Challenge! S.O.S. soup!

Hi gang!

I'd post this in the recipes forum, but the volume in this forum always seems to get a lot more response so I apologize if it's not kosher (but hey, at least it's not another survey!).

I'm looking for ideas for your favorite fall homemade soups. High protien is a super bonus! I'd like to start to try and be more frugal (i.e. making a huge batch on the weekend to last the week), using the healiest but also most economical ingredients. Paula Dean can dig her own grave, but I'd like to stay out of mine!

Anyone got any all time favorites, standby's or swearbys?

I love fall!

Thanks.

Chili

In the link I referred you to, you can beef up on the beans to make it more economical.  And you don't always have to buy the leanest ground beef - just cook it, and then drain it of the fat, and you've saved at least a dollar a pound! =]

Tomato, Lentil & Bacon Soup....  Really tasty with a hint of smoky bacon

Pumpkin Soups - The link has a very creative list of recipes with Pumpkin.  I haven't tried all of them yet, but have made the Curried Pumpkin & Honey Mustard Pumpkin soups and both are delicious.  I've tried them both with canned pumpkin and butternut squash - taste is excellent either way.  You may have to make some modifications for fats in some of the recipes, if you are watching your calories.

Thanks guys! Keep\em coming, I'm making a huge list and can't wait to hit the farmers market!!!

Try this:

http://caloriecount.about.com/red-lentil-soup -recipe-r268365

You could reduce the saturated fat by leaving out the ghee and using low fat coconut milk, but I have to confess, I love it as is, and it still scores an A-.

I use homemade vegetable or chicken stock which is very low sodium, so you might need to reduce the salt added if you use commercial stock.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Tomato, Lentil & Bacon Soup....  Really tasty with a hint of smoky bacon

This sounds great, I am going to try it if I get time now that the weather is turning autumn-like, but I still have a mountain of tomatoes from the garden on the counter.  Thanks!

Any soup made with a hambone. Although a bone-in ham is a relatively big food purchase (15-20 bucks where I am), I always get at least a dozen servings of meat (not always just as slices of ham - I use it in soups, fried rice, omeletes etc), plus the bone, which is frankly the reason to buy the ham. One bone will flavor a ton of soup, and the smoky, salty ham taste is perfect with beans. You could go for split pea soup, but I always make 15-bean soup. You can either buy a mixed bag of beans (I usually follow the recipe on the back, but I throw away the seasoning packet - the soup is plenty flavorful without it) or, if you have several varieties of dried beans already, make your own mix of whatever beans/lentils you like. One hambone will easily make several quarts of bean soup, especially if you also toss in an onion, a can or two of Ro-Tel tomatoes and some lemon juice. Cheap, cheap, cheap, and it freezes/reheats well.

Thanks so much all!, these are amazing.