Mixing, Matching, Using What You Have=Soup

In my last post, I showed how a few humble ingredients, plus a humble rice cooker, could yield several wholesome, hearty, sustaining, and GOOD meals.

If you look at the ingredients and THINK, you can see that 2 soups are also possible. With soup, you need to be flexible, so amounts are as your fancy takes you.

MEXICAN SOUP: canned tomatoes, beans (rinse them), rice (cooked or not), plus some water. Aim for around 1-2 cups total. You can use salsa for the tomato part. You can use a can of refried beans for the beans. If you have some stale chips, throw 'em in.

ITALIAN SOUP: Tomatoes, canned beans (rinse them), macaroni. Add water and cook till mac is done. Add some Italian cheese if you have it. For more vitamins, throw in some frozen spinach.

Even if you are a CLUELESS COOK and GROCERY SHOPPER, you can tell, I'm sure, that these ingredients are very cheap. Think of what you can do with the money freed up.