Tips for a soup newbie

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kimny72
kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
in Recipes
So I got a lovely soup pot for Christmas and a bunch of recipes I have been collecting forever to use. But I live alone and intend to make a big pot of soup to eat throughout the week.

What is the best way to store homemade soup? Refrigerator or freezer? Plastic or glass? In single servings or as one big container I take one portion out of at a time?

Also, are there any ingredients I should avoid that don't reheat well?

And if you have a particular easy soup recipe or ingredient that a newbie like me wouldn't run across, feel free to share!

It's cold and now that I'm thinking about it, I need a bowl of soup :)

Replies

  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Don't overthink it. It's soup. Soup is wonderful because it is so simple.

    Yes, glass is probably slightly better and most soups that don't have noodles freeze great.

    But the key to excellent soup is homemade stock.

    Get bones, cover them with COLD water about an inch or so above the bones, and put it on low heat. Forget about it until the house starts to smell good. Skim off sludge, remove bones. Let cool. Use to make some of the best soup you'll ever eat, or to cook rice in it (Delicious) or to use for flavoring veggies.

    The beauty of this is that you can buy bone-in meats, which are usually cheaper per pound, eat the meat and have the bones left over to make your food taste amazing.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Yes, it's in my nature to overthink everything!

    Thanks, I just added a package of chicken thighs to my grocery list :)
  • waxflower
    waxflower Posts: 47
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    Glass is better than plastic, but honestly it doesn't matter too much - use what containers you have. :smile: Sometimes I'll use Chinese takeout soup containers and they work fine. Soup with noodles left in it will sometimes turn them to mush, so I recommend separating the noodles into a different container until re-heating. If you eat the soup over the course of the week, fridge is fine. Longer than that consider freezing them. Finally, I've found that in particular beans don't really heat up well...they taste strange.
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
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    I generally make a big pot of vegetable soup, no recipes I am just a throw it in and go with it sort of girl, and then section about half out to eat that week and then put individual servings in the freezer for later. Glass is better, but not realistic for me always so I use small plastic containers for individual servings for work and freezer bags for family sized servings. Whole wheat noodles tend to hold up well, but I had to give up wheat so now I just use rice and other grains instead of noodles. Most veggies freeze well in soups.
  • murphyocean
    murphyocean Posts: 39 Member
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    Also, there are great benefits to making your own bone broth! http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9890/10-benefits-of-bone-broth-gut-healing-recipe.html
  • Gr8ChangesAhead
    Gr8ChangesAhead Posts: 836 Member
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    I love soup, homemade stock is the best less sodium and more nutrients. I separate into portion sizes and use Chinese food plastic containers (that they serve soup in) the are portion controlled and store in freezer nicely. I refridgerate what we are going to eat within the week and freeze the rest and pull out what I want to eat in the morning. Noodles and cooked potatoes turn to mush when reheated.
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
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    I have been wanting to make my own broth, but just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe that's a project for my next night off....
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Thanks guys! This is all awesome info.

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