How to Make a Great and Easy Soup

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This is not a recipe, it is about a couple of techniques to use when making a soup from scratch. One way I know I can make a wonderful soup, is by utilizing a soup base that will guarantee success. My personal favorite is a canned soup that can blend well with other ingredients. For instance, I just made a soup, using a chunky soup product from Campbells. I do not like canned soup, but using it this way adds dimension and flavor, in addition to freshness. The base already has tomato in it, so I added fresh chopped tomato, in addition to chopped onion and chopped celery. As a personal preference, I also added a little honey, to take away any tartness, and add a bit of smoothness and sweetness. I could also have added any other vegetable, including potatoes, carrots, beans or grains, such as rice. I could also have added some meats or fish, as this canned soup has sausage already in it. I let it all simmer for awhile, and am always pleasantly surprised at how well these turn out. Another method is to make creamed soup in the blender from simple ingredients. If you like creamed soup, you can use plain milk, with added vegetables, meats, fish or any combination. Blend until creamy. Make sure all ingredients are cooked, so all you have to do is reheat them, and add butter, salt and pepper if desired. You can also grate some cheese into it. This makes a delicious soup, and milk substitutes work very well for this. I like doing this with celery, as I can never use up all the celery I buy. I like to do this with mushrooms, as well, becaue plain milk and mushrooms make a delightful cream of mushroom soup. Add a tough of garlic or cheese to this if you like, or leave it plain. It gets creamy just from the blended mushrooms. Make sure you add as many mushrooms as you can. Creamed soups without a milk base can be made the same way. Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots and squash work well if you use canned or fresh chicken or beef broth as your base. Blend and season. With a bit of practice, you can whip up fantastic soups in a few minutes, using these techniques.