California Veggie Soup with a Twist
By Jaci Rae author of 5 Meals for $5 check it out at Amazon.com, pennymeals.com or any Border Store
*Cost per cup: $0.275
Approx calories per cup: 118
Approx. fat per cup: 2.2 grams
Approx carbs per cup: 22.8


2 lbs potatoes, diced ($0.80)
1 lb. carrots, diced ($0.50)
3 stalks celery, chopped ($0.08)
1 cup peas ($0.80)
1 cup corn ($0.56)
1 cup broccoli ($0.64)
1 onion, finely chopped ($0.30)
1 clove of garlic, minced ($0.0043)
10 cups water
1 chicken or beef bullion cube ($0.16)
1 avocado, blended until smooth ($1.00)
1 lime, juiced and zested ($0.09)
Salt and pepper to taste ($0.02)

Sauté onion, garlic and celery until tender. Combine with all ingredients except avocado and lime into a large pot and cook for 25 – 30 minutes on medium heat or until veggies are desired tenderness. Blend avocado and lime until smooth then add zest. Serve in bowls with a dollop of avocado mixture and chilled water.

To freeze, cool the California Veggie Soup and put into freezing container based on serving size desired. Put the date either on masking tape or if using a resalable freezer bag, onto the freezer bag and store in freezer. Remove as you desire to eat the soup and thaw, reheat. While you can freeze the avocado mixture, it’s usually best when fresh.

Are your kid’s veggie picky? I always blend the veggies until they are creamy when dealing with children that don’t like veggies. Put the creamy mixture into the soup with the potatoes and skip the avocado and you’ve got a wonderful Hidden Veggie Potato Soup that your picky children will LOVE!

*Based on prices in California May 2008