Quick story. 

Picture it... I've been home for maybe 2 days with tiny little newborn E baby. I had spent 30 hours in labor, another 2+ days in the hospital, Jesse and I had minimal amounts of sleep and I don't even remember eating anything besides the breakfast sandwich I demanded basically minutes after giving birth because I was so hangry. 

My friend Andrea texts and says she is bringing over dinner. She walks in a little while later and I threw the baby at her (kidding, it was only a gentle toss), so I could check out the food situation. 

I will never forget how delicious that sloppy joe sandwich and cucumber pasta salad tasted. She even made a big batch of both so I had leftovers for days. Seriously, it is top 10 on the list of best meals I have ever eaten in my life. 

It completely recharged me when I needed it most and made me realize just how much a homemade, hot meal can change someones day. 

Since then my gift giving strategy for friends or family having babies, dealing with illness, grandparents or single friends that may not have the time or motivation to cook real meals for themselves has been to feed them.

Soup is a super easy thing to cook a big pot of, then dish out into smaller containers to either deliver fresh or freeze for later.

If I'm taking soup to a family, I package in a container big enough to feed everyone.

If I'm taking soup to a grandparent, new Mom for lunches, or single friend, I use smaller single serve containers so they aren't forced to thaw out a huge batch of soup.

Vegetable Beef Soup and Chicken and Noodles or Chicken and Rice are my absolute favorites!

I've included the recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup below to get you started!

Vegetable Beef Soup

• 2+ cups Cooked and Shredded Grass-Fed Beef Roast (great way to use up leftovers!!!)
• 4ish Cups of Beef Broth (1 box if you're using store bought)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 Bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables (the peas, green beans, corn and carrots kind)
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• Around 2 cups of Egg Noodles - the homemade kind, the frozen kind, or the bagged kind you find in the pasta aisle. Add more, less, or none depending on your feelings about noodles!
• Salt and Pepper

Add your broth to a giant pot. Add your shredded beef, any of the goopy broth stuff leftover from cooking the roast, tomatoes and bag of veggies. Let it come to a gentle boil, then add your potatoes and noodles. Let boil gently until your potatoes and noodles are cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Boom - Delicious Soup. 

Do you notice a theme that none of my recipes have exact measurements? Just trust the process, you can't mess this up.

If you're panicking, use the power of Pinterest for a more exact recipe.

Fill a bowl for yourself since you worked super hard at putting things into the pot and stirring. Enjoy your soup while you wait for the rest to cool a bit.

Next step is to ladle into containers then freeze! 

I don't know about you, but I would so much rather create Christmas gifts in my own kitchen than be forced to shop. There are people, I have to wait in lines, I'm starting to sound like a curmudgeon so I better stop there....

But really, sometimes the best gift we can give is something as simple as a great meal.

We can hook you up with a tasty beef roast, bones to make broth, and eggs to make homemade noodles, then head to the grocery store for veggies at a weird hour of the day to avoid a bunch of people, then spend some time cooking Christmas gifts in your own kitchen!

You can also just buy the broth and noodles at the store, but don't skimp on the roast! :)

Also, if you show up with soup AND a bag of frozen homemade cookie dough balls that they can pop into the oven for fresh warm cookies anytime they want, you will be their new hero. Just throwing that out there. 

Happy Cooking and Soup Delivering!

Dana