Last year, I found a new favorite Christmas gift to give. I cooked up a couple batches of my favorite homemade soup and collected pretty soup pots throughout the month. I filled them with soup and brought that with a crusty loaf of french bread to a few chosen friends. The gift was accompanied with a simple note and thawing instructions.
The soup could be frozen and pulled out whenever a quick dinner in December is needed. I’ve never had such a happy response to a gift. Friends were thrilled to have a homemade dinner on hand, and a pretty pot to keep made the gift a special one to keep.
This year I am expanding the gift to give to teachers, neighbors, and anyone who might be blessed by an easy dinner during the craziest month of the year. Wrapping up the crusty bread with ribbons gives it an extra special touch. I made a few batches of my favorite soup – Pasta E Fagioli this weekend with Contadina tomatoes. It’s a soup I’ve been making for the last 10 years and our family’s favorite way to warm up.
In the event you want to give the gift of dinner this year or make the soup for yourself, here is my recipe for Pasta E Fagioli with Sausage (leave out the sausage for vegetarian friends). Continue reading