Above is a picture of a bowl of Chicken Soup. I chose this picture to share with you as I compare the cost of preparing homemade chicken soup with purchasing restaurant/supermarket prices for pick-up and carry-out prepared chicken soup. I base my comparison prices on one quart size of chicken soup purchased with my one gallon of homemade chicken soup. The results are below, but first here is why I chose to blog about chicken soup for my first "Home Economics 101" entry:
How silly I felt finding myself without chicken soup in my freezer when I needed it ASAP. It has been an extremely long, cold and dreary winter here in the North East. Colds and viruses are quietly spreading from relatives and close friends as well as strangers in the market places. Ugh. Washing hands, covering nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing sometimes is not enough to keep those pesky germs away.
Finding myself with repeated colds and viruses, all I wanted to bathe my raw throat was a steaming bowl of chicken soup. To my disappointment, my freezer was bare!!! No supply of chicken soup to quickly defrost. I am "The Souper" How embarassing for me. When I needed my comfort food it was not there!
Temporarily, prepared take-out chicken soup from a high-end supermarket was a substitute for my precious liquid remedy - homemade chicken soup. Consuming quarts of the ready-made chicken soup was costly. As soon as I felt up to it, I gathered my fresh ingredients (chicken, carrots, celery and onions), put them in a large pot with cold water, and in about one and a half hours feasted on the best homemade chicken soup. The clear richness of this liquid was a true testimonial to quality-cooking at home. This is my go-to remedy for soothing a scratchy throat, opening-up stuffed sinuses, and taking away the chills running through my shivering body. Let the healing begin :)
Cost break-down on Chicken Soup Purchased vs Homemade:
One Quart Restaurant Take-out: $13.00 (about two large bowls)
One Quart Supermarket Take-away: $7.99 (about two large bowls)
One Gallon Homemade: $10.98 (about eight large bowls)
(homemade based on fresh chicken parts of mixed chicken breasts & legs; four large carrots, one large celery stalk, one large onion and water.)
Here is the link to my Chicken Soup Recipe:
http://prep2eat.blogspot.com/2010/09/chicken-soup-fresh-way.html
Not only is homemade an economical choice - it tastes so much better, plus the kitchen smells great, plus you get that great feeling of satisfaction of making something with your own hands, plus you can control what goes in it (salt, fat, etc...)
ReplyDeleteNice post!
Yes, Tracy, all of the above :) Nothing like homemade.
ReplyDeleteThe Souper
You are a recipient of "The Lovely Blog Award". I adore your blog and appreciate all the hard work and love you put into your recipes! To see the award please visit http://oureyeseatfirst.blogspot.com/2011/03/homemade-series-3-grapefruit-marmalade.html and then pass it along to 15 other deserving bloggers! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteWith thanks to you Our Eyes Eat First, for "The Lovely Blog Award", my first blog award :)
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