SOUP WEEK:

One thing I love about winter is soup.  When I'm making soup, I make a HUGE batch...and freeze some.

Frozen soup has been a lifesaver on many occasions...soup might hit the spot, or it can turn into chicken and dumplings...or chicken pot pie...

But freezing soup is tricky. For one thing, if you find a container big enough, you have to set it in the freezer so it's level -- otherwise the soup will leak and make a big mess.

I hate Tupperware, and Rubbermaid, and all those plastic containers that take up so much room in the cupboards, and they always get separated from their matching lids.

The other problem is that when you decide to eat your freezer soup, you must deal with a gigantic ice cube that doesn't fit into your pot, and isn't that easy to thaw....

Here's how I freeze soup:

Find a bowl that fits inside your soup pot.

Place a freezer bag into that bowl.

Seal the bag -- then put the bowl, AND the bag of soup into the freezer...

Make sure to mark the bag. (it all looks the same once it's frozen)

After the soup freezes, remove the bowls.  I have lots of round balls of soup in my freezer...Now you have a perfectly shaped round ice cube of soup that will fit right into your favorite soup pot!!

When it's time to cook the soup, you simply sit it in the pot, with some hot water, and the bag comes right off...

Place the perfectly sized soup ice cube into your soup pot, set the burner on low heat, and put the lid on.