One Soup Base – Two Delicious Soups

Making a big batch of soup on Sunday to enjoy all week long is a thing of beauty. Having two different soups to enjoy is even better! As wonderful as the single soup is, however, by the end of the week you may be getting tired of the same old soup. An easy solution is to start with the same soup base but then divide the soups and add different ingredients. It requires a little bit of extra prep work but it’s totally worth it.

We started with a basic chicken soup base consisting of onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and chicken stock. We divided one recipe in half but you could make two batches of soup and freeze what you don’t plan on eating during the week.

After simmering the soup bases for a few minutes, we simply added chopped cabbage, diced potatoes, sliced kielbasa sausage, and dill to one pot. To the other pot we added chopped kale, chopped cooked chicken, cooked rice, and tarragon. Voila! Two lovely soups.

Here’s how to make your 2-for-1 batch of soup:

Soup Base Recipe

1 medium onion, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 medium carrots, peeled, sliced or diced small
2 quarts broth
Olive oil or butter

Heat 2 medium-large saucepans over medium heat and add a tablespoon of fat to each. Toss in the onion, celery and carrots and saute about 3 minutes. We like bay leaves in just about every soup or stew so toss one of those in too. Add a quart of broth to each and then proceed with the other ingredients. Add salt and pepper at will.

Here are some  ideas for splitting up a batch of soup:

Vegetable soup base: onion, celery, carrot, vegetable broth, bay leaf
Soup 1: minestrone – add 1 small diced zucchini, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup cooked canellini beans, 1 diced potato, 1 – 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Soup 2: add 1 cup corn, 1 small sliced leek, 1 cup green beans, 1 small diced sweet potato, 1 cup cooked brown rice, chopped fresh parsley

Beef soup base: onion, celery, carrot, beef broth, bay leaf
Soup 1: add 1 cup cooked barley, 1/2 lb diced stew meat, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup green beans, 1 teaspoon thyme
Soup 2: 1 diced potato, 1 cup peas, 1/2 lb diced stew meat, 8 oz sliced mushrooms, 2 teaspoons paprika

Chicken soup base: onion, celery, carrot, chicken broth
Soup 1: add 1 cup cooked black beans, 1 small can green chilies, 1 can diced tomatoes, 2 cups cooked chicken, 1 teaspoon cumin, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, hot sauce
Soup 2: 1 small can coconut milk, 2 teaspoons red curry paste, juice of 1 lime, 2 cups diced chicken, rice noodles, cilantro

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