A pot of hot soup will help warm you up on a chilly day

Dear Readers: There's no better way to warm up a chilly day than to make a delicious pot of soup. And do I have a recipe for you that's a little bit different. It's Garden Cheddar Soup, and to make it, you'll need:
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
2 tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 cup portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
41/2 cups beef broth
11/2 cups tomato juice
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a stockpot, add the first nine ingredients and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Stir in basil, wine, salt, pepper and parsley just before serving. Sprinkle the top of each serving with a little cheddar cheese. This tasty recipe plus many more favorites from family and close friends, like Quickie French Onion Soup or Tortellini and Bean Soup, are in my Spectacular Soups pamphlet. Just send 4 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (63 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Soup, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. FYI: Is your soup too hot to eat? Simply toss in some frozen veggies, an ice cube or two, or even a dash of tomato juice, milk or cold bouillon, depending on the soup base. Heloise
Dear Readers: Soup is delicious as a snack or a meal. Let's test your Heloise Soup IQ: What percentage of United States homes serve a minimum of one bowl of soup every two weeks?
45 percent.
55 percent.
65 percent.
If your choice was 65 percent, then you are "soup-er" smart. Puts you in the soup mood, doesn't it? Soup can be a starter, a light meal or a thick-and-chunky main meal! Add a small green salad and some delicious bread (I love warm corn bread), and it's that easy to serve a nutritious meal. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I buy pumpkins after Halloween at reduced prices, cut them in half and scoop out the insides. I place them in a roaster and bake in a slow oven until very done. I let them cool, then peel and put in a food processor in small amounts. Then I drain it for a couple of hours in a colander and place 2 cups in a freezer bag -- the amount called for in most recipes. This will keep well in the freezer. It's a bit of work, but well worth the time. Compared with canned pumpkin, the taste is wonderful. Joanne from Missouri
Dear Heloise: If you love meatloaf but don't want to make a large loaf, make up your favorite recipe and form the meat into patties. I make them a little thicker than ordinary ground-beef patties. Separate into small plastic bags or use plastic wrap, freeze, and take out and thaw only as many as you need for your meal. They cook a lot faster than the loaf-style, too! Patty Dowsett, La Vista, Neb.
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate