The idea of doing gourmet wholesome food on a budget is something that's been on my mind lately.  After lots of thinking I decided: yes, it's a challenge, but is it impossible? no it's not.  I thought I'd start off easy on this journey by making some soup.  So for this delicious Italian inspired soup that feeds 8, I spent a whopping $7.37!  If you are feeding less than 8 people, don't stress, soup freezes really easily!

I decided to name this soup Italian Tricolore Soup because I was inspired by the tricolore salad.  Tricolore means 3 colors which consist of red, green and white (to match the Italian flag) lettuces in salad.  So, why can't I make a red, green and white soup?  PS it was great!  Bonus: it is vegan and really good for you!

Italian Tricolore Soup

Serves 8

What you'll need:

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

1 leek, trimmed and sliced

5 garlic cloves, chopped

4 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 22 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of vegetable stock

a spash of red wine

2-3 big handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

1 can of white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

What you'll do:

In a large stock pot, drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom and turn on medium low heat.  Add in the onion, leek, and garlic.  Saute just until soft.  Add in the mushrooms, toss together and add in a splash of red wine.  Add the can of diced tomatoes, vegetable stock and 2-3 cups water.  Cover the pot and let the soup come to a soft boil.  Reduce heat to low and let cook for about 1 hour.  Stir occasionally and add more water is it starts evaporating.  Before you serve, stir in the beans and spinach.  Serve warm and enjoy!  This would be great with a piece of super crusty bread!

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