Happy Monday!
What do you do when you want to clean out the fridge and the bread drawer… use all the odds and ends…and a friend stops by with some “specials” from the Christmas Tree Store and you have an It’s a Cinch project to do? Well here’s the answer…
you make
So my friend Pat stops by to visits and brings me my absolute favorite wine in the world (aren’t friends great!) and she also had a bag of goodies…she went to the Christmas Tree Store and wanted to share her fabulous finds with me. Well the bag was filled with Bob’s Red Mill Soup Mixes! By the way Red Mill stuff is awesome they have all kinds of flours…spices and much more and NO this is not a paid post…I just love the stuff! Anyway…I decided to use this combo of dried flavors first…
As you can see it is filled with yummy beginnings of a soup…I can’t leave anything alone and make it as is…so here is where cleaning out the fridge comes in…I took all the odds and ends out which consisted of all veggies and chopped them up…
a little bit of this and that…there was not enough of one to make anything solo so this was a perfect way to use them! Then I simply took out a large stock pot and fried some fresh garlic and scallions in a bit of olive oil and added the veggies and sauteed for about 10 minutes. Then I added the whole package of dried goodies…then 16 cups of veggie stock (yes it made a lot)! Added seasonings including the last of my fresh herbs from my deck garden…stirred up…brought to a boil…covered and turned it down to a simmer and left it alone for about and hour and a half…
mean time I had some stale Italian Bread screaming to be made into croutons! So I chopped them up…tossed them with a bit of olive oil and herbs and popped them in the over at 425 for about 15 minutes…believe me…it’s a cinch for sure!
Grated some cheese up (have to have cheese right?)
got out the bowls and it was all ready to serve!
hot…hearty and delicious…
croutons that make those packaged ones PALE in comparison and literally took 5 minutes to make…
yummy melted cheese and a simple garnish of some sliced scallions and you are good to go! Here’s another fringe benefit…this pot served a family of 4…2 lunches and I still have…
a full 1/2 gallon…yes 1/2 gallon of soup to use through out the week or of course you could freeze it! So I was able to clean out the fridge and waste nothing…empty out the bread draw and make enough croutons for bowls of soup and plenty left over for salads…use a bargain from a friend literally and get a gallon of delicious and yummy
soup! Talk about “savings” and cinchy meals!
ps…for some reason there was a can of creamed corn in the bag? I do have to admit that I don’t really like to use canned veggies but it’s ok sometimes…so I kissed the soup with it and I think it was the perfect touch!
There is not right or wrong to this recipe…you can use veggie broth…you can use a combination of broth and water or just water…any combination of veggies you can come up with will work perfectly! The basic formula would be 4 cups of liquid to 1 cup of dried mixture…you can also make your own by buying an assortment of lentils…split peas and barley with a touch of baby pasta and mix them all together and store in a mason jar! You can make as much or as little as you want! In the end…
Now let’s see what my friends have cookin up in their creative blogs…just click and ENJOY!
(((((HUGS))))
remember today is not only the 1st of October it is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month…
have YOU and YOUR LOVED ONES had your
mamogram??? Consider this a reminder from a friend who cares!
remember today is not only the 1st of October it is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month…
have YOU and YOUR LOVED ONES had your
mamogram??? Consider this a reminder from a friend who cares!
Joel would say that my impromptu recipes don’t ever end up looking that good. lol Oh well, I do like that you just tossed in what you had.
We actually have the red mill products down here .. . I’ll have to look for the soup mix … maybe. 😉
Andrea,
That looks so fabulously delicious! And those home made croutons have my mouth watering …
🙂
Linda
Sorry the stale bread was screaming at you – Jersey bread can be so rude!
My girls love soup – we make big batches and they take it to lunch – all their friends ask for tastes!! This will have to be added to our recipe list!
Kelly
Oh my this looks amazing..especially seeing I am a vegetarian my friend…I always wondered how those soup mixes were…I think I will be picking this up at the grocery store if I can find it up here in Canada…happy Oct. to you. xoxo
This looks amazing Andrea! I have never made homemade croutons before….I wish you would post a tutorial on it for challenged people like me 🙂
Have a blessed and wonderful day!
karianne
I am pinning this one, Andrea — looks perfect for fall! And yummy, too!
xo Heidi
I am pinning this one, Andrea — looks perfect for fall! And yummy, too!
xo Heidi
I am pinning this one, Andrea — looks perfect for fall! And yummy, too!
xo Heidi
I am pinning this one, Andrea — looks perfect for fall! And yummy, too!
xo Heidi
I am pinning this one, Andrea — looks perfect for fall! And yummy, too!
xo Heidi
Andrea – This looks so good and so perfect for fall. Thanks for sharing.
Judy
Now that looks so good. I am ready for some Fall Soups and this sounds so great. I also love the pictures, and the croutons look really tasty!
Blessings,
Susie
Oh my gosh, this looks so yummy!
I’m always on the lookout for meals that are palatable to my toddler and me and my wife. This product passed the test. My version involves beef broth, a can of diced tomatoes, and whatever veggies are in my crisper that particular day. Plus, one cup of this soup mix feeds our whole family with leftovers so one package goes a long way.
Regards,
Jack at Bergen refrigeration repair