Soup season is coming!

[JTHunter]

Many of you have posted some good home-made recipes here.  I would like to suggest what might be an easier alternative.
I like many of Progresso's and Campbell's Chunky soups BUT because of the high amount of sodium (salt) in them, I've made some "changes".
I take 3-4 oz. of frozen vegetables (peas, corn, & mixed) put them in a microwave safe bowl with enough water to heat them up.  In my MW, that takes 90-120 seconds (YMMV).  I drain the water off and add the vegetables to the soup.  It is at this time that I also add additional meat to increase the protein content.  This also helps to reduce the percentage of salt in the soup.
Depending on the type of soup, I'll add canned chicken, previously cooked (usu. grilled) chicken breasts that I dice, sliced hot dogs (at least 2), diced ham, previously cooked ground pork sausage or ground beef, or pre-heated frozen meatballs.  If the meatballs are the 1/2 oz. size, I'll use 6-8 but if the 1 oz. size, I only use 3-4.  Then I heat the whole mix up in the MW.  It makes enough for 2 meals that way.

[K Frame]

Progresso soups are generally pretty good, but their money soup, for me, is the Tomato Basil.

Paired with a grilled ham and cheese it makes a FANTASTIC winter meal.

[K Frame]

And yes, extending a can of soup with add ins is a nice, quick way to get a good soup. I've done it many times.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a soup made from scratch.

Yes, it can take hours to simmer chicken to get a stock.

And hours more to assemble and cook the perfect chicken vegetable, chicken & rice, beef and mushroom, or ham and bean, but nothing that comes out of can will ever match that.

Depending on the soup, I'll start them on Saturday and finish them Sunday (if I'm making a full stock from scratch).

Or, I'll pull a couple of containers of stock out of the freezer and assemble the soup on Sunday and have it for dinner and lunches the following week.

One thing I really need to get into the habit of is saving my vegetable scraps (carrot tops, peelings, onion tops, etc.) in a bag in the freezer for stock base. I already do that with chicken bones.

[JTHunter]

Progresso soups are generally pretty good, but their money soup, for me, is the Tomato Basil.

Paired with a grilled ham and cheese it makes a FANTASTIC winter meal.

Agreed !