26. Salmon Chowder

Last week I made Salmon Chowder from the Better Homes and Gardens Good Meals on a Budget cookbook. It was the first time I used canned salmon. I guess I expected it to look like canned tuna when I opened the can—nice clean chunks magically fitting snuggly in the can. I knew I would have to clean out the skin and bones, but was quite surprised when I opened the salmon can. What I found was a hacked up hunk of salmon jammed into the can full of bones and skin. I don’t think canned salmon is a time saver at all. It would be almost as quick, and much neater and tastier to poach a piece of fresh salmon.

Salmon Chowder

1 16 oz can pink salmon
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 10 ¾ can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
¼ cup reconstituted nonfat dry milk
1 16 oz can tomatoes, cut up
1 tablespoon snipped parsley

Drain salmon, reserving liquid: remove skin and bones, then flake. Cook onion in margarine till tender but not brown. Add soup; gradually blend in reserved salmon liquid and milk. Add un-drained tomatoes, salmon, parsley, and dash pepper. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Changes and Shortcuts: This cookbook uses reconstituted nonfat dry milk instead of regular milk since it’s all about budget cooking. Since we are trying to cut down on animal products, I used rice milk. I also didn’t have any fresh parsley on hand, so used dried. I’m not crazy about the taste of canned cheddar cheese soup so I added some shredded cheddar at the end which gave it a little more of a “home made” soup taste.

Results: Not bad. I was pretty turned off by the canned salmon so I think that influenced my feelings toward the soup. It tasted pretty good, but I think I will look for a different recipe.

Keeper? Probably not.

48. Chili-Beef-Potato Soup

I’ve had the Better Homes and Gardens Good Food on a Budget book for years. I have some favorite recipes in this book but have never made this soup. I think the book is out of print, but there seems to be some used copies available through Amazon.


Chili-Beef-Potato Soup

½ pound ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 16 ounce can tomatoes, cup up
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1 10 ½ ounce can condensed beef broth
1 soup can water (1 1/3 cups)
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup cooked or leftover peas or green beans

Brown meat in large saucepan. Drain off fat. Add onion and celery; cook till vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes, potatoes, beef broth, water, chili powder, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook till potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in peas or beans; heat through. Makes 6 servings.

Changes and shortcuts:
I used some cooked ground beef that I had in the freezer and I used a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion instead of the can of whole tomatoes. (I don’t think they were available when the book was written.) We don’t like peas in our house and I didn’t have any green beans on hand so I used a drained can of corn.

Results:
Using pre-cooked beef saved time. The tomatoes with garlic and onion gave a little extra flavor. I’m glad I used the corn—it seemed to go perfectly although the green beans or peas would be healthier. After the flop of the corn chowder this was a tasty, simple soup. The winds are raging outside tonight, but the soup was nice and warm. I served it with oven toasted cheddar and whole wheat sandwiches.

Keeper? Yes