Enjoying a Michigan winter takes a certain set of skills — one of those being the ability to make a great soup.
I’ve written before that I don’t love to cook but, since my mom passed away, I’ve found some comfort (not to mention satisfaction) in preparing meals — and even pies from scratch — that she loved to prepare for her family. Besides the brunch I make on the same day, the Sunday dinner I make is sometimes the only homecooked meal we all enjoy on any given week, making it even more important. I take requests throughout the week and the most requested dish wins. A few weeks ago it was her Italian Wedding Soup.

I’ve found a few things that make cooking more enjoyable: good music, a large kitchen (thankfully I’m usually cooking in her kitchen, which is big), a sous-chef and lots of time. The last one leads to a lot of meals prepared in a slow cooker so I can put the meal in soon after making brunch without having to rush the process.
Of course, since I’m not a seasoned chef, none of this leads to a stress-free cooking experience. I was feeling really good about the Italian Wedding Soup I prepared until I closed the lid on the slow cooker and took a final peek at the recipe to see when to add in the meatballs and pasta. It was then I realized I had used chicken stock, not chicken broth as the recipe indicated. I also failed to thaw and drain the frozen spinach before putting it in with the fresh ingredients. Already sweating (I swear I only sweat when I cook), panic set in. I quickly shot a text to my sister in Atlanta, who cooks far more than I do, telling her of my mistakes and asking “will my soup be green and flavorless now?”
When I explained that I used a bag of organic chopped spinach and not the frozen block one typically associates with frozen spinach and that I added one can of chicken broth, she assured me the soup would be great.
The drawback of a slow cooker is that you have to wait hours to find out if you’ve done OK or failed miserably. When we were newlyweds, and I was even less skilled in the kitchen, there were more than a few slow cooker meals that went right into the trash. Luckily, in this case my sister was right. The soup was delicious, just as we all remembered.
The more I cook, the more I’m learning to trust my instincts. I watched my mom prepare thousands of meals, and I do my best to channel her with each meal and dessert I attempt.
The day after my Italian Wedding soup success my dad let me know that January was both soup and slow cooker month. Guess we were right on trend.
While January is finally over, there is still plenty of winter left to lean into the (likely) made up occasions.
In honor of soup and slow cooker month, I’d love if you’d share your favorite slow cooker soup recipe. Email me at ecaswell@mihomepaper.com.