Warm Up With a Soup Exchange!

When the weather turns cold, like it is here in Nashville there’s nothing better than a nice, hot bowl of soup to warm you up. What better way to spend time with friends and/or family then with a ‘Soup Exchange’?

You’ve probably heard of cookie exchanges, but a soup exchange is novel (and more nutritious). It should be small, because it’s a lot more time consuming to make enough soup to pass around, than cookies. But, the small party size creates a nice intimate evening. 

This party really has no planning involved. Just be sure to give your guest at least 2 weeks notice. Invitations can be verbal or via email. Ask guest to RSVP with their soup exchange 1 week before party with be any special toppings you should supply. 

At a recent soup exchange I attended, there were 7 ladies total, and each of us brought six 6-cup freezer containers of our most delicious homemade soup, plus one 1-1/2 cup serving ready to sample. We also enjoyed homemade bread, delicious salad, and wine, plenty of wine. It really was a very nice evening. And super filling. I can’t wait to pull some yummy soup out of the freezer on my next too-overwhelming-to-cook day.

Soups on the menu at the party were Corn Chowder, Tomato Dill, Cheesy Potato, Italian Minestrone, Chicken Tortilla, Red Beans & Rice (my soup), and Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle. What a variety! If you don’t have a favorite soup recipe, there are gazillions on the web. (foodnetwork.com has some of my favorite.) Good homemade soup is even easy to improvise. See a step-by-step guide here. 

What’s your favorite? 

Friends and family warm your heart; now you have a way to warm their tummies. 

Enjoy!

Angee 

My Husband likes to add more rice to his.

To make my Red Beans & Rice Soup:

2 Large Boxes of Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice

2 Boxes Chicken Stock

1 can Kidney Beans

Cajun Seasoning to taste

1 pound hot sausage

1 pound Hillshire Farm Kielbasa

Cook meats, then combine all ingredients and let simmer.  I made this recipe up so it is a taste and go kinda deal. Just make sure the soup isn’t too thick or thin and add seasoning slowly until it’s flavored to taste.