Mr.CBB’s Rustic Country Ham Vegetable Soup
As the days and nights get colder homemade soup during the winter months always seems to be on the menu. Some of our favourites are broth based but we also like cream of broccoli, potato and ham, and pea soup. I am passionate and well-known for creating and throwing things into a pot to see what I can stir up but I’m rubbish with naming my creations. Today’s easy to make soup name was created by my mate Beth Ann better known as (Aunt B on a Budget) who jumped at the opportunity to name this soup. Each night on Facebook I post my “What’s For Dinner” post and I share what frugal meal we are making and ask the fans to do the same. Well I’m thrilled to see many fans cooking homemade meals and wanting to try new recipes. It’s a great way to connect with the fans as well as learn different meals that we can create in our own home.
Budgeting and Food do go hand in hand as it is part of that Umbrella I talk about in my Best Financial Tip post. I’m sure any foodies will tell you that making soup at home is cheaper than cracking open a can plus it’s better for you. If you are spending money on something it’s all part of the budget. So, after asking my fans last night to help me name my new soup Beth Anne instantly came up with “Rustic Country Vegetable Soup” then I added in the ham part. Thanks Beth! So today I bring to you this quick, easy soup that doesn’t come from a can it comes from my kitchen to yours. I hope you enjoy this simple soup recipe as much as we did last night. We enjoyed this with some fresh buttered Italian bread or you can make your own like my olive bread recipe that matches well with this soup.
What are your favourite types of homemade soups?
Tools:
- Big Soup Pot
- Small pot
- Strainer
- ladle
- spoon
- can opener
- peeler
- chopping board
- knife
Time:
- 15 minutes to prep
- 45 minutes to cook
Ingredients:
- Left over vegetable peels– I used carrot peel, onion peel, celery tops and fennel tops or 6 cups of vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons/cubes of chicken bouillon or 4 cups of chicken stock
- 1 Fresh basil cube (**if you don’t have this, 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil or 1/4 cup dry basil**)
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 cup of chopped celery
- juice of half a fresh lime
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 tablespoon of dry parsley or bunch of fresh chopped
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup of pearl barley
- 2 cups of dry black beans **dry-soak over night than boil for 15 minutes or use canned black beans** (you can use as much or little as you wish)
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups of chopped ham chunks
Preparation:
- Put the black beans that were soaking over night in a small pot of water and boil them just until tender, remove and rinse.
- While the beans are cooking take all your peels and pop them into a pot with 6 cups of cold water. Boil until the peels are tender and the broth takes on a yellow or golden hue. Strain the vegetable stock and compost the vegetable peels.
- Put the beans inside the pot of vegetable broth along with the basil cube, and the chicken bouillon or chicken stock then bring to a boil
- Add in your vegetables onions, celery, carrots, tomato
- Add in the minced garlic
- Add in the chopped ham
- Add in the pearl barley and orzo pasta
- Add in the salt and pepper
- Add in the juice of half a lime
- Add in the fresh ginger
- Add in the fresh Parsley
- Add in the tomato paste
- Add in the extra virgin olive oil
- Stir and simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes or until the barley is cooked
- Enjoy!
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