Now that the weather is cold (and rainy in Oregon), it’s the perfect time to save money with a soup night. I like to schedule a soup night once a week, because it’s a great way to use up leftovers that might otherwise go bad in the back recesses of the refrigerator.
I keep a 2 cup container in the freezer, where I keep leftover veggies. When the container is full, I know it’s time to make a big pot of soup.
To make a frugal soup from leftovers, start with about 5 cups of some kind of broth or soup base (beef, chicken, tomato, etc.).
Add a cup of protein, such as beans, beef, or chicken.
Add a cup of rice or pasta, a cup of vegetables, and season with your favorite spices.
Throw it all in a slow cooker and cook on low all day.
At dinnertime add some bread (I like homemade) and maybe a salad, and you have an easy, frugal meal. And your leftovers won’t be wasted.
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I really like your veggies in the freezer idea. I’m going to try that one. We’re big fans of homemade soup here too :)
I find soup a fantastic cheap meal. Probably my favourite has to be Split Pea & Ham soup – perfect for just after Christmas when you finish the ham (I just made a pot tonight :-) ) – but a simple vegetable soup is also great.
I don’t really follow any strict recipe when it comes to making vegetable soup. I just get a few teaspoons of stock powder or a couple of stock cubes, chop up a lot of veggies (4-6 cups worth of whatever I have on hand), throw in a bit of ham or bacon if I have any, and then cover it all with a good amount of water. After simmering for an hour or so I blend it all together (adding a bit more water if needed) and season to taste. Simple, but nice!
I love soup nights! I love to make big pots of soup and freeze. They are so cheap and yummy. Lentil soup is also one of my favorites! :) Thanks for doing this, Lynnae!
Chicken soup is on the menu here today.
When I cut up whole chickens, I freeze the backs for later use in soups and stocks. And that’s what I’m doing today.
I usually have soup at least twice a week, with leftovers for lunches – they freeze well.
I save the broth from when I pressure cook the butcher bones – like this week I have elk neck bones to pressure cook up and get the meat off of.
I like to add barley and rices, sometimes dried beans also. The veggies I use are usually the ones I have dried from the summer/fall garden, plus celery and potatoes still in the garden, and the spices from the garden. That way, except for the cost of the barley and rice, and the electric, it’s a free meal :)
If one is in a hurry, about 45 minutes in a small pressure cooker and your soup can be done! But, when I have the time, I also prefer the crock pot all day long!
I love the idea. In fact, I’ve already implemented it at my house. Soup makes for great, storable leftovers. I use Recipezaar along with my own creativity to keep things new. I’m making chicken and andouille gumbo tonight.
Over the winter break, I’ve been battling a cold and have eaten enough chicken soup that I may begin clucking and laying eggs pretty soon. As an experiment, I tried making my own chicken soup rather than purchasing spendy cans (and I like the good stuff). I found that it is actually cheaper to make my own—plus, I get lots of leftovers that I can freeze and take to work and school!
http://finallyfrugal.blogspot......-soup.html
I made a very good soup last night with frozen turkey stock and leftover turkey, as well as corn, green beans and barley. I love to use up leftover veggies and meat this way. I added some veggie stock and threw in a few dumplings at my husband’s request. Apparently it was very good…he had three bowls. Unfortunately, that means that my huge pot of soup for lunches all week left me with only one bowl of leftovers for lunch today :( I need to learn to hide it before he can devour it!
i bought a new crockpot on black friday and have been making soups and stews ever since.
it’s really amazing the combinations you can throw in it and have it taste very, very yummy.
it makes a lot and it’s incredibly inexpensive.
my crock pot is definitely one of the best things i’ve ever bought.
This is a great idea and I really need to try this. I have to admit I have always wanted to try something like that. Do you rinse the vegies before you put them in there? Are there any vegies you don’t put in there. Do you ever save your leftover meats to put in the soup too? Do you rinse them?
Sorry lots of questions here, lol!
O.k., I am so messing this up here. My link is supposed to read “color code your clothes” but I give up! Sorry!
@momstheword – That’s OK. I think all of us have had trouble with Mister Linky at least once. I deleted the extra link. Unfortunately, I can’t edit them, though.
My guy is still learning to cook, so until he gets some crockpot recipes down (which he’s promised to do soon) we’ve been using Progresso when its on sale for $1. Still not as frugal as homemade soup, but it’s a start.
It really got us through a lot of the bad snowy weather up here. Seattle folks cannot handle snow and ice. So, to keep ourselves safe, we stayed in a lot. it saved a ton on grocery bills, because rather than running out to the store for ingredients, we’d just heat up some soup.
The one I really miss is my mom’s bean soup. it’s such a great comfort food on cold days.
Thank you for deleting the extra link!
Amen to the soup night! I posted about my favorite soup, Potato!
Moninem
We have “soup and sandwich” or “soup and salad” night a couple of times a month. Both are great ways to use up leftovers and have a healthy meal. Sometimes I just open a can of soup and add whatever leftover veggies I have. The easier the better.
A great post. I have added a lentil soup to my blog. What a fantastic idea about tightwad Tuesdays. I am up to the challenge, that is for sure.
Oh My Gawd! I love, LOVE home made soup. And I love making it! After making my own soups, I can’t really stomach canned soup anymore! We just had some butternut squash-potato-leek soup last night from the freezer. With a salad and some left over bread from Jewel, it was a delicious meal, perfect for a snowy afternoon in Chicago. I am trying to make my own bread, french loaves like the ones I get from Jewel, but they have so far only turned out so so. My baking skills aren’t quite up to par and I am still a little intimidated by yeast :) I try to always keep at least one container of frozen soup in the freezer at all times. I think I am going to tweak my grocery list now to get some soup fixings. I find making a whole chicken is a very frugal way to eat all week, and the carcass and any left over bits can make all different kinds of chicken soup. But I am sure that isn’t really news to all the frugal readers of this blog!
I love soup, I am looking online for a good beef barley and veg soup. My husband doesn’t really think that soup is meal worthy as the dinner meal. I think I’ll make fish for him to go with any soup. I haven’t made much soup like I know a lot of people do. My cheese broccoli was way too salty. Back to finding some good easy recipes.
Chris: I searched forever for a good beef, barley and vegetable soup. I tried so many, but my search was over when I tried this one. Excellent!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/B.....etail.aspx