Tomato Soup and Pasta

Ahhh, tomato soup and pasta. Another one of our favorite pantry meals. Hey, we do eat fresh food. Sometimes. Have you seen my Millet Salad recipe? Z and I eat tomato soup and pasta about twice a week. 1st, it tastes really good and we both like it. 2nd, it takes no effort and hardly any time. 3rd, we have a heck of a lot of pasta. That we didn't pay for! Thank you coupons!!! The one hundred fifty boxes of free pasta we got this year deserves its own post sometime. And, 4th., probably most importantly of all, it's cheap.

Campbell's condensed tomato soup, which tastes just fine to me, is regularly on sale for $0.50 per can. Of course we didn't pay $0.50 per can. Every once in awhile I see coupons for it in the Sunday coupons or there were some at www.shortcuts.com a couple of months ago. I would suggest keeping an eye on the Shortcuts website, especially if you shop at Safeway or Fred Meyer's. Fred Meyer brand goes on sale every few months. We bought a ton when they were $0.25 per can last year. I have seen them on sale twice this year for $0.33 per can. It wasn't great but we only have two cans of it left. We have been surprised by how good the Albertsons brand tomato soup tasted. We paid $0.33 per can sometime last fall. We haven't been anywhere near an Albertsons in ages so I don't know what their prices are like.

Our favorite spices to add are a dash or two of cayenne, Italian seasoning blend, smoked paprika, and black pepper that was too shy to have its photo taken. The cheese is a nice treat we don't add every time. If I'm feeling particularly frisky, I'll add about two tablespoons of half-and-half. Enjoy!

Tomato Soup and Pasta (for two)

1.  Pour soup into a pan over low. Add one can full of water.
2. Season soup to taste. (I like to do this when it is slightly warm.)
3. Start boiling water. While water is heating up, measure two servings of pasta. 
4. Cook pasta according to the package directions and your preference. A little underdone works great here.
5. Combine pasta and soup in a bowl. Add grated cheese if desired.

Price Breakdown (no couponing):
$.26 two servings pasta (if paid $1 for 1 lb.)
$.33 store brand tomato soup
$.38 cheese (2 x 1 1/2 servings if $3.99 for two pound brick - common sale price of Tillamook)
$. 11 half-and-half
Spices - negligible

Total: $1.08 or $0.54/serving

Price Breakdown - What Cheap not Frugal Eats Pays
$0.00 two servings pasta
$.25 Fred Meyer brand soup
$.23 cheese (2 x 1 1/2 servings for $2.49/ two pound brick) 
$.11 half-and-half

Total: $0.59 or $0.295/serving