It’s the “Last Supper” in our7 Vegan Meals for $30 from Trader Joe’s groceries challenge. The final recipe is a “kitchen sink” type of soup, called Farro, Bean, and Vegetable “Clean out the Fridge” Soup with Microwave Tortilla Chips. Essentially, we’re to use the leftover items from the week’s shopping list. Well, let’s see how we did, shall we?

As you know, we’ve had some issues with Spoon University’s recipes. The shopping list didn’t include key ingredient items (ex. Soy Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette dressing). Directions missed steps or were unclear. Nevertheless, we got through them all. We could say that this last one was different. 

Here were the issues we found: 

1. If you bought corn tortillas, make sure they would hold up by week’s end. We had to get another pack because ours got moldy by Day 5
2. You probably made all of your farro on Day 3. Freeze the leftovers instead of buying a new bag for today’s recipe
3. Make sure you have extra vegetables, avocado and another can of beans to use, otherwise you’d have to go the store
4. When cooking the canned tomatoes (not on the shopping list - so add them), be sure to break down the tomatoes are they cook
5. The cook time was longer than the 10 minutes noted. It was closer to 15-20 minutes to account for the farro, vegetables, mixing to a simmer and making the tortillas
6. Be careful when microwaving the tortillas. That plate will be HOT! You can also cut the microwave time to 1.5-2 minutes by microwave the tortillas on a paper towel (not the most environmentally sound, but you won’t burn yourself)
7. This wasn’t a SOUP, it was more like a STEW/CHILI 

Other than that, all was good. I know it seems like a lot to call out in recipe flaws. However, the dish was pretty darn good! As you may remember, we didn’t have the taco seasoning mix. We made a quick mix with chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. 

We also modified the dish for the 21 Day Fix eating plan we’re following:

• No added oil or salt
• Artichoke hearts were used for the 1c. vegetable
• Chickpeas were the beans
• Butternut squash over sweet potato (We had to buy more since Dinner #1’s tacos)

We topped the dish with shredded carrot and hot sauce. 

The tortilla chip were really good in the microwave, despite Carm burning her finger taking the plate of the first batch out of the microwave. The second batch was put on a paper towel and those cooked up even quicker! No oil or salt needed on them. We’d probably make them again as a snack with salsa or guacamole.

And that is how we end our challenge! Click here to catch up on all we made!

What have we learned?

• We saved A LOT of time and money on making these meals at home
• Meal prepping should be more of a regular thing in our home
• You can use simple ingredients to make quick & easy dishes 
• Proofreads your recipes to make sure all the ingredients and steps are correct, and reflect what’s on the shopping list

Would you do a vegan food challenge? Let us know. We’d love to put one together and do it with you!