soup bar

we love having people over for dinner here at the cottage, and since we have a large family, it tends to be a crowd. the most affordable way i've found to feed everybody is: soup. it helps that we love soup anyway but it's also easy to make, and pretty darn tasty. plus you can make something fairly simple and easily dress it up. recently we had a card night and i made leek and potato soup, served up next to toppings. fried bacon bits, shredded cheddar, parmesan, green onions, and a pepper grinder and we were set to go. everyone got to make their own combinations and everyone got full, a win win for card night at the cottage. i also like to make squash soup which is good with everything from olive oil to nutmeg on top. another fun thing to try is an old fashioned soup tureen, i have two that both came from local thrift stores for less than $15 each. try it out, you could start a tradition!