Soups Raise Your Temperature

• Nothing -- well almost nothing -- warms you up like a steaming bowl of soup. Start with a hearty chicken broth. Simmer a pound or two of chicken bones, or a cut-up whole chicken, in a quart or quart and half of water. Add in vegetables of your choice such as onions, carrots, celery stalks, greens and herbs such as parsley, thyme or sage. Cook for an hour or two to create a rich broth. Throw out the bones, vegetables and herbs. Pick the meat off the cut-up chicken and reserve for another use or to add back to the soup. This broth is the basis for many chicken soups such as chicken and rice, gumbo, Asian cellophane noodle soup and Mexican tortilla soup. Make a beef broth for beef, barley, mushroom or beef and vegetables soup. You really don't need any meat at all for satisfying old-fashioned vegetable soup, cream of broccoli or tomato soup.

Stews Warm You Up

• Stews are heartier and thicker than soups. Put your slow cooker to work making a stew from chicken, pork or beef. Dredge the meat in flour and then brown. The flour thickens the cooking liquid and turns it into a gravy. Add vegetables and liquid and slow cook for 8 hours. Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid if you'd prefer to simmer on the stovetop for 2 hours. Try the classic corned beef, cabbage and potatoes stew, a Southern chicken and dumplings stew or a German-inspired beef Sauerbraten. Another idea is a stew based on pork chunks, apples and sweet potatoes. Don't leave out the vegetarians in the group. A stew of winter vegetables or a mushroom medley stew doesn't require any meat.

Chili Chases Away the Chills

• Chili warms with spices and heat. While the purists would insist on meat with no tomatoes or beans, most cooks use both. Base the dish on ground chicken, turkey, beef or pork, or a combination. Brown the meat first. This is one dish that you can make without meat and you won't miss it much. Use bulgur wheat that you've toasted in a dry sauté pan until it deepens in color and has a nutty fragrance. Combine the browned meat, or wheat, with cooked beans -- black, red or white work just fine -- and your choice of chopped vegetables such as poblano or jalapeno peppers, celery, carrots and onions, leeks or shallots. Add enough liquid -- such as beer, tomato juice or broth -- to cover the mixture. Adjust the heat by adding more or less cayenne pepper, hot sauce or red pepper flakes. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes to an hour until the flavors blend.

Casseroles Comfort Diners

• Fix it and forget it -- that's the motto of casseroles. The basics are well, basic. Start with a meat such as chicken, beef or pork or hearty vegetable. Add in a starch such as rice, potatoes or pasta. Moisten with enough liquid to cook the starch and meat. You need twice as much liquid for rice and pasta. Combine with a package of frozen vegetables such as peas, green beans, lima beans or mixed vegetables. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the meat is done and rice or pasta is cooked. Try a chicken enchilada casserole. Layer corn tortillas with cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, enchilada sauce and cheese. Take macaroni and cheese up a notch by adding in crumbled bacon or pancetta to the cooked macaroni. Swirl in the cheese sauce and top with bread crumbs and grated cheese. Bake until bubbly.