Canned soups, on a budget.

[Neverless]

When I get groceries I always keep a look out for canned soups on special, Preferably Chunky soups. I personally don't find any of the canned soups out there, meal worthy, especially when it comes to a group. However when theres good deals out there I'll stock up on several cans.

I also like to search the meat market for packages of bacon ends. The butcher at my local market cuts their own bacon and they sell packaged bacon ends really cheap. So I'll buy one or two depending on the price and freeze them.

When it comes to cooking for my self, or even a large group, sometimes I'm not always prepared with ingrediants on hand to cook a wonderful meal. So when this happens I like to cut off a chunk of the frozen bacon ends and boil them in a pot of water, I then will add in some spices, my favorites thyme, rosemary and montreal steak spice. I boil untill cooked and then add a can or two of soup depending on how many servings I need. Ussually I'll add in a bit of chopped fresh spinach and garlic. depending on the can of soup I use I'll top it off with a dab of sour cream or chopped fresh cilantro. Its quick, easy and cheap, perfect for those days that you just don't know what to do.

[Mama]

What a great semi-homemade idea!

[BreezyCooking]

Even without making a recipe out of them, good quality canned soups are always a bargain when they're on sale. I always stock up on Progresso & others when they're "buy one get one free" or otherwise on sale.

Not only is it good to have on hand if the power goes out & I have to cook on a little camp stove, but it's also nice to have if we just feel like an uncomplicated "soup & sandwich" night.

[pacanis]

I don't eat much soup in the summer, but come colder weather I always look for soup sales. Chunky or Select are the two I buy. I don't care much for the flavor of the meat soups, but love the NE clam chowder in either variety. And Chunky's chicken and dumpling is great on toast. A quick meal inbetween snow shoveling and plowing. The different Chunky chili's are good, too. Especially on fries with onions and cheddar cheese. Sadly to say, after walking down the canned veggie aisle a couple days ago at Walmart, I doubt I will be able to get these soups for $1.25/can on sale anymore. I can't believe a can of green beans is a buck now. I'm always looking for stuff on sale though and stocking up. Nothing wrong with canned soup on my menu.

[babetoo]

i think soups are to pricy. do keep a few on hand when want soup and grilled cheese. prices are just ridiculous

[blissful]

One night when I couldn't sleep, I saw a commercial for an electric appliance and they mixed a can of soup with a package of stuffing and cooked it. I thought I'd try that some night when I had no time for cooking just to see how it was. I mixed a stuffing mix with a can of progresso soup, tossed it in a greased casserole dish, topped it with shredded cheese, and baked it. It was passable, hot, looked nice and they liked it.

I forgot my lunch the other day, and I opened a can of progresso chicken and noodle soup. I took out some of the noodles as I'm not a noodles fan. There was some green jalapeno not so hot tabasco sauce, so I put some in. Wow, that was great soup! (we get some free canned food at work, and the kitchen is stocked with condiments and appliances and dishes)

I've heard it is difficult if not impossible to can noodles or dumplings when home canning (pressure cooking). I wonder how they do it so they don't become mushy or disintegrate. If anyone knows the secret, I'd like to know it too. TIA

[LEFSElover]

I love soups and find them soothing when I know that I have plenty on hand, at any given moment should the need arise. My husband loves tomato soup with grilled cheese and while he can be hard to please at times for dinner, this one he always welcomes.

During various times and for same reasons, I've needed to stock up on soups and like you, when I see them on sale, I load up the kitchen store with my favorites. I bought 3 new flavors from Campbells for our baby's to eat when they were here and they were awful and costly. Not only did I take the unused extra cans back, I called Campbells, they sent me coupons just for taking the time to let them know that we didn't enjoy them. So with the coupons, I bought ones I wouldn't ordinarily buy due to price. Since my market doubles coupons, I got them free, 6 cans. I was thrilled.

Last weekend while in Placerville for our friends car race, I visited a store because ours here went out of business and I needed a fix from 'that' store. Used to live there so knew there was one there. I bought a huge vacuum sealed bag of ends and things of bacon. $5.99. Great price good value and now I have bacon for whenever I need it and it didn't cost the cow to get.

[Michael in FtW]

I generally have 4 different canned soups on hand ... the two most common "casserole" soups (cream of mushroom and cream of chicken) and split pea with ham and bean with bacon. I buy the cheapest store brand - don't notice any significant difference compared to the national brands.

When I was in college I worked the night shift at the hospital (11pm-7am) and we didn't have microwave ovens. These soups can be eaten cold out of the can ... not gourmet cuisine - but a meal none the less. It also works when the electricity goes out and you have no way to heat food.

[DaveSoMD]

Take any basic broth soup (chicken noodle, beef noodle, etc) mix accorsing to directions, but add some frozen mixed vegetables or those frozen stew vegetables. Great inexpensive way to dress up canned soup.

[Essiebunny]

I wish that I could use canned soups, especially in recipes, but because of the high sodium content and my DH's heart, I can't. I love bean with bacon, split pea and tomato the most.