Save Money, Make Soup

Soup. What isn’t to love? It’s one of the least expensive ways I feed my family. When I find great deals on discount produce, I make soup. Locally, I can get these amazing $1 produce bags. I am in love. If I’m lucky, I can get enough produce for the week for a couple bucks. Amazing. When you’re shopping, take a peak and see what’s there. I promise you will find some great deals. It’s addictive, trust me.

Exciting isn’t it? There’s a catch, though, sometimes the produce needs to be used right away. My solution is soup. I only spent $1 on this bag and I can make enough for about 2 meals. I want you to love discount produce too so I’m going to teach you how to take what you find and make a dairy free creamed soup. Warning. This not a recipe, more of a guide to create your own delicious experiment. I like to live on the edge like that. Wild.

Hang on tight, here we go.

1. Chop 2-3 onions. Leeks are delicious too.
2. Wash and peel 5-10 medium sized potatoes. Don’t have or want to use potatoes? Try cauliflower. Maybe sweet potatoes or carrots. Any starchy kind of veggie. Try a combination. Go crazy.
3. Add a little butter or olive oil to a large pot. Not too much, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Cook the onions until they’re soft.
5. Add the potatoes.
6. Pour in 4 cups of broth and 4 cups of water. I used turkey broth that I had frozen but you can use chicken or vegetable. Make it or buy it. Your choice.
7. Now season it. I used ¼ tsp of thyme and 2 cloves of garlic.
8. Simmer everything until the veggies are soft and blend. You could easily use a crock pot if that’s easier. Food goes in before work, magic dinner cooked for you. Round of applause from hungry family. Win-win.
9. Add salt. How much? Start with ¼ tsp and taste. If it’s bland add a little more.

Voila. Cream of potato soup. Amazing!

If you choose vegetable broth, you have a vegan meal. If you’re careful with the broth it can also be gluten free. It really is a versatile recipe that’s not a recipe. Let me know if you try to experiment. What works? What doesn’t?