Alrighty, I made mine tonight! It should be enough for the whole week.
I mixed leftover french onion soup (from the freezer), chicken breast, frozen corn, a can of green beans, a can of tomato soup, and some seasonings. It's simmering now and when I'm done, I'll put it in individual containers to either eat for dinner or take to work for lunch.
My soup bones are all boiled and I have pulled off all the lean meat. Tomorrow i will pop in carrots, squash, celery, peas and spices. That should do it.
I also made a pea soup with Canadian bacon for the week, should get 3 bowls out of it. I eat a lot of pea soup.
I don't usually make big pots of soup since my refrigerator and freezer are always jammed ... not much room! One of my favorite soups is 4 ounces browned 96% lean ground beef, 1/4 cup lentils, 1/4 cup barley, french style frozen green beans, broccoli cole slaw mix, 1 can of vegetable broth plus another can of water, with lots of garlic pepper seasoning. This makes enough for 2 big bowls and is very filling to me. I have it for supper a couple of times a week.
This is from the WW Simply the Best Cookbook. I absolutely love this recipe and it appears to be all Core!
3/4 Cup Pearl Barley
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 Onions, chopped (I never use this much onion because we aren't big fans)
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
4 Cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
3 Carrots, sliced (I use the baby carrots)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Minced Parsley
In a large saucepan, stir the barley and 4 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the barley is partially cooked, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onions and celery; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring as needed, until the mushrooms begin to soften and release their liquid, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth, carrots, tomato paste and barley with its liquid; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring as needed, until the barley and carrots are temder, about 30 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper; serve, garnished with the parsley.
6 servings at 182 calories each. 3g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 264 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrates, 7g fiber, 9g protein 42mg calcium.
I am making my standard soup today - beef short ribs this time...with onions, celery, carrots, can of kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, barley and cabbage!!! Time to simmer now.
Also found a recipe for Moroccan chicken w/couscous which I am making tonight - will let you know how it turns out!
Fill a pot about half full with water or chicken stock if you have it. Then add your split peas about half way up to the water height. Add some chopped onion and maybe chop in a carrot really fine. Then boil and simmer for quite a while and stir. the soup will thicken as the water evaporates. After a while add a handful of chopped Canadian bacon (read ham type bacon) and simmer some more. Add some salt and pepper and what have you.
When it is thick enough, you have pea soup. Really easy, really cheap and really nice. Just dont let it burn as it thickens.
Good luck. I am going to try that soup above with the barley in it.