Cowboy Soup and the Siberian Express

It's cold! And cold weather calls for a quick and tasty hot soup recipe or three.

Have you noticed the crazy winter weather? Hubber billybuc is basking in temps in the mid-50s in Washington State, andJust Ask Susan is shivering at minus 26 in Canada. Florida chickies Hubbers teaches12345, pstraubie48, and Sunshine 625 are putting socks on with their flip-flops.

Meanwhile, Niagara Falls are frozen over, it's colder in Virginia than Alaska, and some places in extreme North America have had temps colder than Mars. That's cold!

Here in Georgia, the coldest digit I've seen on my computer screen is 8. Yes, eight. I've seen six, but not zero. But hey, what could the difference between six and zero degrees be? Maybe Just Ask Susan could tell us.

Hot soup seemed the way to go this week, so I dug up my mother's recipe for cowboy soup, a southwestern soup that warms you from head to foot.

But why the crazy winter weather?

A strong ridge of high pressure is hovering over the western states and Alaska coupled with a deep trough in the eastern half of North America. If you don't know what a trough is (I had to look it up), it's an elongated region of low pressure.

It's called a Polar vortex, or more commonly, the Siberian Express. Winds from Siberia are blowing over the North Pole. Because of the Polar vortex, the winds are being sucked into the Eastern part of North America. Hence, frigid weather, more so than normal, is plaguing the region.

Cowboy soup is a quick and tasty recipe. Undrained cans of two different beans and meat pack plenty of protein. Venison, beef, or even ground turkey can be used. Try to find low sodium canned veggies, or even prepare dried beans if you have more time. A package of taco seasoning adds plenty of flavor.