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Freezer Soup – Real Food That’s Easy, Cheap and Delicious!

September 26, 201724 Comments

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Vegetable and tomato soup. Rustic setting with ingredients in the background.

Tonight we’re having “Freezer Soup” for dinner. But don’t tell anyone in my family – they think we’re having “Mom’s Homemade Vegetable Soup.”

The two are similar except for one key difference – “Freezer Soup” allows me to grab real food ingredients I’ve been saving in my freezer for several weeks, add a few things from my refrigerator and pantry, and throw everything into the Crockpot – which does all the work while I go about my busy day.

Here’s the trick that sets me up to make this soup quickly, easily and cheaply – I collect small bits of leftover beef, beef broth and vegetables in the freezer over several weeks. (I also collect leftover chicken and broth for chicken soup.)

Sometimes when I’m chopping vegetables, I’ll chop extra and throw it in the freezer for soup. Once I’ve accumulated a small stash, it’s time to make Freezer Soup. I pull everything out of the freezer before going to bed and put it in the refrigerator; in the morning, it’s thawed and ready for the Crockpot.

Here’s what went into today’s soup:

  • From the freezer – half a grilled steak (cut up), leftover Spicy Italian beef and broth, beef stock, frozen mixed vegetables, part of a bag of shredded cabbage
  • From the refrigerator – baby carrots and chopped celery and onion I prepped earlier in the week
  • From the pantry – canned diced tomatoes, beef broth

This soup will be yummy tonight (with some homemade cornbread!) and even better for lunch tomorrow. It’s one of my favorite strategies for serving my family real food without blowing up my grocery budget.

Do you have a favorite trick for eating real food while managing your time and money? Please share it in the Comments; I would love to hear from you.

Photo credit – © stevem – Fotolia

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Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Healthy Life, Recipes Tagged: be, eating well, healthy eating, real food

Comments

  1. Kathi says

    November 11, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    Great idea, saving little bits of leftovers etc, and I love EASY crockpot meals. Thank you for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop; I hope you’ll join us again this Thursday.

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 12, 2013 at 7:46 pm

      Thanks Kathi – I will definitely stop by again on Thursday.

      Gaye

      Reply
  2. Marla says

    October 30, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    This is really a great idea! Love food in the crock pot – it is always so tasty. Visiting from Read Food Friday! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 1, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      Thanks Marla!

      Gaye

      Reply
  3. Nicole Burkholder says

    October 3, 2013 at 1:47 am

    I’m featuring this on my page tomorrow for this week’s Let’s Get Real link party! Thanks again!

    Reply
    • GC says

      October 3, 2013 at 5:01 pm

      Thanks so much, Nicole!

      Gaye

      Reply
  4. Lizy @ http://justdipitinchocolate.blogspot.com/ says

    October 1, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    That is my kind of recipe! The grab it and crock pot it method is the best way of creating a delicious meal and make everybody happy, including you! Thanks for sharing GC! Looks very tasty!
    have a great week, Lizy your party co hsot

    Reply
    • GC says

      October 3, 2013 at 5:02 pm

      Thanks Lizy! It’s definitely my kind of meal too!

      Gaye

      Reply
  5. Andi Gleeson (The Weary Chef) says

    September 30, 2013 at 12:40 am

    I love this idea! I probably end up wasting a lot of food when there’s just a little leftover hear and there. This is a great way to use it all up! Thanks so much for linking up at Saturday Night Fever. I’m glad to meet you 🙂

    Reply
  6. Amber Day Hicks says

    September 27, 2013 at 8:58 pm

    delish!!! awesome. Thank you, great idea.

    Reply
  7. Nicole Burkholder says

    September 27, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    I do hate throwing out a small plate or bowl of veggies because they are always awful reheated and no one will eat them. This is a great solution! The leftovers are never enough for a meal, but if you just keep tossing them in freezer bags, one day that’s going to be a handy weeknight meal! I have a cornbread casserole that I love to serve with chili and it would be awesome with Freezer soup! Thanks for linking up to Let’s Get Real again!

    Reply
    • GC says

      September 27, 2013 at 5:06 pm

      Thanks Nicole! I cannot stand to throw away good food either! So this soup makes me happy in lots of ways!

      Gaye

      Reply
  8. jugglingrealfoodandreallife says

    September 27, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    I am so in the mood for vegetable soup now. Thanks so much for sharing this with our Let’s Get Real readers. This is exactly the plan of attack that I like to use to make sure to get Real Food to the table. Everyone talks about the waste that comes with eating Real Food. This is a perfect solution. I like to plan to have leftovers and different ways to use them. My leftovers are very intentional. It’s such a great use of time to chop once and be ready to go for several meals.

    Reply
    • GC says

      September 27, 2013 at 5:10 pm

      You know I thought of you when I was writing this post! It just sounded like something you would do!

      “My leftovers are very intentional.” I love that! Mine are too – they are one of the things that help me maintain my sanity!

      Gaye

      Reply
  9. Helen @lovelyandloving says

    September 27, 2013 at 5:40 am

    Gaye this is such a good idea! I love this as right before my big weekly grocery shop I’m low on food, but still want something nice for dinner. Pinning this.

    Reply
    • GC says

      September 27, 2013 at 5:10 pm

      Thanks so much, Helen!

      Gaye

      Reply
  10. janita says

    September 26, 2013 at 11:56 pm

    Where can I find your recipes? On the Spicy Italian beef post I see you list them by number . Thank you. Janita

    Reply
    • GC says

      September 27, 2013 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Janita – Oh, I know that my recipes on the blog aren’t organized! That is one of the things I keep meaning to do. Here is the link to the Spicy Italian Beef Recipe – https://calmhealthysexy.com/calmhealthysexy-cooks-spicy-italian-beef/ And you may also like Tex-Mex Shredded Beef – https://calmhealthysexy.com/calmhealthysexy-cooks-tex-mex-shredded-beef/ Very soon I will update my Recipes page, with links to all of my recipes.

      Thanks.
      Gaye

      Reply
  11. Trinity says

    September 26, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    Wow! This is such a great idea. I love making homemade soup, but I don’t always enjoy the prep work. I am definitely going to start doing this, especially now that the weather will be cooler. I so love a good bowl of soup. Thanks for sharing! – visiting from Juggling Real Food and Real Life

    Reply
    • GC says

      September 27, 2013 at 5:15 pm

      Thanks Trinity. Yes, it is so much easier if all or most of the prep work is already done!

      Gaye

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 60 Best Soup Recipes | Little Family Adventure says:
    September 30, 2014 at 7:31 am

    […] Freezer Soup from Calm Healthy Sexy […]

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  2. CalmHealthySexy Cooks! Family-Friendly Butternut Squash Soup | Calm.Healthy.Sexy. says:
    October 9, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    […] It takes a bit of time to pull this recipe together (it’s not as quick and easy as my Freezer Soup), so double the ingredients.  You’ll end up with enough soup for two meals (or one meal and […]

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  3. Fall Idea Round Up! » Godly Glimpses says:
    October 4, 2013 at 6:04 am

    […] Freezer Soup by Calm, Healthy, Sexy […]

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  4. Hearts for Home Blog Hop, #37 says:
    October 3, 2013 at 6:27 am

    […] Freezer Soup-Real Food That’s Easy, Cheap,and Delicious! […]

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