Tomato and bacon soup

This soup is a favourite at our place, with residents and visitors alike. It is CHEAP and really easy to make. It can also be made at any time of the year because it doesn't rely on any seasonal ingredients.

Tomato and bacon soup
2 large cans of tomatoes (800 grams)
I large onion chopped very finely, or not, if you prefer large chunks in your soup
2 garlic cloves minced
2 bacon bones (very cheap from your reputable local butcher)
1 litre of chicken stock (homemade or I like to use the powdered variety, preferably 'Vegeta')
1 tablespoon of butter (NOT margarine!)
1 teaspoon oregano (dried or fresh)
1 bay leaf

Method
Fry onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until soft. Add everything else, bring to the boil, and then simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. Take out the bones and bay leaf, add lots of freshly ground black pepper and serve with hot buttered toast, and a blob of sour cream if you like it.

If you want a creamy soup, put one can of butter beans in a blender with a cup of soup from the pot, blend until smooth, and add it back into your soup. It looks creamy! But it's not cream! Cheap and very nutritious. You could also add the beans at the start and just leave it rustic (un-blended).

Looking forward to getting your feedback on this recipe. It never fails to please at our house. Enjoy.

Broke

Over the past six months our income has become tight. What I mean is every dollar counts. Want a $3 latte? Are you sure? Could you live without it? Maybe you should wait until we get paid. Basically, we're broke.

So, we've become creative. I joined Freecycle. I learned how to cook with lentils and beans. We've started growing our own vegetables in the backyard. We've begun selling unwanted (and wanted) belongings on ebay so that we can afford to buy new shoes. Yes, seriously. We're capital B broke.

We can pay our bills, just, but no more. So money for anything else has to come from somewhere other than our wages. It has been, ahem, interesting. I thought it might be good to share some of my tips with you, the broke, bemused, blog reading world, in case you are also broke, and need to find something to eat for dinner.

So, here goes...