Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Ultimate Budget Stretcher




Day 20.

Want an easy way to


a.) stretch your food dollar

and

b.) knock out a few days' worth of dinners

in one fell swoop? Make soup! Soup can be as thick, hearty, and filling, or thin and belly-warming as you'd like. You control the ingredients, so you can accommodate any budget with your recipe. Here is a simple recipe for making soup, followed by my Hamburger Soup recipe.

Simple Recipe for Make-Your-Own Soup

8 cups broth
1 lb protein (meat, beans, tofu)
2 lb vegetables
2 cups of starch (cooked rice, cooked pasta, or diced raw potatoes)
an onion and a clove of garlic
spices to taste
fat of some sort (oil, butter)


Simply saute the meat, onion and garlic in your oil or butter. Add the broth and vegetables and starch (pasta should not be added until the last few minutes of cooking time), as well as seasonings to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer at least 30 minutes.


*****
Easy Budget-Friendly Hamburger Soup
makes a big pot of soup




Ingredients:
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 8 cups beef broth
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 4 carrots, bias cut
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 1 can tomato soup
  • 1 cup each frozen peas and frozen corn
  • handful fresh parsley, chopped

How it's Done:

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot with the onion and garlic. Drain and return to pot.
  2. Add broth, soup, and vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley. Serve.



8 comments:

Pierre said...

yes soup are th best for the nmoment this is so cold here in France !!
I am Pierre a french foodie with a blog dedicated to creative french food ! come and visit me you are very welcome !! cheers Pierre from Paris

Sook said...

That looks so warm and delicious!

Simply Life said...

Looks great! I love saving money and eating healthy at the same time! :)

megan said...

your soup looks delicious. I love to make homemade soup. I have a recipe for hamburger soup on my blog as well, but it is a little different than yours - more similar to chili than soup i guess. I love how you broke down a generic soup recipe - perfect for making your own creations!

Andrea Riegling from ROCK THAT PLATE! said...

I like your site. Your pics are great, too! Welcome to the Foodie BlogRoll!
Andrea from www.rockthatplate.blogspot.com

The Manintvelds said...

I would make soup more often if my husband wasn't so darn picky! I could save so much more money if he'd eat it .. *sigh*

Mandy Bird said...

I love that this is a yummy soup and a frugal soup! Who says good food has to be fancy or expensive? Thanks for sharing!

Pots and Pins said...

I think your blog is great! My daughter is looking for recipes that are budget friendly and simple to make...which kind of irritates me since I write a food blog - but whatever, I'm just the mom and know nothing...and perhaps my recipes are not as budget friendly as they should/could be! Oh well, I'm too old to not eat what I love! Anyway, I'm forwarding your link on to her - I know she'll love your recipes as much as I do! Thanks! xo, Nan

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