A Season of Light
Finding Joy in Simple Gifts
December arrives carrying both beauty and weightiness.
For many families, the season brings warmth and celebration alongside greater pressures—financial strain, higher utility bills, school breaks, and the quiet worry of putting meals on the table. At Crossfire Ministries, we see this tension daily. Guests arrive carrying more than grocery bags. They carry concern, hope, resilience, and love for their families.
But December is also a season of light.
Scripture reminds us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
Light doesn’t wait for circumstances to improve. It enters as it is—steady, present, faithful.
At Crossfire, we believe cooking is one way light enters everyday life. When families gather around frugal family meals, something sacred happens. Nourishment becomes connection. Simplicity becomes enough.
From Heart to Table, Crossfire's educational resources, Thrifty Tips for Trying Times, help families cook well, eat with dignity, and live faithfully, even when resources are limited.
December invites us into a different kind of celebration: a holiday treasure hunt for small joys, shared meals, and the grace found in making do together. And often, that grace shows up in a pot of soup. So we welcome you to give this delightful soup a try and warm the bellies and hearts of those gathered around your table this or any season.
—RECIPE—
Creamy Soup with Any Vegetable & Meat
Flexible. Nourishing. Thrifty. Dignifying.
This thrifty soup recipe is designed for flexibility and confidence. It works as an easy homemade soup, adapts to what’s already on hand, and makes generous use of soup with leftover vegetables—one of the most practical skills Crossfire teaches through its education programs.
❌ You don’t need more ingredients.
❌ You don’t need specialty tools.
✅ All you need is care, creativity, and trust.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 lb broccoli or any vegetable, roughly chopped
3–4 tablespoons flour
½ cup chopped onion
2 cups stock (vegetable, chicken, or other), plus more as needed
Aromatics of your choice: garlic, shallots, ginger, scallions, chilies
¼–½ cup heavy cream (or cream substitute)
3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: pre-cooked meat, finely chopped
Instructions
Cook vegetables until just tender using any method—steaming, boiling, sautéing, or microwaving. Leftover vegetables work beautifully.
Heat butter or oil in a pot over medium heat.
Sauté celery, onion, and aromatics until slightly tender.
Remove vegetables from the pot and purée with the cooked vegetables until smooth.
In the same pot, add flour to the remaining fat and stir to form a roux.
Slowly add stock, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Stir in cream or substitute.
Add puréed vegetables back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
Add pre-cooked meat if using.
Heat gently until warmed through. Do not boil.
A Community Challenge for Families
Why This Recipe Belongs on a Holiday Table
Uses vegetables you already have
Turns leftovers into nourishment
Stretches small amounts of protein
Feeds a crowd without added cost
Freezes well for future meals
This budget soup recipe reflects one of Crossfire’s core lessons: when you learn to cook with confidence, cooking on a tight budget becomes less stressful and more sustaining.
This is not scarcity cooking. It is stewardship cooking.
A December Practice
As you serve this soup, pause together. Name one thing you’re grateful for—out loud. Then consider sharing:
A bowl with a neighbor
A container with someone navigating a hard season
A simple invitation to sit and eat together
Light multiplies when it’s shared. So does hope.
This December, may your kitchen become a place where simplicity feels sacred, where frugal family meals carry dignity, and where nourishment extends beyond food.
This is Crossfire, from Heart to Table.
This is faith made practical.
This is love served warm.
