How to make simple, healthy soup

It’s funny how some childhood memories are so clear and vivid. As a child, I remember watching my mother make soup. She began by hauling Thanksgiving’s turkey carcass out of the freezer, throwing it in the largest pot she could find, and making broth. While the bones boiled and sizzled she peeled, chopped, pureed, and sautéed seemingly every vegetable in the house.

Her soup, full of savory broth and healthy vegetables, was the perfect antidote to numb toes, cold fingertips, and sniffly noses. I could eat it until my belly was swollen.

Naturally, I’d love to recreate this delicious meal, but who has the time? This soup isn’t for the novice or the lazy. It is soup for the professional with time to invest in the kitchen. It is soup that is delicious precisely because it requires attention.

I always assumed, then, that soup making was out of my culinary repertoire. Despite my love of the steaming spoonfuls, despite the welcome aroma of simmering turkey and vegetables, this lazy cook could not commit the time and energy to make such a production out of just one meal.

But then my sister sent me a recipe for an easy soup. I took her base recipe and started to throw all kinds of things into my soup pot. It was fun, easy, and tasty. What else could a busy mom ask for?

I won’t lie. My creations aren’t as good as my mom’s, but I’m finally making healthy and delicious soups. AND, they are easy. That’ll work.

Here’s my latest recipe. Recreate or use it as a jumping off point for your own amazing soup. It’s that simple.

Chicken Soup:

In a pot, combine:

1. 32 oz. chicken broth
2. 1/3 cup of pesto
3. 1/2 cup of shredded, cooked chicken
4. 1/2 cup chopped turkey sausage
5. 1 can of cannellini beans
6. 3 handfuls of spinach or kale
7. 3 plum tomatoes, chopped