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Or.. I'm eating the same amount of soup I eat when it is freezing outside.
Or.. I'm eating the same amount of soup I eat when it is freezing outside.
Yeah-
About $10 in ingredients can make a really good tasting soup that can make 8 decent servings.
Ditto on the pressure cooker. Last week I made soup for my father in law, who was sick. I picked all of the meat from a Costco rotisserie chicken, made stock in the pressure cooker from the carcass and a few vegetables, gave what was left of those vegetables and chicken meat scraps to the dog (who was delighted) and put the reserved chicken and new vegetables in the pot with the stock and some thick egg noodles. A home run. Done in less than an hour.
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I love me some Progresso, but only when it's on sale for 10 for $10. That and a sandwich has pretty much been my lunch for the past couple of months.
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Add me to the list of make-from-scratch-ers.
I've said it a hundred times if I've said it once: For the cost of about 5 cans of Progresso soup, you can make the equivalent of 15-20 cans, and it's fresh, and you know what went into it, and you can support local farmers in the meantime.
It's a win/win/win/win.
@CountryJustice: But I'd have to find more than the 5 minutes I have to prep food. If instant food is what you want, canned soup is awesome. Though I haven't bought canned soup in ages. It's always too expensive.
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@CountryJustice: Darn right! I love this time of year because butternut squash is in season. Mmmmm... Butternut Squash Bisque......
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@CountryJustice: I've made my own soups before to amazing results... except when it came to clam chowder. When I tried to make my own clam chowder it ended up in the perfect storm of failure.
@Preyfar: Clam chowder can be tricky. I used to suck at it, until someone told me to buy clam juice and use that. The other secrets:
1. Use clam juice instead of stock (yeah, I just said it, but important enough to repeat).
2. Crisp up some bacon in the pot first and then dice and add it back to the soup at the end.
3. Use cream (not milk)
4. Add the clams at the end so they don't get tough.
5. Musts for ingredients: celery, onion, potato, fresh parsley. Anything else you want to put in is fine (carrots, parsnips, etc), but those 4 are the holy grail.
6. Make a rue to start. It'll be so worth it.
Good luck!
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@CountryJustice: Besides, it's more fun. I find myself walking through the produce section of the local supermarket and thinking, \"Hmm, I wonder how THAT'd taste in beef stew? Let's find out.\"
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When we do soup we make a huge pot of it and it lasts for days for me and my family of 5 people. So I really think we come out ahead when we make our own.
Spend the money for various spices & herbs, beans, vegies.. etc. vs. Spending $1.32 (though Campbells soup ain't great) per person = $6.60
Somehow, I think I come out ahead.
I make my soups from scratch. Stuffed green pepper is my favorite! I make the tomato juice from scratch from tomato's I grew during the summer. Everything in it, came from my garden. Only thing I purchase is rice, which is cheap, and ground beef. 3lbs of it, is $6ish. I then make 5 gallons of soup at once, lasts me a week, for lunch w/ grilled cheese sandwiches.
@Marshfield: Split Pea Soup2c dried peas, rinse & cook (covered) 2.5-3hrs in 10c unsalted water with a turkey carcass or ham bone. add 1c each of minced onion, celery & leaves, carrot (more or less, to taste); add 2 minced clove garlic, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 bay leaf, 1/2tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp paprika, (optional 1 c cubed ham, ). Simmer covered for 30mins. Strain soup through sieve, stir 4tbsp roux & a little soup in a small pot until they boil, then add back into main soup pot to thicken it. Salt & pepper to taste.please note, you can use salt pork instead of bones, but let the peas cook a while before you add it, adding salt too early to any dish that uses dried beans prevents them from softening during cooking.
@levenhopper: It would me too. I eat a lot, I can't stop that. Soup isn't as filling (or doesn't seem to be) as other food items.
I think I may start the soup thing though. anyting good with ham hocks?
@Lo-Pan: Split pea soup usually benefits from added ham deliciousness. Or bean soup could be good too.
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In college, we kept a never ending pot of soup in the fridge. It was where most leftovers ended up along with an occasional restocking of vegetables. It just sort of never ran out. I suppose that's not as sanitary as people are used to now, but it was sure nice to always have on hand.
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@stanner: I have this \"thing\" about not tainting dishes by adding leftovers back to it, as in, if a portion has been removed from the pot, it can be wrapped up separately and saved, but never, never returned to the pot. Anyway...your pot is the stuff of my nightmares. I'm going to lose sleep tonight and maybe tomorrow night. Thanks.
@Narockstar: We just figured we'd never need penicillin (or iron for that matter since it was a well seasoned cast iron pot.)
The crockpot, dutch oven, and pressure cooker are getting more use at our household lately.
Some soups don't even require stock. I make a killer tomato soup by combining a big can of crushed tomatos, a can of rotel, a small can of tomato sauce and about 1c white sauce. The result is a spicy, creamy, soothing tomato soup that goes well with grilled cheese or tuna sandwiches.
It's super cheap, too.
We also made some poor-man's gumbo the other day by combining a Zatarain's gumbo mix with some canned okra, some inexpensive sausage, and we bought an inexpensive amount of fresh shrimp to toss in there, too. Yum yum!
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@BluePlastic: Butter, milk, flour, salt. Low heat, constant slow whisking..
Add some cheese and you have cheese sauce... and some sausage and you have country gravy.
Brilliant stuff.
Everytime there is a post about soup 900 we make it our own soup people jump out of the woodwork...We know already.
@trk182: I think us \"we make our own soup\" folk are relevent in that, even though we say, \"we make our own\", most of us are using pre-made stocks, many made by Campbell's. So, we're just taking their product and stretching it.
@trk182:
No kidding. Trust me, we're proud of you. But we've already heard that you can make your own soup, and its cheap..
Oh, and delicious, and it supports local farmers, and you can put whatever you want it.
Yes, we know. Because you tell us every single time someone mentions soup in a post on here.
Thank you. I needed to hear it again.
Now, tell me again.. How easy is it?
@Farquar:
Depends on my mood. I can put it all together in 4/5 mins or take a hour. Then again I cook everything.
Give people a break, cooking is fun. I do not support any local framers nor any local business. I love when local/mom and pop stores go out of business. I pop me a bag of popcorn and sit there why they put the going out of business sign up.
...i already make my own soup
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Campbell's chicken-noodle-salt water is usually only 68 cents at the local wal-mart. It's delicious with saltines.
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This is why I'm heavily invested in Campbell soup \"stocks\" I have beef stocks, and chicken stocks, and vegetable stocks, I'm all set for the apocalypse. Except, how do I run the can-opener when the power goes out?
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@B: I totally prefer the manual can opener to the machine... having a can of liquid suspended in the air... it freaks me out. Terra firma por favor!
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@booboolee:
And, among the manual can openers, the ones that look like this seem to hold up the best against rusting shut if they haven't been dried properly. And, they're usually the cheapest in the store, so it's a win-win situation.
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@booboolee: I think the electric can opener has to be the stupidest kitchen gadget ever. Unless you have arthritis or something. In which case, carry on.
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I'm eating less soup now than I used to. I used to love the Chunky soups but now the meat in them taste horrible.
@Rectilinear Propagation: Agree, it's getting really catfood like, or I'm just getting older and have a more refined pallate than when I was six. I buy the veggie soups now.
The greatest wedding gift I got from my mother. A Soup book and a soup pot.
For about 15-20 dollars I can make lunches for the entire week for my wife and I and have them different and unique that no can could match.
been making our own for a while now. when the missus and I bought a house and she stopped working at the same time, we put it into our being cheap set of things. Take an afternoon, get a crockpot at Value Village or the Salvation Army. Freeze the leftovers. You won't regret it.
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Ever since I found rat turds in my can of Spaghetti-O's I've sworn off all forms of canned products that contain anything I can not inspect and identify clearly
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My favorite is Campbell's Tomato, made with water, with lots of pepper. Heinz Tomato (in the British foods section) is pretty good too.
I don't make my own soup because I hate eating the same thing for a week. Since I live alone, it lasts forever and I get sick of it and end up throwing it out. That's just wasting money.
@HogwartsAlum: So here's what you do: buy some quart Ziploc bags or some of those reusable food storage containers in the single serving size. Fill them up with soup and freeze. Pretty soon you'll have a variety of soups in your freezer that you won't get sick of. In my freezer right now are spicy tomato, cream of tomato, clam chowder, chicken noodle, lamb/spinach/garbanzo, minestrone, chili, and lemon chicken rice soups.
And don't forget to wash and reuse the bags/containers. Throwing them out is a waste of money.
@whitecat:
That's a good idea. I might do that...but I'd like to get a little chest freezer first. I thought about doing that but I haven't had any spare money.
Right now, I'm hoping my coworker will shoot me a deer so I can fill up the fridge freezer with that. :) Mmmmm. Venison.
Way back when I was a starving menial paid employee I started \"share your lunch\" days at work and would bring a pot of left over soup or whatever. Great way to shart your left overs and gain a bit of diversity to your diet.
@whitecat: I buy a loaf of good bread, cut half of it into cubes and let sit for a day, then throw that in the crockpot with my leftover soups - instant ribolita! Throw in a few more onions and seasonings and you have a whole new meal for about $2.
What - No Ramen? Jack it up with your choice of veggies, cayenne, black pepper.. Crack an egg or two in it. Faves are green onions, broccoli, corn,chicken breast.
I've been eating soup anyway, because I'm lazy. Check out Trader Joe's--they have a hell of a collection of soups, chilis, and so forth that are cheap and really good. Kroger has the same soups, but in different packaging, in their specialty section. Of course, the labels look more special, and they charge about a third more for their versions.
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I eat a lot of soup as it is. Campbell's select chowder, tastes aweful but its only like 110 caloies, 5% from fat, so I can live with the taste.
I live by black bean soup, Progresso Lentil, and Progresso New England Clam Chowder (tabasco it up). I made a 3 squash soup this winter with my pumpkin decorations, and in the summer i make both gazpacho and asparagus soup. I love me some MSG so I like those individual serving thai soups \"Noodle Soup.\"
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I can't help but wonder how cracker sales are doing.
@HogwartsAlum: Yeah, me too, even if I cook it and freeze a bunch, it's still cluttering up my freezer for months and months and months, taking up room that should rightfully be occupied by ice cream novelties.
Besides, when it comes to po' folks food, I prefer a casserole topped with some sort of chips.
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is that Dexter in the picture!?!?!?
Made sort of homemade chicken noodle soup yesterday, I don't make my own noodles and I use canned broth.
Total cost (broth, chicken, veggies, noodles), my guesstimate is around $10 for 20 or so servings.
Tossed it together during halftime yesterday, total prep time was around 10 minutes, total cook time was less than an hour. (Having a quality knife makes a hell of a difference.)
And, it always tastes better.
I've never really made a lot of soups before. Well, some chicken soup with matza balls, but that's hardly a super-low budget item (considering how relatively expensive kosher chicken is compared to veggies). In general, we're not big soup eaters, although I guess that could change.
Of course, it should come as no surprise to anyone that you'll get further making your own food than you would buying it at the store. It's not even that difficult once you learn the tricks and have the right gear - crock pot and bread machine coming to mind immediately. Crock pots are a bit of a PITA to clean, but the slow cooker bags sold in stores handle that problem nicely.
That said, sometimes things are just a little insane, and you're going to go with pre-made products. Nothing wrong with saving a bit of cash.
Nothing beats simple Campbell's Chicken noodle with Nabisco Wheatsworth Crackers cracked in.
So... all you \"Make it my own\"-ers, who's got a good recipie?
Easy peasy. Did it last night. Here's some tips:
\"Better Than Bouillion\"- great stock starter; a little pricey ($4), but much cheaper than buying your own stock, and makes flavorful soup pretty quick. Makes about 9.5 qts stock per jar.
Bag frozen vegetables- I bought the local store brand mixed vegetables for $1. (I prefer Ralph's Riviera blend veggies; lots of carrots, broccoli, etc.,.)
Spices- bay leaves, thyme, pepper, lawry's seasoning salt if you feel adventurous. (Don't worry about the bay leaves and thyme... one small bottle of each will last you a year, and is well worth the initial investment.)
Bow tie noodles- You can buy mini, or buy the larger ones.
Rotisserie Chicken- save yourself the time and headache of cooking a whole chicken and buy one of those ready to eat ones from the grocery store or Costco. Breast meat makes a great addition, plus I always found rotisserie chicken breasts a little dry, so they benefit from being added into soup. You can just hand pull pieces and drop it into the boiling soup.
Cornstarch- makes the soup thicker and gives it a richer consistency.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the better than bouillion, and the chicken. Wait five minutes, add the noodles. Wait five minutes, add the frozen vegetables (add them last, so they don't wilt on you) Wait five minutes, add the seasonings to taste (don't worry about being super exact... experiment!). Take a cup of the broth, add a tablespoon of cornstarch, and mix it up to make it thick. Add this to back to the pot; it will thicken the rest.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve with cheddar and garlic biscuits, and you've got a meal for less than a dollar a serving.
If you're in a rush, once the water boils and the bouillion is added, add everything in at once. Let it boil for about ten minutes, and serve.
All my girlfriend's friends come over to our house after clubbing because I can usually whip this out in 20 minutes while they're in the living room chatting. (I cook a lot).
@Frankieblackjack: Try www.foodnetwork.com
Alton Brown, Rachel Ray and Paula have some amazing basic stuff. Emril and some others get complicated with pricey ingredients.
For dinners, I bought a bag of frozen chicken breasts, bunch of frozen veggies and a number of assorted flavors of seasoned rice. Put it all in the same pot and you will have good results. Each dinner is different because of the different flavor rice and is fairly healthy. And for about $20 you can make a whole weeks worth of 1-2 person meals.
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Who buys canned or powdered soup?
I make my own. It takes an hour or two, lasts for days and can be frozen.
I think Consumerist needs to put up a \"share your soup recipes\" post.
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i don't make my own soup, but i do make my own chili.
some of which i am enjoying right now, as a matter of fact. mmmm...
Is it the Peenman Enterprises Human Waste Chili Maker?
(only the hardest of hardcore Phil Hendrie Show fans will get this one)
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mmmm, soup. also: stew!
i save all random meat scraps, potatoes, beans, veggie scraps and grains [rice, barley, corn] in the freezer in a gallon sized ziploc. when it gets full i dump it in the crock pot with maybe a nice can of tomato paste, some boullion cubes, leftover wine if there is a little bit to finish off, or whatever i feel like putting in there.
add lid, water if needed, maybe a bag of frozen peas [right at the end - i don't like mushy peas] and then i have 'leftover stew'
it's different every time of course but it's well balanced meals for a week where i don't have to buy groceries
You know that by publishing this, you're going to drive up the price of soup as the profiteers and speculators get wind of it. ;)
Canned soup, with some of them containing over 1000 grams of salt per serving (and/or MSG) is a health hazard.
I agree with those who said make your own. Not that difficult and very cheap. And it tastes way better.
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Swanson broth has an excellant chicken soup recipe right on the label. I add Reames brand noodles to it (found in the frozen case) for some FRIGGIN awesome chicken soup. Sometimes we put that on top of mashed potatoes. Carb fest! I usually get an 8qt. dutch oven and fill that puppy up. Then we have leftovers for the next couple of days. It's even better when it has been sitting in the fridge overnight. All the flavors mix together.
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Same amount of soup here. I love soup.
Campbells: Vegetarian Vegetable, Chicken Noodle, Tomato, Cream of Celery (great with Parmesan Goldfish)
Progresso: Chicken Noodle, Beef Barley, Beef and Baked Potato
Ramen: Nissin Spicy (from the asian grocer), Chicken Mushroom, Top Ramen Cajun
Other: Ms Grass with the chicken fat ball!
Homemade: Beef Stew, Black Bean
I even go out for soup all the time. I just can't get enough. Ever had Shabu Shabu?!? Awwww.... forbidden soup...
Last but not least... BRING BACK GIGGLE NOODLE (crying)
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dude Maruchan is the way to go I get like 1,000 for 5 bucks. not really but still they are at least on sale for like 15cents each when you buy the pack.
no soup for me! stew it is
Canned soup is a good thing to bring for lunch-pour into a microwaveable bowl & you've got a really cheap meal. but the big problem is the sodium content which is usually out of this world, even for the low-sodium varieties. Making your own takes a bit of forethought, but ensures that you're eating good food that you can identify and pronounce.
Ramen reviews here: [noodleson.com]
Some good tips! I thought Top Ramen represented all that was good and bad about cheat eats. Wrong!
I bought a couple of each kind of Indomie and was very happy with the quality, and the price, 38 cents each.
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Hmm, there's no poll choice between \"soup all night every night\" and \"same as it ever was\". I've been eating more Progresso soup lately because I'm trying to eat healthier, not because of the economy.
You'd think Kraft mac-n-cheese sales would go up too, since it's even cheaper than soup for more food volume. Soup just runs runs right through ya... (sorry)
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Been making at least one soup a week for years now. Making enough so there's leftovers for lunch the next day. It's a quick to make, inexpensive, low-stress meal... I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would buy a can of soup.
People, you want to know why we're the fattest and dumbest nation on the planet? Look up the ingredients for a soup at a local stand or the back of a can. Do you really need a full day's worth of fat and sodium for a half cup of soup that won't even fill you up? One local eatery had a tomato bisque that had more fat and calories than a Big Mac. But people think \"Soup is so healthy\" that they'd abdicate any responsibility for knowing what they're really consuming.
Good recipes are out there, ingredients are cheap, and my family has been healthier (i.e. not getting as many colds) as a result. It shouldn't take a recession/depression for people to get wise.
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Aww come on! It wouldn't be good soup without the Mmmm MMmm Good monosodium glutamate!
I'm in college and on a meal plan. Personally, I'm tempted to try asking for Kosher meals, because they don't cost more and taste better.
The soups are generally good, but there's no variety. There's vegetarian chili, which is served every day, and a soup which is either great the first time, and tastes 50% less good each time it is eaten, or terrible right out of the gate.
Since I ran out of meal points to eat at places on campus other than the cafeteria during normal hours (Impossible, I have night classes), I probably will start looking into buying prepared meals offcampus in bulk, like Stoffers meals, or at least try to make myself one big thing on Sunday, like a skillet lasagne, and eat it over the course of the rest of the week. Or I'll stop being a baby and eat my slop I get for free with my card.
I eat lots of Ramen/canned soup anyway, being a college kid.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-106827-100x100.png\")
Chicken ramen + egg cracked on top= Breakfast of champions
Chicken ramen + egg crack on top+ frozen veggies = Dinner of champions.
If salt is a concern, just don't use the entire packet of powder.
100% of your daily allowance of SALT per every spoonful.
Oh what the hades, why not. A can a day keeps the DR busy.
I just love Campbell's Split Pea. My Pantry is loaded with cans for late night snacks and rainy days when I don't feel like doing much in the kitchen.
Oh yes, home made soup. Let is simmer for a couple days. YUM.
I make a pot of manischewitz a week, for 75Cents - you get 5 cups of soup. It looks scary but you just put them on the stove and let them simmer for about 2 hours. It helps.http://www.manischewitz.com/products/soup_seasonings/bagged_soup.php
I don't like Campbells, it's a fool's economy. They're all made with HFCS and I feel hungry an hour later.
Progresso soups are a meal. Manhattan clam chowder is almost more than I can eat and the potatoes and dairy fat keeps me full. The minestrone is pretty hearty with veggies and noodles.
Soup goes on sale all the time and there's always coupons.
I don't know if they have this in America, but for about 250 yen a pouch they have this really good clam chowder that you just put in a pot of boiling water (while in the pouch) for about 4 minutes and it's ready to eat.
You can get the microwaveable bowls of soup on sale for as low as $1.25 apiece, and they make great work food -- nothing needed but a spoon and a microwave. Progresso, Campbell's, and Healthy Choice make them.
I eat ramen, canned soup, and homemade soup, and I am not above making a casserole with cream soup. Why limit yourself?
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Alpha-Getti and Zoodles > Soup
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Ramen with chopped chicken (cook it before you add it!), corn, peas, carrots (baby, chopped), green onions.
Campbell's Alphabet Soup with a PB&J.
Campbell's Chicken Noodle with a tuna fish sandwich.
Vons Tomato Bisque soup with a chunk of soft bread.
*Singing* These are a few of my faaaavorite thiiiings!
2.99 for a cup of soup! Cheapest I can get around here is $5!
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How'a about, \"I am eating more soup, I make my own from scratch.\"
It is not that hard people, I even find it enjoyable.
@tekkierich: Amen. Soup is easy peasy. Heck, I just made some turkey stock this weekend and I plan to make more after thanksgiving. Waste not, want not. It's so easy to make, it's criminal not to.
@tekkierich: Amen again. I just use Campbell's tomato soup or Swanson chicken stock as a base.
Throw in fresh veggies, beans, and either rice, barley, or pasta and you're good to go.
*~*STL*~*
@tekkierich: Plus it makes me feel justified in buying hotwings ... since the stock doesn't care what KIND of chicken bones go into it ... (and you can always rinse off any remaining hotwing sauce, you purists, if it bothers you that much!).
We keep a sturdy tupperware container in the freezer into which I toss chicken bones, carrot tops and bottoms, celery tops, onion skins, and other vegetable detrius of the sort. When it gets full, I toss all of that plus some garlic and frozen chopped onions and spices in the stock pot and make me some stock.
Sometimes it's a really carroty stock, sometimes it's a really chickeny stock with little veggie matter, but whatever, it's easy stock from stuff I'd otherwise throw away.
(The onion skin gives it lovely color, even tho it doesn't really add flavor. Dried mushrooms are also nice and keep forever so you can have them on hand.)
@tekkierich: Me too -- it's fun, and the cost often works out to less per serving than the canned stuff. When the economy went south, I spent $8 on a cookbook of soups and stews, and that thing has already paid for itself several times over. Instead of shelling out nearly $10 for lunch every day (I am staggered to realize how long I did this), I just bring the soup.
@tekkierich: Whenever my wife and I buy a chicken to roast, we boil the bones (and leftover bits of skin/meat/etc.). It only takes a few hours and makes for great low-sodium stock. Then I freeze it--makes great, quick soup in a pinch.
@tekkierich: Amen. It's quick, cheap, easy, and better for you.
And more exciting than canned soup.