Soup, Soup, and More Soup!!

Last cold spell, I made Mama's Stew. This time I decided to go for the soups. I like hearty soups so up first on the menu is Squash and Yam Soup. This is one of my absolute favorite soups. One bowl will satisfy you, and it is easy and cheap. I think I spent $6, and got 5 or 6 servings out of it. It is hard to count since Snugglebug's doesn't count as a full serving. My intention was to freeze the extra but Snugglebug and I just couldn't get enough. We ate on it for four meals in a row!! Now that's eating on the cheap.

The second soup was classic Chicken Noodle. Not so classic was the use of my own recipe. I had never made Chicken Noodle from scratch and searched for a decent recipe. There are a lot out there but none that seemed appealing so I made my own. I roasted two chickens ($4 each) using Christine Ferrare's marinade ($5--for lemons, herbs, and mustard, but you could leave out the lemons and save some money). After deboning the chickens, I tossed the bones and carcasses into my crockpot, covered the bones with water, added a couple of bay leaves, some onions, and celery, and left it to simmer overnight. In the morning, my crockpot chicken stock was smelling wonderful. I strained it into a pitcher and placed it in the fridge to cool. Once cool, I skimmed off the fat, poured the remaining stock into a pot and added carrots and celery. Lots of carrots and celery--a 1 pound package of each ($4 total). I let the carrots and celery cook in the stock. Once the vegies were cooked, I added half the chicken from the roasted chickens.

Wait a minute, you say! No, I didn't forget the noodles. I am gluten intolerant so only rice noodles for me, and regular for my hubby. I cooked those separate so as not to contaminate the soup itself. All leftovers go into single serving freezer bags for those days when the cold or a cold really gets the cook down and out.

This cheap meal cost me less than $20 once you add in the cost of the noodles! It would also be great with rice! My hubbie's idea! I'll have to try that next!

The last soup wasn't really a soup, but came from the leftovers of the same two roasted chickens. It is Robin Miller's Penne with chicken, wild mushrooms, and peas. Mmmmm....

I have enough chicken for one more dish. I haven't decided yet, but maybe Chicken Pot Pie. That's not really a soup either but just as good if not better!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love trying new recipes and while Oprah doesn't need advertising, I must pass on this recipe. Before Thanksgiving, Oprah had Cristina Ferrare sharing money saving recipes. A couple of weeks ago, I gave the marinade and the Chicken Pot Pie recipes a try. I was astounded. The marinade and Roast Chicken were extremely easy and the pot pie was just as simple.

I made one change to the Pot Pie recipe. Rather than using the various vegetables listed in the ingredients, I used a package of frozen mixed vegies and cooked them according to the directions. This add even less prep work to the meal.

The pot pie made great leftovers as well. It would make a meal for a family of four, but I have an unusual situation. My husband works during dinner time, so I am typically the only one eating thus I always have leftovers.

I have this recipe on the menu for next week, so check back next week for a picture of my version of this Chicken Pot Pie.