AHHH...the comfort of Soup!

Tracy and I have always been

intrigued with the simplicity of soup.

How is it that you can take just a few ingredients and make something that tastes so good, is healthy and nutritious for you and yet hardly cost anything to make?

Homemade soups are a staple out our house,
in fact at least 1/2 of the meals that we eat are some kind of homemade soup or chowder.

However, as we visit with family and friends we are amazed that there are so many people who don’t feel the same way that we do about soup. Many people dislike soups because of the texture or they don't like alot of veggies, etc...
we have yet to understand this and that is okay....
we all have our own likes and dislikes.

That's what makes the world so wonderful
is that we are all different and we all have different talents and interests!

Soup is definitely a comfort food to us in our home and when we are having a soup meal my kids and hubby always know that they will get some kind of yummy homemade bread to go with it.

My Potato Soup recipe is a very thrifty one and yet it is so filling and delicious and I have attached the recipe below along with my “Multi Grain Bread” recipe.
This is a great bread recipe to make homemade sandwiches with.

This particular batch of soup was very cheap.
.75 for bacon, .50 for evaporated milk,
the potatoes were given to us by a local farmer for Christmas and I don’t think I spent more than $1.50 on the celery, onions and carrots.
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So, our little family of four
ate 2 dinners and 1 lunch for less than $3.00...
if we would have bought the potatoes, it still puts this pot of soup under $5.00
You can see by the photo of the soup it filled up my 6 Quart Red Dutch oven to just 1” from the top.

Soup is amazing and so delicious!

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FRUGAL Tip---We had a really great sale a month or so ago and I purchased bacon….3 packages for $5.00 and then I came home and cut each package in half and froze them in sandwich bags and so I then had 6 little packages of bacon that I can make 6 different recipes of soup with. (which means that it is only .75 to add bacon to your soup)

Yummy Potato Soup
Cut up 8 potatoes really small and cook in a pot of water just below potatoes. (add salt and pepper to the water before adding the potatoes). If water boils low, at a bit of milk—not more water.

While the potatoes are cooking in a separate (large) skillet cook ½ pound of bacon cut up in small pieces. Cook VERY slowly until cooked but NOT crisp. When bacon is cooked add 1 cup chopped celery and 2-3 cups finely chopped onions. Put lid on and cook on LOW heat stirring every few minutes until celery and onions are tender.

(these 2 parts of the recipe are the key to the yummy flavor of this soup).

Smash potatoes lightly and then add 1 can evaporated milk.
Stir in bacon mixture.
Grate 2 carrots (or more) into soup.
Heat thoroughly and Enjoy!


Multi Grain Bread

1 cup water
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
¼ cup oil (I use olive oil, but any vegetable oil is okay)
½ cup oatmeal (old fashioned or quick cooking) UNCOOKED
1/ 3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup wheat bran
5-5/1/2 cups unbleached flour (maybe less)
¼ cup brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp SAF yeast
2 tsp salt
1 egg

HEAT water, yogurt and oil to boiling
STIR in oatmeal, wheat germ and wheat bran…set aside until cooled (approximately 30 minutes)
MEANWHILE, in a mixing bowl combine, 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt .
STIR in cooled bran mixture 1 egg and enough flour to make a soft dough.
KNEAD for 6-8 minutes (by hand or with a Kitchen Aid mixer) until smooth and elastic.
COVER and let rest 10 minutes

Divide dough in half and roll into 2 loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise 30-45 minutes.

With a sharp knife make 3 diagonal cuts on loaves. Bake in 375* oven for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Yummy recipe that kids really enjoy and it’s not too bad for you.