How to make your own homemade soup from scratch!

As you can see from the Supply List, My Recipe is Very Lenient. I will show you how to pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.

Start with a clean skillet pan. Turn heat on medium.

Now first add a spoonful of fat. You can choose.. Olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, butter or your saved bacon fat. Think about what you will be cooking in it and what flavor the fat will bring.

I chose the bacon fat. Into the pan it goes.

Choose your meat. Choose chicken, sausage, seafood, deer meat or different cuts of beef. I'm using a pound of ground deer. You can use the amount you want. Maybe you're just using up leftovers.

Now with your meat on. Add salt. You can choose your fav salt product. This is my favorite.

I keep it in a small Tupperware bowl with lid.

I just pinch out to sprinkle over the meat.

Now my bunch like the ground deer to be in small pieces so I run across with a fork and smash it to crumbles. You prepare your meat how you choose. Like beef cubes or strings of chicken, you pick.

I have large pan holding in back for things as they are done. I place the meat in.

With beef or deer I like to add a tomato factor. You do not have to. These are the end of summer tomatoes that the heat got to. I just freeze them flat and add the cooked down juice to recipes.

If you have on hand, you can choose fresh tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, crushed, diced, paste, a sauce or the juice. It's really up to you. Add as little or a lot as you like.

You could even add ketchup if you like. It will give that tomato flavor.

Here's my pan I prepared the meat in. I like to throw in my tomato part right to this.

See the clear tomato juice. When it freezes. It collects up that way. Any Italian will tell you, allow the tomato to cook down.

"Scratch" the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to get the meaty bits lefts behind that will help flavor your soup.

See how clear?

Now I've let it "cook down". Now all that means is you allow it to come to boil. Then you turn down the heat just enough that it is in a low boil and simmering. The simmering will concentrate it.

I don't want the tomato skins and seeds in my soup, only the liquid. You can pour it all in. It's your choice.

I pour into the strainer and allow it to drain over the meat I already had in the pot.

Now in another small pot.. Start heating up your liquid of choice. I prefer 3 cans of chicken stock with 1 can of evaporated milk. You can use beef broth, tomato, milk or water.

If you do get these kind of cans, be sure to cut off the labels and give to your local school.

So I'm warming up chicken broth separate. Once these heat up, I'll add a can of evaporated milk. Or I could use milk or constituted powdered milk.

Now pick a starch. I want potatoes today. But you could use noodles, macaroni, any shape pasta, or rice, even left over mashed potatoes! Oh and any type of potatoes will work too.

If you are using pasta or rice, you can pre-cook it before you add it. Be sure to add plenty of salt to the water to cook it. Taste the water. It should taste salty.

But this time I'm using potatoes. I'm chopping these up and in the pan to fry in some fat. I'm using olive oil.

Don't forget the salt. Starch foods gotta have it to develop the flavor.

Now to other veggies. I have fresh carrots. You can rummage the fridge for what you have, clean and cut it up too. I like to clean, skin and shred the carrots. My kiddies won't eat a carrot hunk.

I just spread right over my potatoes.

Give her a shake and she's mixed up. Cook till soft.

Oh my broth is boiling! Gotta turn down and add my dairy.

See the difference? Ok let's taste this.

How does it taste? Salty enough? No? Well add it. Taste again. Maybe it needs some red pepper flakes or hot sauce? When it's how you like it, let it come back to a boil then add to big pot.

Ok the potatoes are soft. Scoop up with a draining spoon and add to big pot.

Now I like to add fresh seasoning like onion and garlic. I chop up the onion and place in that same frying pan now with potato and carrot bits.

Do NOT add Salt to Onion!!! The salt draws out all the juice of the onion. You want the onions to "sweat" some to de-glaze your pan but not dry them out.

I added whole cloves of garlic that were smashed to the onions. See the shiny onions. They're sweating. Remember to scrape the pan for the bits! But when they start to brown pour out in big pan.

Added into the big pot and Stir.

Now my bunch likes a bean in their soup too. Usually you will see green beans. But also can use kidney beans, black beans, black eyed peas, even pork and beans!

My son wanted these.

Once again, dump into that skillet pan.

Juice and all.

Scrape the pan letting the bean juice grab that flavor. Allow the beans to "cook down" the juice and they will start to pop open. Then they're ready.

Add to the pot!

Lastly, add a green. I like fresh kale, greens, cabbage or spinach. But all I have on hand is dried chopped chives. (Green onion). Add the green.

Stir in. Now that's looking good.

Add Lid. Allow to come to boil. Turn down heat and allow to simmer at least 15-30 min. This allows the flavors to intensify.

Now yours may have carrot rounds and green beans.

Or corn with elbow macaroni.

Maybe it's a thicker tomato saucy soup.

Or drier with larger bites.

Maybe it has broken up lasagna in it.

Or a heavy cream with beef tips.

A thicker pot with celery.

Cabbage and kidney beans...

Okra and red peppers...

Broken spaghetti with a soupier no dairy soup.

Or with peas, corn, carrots.. Oh my!

Maybe you added rice and lots of cheese.

Or chicken..

Beef, rice and peas..

Or it's just like Mine Today. Any way you want to fix it. Serve along with cornbread, crackers or croutons...or a peanut butter sandwich or a grill cheese!! You Choose! Enjoy!!