Making the Most of What you Have

I'm not so good at planning ahead when it comes to shopping and cooking. I tend to buy what is on sale in addition to what I need. Or, I'll buy the 10 lb. bag of potatoes when I only need a few at the time, because the 10lb. bag is actually cheaper than the 5 lb. bag or buying only a handful of potatoes. It's hard to pass up a good bargain.

The problem with this can be not using the food that was a bargain before it spoils. Then, it just becomes a silly waste of money. The extra potatoes from the huge sack are often forgotten until they are a little funky. We don't eat that many potatoes apparently.

To resolve this and make the most of my budget, I prowl through the fridge and pantry at least once a week (sometimes more often) and see what needs to be used. Yesterday, it was potatoes. I had about 1/2 - 1/3 of a 10 lb bag left that needed to be used before they found their way to the compost pile. In addition to potatoes, I found some celery, carrots and a bit of onion all left over from holiday cooking and still in good condition... for now.

Being a chilly day, it seemed perfect to make a big pot of potato soup. Yum! I'll include my recipe, but I have to say that soups are one of those things I don't really follow a recipe to create each time. Usually the first time I make something new I do follow a recipe. Then, after that, it becomes my own and I will adjust things here and there for what's on hand. That's what I did with the potato soup I made last night and it turned out wonderfully delicious!

Potato soup is a great budget stretching item. Potatoes are inexpensive. You can get enough to make a huge pot and feed a crowd for only a few dollars. It is very filling and can stretch a meal when served with sandwiches or as an appetizer. Personally, I like a steaming bowl with some crusty bread or rolls.

Potato Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbspns flour
4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cans chicken stock (or add chicken bullion cubes to water)
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

I had about 3 times the amount of potatoes needed, so I used a bigger pot and adjusted the recipe. I used a bit of oil with the butter to stretch it. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions and garlic, cooking until soft. I added 1 carrot, peeled and sliced and 1 stalk of celery, chopped to this recipe last night. If you add additional veggies like this, do so when you are sauteéing the onions and garlic. Add flour to make a roué, then add potatoes and chicken stock to barely cover the potatoes. I had on hand some chicken broth powder that we picked up inexpensively at the local bargain store. I used water and about 2 tablespoons of the powder. Cook, covered, until potatoes are tender (15 to 20 minutes), stirring frequently. Add milk and season to taste. Milk was in short supply last night, so I skipped the milk and added more water to the cooking process. The flour had thickened the broth nicely and I used my spoon to mash some of the potatoes to make it a bit thicker. It worked fine without having milk in the recipe. Heat until thickened and creamy.

This made a decent pot of soup and we have some leftover in the fridge. I took a picture of some in the pot so you could see how yummy it looked... too bad we still don't have smell-a-vision. Today I'll freeze some of the leftovers for another day.

Enjoy!