I turn to my Crazy Good Homemade Soup whenever I want to warm someone up. Well, today Car was sick so we made our favorite Crazy Good Homemade Soup with Fresh Biscuits for dinner. I was hoping to get some hearty broth and veges into him with a steamy bowl to open those stuffed up sinuses. Warmed his heart and belly, although he still feels yucky.  Crazy Good Soup is not so much a recipe as a method, basically a mixture of what we have on hand at any given moment. It’s always pretty popular, even with my hubby who is not exactly a soup lover. Here is my method (not a strict recipe) for making this soup.

Broth –  2-4 cups of your favorite flavor or use Homemade Broth

Meat – I tend to use turkey sausage, but really anything you like will work. I’ve used leftover chicken or pork. We don’t eat much beef so haven’t tried that in this recipe, but sure it would taste good.

Veges – Sky’s the limit here.. I usually add a mixture of onions, carrots, green beans, kale, peas, potato, sweet potato, spinach, and/or celery. Again, you can freeze any leftover veges – small bits of this or that, then use them in this soup when you have accumulated enough.

Beans – usually black beans, but I’ve also used cannellini, kidney, and pinto. Easy way to cook dry beans

Starch – rice, pasta, or barley are favorites

Tomato paste – 1-2 spoonfuls. I’ve found that a scoop of tomato paste adds a TON of flavor to almost any broth or gravy (try it next Thanksgiving!) Just don’t over-do – 1-2 tablespoons is usually enough. It gives it a rich flavor without tasting like tomatoes. So, another frugal tip… I hardly use a whole can of tomato paste at once, so when I open a new can, I use what I need. Then, I put spoonfuls on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and throw it in the freezer. Once frozen solid, I put them in a freezer bag or container so I can add small bits later on when I am making something that needs just a little bit of tomato paste.

So, now to put it all together. Start off by sautéing some onions in a little olive oil. Then brown the meat. Add the broth, and veges in order of how long they need to cook. Potatoes and carrots usually take the longest where kale is usually thrown in last minute. I try to add a balance of greens to starchy veges. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the tomato paste and add any seasonings you might like. A little thyme tastes good especially if chicken is your meat. If you like your soup with lots of broth, adjust your proportions accordingly. There’s no wrong way to make this soup. You could leave out the meat if you want vegetarian or leave out the starches if you want lower carb. Its a great way to use up some leftovers and get healthy veges into our bellies.

The specific ingredients I used in this batch:

• 1 lb turkey sausage
• 1 sweet onion
• 5 carrots sliced in rounds
• 1 large russet potato
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4-5 cups homemade stock (mix of vege and chicken)
• 3-4 kale leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh green beans (last of the garden)
• 1/2 cup leftover pasta
• 1/2 cup leftover rice
• 2 spoonfuls of tomato paste

As luck would have it, today was super busy and we gobbled up the soup before I remembered to take pictures.