Building a Soup the Quick and Easy Way

Homemade soups are wonderful ~ I’d probably eat soup at least once a day if it was on hand! Lately, I’ve been experimenting with building homemade-like soup from store-bought ingredients, leftovers and resources already in the kitchen cab – kinda like a Sandra Lee Semi-Homeade approach!

►For example, I’m serving chicken soup and buttered bread this evening. Here’s what I’m combining for the soup:

leftover baked chicken breasts and rice

32 oz container chicken broth + one 32 oz can water

26 oz can cream of chicken soup

1 can kernel corn, with juices

12 or so baby carrots, diced

►Now what? Just put it all in a big stockpot and heat til boiling. Butter your bread and there ya go!

Do you like to make soup? Any other shortcut ideas for me?

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Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Stoup

I adapted this simple recipe from one an IRL mom friend last week and it is so easy and so tasty, my favorite way to cook! The way mine turned out (by including the juices etc) was a little thinner than a stew, leading me to borrow the term “stoup” from Rachael Ray!

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. stew meat

2 cans cream of potato soup

2 cans water

1 large can whole potatoes, cut each potato in 1/2 (with juice)

2 small cans sliced carrots (with juice)

1 can whole kernel corn (with juice)

6 servings converted rice

Directions:

1-Put stew meat in slow cooker.

2-Layer in soups, water, and vegetables with juice.

3-Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

4-Serve over converted rice in bowls.

Eat up! Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Juiced Up Ham & Green Beans Dinner

We had a rather normal dinner of ham, green beans and rolls this evening. But! I added a couple creative twists!

HAM – I cut slices of ham, then halved them. I grilled them for a little while on my trusty George Foreman grill (LOVE it!) which thoroughly heated them, enhanced their tastiness and marked them with appetizing grill marks. Next, I put some pineapple slices on the grill to serve with the ham. Yum! Pineapple and ham go together so well!

GREEN BEANS – I wanted to make a green bean casserole, but didn’t have the cream of mushroom soup or the french fried onion bits. So, I brainstormed and used what I had – cream of chicken soup (1 can) and Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing mixed in with 2 cans of green beans (I also included the juice from one of the cans of beans), topped it all with more stuffing and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. It was yummy!

ROLLS – No creativity per se here, just wise enough to buy some always scrumptious crescent rolls!

All in all, a very affordable, easy-to-make, balanced, delicious dinner for my sweeties and me! Even Waffles the Hungry Cat got his share of ham (he looooves any kind of pork meat!).

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

YUMMY CHEESEBURGER SOUP

Last weekend, my daughter (Quirky Girl) and I decided to create a Cheeseburger Soup.  We looked up recipes online, used a couple hints and added ingredients of our own.  It turned out great!

Ingredients: 1-1/2 pounds lean ground meat (browned & drained), 1 large can diced tomatoes, 2 stalks celery (diced), 20 baby carrots (diced), 3-4 green onions (diced), 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 stick butter/margarine, 1/2 cup milk, 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, 1 cup sour cream

Directions: Prep meat, raw veggies.  Heat and mix flour and butter/margarine until it becomes a paste-like consistency. Melt Velveeta cheese in stock pot. Once melted, add milk, sour cream and flour/butter mixture.  Stir until mixed well.  Add diced tomatoes, meat, celery, carrots and green onions.  Heat until boiling, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes or so.  Then, take off heat - it will thicken a little on standing.  Our soup was a little on the thin side, if you want it thicker, add more of the flour mixture.  Enjoy! I served with garlic parmesan monkey bread (found at BiLo) and all the family loved it!

Linking to Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Foodie Friday @ DesignsbyGollum and Freezer Foods Friday @SweetJeanette

Hugs & Yums, Laurie