Easy and quick to prepare, soups make for the perfect meal on chilly days. Even better, most kids love a meal that only takes a bowl and a spoon to polish off (or serve it in a mug). Get your kids involved in making the meal and they’ll be even more excited to dig in. They can stir in the broth in recipes like the quick beef and barley soup or chicken tortellini soup. What about putting them on onion dicing duty for the potato sausage soup or the black bean soup? If they need something really simple, put them in charge of cheese to sprinkle in as a last step to making either the minestrone with Parmigiano-Reggiano soup or the cheddar, corn and potato soup. You might also consider making a double batch of whatever recipe you choose since soup is just as good as leftovers!
Quick Beef & Barley Soup
Trim sirloin steak into small, bite-sized pieces to put together this quick beef & barley soup from Eating Well. Heat the steak in medium-hot oil and remove once cooked. Then come the veggies – diced onions, celery and carrots. The last step? Add in tomato paste, barley, broth and water. Once the barley is tender (about 15 minutes), stir in the steak and ladle into bowls.
Chicken Tortellini Soup
Use rotisserie chicken to cut the cooking time to make this chicken tortellini soup from Country Living. Onion seeped in sautéed garlic form the base of the soup’s flavor. Add chicken pieces along with packaged cheese-filled tortellini. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice before stirring in cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese.
Sausage Potato Soup
For all the flavor of a baked potato stuffed with all the fixins’, try this sausage potato soup recipe from Taste of Home. Heat diced pieces of smoked kielbasa first in the bottom of a heavy pot. Remove and then cook together peeled, cubed potatoes, corn, celery and carrot in chicken broth. Once all the veggies are tender mix in milk, shredded cheddar cheese and seasonings.
Black Bean Soup
Pack in a dose of chile heat to ho-hum beans with this fast recipe for black bean soup from Serious Eats. The soup melds together bell peppers, onions and garlic with a touch of chipotle chiles and a finely chopped serrano or jalapeño pepper. Make sure to remove the seeds before dicing or stirring into your soup (the seeds will make it hotter!).
Minestrone with Parmigiano-Reggiano
In the mood for an Italian dish for supper? Then try this minestrone with Parmigiano-Reggiano recipe from The Food Network‘s top chef, Bobby Flay. The minestrone is mellowed with a smattering of fresh herbs including rosemary, thyme and parsley (although you could use a dash of dried instead). To create a thicker texture, the recipe calls for pureeing cannellini beans before stirring them into the broth.
Cheddar, Corn and Potato Chowder
There are only a few ingredients in this cheddar, corn and potato chowder recipe from Whole Foods. The vegetarian dish includes diced Yukon Gold potatoes that are drenched in flavor thanks to a bathing in butter, onions and vegetable broth. Serve with slice of crusty bread or hot cornmeal muffins.