soup and stuff.

In an effort to start saving money and being a little bit more cost effective with my grocery shopping since I've noticed that prices are going up, up, up. I've devised a couple of plans to cut back. Will I actually save money? Probably not, because anything I save will just go to an item that has increased in price lately, but at least I'm making an effort, right?

Anyways, when I was grocery shopping a couple weeks ago I noticed that the ground beef had gone up in price, considerably.

But I did notice that Walmart had a brand of their own ground beef for $6 cheaper than what I usually get. So into my cart it went. Feeling pretty proud of myself. (I can almost afford a jar of peanut butter now!!) Well, as they say (whoever they are) all good things must come to an end. When I opened the beef for supper one night, I was instantly reminded of that all too familiar phrase, "you get what you pay for"...

I spent about 15 minutes basically sifting this ground beef picking out, veins, fat globs, and these unknown "mystery" hard white chunks. (bone maybe?) They were hard and irregular shaped and made a clink sound when I dropped them into the sink. (shudder, shudder)

I almost went vegetarian after that experience.

Once it was sifted to what I thought was acceptable I cooked it. I think as I cooked it, about 3 cups of fat was simmering away happily in the bottom of my pot. So I drained it off and rinsed the meat under hot water for about 4 minutes. And then I did another sift for veins, bones and mystery items. Another 15 minutes later I was ready to use the beef. I'm not gonna lie, I had a really hard time eating supper that night. And I thought to myself, was this worth it? Was it really worth it?

The answer, HECK no!!

I think I'll save my $6 elsewhere thank-you-very-much.

Okay, but I will tell you another way I managed to save $$. (It's not all doom and gloom people) My kids have a weird lunch schedule at school, they basically have two lunches, so it makes packing a lunch tricky. When I went to school we had a 15 minute break for a quick snack (usually a treat of some sort), and then lunch at noon for your sandwich, drink and probably an apple. Well, my kids get a lunch at 10:30ish and then another lunch at 1:30ish. Packing their bags can get really expensive. We always give them a juice and a sandwich a fruit/or veggie and two treats (fruit snack, granola bar etc.) and since Hunter eats as much as a grown man sometimes, I usually pack him a yogurt too.

Okay, the expensive part, definitely the two treats. Here's my solution. Instead of giving them 2 store bought treats I send them with 1 home-baked good and 1 store bought instead. I make a bunch of cookies, brownies etc. and wrap them in saran wrap and freeze them in buckets.

 

These cookies above cost about $1.50 total. I got enough for 16 lunch snacks (2 cookies each) How you might ask?

Well, these are cake mix cookies. The ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup oil

That's it.

Mix together and scoop onto a cookie sheet. Flatten with the bottom of glass and bake at 350 for about 8 minutes. I use my tiny cookie scoop and I can get about 32 cookies per one box. That's pretty cost effective if you ask me. A granola bar costs me about 31 cents, whereas these cookies cost me about 9 cents. That's a savings of 3.50. Add that up over the school year... and I can almost afford a jar of peanut butter. :D

Okay, so onto the soup. (this is the good part) Probably about 2 years ago my friend Janay found this potato soup recipe online and told me I had to make it. Well, long story short I did and I found a little piece of heaven that day. And every time I make it, I swear I hear sweet angels singing and birds chirping, it's that good people.

So I long for the hot summer months to be over and for those first flakes of snow so I can make this soup and gain about 100 pounds. (This soup is definitely not on weight watchers menu.)

Okay, so the reason I'm posting about this, is because I was asked to make a soup for a gathering after Church last week. I was given a budget of $10 and free reign to make what I wanted. Of course I picked the heavenly potato soup (it seemed appropriate for Church and all).

I worked out exactly how much soup I could get for $10 and it worked out to 1 and half batches. I figured I would just double the recipe and our family could have the other half that wasn't going to Church the next day.

I took pictures... aren't you excited!!! (Don't worry I will post full recipe at the bottom)

Start by cooking 12 slices of bacon. I do mine in the oven on cookie sheets lined with tin foil at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. (This looks like a lot of bacon, but remember I'm doubling my recipe)

 

Crumble when cooled. (12 slices of bacon crumbled is about 1 cup) You can also pre-cook the bacon and store in zip-lock bags until ready to use. I have used that bacon that comes pre-cooked and you basically just warm it up in the microwave. It's not as good it doesn't give as much flavor, so don't skimp, buy the real stuff, okay. 

Next start cubing 4 large potatoes. (which after making this a gazillion times I know is about 7 cups peeled and chopped) 

This may be silly to share, but I always seem to forget the best way to cube a potato, so I will share with you the way I find easiest.

Start by slicing the potato sideways about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

 

Then slice it into "fingers".

 

Then dice away.

 

You don't want your potato cubes too small or they will just turn to mush once you cook them, and you don't want them too big or they won't cook all the way through. Such a delicate balance.

Again, since I doubled this, anyone curious to see what 14 cups of diced potatoes looks like?

 

I know this means nothing to you since you can't see how big the bowl is, so I made Lily stand with it. Excuse the hair and the flour and the goofy expression. It's a big bowl to say the least.

 

I like to get all my prep work done for this soup before it goes to the stove, because you can't really leave it long. It's quite the labour of love and you spend most of your time stirring constantly. (about 40 mins total start to finish)

I told ya, labour of love... and it's so worth it.

So the other prep work I like to do is get my 7 cups of mik ready to go. 4 green onions chopped up and 2 cups of cheddar cheese grated.

Next step, melt 2/3 cup butter in your pot.

 

Add 2/3 cup flour whisking constantly until your roux is smooth and no lumps remain. 

 

Gradually add your 7 cups of milk to the flour/butter mixture (roux). Stir until the milk has thickened. (about 10-15 minutes)

 

(I should apologize that all of these pictures are SUPER up close. I really didn't feel like changing my lens, so this is what ya get okay)

So after your milk is nice and thick, add your 7 cups of potatoes.

 

Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally. (I wouldn't leave it any longer than a minute, remember this is a milk based soup and it will scorch if you leave it too long) I find it usually takes about another 10-15 minutes to boil.

Once it's starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes. (again, stirring every minute or so, we don't want burnt soup) This is where I add my green onions.

 

Once it's simmered 10 mins, test a potato to make sure they are cooked. If everything is good to go, dump in your bacon, 1 cup of sour cream and 2 cups cheese. (The recipe only calls for 1 1/4 cups of cheese, but I just really, really like it with more cheesy goodness) Same for the seasonings, I have adjusted them as well, I add 2 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Dump them in with your soup. Stir until cheese is melted. And that's it.

 

Goodness this picture is making me drool. If you're feeling really ambitious, you might even consider making bread soup bowls to go with...

 

I think I'll save how I made these for another post.

Potato Soup

• 12 slices of bacon; cooked and crumbled
• 4 large potatoes; peeled and cubed
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup flour
• 7 cups of milk
• 4 green onions; chopped
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups cheddar cheese; grated
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Gradually add 7 cups of milk, stirring until thickened. Once think, add potatoes. Bring to a boil. Once boiling turn heat to medium/low, add green onions and simmer 10 minutes. When potatoes are cooked through, add sour cream, cheese, bacon and seasonings. Stir until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

One last thing I should add, is that this makes A LOT of soup. Remember that bowl from the potatoes... well 2 batches of soup filled that bowl almost full. And that big bowl holds 42 cups!!

Usually 1/2 batch feeds our family. Be prepared for leftovers.

But that's never a problem around here. wink.

Comments

[Carolina Coates]

Well, I tried this recipe when you made it and I can't wait to eat it again even if that means I have to make it myself.
Thanks for the recipe it is absolutely delicious!

[Crystal]

Amy.. Made the soup.. Janay.. great recipe. I have named it "potatoe skin soup".
It is everything I love about potatoe skins and it tastes just like them. Destiny helped make it this afternoon and she loves it.. We even high 5'ed when we tasted it.. (lucky, because it has onions)
thanks for sharing. twink.

[Verna]

Does that receipe ever sound good. I have never seen a recipe with the sour cream in it, but I can tell it would be good. I now have to try it. That bread bowel looks so good.
I make a patato soup without the cheese and the sour cream and it is still very good. The bacon is what makes the difference.

[Crystal]

love the soup recipe.. just bummed out that I don't have any sour cream in the house.. I don't think it would be that cost effective if I went to town (15min drive) to buy it so I will wait tell tomorrow.
have a good weekend.
twink

[Amy]

I love how detailed that was. :)
I think I know what I'll be making tonight for dinner.

[lynn Crapo]

Oh yum!!!! Thanks for the recipe and tips and pics!!! I LOVE this!!

Oh....and I totally hear you on the prices of things going up! I am going grocery shopping this afternoon....it use to be my favorite thing to do....now I dread it! It's the WORST thing to do.....trying to make that dollar stretch. : S

Thanks for the saving tip with those cookies! My kids will love those.

[Nikki]

Oh Amy, you know I'm counting calories right! You're evil. :P