. Add to saucepan with milk, water, remaining vegetables and bacon if using. Salt to taste. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Begin over medium heat. When it begins to boil turn to medium low.

Quick and Easy Potato Soup

This is a good soup for any chilly day or night. And it's quick, easy to prepare and inexpensive. It only takes about fifteen minutes of preparation, depending on how quick you are at peeling potatoes. The cook time is twenty to thirty minutes depending on how you like your potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 4 russet potatoes
• 1/2 bacon bits
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp chives
• 1 tsp salt (I prefer garlic salt.)

Peel and chop the potatoes. Add all the ingredients to a pan and cook over medium heat. When the soup starts to boil turn to medium low. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

As a cream based soup this dish does not keep well, but my family has never had trouble finishing off the whole pot.

Spicy Carrot Soup

This soup is a bit spicy, so I wouldn't serve it as a main dish. But it makes a good side dish or appetizer or even a mid afternoon snack. The pureed vegetables give the soup a nice creaminess.

• 3 tbsp oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 16 oz carrots (chopped)
• 1 large potato (peeled and chopped)
• 3 cups V8 (and 3 cups water)

Heat oil in deep saucepan. Add vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until softened (about 15 minutes). Add liquid and spices then cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture. If necessary gently reheat.

Taco Soup

This is an easy and quick soup to make. It is also fairly inexpensive and my family loves it. My daughter (she's a toddler) like to pick out the individual chili beans and pieces of corn. The spices are also easily modified to suite your family's tastes.
I like to serve the soup with chili cheese bread. I'll try to get that recipe in here too.

• 2 cans chili beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
• 1 package frozen corn (16 oz)
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika

In the morning combine chili beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, chili powder and paprika to crock pot with 3 to 4 cups of water. Set to low heat.

About an hour before meal time place the hamburger and onion in a skillet. Sprinkle with remaining garlic salt. Brown. Drain excess grease. Add to soup.

Enjoy.

Vegetable Cheese Chowder

There are many different varieties of chowder. In fact it used to be that chowder was made from anything that flew, swam or grew in the garden. Perhaps that is why it was considered "the poor man's food".

Vegetable Cheese Chowder can also be an inexpensive dish. Unless you choose to use an expensive variety of cheese. Even then cheese is much less expensive than meat or seafood.

This chowder is great if you are like me and end up with a lot of odds and ends of frozen vegetables in your freezer. Also, it's a good idea to pick up fresh bread to go with it. (Or better yet, you could send your husband while you're cooking the soup.)

It takes about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 cups frozen vegetables (Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas and corn all have worked well for me.)
• 1 Chicken bullion cube
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• dash of pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheese

Combine vegetables, one cup water and chicken bullion in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 4 minutes.

While that is simmering combine milk, flour and pepper and mix well. Add to saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. (If you don't stir well the flour may clump.) When bubbly cook for 1 minute more. Add cheese. Cook and stir until just melted.