Recipe: Black Eyed Pea Soup

I love an easy, frugal meal. I came across this recipe about 6 years ago, and it was an instant hit. The recipe was eaten by my recipe binder, and just surfaced a couple weeks ago. My husband was delighted to find out that it was on our menu plan this week.

Black Eyed Pea Soup

4 diced bacon strips (.80)

1 chopped med green pepper (I used these) .18

1 small onion chopped (I used these) .06

2 undrained cans of Black Eyed Peas (or dry beans) $1 for canned or .40 for dried

2 undrained cans of diced tomatoes (Free from garden)

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp each ground cumin, chilli powder, and ground mustard

minced garlic

Using 1 Tbsp of bacon drippings, saute the green pepper and onion and 2 minced garlic cloves. Add the black eyed peas, tomatoes, water, and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 12-20 minutes.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese, parsley and cooked bacon.

Yields 2 quarts and about 8 servings.

It tastes very similiar to a chilli, but the black eyed peas give it a different flavor than a traditional chilli. When I made it this week, I decided to come up with a different variation (plus I didn't realize that I was out of chilli poweder AND cumin!) so I used oregano in the place of the other spices. It gave it an Italian flare, and was rather tasty. We topped it with croutons, and the kids devoured it!

I used dried beans and canned tomatoes from our garden, which made the TOTAL COST: $1.44 for 8 servings or .18 cents a serving.

But, using store bought tomatoes and canned beans will end up with a TOTAL COST: $3.04 and about .38 cents a serving.

Still a frugal, delicious, filling meal either way you look at it!

Enjoy!

For more frugal ideas head on over to Frugal Friday and for more delicious recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge, SuperFood Carnival.

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