Here is my recipe for a frugal and delicious soup base. My children used to refer to this as “blech” soup. Now they beg me to come and make it for them to stock their freezers with LOL! My grandchildren love it, hence the name Granny’s special soup.

It seems I’ve been on a tight budget most of my adult life so I’ve developed ways of saving money while at the same time eating well.
These are recipes I developed myself and modified from others.

Version 1. Split a leek down the center and wash out mud/sand. Slices into small pieces and sauté in olive oil on low heat (watch as they burn easily). Chop up fresh sage to taste, or add about a tsp. dried or thyme, or Italian seasoning. Take a chicken leg, thigh attached, or chicken breast; add to pan along with a cut up carrot and/or celery and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is tender. (Don’t overcook or the meat will not have any flavor) Serve the chicken as a main meal and reserve the broth for soup.

Version 2: I have discovered the cartons of Campbell’s chicken broth which are handy and will keep opened for about 2-3 weeks in the fridge. However it does have MSG in it so be warned.

Soup: Pasta and beans: Cut up another leek and sauté in olive oil. Add desired dry or fresh herbs. I grow and use a lot of sage and it’s my favorite but you might want to use oregano and basil here. Add one can of chicken stock, 1 tin tomatoes and 1 tin water to pan, along with cut up carrot, celery zucchini leftover green beans etc. and add one can or more of beans (kidney, chick pea, black beans etc.) along with liquid. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for 1 hour. Meanwhile cook some brown rice pasta or whole wheat pasta and keep separate. Add to soup at the end of the hour. I often add a sausage for added protein for my lunch. You can play around with the amounts of beans and pasta. Just taste until it tastes right for you! Freezes well. You can also serve it with a dollop of plain yogurt with chopped fresh dill on top.

Lentil and rice. Follow the same steps as above, but add lentils and brown rice to your tomatoes, water and stock. I also add a bay leaf and will often throw in sun-dried tomatoes too. This soup thickens as it ages and turns into a thick stew – depending on the amount of rice you add. Again, taste and adjust seasoning!

Curried pumpkin/potato: Same base as above. Add approximately 1 cup pumpkin and about 3 – 4 potatoes with skins on. Sage and cumin seed to taste. Simmer until potatoes are cooked and puree potatoes and return to pot. Add curry powder to taste. Can also serve with yogurt or try chopping up an apple for a form of Mulligatawny.

Potato soup: Same as above only omit pumpkin, and curry, cumin. Delicious on a cold day. Sprinkle with chopped chives before eating. You can add cauliflower or broccoli to this mix, but I advise, cooking the broccoli separately and adding at the end. It keeps its taste better this way.

Cabbage soup: This is what I’m having for lunch today. I’m going to add a slice of my turkey meatloaf to it for added protein and will probably add yogurt with dill. I have the beginnings of a nasty cold today and this is just what the doctor ordered. You can also add pesto. Use tomatoes and cabbage as your main ingredient with lots of sage and basil and for a bit of zing add some cumin.

This recipe was contributed by Laurice from the Radiant Recovery Community Forum.