What I Buy Wednesday---The Soup Can Challenge

It all started about a week ago when Connie texted me that she had just cleaned out her pantry and discovered 38 cans of soup! "OMGosh," I thought. Then I decided to see how many cans of soup I had. I first guessed how many cans I thought I had, and then counted the actual amount. This is reminiscent of the "shoe challenge" we did a couple months ago.

Soo, I decided to put it out there to family and friends for another challenge. Guess how many cans you think you have and then let me know how many you actually have. This did not include any stocks or broths or dried soups---just cans. The results were interesting. In order from highest to lowest:

Connie---ding ding ding! We have a winner! 38 cans---I asked her to take a picture. 38 cans doesn't really look like that much.

That's a lot of tomato soup---at least 10!! I'll be borrowing some of those from her since she said she wouldn't eat that many in a year!

Me---I thought I had about 12 cans of soup. In reality, I have 20. There will be a better explanation of this a little further down. I have 4 cans of tomato soup.

Janet---thought she had 10, in reality she had 18.

Chrissy---thought she had 12, actually had 14.

Nancy E.---guessed 8, had 12.

Joyce---thought she had 11, actually had 10 (she was so close, someone must have eaten a can).

Sandy---guessed 5, actually had 7.

Judy---guessed 5, actually had 7.

Mindy---guessed 2, actually had 4. She said she'd have more if they didn't live in a high-rise, urban lifestyle condo where canned goods storage is at a premium.

Nancy A.---guessed 2, had 4.

Jennifer---guessed 3, had 2 (someone ate one of hers too).

Sharon---guessed 2, had 1 (Matt must have eaten one).

Janice---thought she had 3, but only had 1 (not sure this is really possible since she's in Salem with Jennifer. Did she really bring a can of soup with her from Texas? And if so, how did she think she brought 3 cans??)

Susan---guessed 0, had 0!!!!

Stephanie---0 & 0 (what??? Who are you??)

Karolyn---guessed 1, had 0!!!! She said she makes all her soups from scratch.

Okay, I get that!! I make most of our "eating" soups from scratch too. Still there are times when a good ol' can of Campbells is just what the doctor ordered. Seriously, if I'm sick, I'm not in the mood to make soup from scratch. In the winter, when you can't seem to get warm, hot soup for lunch is quick and easy---and usually calorie friendly. And, you can't beat Campbell's tomato soup. Sure, I like all kinds of tomato soup, but Campbells is my "go to" comfort food with a grilled cheese sandwich. That is often our first meal when we get home after traveling. I would say that we eat tomato soup at least twice a month. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Two of our other quick and easy "go tos" are Bean with Bacon or Chicken Gumbo both with peanut butter crackers and a glass of milk!

And then, there's the cooking soups. Honestly, I can't tell you how many delicious casseroles I make that call for Cream of Chicken, or celery or mushroom. There's also soup recipes that start with a can of Campbells. I have a fabulous Clam Chowder soup that starts with several cans of Campbells. I have crock pot recipes that call for soup. They are versatile, easy and for the most part, cheap. Really, I can't do without canned soup. I wouldn't make half the recipes I have if I had to first make the soup that is required.

All that being said, we're having soup tonight. Now here's where the "What I Buy Wednesdays" comes in to play. A couple weeks ago, the Honey Baked Ham store had their ham bones on sale for $2.99 each. I bought two and put them in the freezer.

Tonight we're having split pea soup with cornbread. There's enough meat on the bone that I actually get two meals out of it. The first one was on Monday night---one of my family favorites from my childhood: Ham and Scalloped Potato Casserole. (I'll share that recipe on Saturday.) I used to request this for my birthday dinner. So good. You can't beat that---two meals with meat for only $2.99!

So, what's your soup count?

If you have another idea for a challenge, let me know. This is fun!!