Mike, you may have already thought of this and rejected the idea, but:
When I want soup from the freezer, sometimes I put the container on the counter for half an hour to loosen the sides of the frozen soup from the container. Then I dump the frozen blob of soup into a pan. I turn the heat on low, put on a lid, and let the soup slowly thaw and heat. This is not an instantaneous way to acquire soup, but for us, it usually beats waiting until the next day via the refrigerator.
