From Shelley, via email: Your spinach and portobello mushroom tortellini soup is the best!!!

Via email: Here is my favorite weeknight soup recipe – it’s fast, yummy, and low fat too!!! I like to add extra spinach, even my grandson will eat spinach when it’s in this soup!! -- Pat Peitz TURKEY AND WHITE BEAN SOUP 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, crushed ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon rushed red pepper 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled 2 cans (15 to 19 oz. each) white beans, rinsed & drained (can use navy, chickpeas, cannelloni beans, or combination) 1 28-oz. can petite cut tomatoes, with juice 2 14-oz. cans chicken broth 1 6-oz. bag baby spinach (or spinach, arugula & shredded carrot blend) 1 ½ cups cooked chicken or turkey, cut in bite-size pieces Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste Heat oil over medium heat in 5-quart saucepan. Add garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, and rosemary, and cook until garlic begins to brown lightly, about 1 or 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add drained beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth to pan, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in spinach and chicken, return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, until spinach wilts. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan to taste. Pat’s notes: I used 2 teaspoons chopped garlic from a jar and rotisserie chicken -- I will use rotisserie chicken again because I think the flavor of it added flavor to the soup. Also, I like a lot of beans, and will use 3 cans next time. Very yummy, and low fat too!!

Just opened a press release from some company or other selling soup that had this statistic: Americans consume more than 10 billion bowls of soup a year... Could this be true?!

From Susan Falls of Charlotte, via email: Wanted to tell you I made your Tomato Basil Soup and really enjoyed it! We like homemade croutons in our tomato soup and I found some made by the grocery store bakery – It was really good and was a great solution for a cold winter’s night! Thanks for the recipe!

From Curt, via email: The Chicken, rice and lemon soup is a keeper. So simple and soooo good. Thanks!

Via email: Thank you so much for your website and all your wonderful recipes. Attached is one of my favorites - I hope you enjoy it too! I have made Christmas gifts of the recipe printed on fancy stationery, a baggie of beans, a can of tomatoes, and an onion, all in a pretty gift bag. ---Debbie Taylor French Market Soup (Given to Debbie Taylor by Eleanor Clabaugh) 2 cups mixed dried beans 2 quarts water, plus water to soak 1 ham hock 1¼ teaspoons salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1 can (16 oz.) whole tomatoes, with juice & coarsely chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ cup lemon juice 1 medium Anaheim chili pepper (not bell), chopped Sort and wash the beans. Put them in a Dutch oven or other large pan, and cover with water at least 2 inches above the beans. Soak overnight, or longer in the refrigerator. Drain the beans, add 2 quarts of fresh water, salt, pepper and ham hock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1½ hours or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very soft. Remove the ham hock from the soup, and remove the meat from the bone. Chop the meat and return it to the soup. Makes about 2½ quarts

From Anne in Minneapolis, via Facebook: I just got a crock pot stew recipe from a co-worker. Brown stew meat and put it in a crock pot. Pour in a can of beef gravy. Add carrots, celery, onion and potatoes. Pour a can of tomato soup on top. Cook it all day. At the end, add in peas and/or corn.

From Bev's sister Louanne in North Carolina, via Facebook: I made the Broccoli Soup. It turned out delicious. Fred liked it too and plus it was very quick and easy to make.