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I
Want to be a Souper Neighbor
By Jerri
Phillips
Anna is sniffly. Robert
is cranky, and Rob didn't even give a
fight when I suggested he come home and
rest while they did repairs on the server
since he wasn't very useful at work
anyway. You know what that says to me?
This family is waning, and it is time for
homemade soup. Unfortunately, I didn't
have all the ingredients so I called our
neighbors to see if she would keep the
little ones while I ran out to the
grocery store. Shopping with cranky and
sick babies is not my idea of fun.
In summary, our neighbors are in far
worse shape than we are. In fact, two of
the boys were already back in bed, and
she had taken medicine and was dozing
when I called. You know what that says to
me? Get enough ingredients for two
batches of soup.
When I offered to make dinner for them,
she sort of paused. "Look, I'm not
even going to dirty up another pot. I'll
just use my Cajun soup pot that my
mother-in-law gave me. I really would
feel better if you could just rest and
not have to worry about dinner." She
finally said quite relieved, "That
would really be nice."
So, I bundled my babes into the car, and
we ran to the store to get groceries. Our
neighbor went to sleep, and I feel good
knowing she can sleep all afternoon and
not worry about dinner. And Jesus gets
glorified for giving me the means and
desire to be nice.
The Bible says to do to others as you
want others to do to you. I don't know
about you but there have been untold
times I wished someone would offer to fix
stew or soup or pick up ice cream for us
when we felt bad, and many times people
have done just that.
How easy is this? The Cajun pot I use can
be picked up for less than $15 at most
department stores, and it takes no extra
time for me to make two, three, or four
"pots" (a "pot" is
enough for a family in my dictionary) of
soup. If you don't have a pot that size,
use a dutch oven and fill it to the brim.
Most soups can be frozen, so if you are
going to make some soup for dinner and
you don't know anyone who needs it then,
you can put it in your freezer until you
do. Also, soups are easy and relatively
inexpensive depending on what you put in
them. My base recipe is below.
If you have a favorite soup recipe you
don't mind sharing, we'd love to hear
about it. We will post the replies so
others can use your knowledge and cooking
ability to bless others. Just send them
to jerri@jerrismunchies.com
What if you don't cook or you are too
busy? I've been there myself. I wanted to
help, but I wouldn't be home to cook. In
those situations, I've take a little gift
bag, put my favorite tomato soup I bought
at the store, some French bread, and some
shredded cheese in it. I try to stick a
little note on it saying something like,
"Praying you are better soon."
I then take it to the person's house. If
the person has a cold or flu, I might
even stick in a box of Kleenex or throat
lozenge. It takes so little to be kind,
and it is so very appreciated. More
importantly, it's very much like Jesus.
So, with that in mind, I pray that you
will enjoy being a souper neighbor as
well.
Jerri's
Base Soup Recipe:
1 pound ground meat
or stew meat
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
potatoes
onion
Cut up the onion and
drop it in. I use about half of a medium
onion, and I like the white ones.
Heat water in a soup pot. I put in enough
to cover the meat and then another inch
or two. In other words, I approximate.
Roll the meat into clumps and drop them
in. Mine always cook apart, but I like it
that way. You can be more precise if you
wish. cover and let boil. Actually, my
mom covers hers, but I don't. I just
watch the water level.
When the meat is done, pour in the corn
and tomatoes.
Cut up potatoes and add them with the
tomatoes and corn. I usually add several
because they feel so good on a sore
throat. However, I've read that it isn't
good to freeze potatoes, so you might
consider that. Before I was enlightened,
I used to make big batches of this soup
and freeze it for later. We never noticed
a problem. You do what you feel is okay.
You may want to make a base without
potatoes, and freeze it. You can thaw it,
add potatoes, and cook it. Then take it
to whomever while it is still hot.
Season however you like it. I add pepper.
Another friend adds rosemary and bayleaf.
I like simple, and I restrict salt use.
No one misses it so, hey…
Cook until vegetables are as tender as
you like them.
Add crackers or whatever makes you happy
and eat.
Other things you
can add:
Celery
Green beans
Carrots
Squash
Chili peppers
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