Winters where I live are not necessarily cold- not like some of the Michigan and Illinois winters I’ve lived through (and that some of my friends and loved ones are currently enduring), but it does get chilly.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, does grey, overcast and foggy quite like Arkansas does in the winter- it makes most days perfect for staying in with your loved ones under a fuzzy blanket, watching creepy movies or ‘Coraline’ and having bowls of steaming soup with homemade bread on the side for dinner.

Mmmmmmm, soup.

I have always been a fan of soup even in the hottest months of the year- it’s simple to throw together and you can eat it for several days, plus, if it’s a clear broth soup it’s likely a fairly healthy meal option.

My hubs puts a ban on soup in the house from April until the first cold day of fall- no soup, no chili.

Stew?

Don’t even ask.

So I have been slyly (OK not too slyly) trying to milk the cold days and make soup as often as possible without getting asked what our other meal options are.

I have been fairly successful and the Chef even made a huge batch of game chili a few weeks ago, enough to eat for a few days and also freeze for another time (which, to me, is a huge win, especially when it’s ladled over Nathan’s hot dogs and sprinkled with cheese).

But a girl can only eat so much chicken noodle or chili before we go on the hunt for something different, with a lot of flavor and that could preferably all the ingredients could be dumped into my Crock Pot and cook without my help for the next 7 hours.

We’ve already talked about my love of recipes from Taste of Home; aside from America’s Test Kitchen, I really do find the home cook recipes from TOH to be the most reliable out there.

Flipping through the February issue of Country Woman magazine, which is a sister publication to Taste of Home, there was a recipe for Gyro Soup which was a crock pot recipe that I had most of the ingredients to make on hand.

Whoot!

It’s delicious, guys; it has all the flavors of a gyro that I grew to love when eating at the Coney Islands back home but without the expensive airfare it would take to get there (and without my beloved, carb-y pita bread).

If you love gyros and soup you have to try this!

Gyro Soup (Taste of Home)

Prep Time; 25 minutes          Cook; 6 hours

Makes; 6 Servings

Ingredients;

2lbs Ground Lamb (I’m sure beef would stand in in a pinch)

8 cups of water (the recipe says 5 but it wasn’t enough)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

(I added 3t beef Better than Bouillon for flavor)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup red wine

6 garlic cloves, minced

3T minced fresh mint or 1 T dried mint

1T dried marjoram

1T rosemary, crushed

2t salt

1/2t pepper

Optional toppings;

Plain Greek yogurt

Crumbled Feta cheese

Brown the lamb in a skillet and once it’s done throw it into the Crock Pot with all the other ingredients on low for 6-7 hours while all the flavors meld into gorgeousness.

We crumbled feta over ours and it was delish!

We’re finishing our leftovers tonight with homemade bread.

You can view the original version of the recipe here.

Thank you, Bridget Klusman, from Otsego, MI!!!!

What’s your favorite winter meal on a cold day?

Let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Until next time!

Love, The Chick and her Chickadee