By Pam Vukelic

Kids are back in school and windows can be left open all night long. Clearly, fall has arrived, which means it’s time to haul out the stock pot and get some soup simmering on the stove.

You don’t need a recipe to make soup, especially if you have a bit of a framework from which to work. Use what ingredients you have on hand, including leftovers, and those you know your family enjoys. So here we go with the framework…

Mirepoix: This is a standard flavor-producing mixture used in many chefs’ preparations. The ingredients are onion, carrots, and celery. The proportions typically are 2-1-1. Sauté these ingredients in your preferred fat—vegetable oil, olive oil, butter, or some combination thereof. Keep in mind that butter has a low smoking point and can quite quickly burn. A combination of oil and butter will give you the benefits of both—the flavor of butter and the increased smoking point of the oil. If your soup is Italian, add some garlic. Garlic burns quickly so add it after your mirepoix is partially cooked. I make a big batch of mirepoix and freeze it, uncooked, in two cup batches.

Liquid: The most common liquid is chicken broth, which can be purchased ready-to-use or in a concentrated form that you combine with water. You’ll also find beef broth, vegetable broth, and others. Choose low-sodium options for a healthier soup.

Meat: Small frozen meatballs (ground beef or turkey), rotisserie chicken, ground meats (beef, Italian sausage, chorizo), stew meat, and ham cubes are all possibilities.

Starch: To give your soup body and make it seem more like a meal, add a starch such as rice (one cup raw = three cups cooked), pasta (one cup uncooked = two cups cooked, if small shapes), potatoes, or, of course, spaetzle for knoephla soup. If your choice is pasta, go with a small shape that easily fits in your spoon. Good choices are orzo, small shells, small rings, or broken up ramen noodles.

Vegetable: The options here are pretty much endless. Try beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, corn, mini corn cobs, or squash.

Seasoning: Depending on the theme of the soup, use basil and Greek oregano (Italian), cumin and Mexican oregano (Mexican), thyme and chervil (French), dill and chives (Scandinavian), or lemon grass and five spice powder (Asian). Add salt and pepper to taste at the end of the process. Many ingredients will add salt and doing it this way allows you to control the end result.

Thickener: If you want a cream soup, stir in a roux, slurry, cream (it doesn’t take too much to make quite a difference) or even cream cheese that is allowed to melt. Use milk instead of broth. Another option is to use one cup milk with two tablespoons cornstarch and one tablespoon flour to add thickness.

Garnishes: Your soup may benefit from adding texture in the form of a garnish. Try bacon pieces, tortilla strips (packaged to be salad topping), croutons (make your own by slicing and toasting bread sticks), oyster crackers, or crispy rice noodles. A dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of grated cheese is a nice enrichment.

Making a batch of soup has been a Saturday morning ritual at my house for years. I freeze it in individual portion sizes. It’s great to have a stash on hand for evenings when we have no time or energy to cook. And I get enjoyment out of occasionally sharing packages with friends and family!

Italian Meatball Soup

1 cup onion, minced

½ cup carrots, shredded

½ cup celery, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2- 32 oz boxes low sodium

chicken broth

2 cups small ring pasta, cooked

1- 14 ounce bag turkey meatballs, thawed

1- 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes, not drained

Season to your liking with basil, oregano, salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese, shredded

Cooking instructions

Sauté the onion, carrots and celery in the butter and olive oil until softened. Add garlic toward the end of the cooking process. Pour in chicken broth. Add all remaining ingredients except the cheese. Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are heated through. Top each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Makes 8 – 1½ cup servings

This can be easily modified to suit your taste. Add more beans, leave out the tomatoes, use Italian sausage instead of meatballs, use rice instead of pasta. It easily goes together in less than one hour.

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Pam Vukelic is an online FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) instructor for the Missouri River Educational Consortium. As Grandma to Connor, Elvin, and Claire, she is familiar with the values and joys of reading to children! Pam splits her time between Bismarck and The Villages in Florida.