Free Soup: A Perfect Family Meal

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had half an onion, a couple carrots, or a handful of peas left over from dinner and not quite known what to do with them. I hate the idea of throwing out and wasting good produce (especially when it certainly doesn’t come cheap) but I also didn’t want it rotting away in my refrigerator. Well I recently stumbled upon the best solution to this problem and it will not only save you money and waste but will make a great meal as well. I simply leave a sealable tupperware container in my freezer. Anytime there is some left over diced tomatoes from taco night or a couple sticks of carrots getting a little flimsy in the refrigerator I cut them up and place them in my freezer container. Once I have a full container of assorted veggies in my freezer I easily dump them into our crockpot with some tomato sauce, chicken stock, and a small amounted of assorted spices. Within hours you have a homemade vegetable soup your family is sure to enjoy.

In addition to the delicious meal and eliminating unnecessary waste this little tip will save you a lot of money on a fulfilling family dinner. In my most recent trip to Target I noted that the vegetable soup I usually buy runs nearly $2.00 a can. I’m confident I spent less than that on my entire crock pot of soup if you figure the vegetables were going to be thrown away so they are essentially free. I was also shocked to see some of the ingredients in this “wholesome” veggie soup. Ingredients such as potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and others.

The best way I have found to enjoy this delicious meal is to put the soup into large freezer bags once it’s cooked. I lay them flat in the freezer so that once they are frozen they are stackable. This is a perfect freezer meal to throw in our RV freezer for a home cooked meal on the road. So I think I’ll stick to my homemade, “free” soup and leave the chemicals out!