Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Everything Soup

The past two weeks I've made some pretty good soup with already made chicken stock I have in the freezer as the base.  Then to be super thrifty I add leftover rice or pasta along with some carrots and whatever leftover little bit of veggies we have in the fridge.  Add some dehydrated onion/garlic ... and herbs.  Last week I added frozen garden zucchini and a little bit of cooked pinto beans ... with some Mexican seasonings ... the kids just raved about the soup and didn't mind that they were eating up the leftovers ... Of course I told them about the leftovers AFTER they started raving about the soup;)  Watch out Campbell's Soups... Mrs. MacFrugal is cutting out a bit of your profits ... and feeding her family food without JUNK preservatives and loads of salt.  Do you have a way of incorporating leftovers into a 'new' and exciting meal for your family?

Image from here

7 comments:

Ruth Trowbridge said...

This is the kind of information all kitchens need. Fancy recipes are fine, but it is everyday cooking, learning how to use what you have and fill the nutrition and delicious quota that is the key. Excellent post. Peace

Mr. H. said...

Mrs. MacFrugal:)

I really like all of the frugal ideas you have been talking about of late and the soup combination sounds very good. Campbell's may indeed be in trouble if everyone starts to cook like this...and they should.

Lorie said...

I agree, your frugal ideas have been great. Many winter meals for our family are soups using leftovers as you mentioned as well as using the past summers harvest that has been canned or frozen. Saturday I harvested some water cress that wintered over and tonight we are having water cress soup. Sounds strange, but with the slight spice of water cress it really is quite good, especially with a loaf of warm crusty artisan bread and a tomato and avocado salad.

Thanks again for sharing your tips. Keep them coming!

DarcyLee said...

There is nothing better than a bowl of homemade soup with a loaf of warm bread straight from the oven. If people only knew how good homemade food can be, they would never want to go back to Campbells or Healthy Choice, or whatever.

donna said...

I stopped buying canned soups about two years ago...I make all my own stock...mostly vegetable stock since I went on the PBD. So much better tasting...

It's just the two of us, so we don't have a lot of leftovers..I usually try to plan so there is just enough for Ron's lunch the next day.....he too is learning the concept of frugal and I like that he is having a hot, nutritious lunch!

blessings
donna

Pat said...

I never used canned soup any more. In the winter there's always a pot of soup, and Saturdays are an international smorgasboard! Every thing left from the week becomes Saturdays meal. We actually prefer it to eating out..most of the time!

LynnS said...

A healthy bowl of MacFrugal is just what your family deserves!

My motto: "A homemade meal is a best made meal!"