How I Made 3 litres of Winter Soup for under $5

My Mini Kitchen Garden

Colds. They are annoying.

Home sick today and thought I had better get some cooking done to get ahead in case its one of 'those' winters. I thought I would get my appliances working for me and make some soups for the freezer.

I think this one is my favourite - it was super cheap!

While shopping at Aldi last night I noticed Soup Packs of veggies for just $1.99. The pack contained two carrots, one swede, one parsnip, one potato, and two sticks of celery. bargain.

I chopped all this up and added;
- 1/2 cup of red lentils
- 3 teaspoons of crushed garlic
- A sprinkle of sea salt
- 1.5L of chicken stock (you might need more to cover the veggies)
- Some leftover BBQ chicken I had in the fridge
- A handful of chopped basil and oregano from my mini kitchen garden.

5-6 hours on LOW or 2-3 on HIGH in the slow cooker. Way. too. easy.

Use GF stock and its a GF soup. Vege stock and minus the chicken and you have a vegetarian/vegan option. Everyone wins! The principle for the slow cooker is the same. If you have one and are scared to use it, give this a go. You will not regret it.

Someone who is much much better at cooking than I am, and whose recipes are somewhat more accurate, check out my beautiful friend Jessica's blog home.

Homemade Sugarless Tomato Sauce

This sauce has a think rich texture and is suitable for using in baked dishes such as lasagna and spaghetti bolognaise. It is suitable for freezing and you can substitute whatever vegies you like to use up left-overs in the fridge. 


Ingredients

- diced or grated vegetables - I used carrot, onion, celery 
- 4-6 very ripe to over ripe tomatoes
- 500ml of gluten/sugar/dairy free vegetable stock
- 1 bottle of passata (check the label for one with no sugar added. There will be a small amount of sugar in the percentage box as tomatoes contain natural sugar. 
- handful fresh chopped basil


Method

1. Heat a little oil in saucepan, add hard vegetables and sauté until soft
2. Add herbs and tomatoes, cover with stock, reduce to low and allow to sweat with the lid one for 2-3 hours
3. Remove from hotplate and allow to cool
4. Put vege mix into a blender and add 3-4 cups of passata, one cup at a time as you mix, until desired consistency and colour is achieved. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 
6. Store in freezer for 2 months in zip lock bags that can be thawed in the fridge overnight. 

A yummy alternative to commercial tomato sauces.