Rich, Rustic, and Easier Than You Think Let me tell you something — if you’ve ever wanted to make one of those fancy-sounding French dishes but felt too intimidated, this one’s for you. Beef Bourguignon (or as we lovingly say around here, boar-gone-yawn), might sound like something Julia Child would make with a dozen steps and two bottles of wine, but this slow cooker version? It’s pure comfort food — simple, slow-cooked, and absolutely soul-warming. Try our Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon: Cozy French Comfort, Midwest Style next. I like to make it on a Sunday when we’re hunkered in for …
A Bowl of Love for Chilly Nights There’s something about the smell of stew bubbling away that makes a house feel like a home, isn’t there? Especially in the Midwest, when the sky gets a little gray and the breeze has that autumn nip — this kind of meal just feels right. It reminds me of Sunday afternoons growing up: the clatter of a spoon in a Dutch oven, Dad sneaking a taste when Mom wasn’t looking, and the whole house smelling like dinner was giving you a hug. Try our Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Amish Beef Pot Pie next. This …
The first time I made French onion soup from scratch, I thought I’d lost my mind. Who has the patience to babysit onions for nearly half an hour? But then I took that first spoonful — the deep, savory broth, the silky onions, that golden crown of cheese — and I was sold for life. Try our Nebraska Runzas: The Cozy Midwest Pocket You Didn't Know You Needed next. Now here’s the thing… one evening I had burger night planned, but I also had two big onions staring me down from the counter. I thought, “Why not put the soup …
There’s just something about a pot of chili. You smell it before you even walk into the kitchen, and the smell kind of wraps around you like an old sweater. This isn’t fussy food. It’s the “come on in, grab a bowl, sit down” kind of food. Try our Crab and Shrimp Seafood Bisque — Creamy, Cozy, and Just a Little Fancy next. This Chili Con Carne is big on flavor — a little smoky, a little spicy, rich enough that it feels special but still something you could make on a Tuesday night. It’s got Texas in its bones, …
I don’t make this soup every day. It’s not a Tuesday-night-chicken-and-rice situation. This is the soup I make when I want to feel a little spoiled — like maybe I’ve earned a treat. It’s creamy, it’s rich, and if you bring it to the table with a basket of warm bread, people will think you worked a whole lot harder than you actually did. Try our Chicken and Rice Soup next. Bisque sounds fancy — French restaurants love to make it seem mysterious — but really, it’s just slow-cooked veggies, good broth, cream, and in this case, sweet crab and …
Some nights just call for a big bowl of something cozy — and if you grew up like I did, that “something” was often my mom’s chicken pot pie. But let me tell you, on those extra-busy winter evenings when the snow was coming down sideways in the Midwest, she’d skip the crust and turn it into soup. Try our Chicken and Rice Soup next. I still remember her shooing us out of the kitchen — not because she didn’t want help, but because we’d “just get underfoot.” You could smell the onions and butter from the hallway, and you …
Let me tell you — some days just call for soup. Not the kind that comes from a can, mind you. I’m talking about a big, warm, creamy bowl of homemade chowder that tastes like comfort, like quiet evenings, like someone wrapped you up in a quilt and said, “You’re doing just fine.” Try our Sheet Pan Scored Potatoes next. It started with a craving. One of those days where you don’t even know what you want, you just know it needs to be warm and slow and smell like herbs. I had a handful of leeks I’d bought with …
A warm bowl of memories, served with cornbread and a little love. I don’t know about you, but there are some meals that feel like they carry history in them. Not in a fancy, museum kind of way — more like a “pull up a chair, I’ll tell you about it while the soup simmers” kind of way. Try our Mom Dumps Stuffing Mix Over Chicken and Lets the Oven Do the Work — So Good next. This green enchilada chicken soup? It’s one of those. I made a pot last week after a long day of errands — you …
There’s Just Something About Potato Soup You know what? Some days just beg for a big bowl of something warm and cheesy — especially when the wind’s rattling the windows and you’re hunting for that one slipper that always goes missing. Try our Oven Baked 4-Ingredients Hash Brown Pie next. When my kids were small, this soup was my secret weapon on the days when I barely had time to brush my hair, let alone fuss over dinner. I’d toss a few things in the slow cooker around lunchtime — half the time with a toddler perched on my hip …
When the wind starts howling off the fields here in the Midwest, there are only a handful of things that can make me feel better about scraping frost off my windshield again. Amish potato soup is right up there at the top of that list — alongside warm socks straight from the dryer and an old quilt that’s been patched more times than I can count. Try our Slow Cooker Onion Butter Potatoes next. This is the soup my mother made when my brother and I would come in from sledding — cheeks numb, noses red, boots caked in snow. …
