Simple Homemade Tomato Soup

One day, I was really craving tomato soup. I wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup, just like my mom used to make. Only, I knew I couldn’t just open a can of tomato soup like Mom. Too much stuff in there I didn’t want to eat. So, I had an idea…what about tomato paste? And this is my  results…..it isn’t really even a recipe…but it tastes great and is just as quick/ quicker as the original idea….and frugal too! ;)

 

So, how do you do it? Simply take some tomato paste and add water or milk (or non-dairy milk) to thin it out to your desired consistency.Add spices and serve with your favorite meal! :) 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (in the Crockpot!)

This is very frugal and very good! :)

This is my mom’s chicken soup recipes except I made it in the Crockpot. :)  First, I cooked the chicken in the Crockpot by placing it and water in the pot for several hours on low. Then when it was cooked, I drained the broth and saved it for the soup. I used the chicken for the soup its self. Then I cut up carrots (and celery-you can tell I was almost out at the time…:) ) and placed the carrots, celery, chicken, and broth back into the Crockpot. I let that cook on high for about 3-4 hours….or how ever long it took. After that was done, right before I wanted to serve it, I added the noodles (or/and I’ve done rice in the past). I let it cook for about 10 more minutes and voila! Dinner is served! :) This is especially great this time of year when it seems like everyone is getting sick (myself :( included). For an even more nutrient dense broth and frugal too, you can also add the chicken bones to the pot. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t have bone-in chicken this time…although I plan to in the future because it is cheaper and I also can use the bones to make nutrient-dense broth! :)

Here are mom’s ingredients……and then just follow what I mentioned above

2 medium carrots, sliced (1 c.)

2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 c.)

1 c. uncooked noodles (GF/whole wheat) OR 1/2 c. brown rice OR 1/2 c. noodles and 1/4 c. brown rice

1 sm. onion, chopped (1/4. c.) (optional-I didn’t include it since unfortunately my body detests onions)

Chicken amount depends on how much you want. I used about a cup or so of shredded (it does that itself when cooked in water for a long time) chicken. For me that was approximately 1-2 chicken breasts (depending on the size.)

Enjoy! Serve with muffins, such as these! :) Mmmm, my favorite……soup and muffins for dinner! :)

Frugal, Filling, and Hearty Carrot Soup

The other week I noticed I had some carrots that were in dire need of use! I didn’t want to waste them so I decided to make something with them. I found a recipe for carrot soup and then modified it to fit my needs and what I had on hand. The original recipe doesn’t advise to use “older carrots” but I found it worked just fine.  It was delicious and so filling. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a soup this filling before! :)  I would definitely make this again, even with fresh carrots. :)  I like how frugal this recipe is too.

Carrot Soup

Modified by Ari, from this recipe

About +/- 10 carrots (use what you have)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups+ water
1.5 T lemon juice (half a lemon’s worth)
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

cinnamon (as much as you want)

and or garlic (again, that’s subjective to you)

Peel, cut, and cook carrots in 3 c. boiling water. After they are soft, add lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and or garlic. (I used a both- A little garlic gave it more flavor- and the cinnamon heightened the sweetness of the carrots.) Then use a potato masher to mash up the mixture.  If you want a smoother soup, use an immersion blender or if you don’t have that, do as I did and use a regular hand mixer. :) You could also  use a food processor or a blender to do the same thing. After mixing, serve! :)

The original recipe says it serves about four, I would say that is about right. :)

Easy Beansy Black Bean Soup

I almost called this post easy peasy but I thought, hey easy beansy is more appropriate right? :)

Anyway, with my corn bread, I made a simple nourishing (and inexpensive) soup my aunt taught me to make. It is so delicious! I had two bowls of it today :). It goes great with the my corn on the cob bread.

Here's the simple recipe. It can be made in a snap especially if you used canned beans or you already have some beans prepared.

Take your cooked beans and place the desired amount in your blender or food processor. Add a little water (about 1/4 c. to one cup of beans) and puree. Add more water if necessary, until you reach your desired consistency. Scoop out puree into a pan, warm, and then serve in bowls. Serve with corn on the cob bread! :) Enjoy!