Money saving tips, tricks and recipes. We NEED this thread!

I just went to the market today. I'm in sticker shock. Somethings jumped 50 and 60 cents. I gotta rethink my entire way of shopping and cooking. I live alone but I always freeze meals. So let's get some good frugal stuff going.

I'll start, this is a comfort food recipe for me when I'm broke. Like today.

Sticky Chicken and Rice

2-4 chicken thighs
3 quarts of water
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1 small white onion
sprig of parsley or parsley flakes
2-4 cloves of garlic or garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
2 cups of white or brown rice

Throw everything but the rice into a large pot and cook down until the chicken is done and you have a tasty stock. Remove the bones from the thighs and work the meat with a fork until you get small pieces, it should basically fall apart. Depending on how much chicken you use this should take about an hour.

Throw in the rice and cover for 20 min, stirring occasionally.

I serve it with a bit of cheddar cheese on top and it's good hearty meals for 4 or 5 servings for less than 4.00 for all of it. Sometimes I do this with curry paste or powder and dash of cinnamon.

Freezes well and just add a bit of water when you reheat and it's just like you made it today.

tomato sauce
chili beans
stewed tomatoes

I buy larger packaging, even though I only cook for 3 people. I bought a liter of Texas Pete hot sauce, which is 3 or 4 times the normal bottles, for about the price of 2 smaller bottles. I buy large bags of frozen veggies (store brand).

Also, you usually save by buying family packs of meat. I separate into portions and freeze extras when I get home.

I only have 2 small freezer spaces (top of refrigerator), so I use margarine containers or Folgers coffee plastic "cans" to freeze sauces and such that are leftover. Many of my meals are baked in 9 X 13 baking dishes, and that makes 2 or 3 meals of food. If I have the freezer space, when I make lasagna I make 2 pans of it and freeze one without baking it.

I haven't been shopping since this last jump of gas prices, and I am dreading it.

Meat was outrageous, my store brand cheeses I so love were SIXTY cents higher than last week.

There were hardly any items on sale.. I was in shock by the time I left. 3 wee little bags of stuff for 57.00.

We buy family packs of chops, chicken breasts, even roasts, and divide them up and label them.

I'm also starting to comparison shop at smaller stores: the local Walgreen's had Grape Nuts on sale the other day a dollar cheaper than the market.

I'll buy a dozen cans of broth, tomatoes, tuna, and all my other staples when they are on sale. (Gotta watch the stewed tomatoes though-I just bought a dozen and found they all contain high fructose corn syrup which I'm trying to avoid) The stuff I use regularly is usually available in my pantry. I always make sure to buy pasta and rice on sale, and there are usually a couple of cake mixes loitering on the back shelf.

I usually buy whole chickens in bulk when they are down to 69lb which they are right now. I'll cut them myself and even cut boneless breast to store in the freezer. I also usually have a frozen turkey in the freezer. When you see them for less than .59 a pound how could you not have Thanksgiving in July? I bought two at Easter time and they're just waiting for the barbecue this summer.



Local farmers markets are sometimes less expensive. Not always but certainly worth a look. I've learned not to turn my nose up at the stuff I didn't use to buy like winter squash, kale and turnips. With the internet there are always new recipes at my fingertips and it's good to try new things. Buying in season just makes sense and it's usually cheaper.

Eat less....But eat regular meals. I've cut down on the quantity of food that goes on the table. They eat what's there and there's less waste. You save a lot of money not buying snack products or quick to go items. I try to keep healthy options for those moments so there are usually hard boiled eggs, apples, cottage cheese, peanut butter and celery in the fridge.

I use my dehydrator quite a bit. Apple, bananas, kiwis, strawberries and grapes all dry up pretty quickly and they make terrific snacks. I mix dried fruit with grapenuts, granola, nuts and chocolate chips for homemade trail mix for the kid.

I've been doing the smaller portion thing already. I freeze in smaller portions.

I'm really trying to do the local thing (buy local, raise local, grow local) so I'm giving up on supermarkets for meat and a lot of fruits and veggies. There's a CSA that has a BIG greenhouse in Longmont, and we use their vegetables - lots of salads, greens and cruciferous vegetables in the winter. We can also get some thumb sized Roma (no pesticides, but not organic - they use hydroponics) tomatoes for most of the year from a grower in Ft. Lupton. When I factor in how much oil it takes for grapes to get here from Chile, or artichokes from California, and how much it costs to refrigerate those all the way across the country, the CSA becomes a good deal.

That said... Some things just ain't never gonna happen, no way, no how. For that, there's Costco. And yes, there are only two people in my household. But a 5 pack of romaine hearts costs the same at Costco as at the grocery, and from Costco, I'm getting more, organic and it lasts a bit longer (lettuce is actually more robust if grown organically than if not). If I know I'm not going to be able to deal with 3 pounds of spinach, I have two friends who will take some and we split the cost. I'm never going to get mangos to grow in Colorado, even if global warming DOES warm everything up - mangos don't like thin air. So I don't feel bad about buying half a dozen mangos, letting them ripen, cutting them apart and freezing the fruit. Mangos travel well. Unlike some fruits I can name. Or about berries or avocados. I know that we're exporting beef (damn good beef, too) and minerals and wind power and coal (sigh) and oil (double sigh) to places that can grow mangos and avocados. Same with tea, coffee, chocolate. But if I'm careful about the milk, chickens and the potatoes, the flour and the corn meal, the apples and the tomatoes, I can relax some on the luxury foods. We are omnivores. :shrug:

There's great local beer (not coors), so we usually drink that, and we drink French Rabbit or Black Box wine (both are non-"bottled" and thus travel better than a 750 - they're both excellent vineyards, as it happens. ). They're not the type of thing you bury in the back yard and dig up when your kid turns 21, but then, how much wine really is? (Okay, that's port. But you get the idea.) Most wine is meant to be drunk within a year or two, and is best within a year or two.

We have to pay for our trash, so I have to factor that in to the cost of food, as well. I do buy whole chickens and large pieces of meat and cut them down and freeze them, but I have the time to do that. We recycle everything we can (that's free) and compost vegetable matter. I have time to garden and do a lot of things for ourselves that people who have a couple of kids running around just can't do.

As it warms up, I'm baking a lot more in the toaster oven, because electricity is cheaper than gas right now, and if I run the oven, then the AC has to compete (or will - I don't have the AC on yet, and we have to do so for allergy reasons in the summer.) If I make a dough ball for a standard loaf, I can divide it in 8 and make 8 sub type rolls, and freeze six. Two bake up great. I do cookies and muffins the same way (I make oatmeal-whole wheat chocolate chip cookies and applesauce bran muffins that are basically breakfast if you add an apple/pear/fruit and a glass of milk). A loaf of whole wheat bread costs $0.42 cents in materials and $0.07 in electricity and my time - 10 minutes to dump everything in the mixer, 5 minutes to turn out and clean up the mixer, 3 minutes to shape, a couple hours to defrost and a an hour or so to rise, 30 minutes to bake.

The tricks are whole grains, using atypical plants, lots of fiber and eating in season. Then it feels "right" and I think it tastes better. (Strawberries in December always taste weird to me.)

I don't like the sticker shock, but I'd rather pay for food than gas. I don't mind paying for good things that pay people to do real work. I'd rather have the quality.

Potatoes, onions, corn! What happened to spring corn-on-the-cob? It's not going to get better and I will try to think of something to add to this thread.

The higher the gas prices go for the trucks that deliver our food, the worse it is going to get.

We gotta huddle and figure out how to deal with this craziness.

already gotten some thoughtful ideas!

My electric and gas bill for my stove and hot water are out of control. So there must be someways we can trim costs.

I'm just trying to start a discussion on what the hell we can do?!

Randi was talking today about food being a luxury. That scared me.

this evening when I went to the nearby market to buy kleenex and OJ. I walked around looking at prices and most were up 30 cents to a dollar more. I shop around mostly, TJs, Costco and the many organic markets here, but in a pinch, I go to Fred Meyers {Krogers} which is a few blocks away. I was appalled .But, am moving to a smaller place and will still plant a garden in a couple of weeks. I have to decide what to plant to get the best out of it. I have been cutting back on meat anyway, unless I can buy locally.Fortunately, there are many farms nearby , so will try to can and freeze more this year. Should be able to buy berries next month and get started. My fixed income is being sabotaged!! But--as a child of the Great Depression, being creative with food is inbred.It is ironic that I am downsizing now, as I can no longer take care of a big garden, and we have another depression in the making.It feels like childhood again.

We eat alot of quinoa, wheat berries, millet.. rices, etc. I can also get cheap spices there which helps alot cause potatoes with the right spices and some yogurt can be a great indian food.. or some lentils with a little chili powder, tvp, beans and onions make tasty chili.

Frittatas are simple dinners with whatever is cheapest at the grocery store. If you can grow your own herbs I'd definately recommend it. During our poorest of times half a bag of carrots, a couple onions and some potatoes with fresh rosemary and garlic definately hit the spot. We also buy alot of tofu for great soups, chowders and even cheap lasagna ricotta substitute.

We were starting to strategize about using the cars smarter. It's a mixed blessing that the cheapest (but my least favorite) grocery store is about 3 long blocks away. I'll be shopping there more frequently and not making as many trips to Trader Joes. He goes to Costco about once a week now for work so we'll have to figure out how he can do some food shopping there occasionally when he makes the visit. He hates to shop for food and doesn't always have good judgment about what to buy. "Come on it was the gigundic size of double stuffed oreo's how could I pass that up?"

At least they were in the dollar store!

those wire shopping carts with the wheels are coming back. I've seen half a dozen of them in my area over the last week. This is an old neighborhood with sidewalks, so walking to the store is a good deal.

I went through the 70s, and here it is all over again. First, the Pentagon lying us into an stupid and unwinnable war. Second, the inevitable inflation, aided again by oil inflation.

This will go all through the economy. Wages will still fail to keep up with it. Congress will still fail to act, and Stupid will still be clinging to the office, threatening more middle eastern countries and driving the price up still more.

This is where I came in. Now I'm trapped and the exits are all nailed shut. Those of us who have been through it all before know exactly what is coming. It is not pretty.

You've got that right. The bummer is that we're 35 years older this time around!

I've been looking for one. I got supermarkets within walking distance, but I could buy more at one time if I could find something to put the bags in.

During the winter, we use it for laundry, but spring and summers, it goes to groceries.

I've also seen one that folds down to basically purse size. here's a link, but I've seen 'em cheaper at Bed Baffling and Bonkers, too: http://www.shop.com/op/~FOLDING_TRAVEL_SHOPPING_BAG-prod-29699135-38894412?sourceid=298

that I found on ebay that is made of strong fabric, folds to about 14" X 10" and you can carry it under your arm like a clutch purse. Little wheels snap down and you pull it behind you like luggage. Holds a lot more than you would think.

high protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber.


CHEAP and don't spoil in the pantry

I do black beans and rice with a dollop of sour cream often. Guess it's gonna be more often.

buy in bulk

eat beans and rice

plan your meals religiously

be sure to judge if the sale price justifies the gas expense

plant a garden, even if it's just a tomato plant in a pot on the patio

raise chickens and rabbits and goats if space allows

that's my plan anyway. Mr K hates chickens, but we're getting some when we move I swear

Central Valley of California, tells me that due to the horrendous rains they have had ther, the farmers are wiped out this year. Fruit trees have had their blossoms beaten off ect. In fact , No rice will be planted and veggies --forget it. She said they had a special on local TV about it. Sad.No such thing as global warming!

cuz California is the nation's fruit basket :cry:

:eyes:
We get a lot of fruit from central and south America, I think. That may be more true in our off-season, but I suspect that we'll be seeing more "Brazil" stickers on the country-of-origin stickers we peel off of all our fruits and veggies.

plan your meals religiously


No more binge purchases. I am definitely going to do this.

A big bag of bean-thread or rice noodles (enough to feed 8 people) can be had for 50 cents at an Asian grocery store. Same with a can of coconut milk. 20# bags of rice, super-cheap. Stuff like soy sauce? $1.50 for an enormous bottle, vs. $2.29 for 8 ounces at the regular grocery store. I fed 7 people for $14, and had leftovers.

Italian grocery stores (at least in Milwaukee) have pretty decent produce and it's a lot less expensive than anywhere else. Of course, farmers' markets will be good, but in Wisconsin, they don't start until May at the earliest, and it'll be July before there's much more than greens and flowers.

We'll probably be doing more shopping via bike (my SO's got a trailer which can either hold kiddo + a few bags of groceries, or 75 pounds of whatever we want to tow). We're within biking distance of three grocery stores, a Target, and a lot of specialty shops.

I don't have the recipe at work, but a can of clams, some butter, wine, maybe cream, parseley, and Parmesan make for good eating over spaghetti.

...But buy smaller dishes and bowls....This is an old restaurant trick.A lot of eating is done with the eyes and a plate bulging with food does a lot to convince your brain that you have eaten "plenty"....Also be sure to add a cheap nutritious rice or bean dish.Then cut back on the number of "servings" you prepare of more expensive meat servings.Oh yeah,pre-sliced meat always looks bigger than the same serving in a single chunk.And add a soup course daily....easy to prepare,uses many leftovers and the main ingredient is water...Have bread at the table..

I've begun to prepare plates in the kitchen instead of serving family style. They eat what's on their plates and forget that there may be more in the kitchen. I'm able to keep a better stock of frozen veggies and We are all eating less....which is a good thing.

I use a lot of those myself.

My lawn is full of dandelions. I don't spray so they are safe to eat. I've never tried them. Do you cook them like other dark leafy's. Anyone got a tried and true method.

I know I'll be picking the wild blackberries this year and will be putting in tomatoes and zucchini as usual. (Those are the only things I have success in growing)

The paler, the better. Don't bother with the BIG, tall leaves. They're bitter.

Blanch briefly in salted water, then saute in butter and garlic. If you save bacon grease, they're really good in that.

Make sure they're true dandelions, though. There are weeds that look a lot like dandelions that are kind of scruffier looking and have more malicious looking greenery -- don't bother with them. They're the Sharks and Jets of the dandelion world, and will knife you.

...is LARGER batches...Pasta is cheap as hell as a food source but gets pretty expensive if you boil up four or more big pans of water to cook it....For long pastas (linguine,spaghetti,cappelini,etc.) try this-boil up 1 large batch-at least a pound,but more is better.Do not break noodles before boiling.Drain noodles completely and add enough olive oil to coat,some chopped garlic and a pinch of italian spice,and allow to cool to room temperature.Lightly spray a 9x13 (or other appropriately sized pan) with Pam.Now,using a long handled fork, start rolling "pasta balls" in single serving sizes (just about the size of a tennis ball) and load them with sides touching into your prepared pan by sliding them into place off the tines of your fork.The effect should be something that looks like a bubble loaf made of pasta.You have now prepared enough pasta for multiple screaming fast meals using less than half your normal energy.Cover pan and refrigerate.
To Serve pasta remove the required number of servings and place in a small sieve or collander and run under hot water for 15-20 seconds.Plate the pasta, add your sauce and any meats or cheeses and finish in the microwave....A real "meal in minutes" and a money saver too!

Was thinking about this this morning. Bulgar wheat, Oat bran, whole oat flour, brown rice - they are all nutritionally more complete, they are better for us, cost about the same in bulk, and at least me they fill up faster. Tabouli, brown rice under stirfries, oatmeal bread... in theory if we complexify the carbs we take, (yes I know horrid phrasing) they provide better nutrition and take longer to process through our bodies. So no carb rushes.

I'm thinking about trying brown rice sushi as the deciding factor. (I have a lovely piece of tuna from the Japanese market.)

I found a great deal on tea and vegetables at the local Indian grocer. Might be worth checking in your area.

Food prices are going up daily around here - northern Virginia. I'm watching this like some kind of bad horror movie. How are large families ever going to be able to eat properly?

So, here's what I've been doing, because, yeah, this jump scares me - checking out local grocery stores (Magruder's is the only one left) instead of the high-end Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and I scored a ton of Perdue fryers for $.79 a pound, cut up, which are now nicely stashed in the freezer. Their produce, while not organic, is local, and I'm happy to support that, so the potatoes and onions and cucumbers (4 for buck!) got grabbed today, too.

For things like salad, tomatoes, we have BJ's right up the road, and their prices and selection can't be beat. Good dried fruits, too. Lots of frozen vegetables there, too.

Tomorrow, Giant supermarkets continue their 70th anniversary celebration, so they've been pricing things at $.70. Perdue oven roasters (I'm big on Perdue, since my food chemist friend says they're very, very good) are $.70 a pound. Get a bunch of those birds cut into quarters, get them wrapped and frozen, and I'm feeling pretty good about doing what I can to hold down the prices.

Then, I'll hit the Thai market, and stock up on rice noodles and other things that make for interesting salads, since I think the prices of lettuces are going to be so insane in this coming season, no one's going to be able to afford them.

Yesterday, I heard a woman say she had a choice between buying food and putting gas in her car for work for the coming week.

This is America?

I think this is a GREAT thread, and I'm glad it was started. Shook me up when I needed to start paying attention. Thank you.

I'm desperate to figure out how to eat healthy and still be able to pay my rent.

I'm flashing back to the 70's I lived thru that bullshit once, and now we gotta do it all again.

Remember the first Earth Day?

I do. I was a newlywed in Yellow Springs, OH, home of Antioch College, where I was also a student/faculty wife (try THAT sometime!), and it was down on Xenia Avenue, the main drag, where a whole lot of the college kids had set up stands and were giving out literature and people were talking and excited and I walked down there with the dog, tied her leash to a tree, went into the IGA to do the food shopping for my brand new stepkids and husband, and t-bone steaks were on sale for $1.29 a pound.

Isn't it funny that that price sticks in my head?

And that I called my new husband and asked him if I should buy a lot and stock up, and he said "Yes!"

So I did.

I called him and asked him what I should do. How young I was. How different the world was.

Now, we're stashing cheap chicken and looking for the best nutrition. Fortunately, though, don't you think our options are greater - or did we just get smarter? Frances Moore Lappe (remember - "Diet For A Small Planet"? I still have my copy, which is gonna get a workout again) was right, and here come the rice and beans.

The nightmare of this, though, is that I don't see an end. Maybe that's because I'm not young any more............

I know that we're in for a rough ride over the next few years with prices overall. I did a huge shopping today and spent $130.00 which is alot for us. I did use coupons and I did buy alot of meat. Mostly grain fed hamburger and sausage. No fresh veggies though (other than a cucumber for .79 and an onion) I think I may be going a little crazy though on stocking up the pantry. I have a sizable walk in one that is already filled to the gills.

I am so grateful that we live close to the farms here. There is already asparagus and soon there will be local strawberries. They crow corn down the block as well. You make a good point though about greens. I'm rethinking my raised beds and considering doing a salad garden instead of just the tomatoes and zucchini I usually do. For some reason, I haven't had much luck growing lettuces but it's worth another try.

I'm also thinking about chickens again. I stopped raising them a while ago. I'm not sure if the work is worth it again. I have a neighbor who sells fresh eggs when I need them.

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

Because I believed my old Italian grandfather would have enjoyed my doing so.

It was one of the hottest summers in history here in the DC area.

My one head that made it cost me over a hundred bucks.

Bean thread, I tell you.

Eggs - that's one area in which I cannot compromise - I love the free range, organic, omega-3 eggs that I pay through my eyes for at Trader Joe's. My indulgence, my daily breakfast, and they're so fresh, they puff up when fried in butter.

Get the eggs from your neighbor. It's time for neighborliness, isn't it?

If you're within even only barely reasonable striking distance, look at Polyface farms for those eggs (or one of the other pastured egg and range-fed farms). You'll spend a bit less, and they're even better than the TJ eggs.

but i'll have to scope out the new neighbors and see what's what when I get there...

The butcher charge for killing them and doing the cleaning really didn't offset the cost of the grocery store. I kinda got too attached to them....So I wound up just keeping them until they passed of natural causes.

but there is a big meat packer in town (and lots and lots of ranches around) that I figure buying a half a beef once a year will be easy and cheaper than trying to raise one

but I have an uphill struggle to convince Mr K to go for chickens he says (and I quote) "They are stupid, noisy, dirty and did I mention STUPID? No chickens!"

They are kinda stupid....And they are kind of messy. If you have a large enough area to let them run free in it's less of a mess in the clean up. They had the run of my lawn area till one got taken by a coyote. Then I only let them out when supervised. What ever you do if you feel like you must get them...don't get a rooster right away. Roosters are the ones who stir up the trouble and make the noise.....

but they'll be coyotes too...

wonder if the coyotes will steer clear with my dogs around :shrug:

We have 29 acres and put a chain link fence in the back yard to keep my first dog safe because she was attacked by them. :( After the second time, we got the fence.

i'll really have to worry about it when we canine downsize

for the roaster, yanno?

They're smarter. And nicer. And lay nice eggs. And a bit cleaner. Still noisy, but nice. Quail and pheasant lay eggs, too. And they're actually not incredibly noisy or stupid.

Chickens ARE stupid. But it's our fault. We bred 'em that way.

about going in on shares of meat. Then find a farmer who will raise and kill them, and maybe even
wrap stuff. My dad used to go in on a hog once a year wih my uncle and they did the butchering at my uncle's place.

Could you all pluck and cut up chickens if the farmer did the killing? We raised 200 of these per year when I was a kid. All us kids did the plucking, Mom did the dressing out and wrapping, Dad did the killing.

no problems there

i can skin a rabbit too!

bigger livestock (hogs and steers) i'd need some help

but my ex used to string em up on a chain over the tree limb and quarter them before he took em into the butcher to cut and wrap

The meat department has reduced for quick sale items at half price. They are getting ready to go out of date in a couple of days or so. I freeze them immediately when I get home and use them the same day I take them out of the freezer. It saves a good amount of $.

My pantry is beginning to bulge because I've been going a bit overboard. I just felt like I might as well stock up while things are still cheaper! Also, I start student teaching in a few months so the fuller the pantry now, the less I have to buy later when I'm not earning any money.

We love black bean soup, white beans of any kind, and lentils. I have a recipe for a Rice a Roni style dish with pasta, rice, and some ground beef or sausage. We're not vegetarian but we do tend to eat a lot of vegetarian type meals because I'm not a big fan of meat (fish on the other hand I could never live without). I have often made a chili with half ground beef and half TVP. You can find TVP in your healthfood store. It stands for texturized vegetable protein and it looks like dried crumbles of some sort. You have to reconstitute it with water and give it a good seasoning, but it can stand for meat in many instances. It's very cheap and keeps forever on the shelf. Hikers and campers use it a lot because it is very light.

I like TVP on it's own, but my family prefers when I use it with meat to get more stretch. I have also used half TVP and half ground beef when making meatballs or meatloaf. My family didn't even notice. I actually thought the meatballs I made with it tasted better.

I have been after DH to start a vegetable garden in the back yard, I think now is a time to do it. I've always wanted to learn to can food, so maybe now's a good time.

I'll post more as I think of things. As a full-time student, I've been stretching my food budget for quite some time now.

I hate to say it, but if there's a Mormon church in your area, and you can stand being preached at, they usually have cooperative canneries, and teach people how to can safely. (This is a big, big issue.)

If you can keep politics out, they're usually super-nice, and they have a mission to help people. But they are conservative (in both meanings of the word) and can be Bush-worshippers.

Otherwise, a county extension office usually has classes, and starting on tomatoes, jam and refrigerator pickles is a good way to learn.

Butt end ham.....watch during or right after a big sale....shank is ok but butt is much better....up here (New Hampshire) that means no more than .99 lb for butt and .79/.89lb for shank....if you can,find one that has been manhandled and the wrapper was torn,forcing the store to re wrap and drop the price...(most recently a 9lb but at .69lb)....just over $6.....when you get home immediately cut slices (2-3) about 1 1/2-2 inches thick down to the bone,then cut around the bone and remove a complete fillet.you will now have 2 or more extra thick ham steaks that at the normal price ($2.99lb minimum) are worth at least $10 dollars....got that-every other last bit is absolutely free!!!
Now my butchering skills are poor,but if you cant cut off at least another 3 lbs of good ham,you ain't trying hard.Generally I dice this for use in omelets,soups and ham salad.Fits nice in the freezer in a freezer bag.Now you are left with a huge ham bone and maybe a half pound or more of usable meat stuck to it....that means it is soup time....the temptation is to head for pea soup,but try this instead....boil down the remnant in chicken stock about 90 minutes with a couple bay leafs....pull the ham and bay leaf and allow ham to cool...add 2-3 stems of broccoli chopped and simmer 30 minutes....add half of broccoli/stock mix to a blender and puree 30-45 seconds and add back to stock.Pick meat from ham bone and add.If desired add one capful of Wrights hickory smoke seasoning.In a measuring cup mix 1/2 cup whole milk or half and half and 2-3 heaping tablespoons of flour.Pour slowly into soup,stirring constantly and heat until desired consistency is reached...salt and pepper to taste....enjoy...
in short a minimum of at least five hearty meals for four or more persons at a very reasonable price....enjoy