Frugal Friday: Borscht, A Frugal Meal

I first tasted borscht at an old Russian restaurant in our town over 10 years ago. I loved the taste and thought, at the time, that it must be pretty easy to make. I was 16 years old then and not very interested in cooking. However, since getting married, I've made it several times and am always amazed by how simple it is to make! I don't usually follow a recipe for it but you can find some easy ones one allrecipes.com. (I'd look them up for you but I've got to get my day started!)

There are probably as many recipes for borscht as there are Russian and Ukrainian Babushkas, but for me, I keep it simple. I just basically make a beef and veggie soup and add 2 small beets. It goes something like this: (I use a 5 qt pot)

Sautee in 1 tbsp butter:
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped

Add 1 lb or so of cubed beef and stir until beef is seared.

Cut veggies-- potatoes, carrots, beets and cabbage-- into strips, all about the same size. Add to meat/onion/garlic. Cover with about 4 cups of boiling water.

Add one beef bouillon and salt and black pepper as needed. One bay leaf may also be used. Add more water if needed.

Cook until veggies are tender. Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream on top. It's very good accompanied with fresh bread and butter.

Borscht is our traditional "beginning of fall" meal. Hetee and I whipped up a pot last night after the kids were in bed and ate it for a late supper. It's fast and easy to make and very economical for our family of 5. And it's pinkish purple, which Abi loves. =)

Happy Frugal Friday, everybody! For more tips and ideas visit Crystal, at Biblical Womanhood.

Oh, and just you know, in Russian, "borscht" doesn't have a "t" on the end. it's just "borsch". I used to study Russian and I distinctly remember writing "borsch" in Cyrillic with no "t". =)