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.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
that sounds really yummy…and it’s funny that the bacon is first on the list, because as soon as I read the name of the soup, my first thought was “ooh I hope it has bacon in it!”
Thanks for sharing!
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Crack me up!
Something about black eyed peas, you just have to have bacon!
Phoebe
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Yum! This looks good. I just found your blog and will be back for more! Thanks for sharing!
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Black-eyed peas are one of my absolute favorite foods. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
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I’m going to try this. My husband will love it because it has bacon in it. Thanks for sharing.
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This sounds really good. I’m going to try it this week!
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I’m totally going to try this! I love the cost too!
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I’ve had a bag of black eyed peas in the cabinet for a while, because I just haven’t been sure what to do with them. This sounds yummy–I’ll have to give it a try soon! I’d make it today, but I don’t have any bacon in the house.
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This sounds great! I will be trying both ways too, thanks for sharing:)
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