Total Cost: ~$5.33; Serves 6 at $0.88 per serving
I’m here to crush the notion that vegetable soup is boring. In fact, it’s awesome. Dare I say fabulous. I mean look at these potatoes:
And it doesn’t just look pretty, it tastes absolutely delicious and bears no resemblance, nor lack of nutritional value, to the childhood disappointment that is canned vegetable soup. Trust me. Have I let you down yet? (don’t answer that)
It’s November, and while it’s not quite scarf weather over here on the west coast, it has turned a wee bit chilly. Winter is here, and while all the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown) and the skies are grey (and the skies are greeey), I’m here to brighten things up. I have the perfect cure for those pesky winter blues. Pick yourself up off the couch, scrape up the last of those summer veggies out of the pantry, and follow me…
The best part of this is that all of these beautiful ingredients can be purchased at the 99 Cents Only Store, so more green for your wallet.
Ingredients
4 small purple potatoes, cubed (25¢)
1/2 cup heirloom tomatoes, chopped (optional) (50¢)
1 large poblano pepper, diced (25¢)
1 medium white onion, diced (25¢)
1 large carrot, diced (10¢)
2 celery sticks, diced (25¢)
5 cloves of garlic, minced (15¢)
1 14 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (99¢)
1/2 cup frozen peas (30¢)
1 cup of uncooked egg noodles (or white beans or white rice) (25¢)
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach (1/2 box of frozen) (50¢)
1/2 a large lemon, juiced (5¢)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock (99¢)
2 cups of water
2 tbsp. butter (50¢)
olive oil
salt & pepper
parmesan (optional)
Directions
In a large pot, add butter and olive oil till butter is melted. Add potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, poblano pepper, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
Add canned fire roasted tomatoes, water, and stock. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Take a hand blender and partially blend the soup. Only a few whirs will do it – you still want large pieces of vegetables (this is optional, but I think it’s great for thickening the soup a bit). Add noodles (or beans, or rice, or whatever hearty filler you like) and frozen peas and simmer for 10 minutes until cooked. Add spinach and lemon juice. Serve with parmesan and an extra squeeze of lemon on top.
You guys…
99¢ cook 