Cream of Green Vegetable Soup... & Egg Salad Sandwich $5.44

What a funny title!.

I've made tons of cream of (insert veggie) soup... I LOVE cream of asparagus, spinach, brocolli, mushroom, etc. soup.  Really, I have, and I do, and I shared my "basic" recipe with you a few weeks ago.  BUT...  I need to introduce a new recipe I found.  Neither Barbara nor I have tried this before, but you see, Barbara has a deep and profound dislike for "butter"... it's like the archenemy in her diet...she's certain that Butter is the source of almost all evil in the food world.  I,  being from Wisconsin, and having grown up in Reedsburg, WI, the "butter capital of the world" when I was growing up, do not think butter to be quite so evil.  I can live without it ... but it's a natural food - it's wholesome, our ancestors have eaten homemade butter for an eternity ... in moderation I have a really hard time thinking that butter is an evil food.  Margarine, in my mind is evil... I avoid it as much as humanly possible - it's not natural, it's artificial and icky... Never-the-less, I'm open minded to Barbara's dislike, and I present to you ... in it's debut to all of us ...

Cream of Green Vegetable Soup - the book we're copying it from says this will feed six

The soup base :
2 1/2 cups chopped onions .60
1 garlic clove, minced .05
3 cups diced potatoes .70
1 cup chopped celery .25
3 cups water

Spinach additions:
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, tough stems removed.99
1/4 tsp nutmeg.05
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried.15
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme (1/4 tsp dried).05

2 cups Buttermilk (2 TBSP vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups).40

In a soup pot, combine the onions, garlic, potatoes, celery and water.  Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add your chosen combination of green veggies and herbs and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender.  Working in batches in a blender or food processor, puree the soup with the buttermilk return it to the soup pot.  Add salt to taste, reheat, and serve.
per 10 oz. serving:  122 calories, 5.5 g protein, 1 g fat, 24.1 carbs, 3.2 g total dietary fiber

We're also recommending Egg Salad Sandwiches:

8 eggs .70
1 tsp prepared mustard.10
2 Tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise (try the kind with olive oil in it if you're shopping outside the Aldi).15
1/2 tsp paprika.05
4 tortillas or pitas or bread .50
put eggs in a pan cover with cold water totally cover eggs, bring to a hard boil over high heat.  Cover, shut off heat, and let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain, cover with cold water, sit for 15 minutes, and remove - refrigerate.

Remove shells from eggs (put them in your garden or plants!)
throw 4 yolks away, but th.e 8 egg whites and 4 egg yolks into a bowl and mash.

Combine with 1 tsp prepared mustard and the desired amount of maonnaise (start with 2 Tbsp).  Mix in 1/2 tsp paprika, and serve on whole wheat bread (or toast!).  I must confess, as you can see in the picture, I used a wrap - it was wonderful!