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The past few years I dived into holiday baking. I’ve found that a small tin of goodies makes excellent gifts for coworkers without breaking the bank. They also appreciate random baked treats individually packaged that they can grab and take home. However, deciding what to make has always been difficult, I want to try everything! To help you organize your last minute holiday baking and make a plan for next year here are some tips.

1. Decide how many items you can actually make. Are you planning on making some every day or do you want to get it all done in one day? Will you have help?
2. Determine a theme for the baking. When looking at recipes it can get overwhelming fast, especially on Pinterest. Deciding to only make candy or focus on gingerbread flavors will help narrow the search (along with your ingredient list).
3. Stock up on the basics. Make sure you have plenty of flour, sugar, flavorings, etc. before diving into baking. There’s nothing worse than starting the next batch of dough while cookies are in the oven and running out of flour.
4. Set a budget. Some recipes call for expensive ingredients or things that you will only use in that recipe. Setting a budget can help you avoid extra expenses on ingredients.
5. Make sure to grab plenty of containers or treat bags to share goodies with friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

This year I focused on cookies because there were so many recipes I wanted to try last year and some that have become my favorites that I wanted to make again. I typically choose recipes from Taste of Home and get ideas on Pinterest. Though before they make the cut I make sure that I don’t need extra utensils (like a press for spritz cookies) and that they don’t have ingredients that are difficult to find. I have been saving quite the collection of fudge recipes so that might just have to be the theme for next year 🙂

I’m still fine tuning the process!  This round I had to plan during a pandemic where there are some shortages.  To minimize my trips to the store (typically I hit three in one day) and to account for some items being high in demand right now I first checked what I had on hand.  Seems basic, but I actually don’t do that very often.  Meat prices were starting to even out at the time of making, but with the spike in prices a couple of months prior I decided to go with a few more vegetarian options just in case.

I was a bit smarter this round and put some of the thicker soups into quart freezer bags to allow for more space in the freezer.  This is the first round of soup that I didn’t run out of space, so I’m guessing that’s the magical answer 🙂

Here’s the list:

Winter Country

Italian Lentil

Lentil Tortilla

Zuppa

Chicken Detox (pictured at the top of this post)

Couscous Chicken

Italian Sausage Tortellini

Pasta e Fagoli

Chicken Fajita

Stuffed Green Pepper

I also made a sausage lentil soup that I found in a cookbook.  I wasn’t able to find a duplicate recipe online for a link, but there are plenty of similar soups out there that resemble this recipe.  I discovered this past year that I like lentils if they are cooked right and that they go well in soup.  They were easy to find a more affordable than some of the meat options.  One small bag made three different soups!  It’s something I recommend as a cost saving option.  Lentils are full of protein and fill you up.  One cup of lentils will make 8-12 cups of soup, or 4-6 meals.  This lentil tortilla was easy to make in the crockpot and will be a great compliment to Mexican inspired meals or on its own.  It tastes better than it looks, trust me.

This year I had about 2 pounds of deer summer sausage that my brother had given me.  I sliced it up and cooked it in a frying pan to get out some of the fat and used that in the winter country and sausage lentil soups.  The flavor was amazing!  The majority of the soups I make are hearty enough to eat as a meal and this one is no exception.  It’s packed with protein and the greens give it a healthy touch.

Trying to plan during shortages and left me making a few substitutions and a bit of a different planning process for getting ingredients, but I was still able to make everything and since I used more vegetarian recipes and meat I already had on hand I spent less than $100 for this round!  The local farm didn’t have the greens I needed, so I substituted dinosaur kale.  I cooked it with some garlic and olive oil and it added a good flavor to the soup.  It’s not as bitter as regular kale and has just a hint of sweetness to it.  It makes a great substitute for spinach, greens, or regular curly kale.

I frequently get asked what my favorite soup is.  It’s difficult to pick one favorite, but the Italian sausage tortellini with kale is definitely in my top five picks.  It’s amazing in the fall when the weather starts getting crisp and warms you up on those cold winter nights.  I make mine pretty thick and there isn’t a lot of tortellini in the recipe so I typically pair it with garlic bread.

Limits, shortages, certain ingredients impossible to find.  This has been our new normal since the pandemic set in.  It may discourage most from huge batch cooking, but I embraced the new challenge.  I’m as determined as ever to continue my annual soup making with 12 soups this year.  However, the old plan didn’t exactly work the same so here are some things to keep in mind if you are planning on batch cooking with this year’s produce:

• Plan way ahead.  I selected my recipes and made my list in May so that I could be ready for August.
• When selecting recipes make sure they don’t require a lot of items that are difficult to find or in short supply.  With a potential meat shortage in our area I added additional vegetarian soup options this year and stuck with classic ingredients.
• Buy the non perishable items as you go to the store regularly.  Typically I plan one big shopping trip, but this year requires me to grab items as they are available.  Luckily I use more fresh produce so limits on can items are not an issue.
• Watch for sales and adjust as needed.  With meat prices skyrocketing I found myself substituting to save on cost.
• Find out information about local growers.  Most of the growers in our area typically have tables at the farmer’s market.  This year the main one I use is doing a curbside model with online ordering and you can go out to the farm to pick up your items.  Another great reason to plan ahead and have a list ready!
• Take an inventory of what you have on hand.  Since prices have gone up it’s good to save money where you can.  Buying unnecessary items can add to your cost, sometimes significantly.
• Remember that you’ll still save money and time in the long run!  This year I expect costs to be more and I’ve planned for that.  However, I know in the coming months my food expense will be significantly lower due to having so many meals on hand.  I’ve planned accordingly for the increase in cost.  It’s worth it to have soup on hand when it starts getting cold again.
• Take advantage of fresh produce and add extra to your recipes!  Our local growers need our support and they are offering something that we need.  No harm at all in purchasing and using some extra.  Adding extra veggies is also an inexpensive way to get more meals out of a batch and make them more filling.

So far I’m on track for August, it should be another great year of soup!

Saving money is hard work and requires sacrifice and self discipline.  However, there are some ways this daunting task can be made easier by taking some simple steps.

1. Write down everything that you spend money on and how much you spend.  It’s amazing to see on paper how much you are spending on those little things here and there.  Find alternatives for those large expenses that aren’t necessities or cut them completely.
2. Make a list and lessen trips to the store.  I’m a huge impulse buyer when I go to the store.  It’s typically little things here and there, but they add up.  Having a list helps me to stay focused and not wander around so much wondering what I might need at home.  Making less trips to the store also saves on gas, time, and the temptation to impulse buy.
3. Organize your stuff.  There are so many unnecessary purchases that occur when you don’t realize you already have something at home.  Keeping your household items neat and easy to find will alleviate purchasing double of something.
4. Pay more than your minimum payments on all loans.  It’s amazing how much money you can save on interest when you pay more than your minimum payment.
5. Live within your means.  Contrary to what our culture believes you don’t need that brand new vehicle every few years, a house you can’t afford, or to follow any and all trends.  These things cost you more than money, they can lead to you compromising your integrity and values.

After making my third round of nothing but soup I can safely say that I still need to work on smoothing out the process.  I’m still working on nailing the right amount of cups that a batch of soup makes.  However, I say it’s better to end up with too much than too little!

Here are the recipes from this round:

White Chicken Lasagna

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Chicken Fajita

Chicken Detox

Chicken Couscous

Italian Spinach Orzo

Couscous Meatball

Meatball Veggie

Mushroom and Wild Rice

Zuppa Toscana

I also made a Beef Veggie with Cabbage and Pot Roast Mushroom.  Due to copyright I am unable to post the recipes for these (but there are several variations available).

Roasted Tomato-Each year I make up my own version of this.  This year included  3 pounds tomatoes, 2 red peppers, and a jalepeno drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic and pepper.  I roasted the pan of veggies in the oven until tender.  I added in 2 cans of tomatoes because we are having a late tomato season this year.  I blended all of these with some cooked onion and four cups of veggie broth and seasoned with basil.  Once everything was good and blended smooth I added in about a cup of heavy whipping cream.

Making all of these plus homemade veggie broth took me about four days.  This round had more fresh veggies than anything else so it took quite a bit of time to cut everything.  I would get one soup simmering and then cut and start preparing the next.  I typically had three going at once since it takes a minimum of 30 minutes for one to simmer.  All of the veggies below were just for one batch!

This was for the meatball veggie soup.  I had to use the large stock pot because the veggies take up a lot of space until they cook down.

I also had to smash the kale and greens down in the pan for the meatball couscous.  I typically season and cook these before adding to the soup since the recipe calls for 16 cups total.

Other than calculating the amount more accurately I believe I have the rhythm down for making this much soup in a few days.  Most of these are hearty and full of veggies so they will make a meal all on their own.  All of these recipes only cost me $114.  I planned ahead and was able to save money by purchasing meat on sale and buying a lot of the produce at our farmer’s market.  Our local market is actually cheaper than the grocery stores and it’s fresh picked!

If anyone else out there is doing mass batches of soup please reach out and let’s share processes!