12. Cream of Mushroom Soup

I haven't had home made cream of mushroom soup in years. It doesn't even begin to compare to the canned version. This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Soups and Stews Cookbook.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 ½ cups chicken stock
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
Few dashes white pepper
1 cup milk

In a saucepan, combine chicken broth, chopped onion, mushrooms, and nutmeg. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place half the vegetable mixture into a blender container or food processor. Cover and blend 30 to 60 seconds or until smooth. Repeat with remaining vegetable mixture, Set aside.

In the same saucepan melt the butter. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Add the milk all at once. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in the blended vegetable mixture. Cook and stir till soup is heated though. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serves 3 or 4.


Shortcuts and changes: I tripled the recipe as it just didn't seem that the quantity listed would feed 4 people. I had enough for 4 with one small bowl left over.


Results: Very good and flavorful although I would definitely add more mushrooms the next time.


Keeper? YES!!

25. Cream of Carrot Soup

I had no idea what I was making for dinner tonight so took inventory and realized I had everything I needed for this soup. The recipe is from the Better Homes and Garden Soups and Stews cook book.

Cream of Carrot Soup

1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup of sliced carrots
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
½ teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
Few dashes white pepper
1 cup milk

In a saucepan combine chicken broth, chopped onion, carrots, parsley, and basil. Bring mixture to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12 minutes. Place half the vegetable mixture into a blender or food processor. Cover and blend 30 to 60 seconds or till smooth. Pour into bowl. Repeat with remaining vegetable mixture. Set aside.

In the same saucepan melt the butter. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Add the milk all at once. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in the blended vegetable mixture. Cook and stir till soup is heated through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serves 3 or 4.

Changes and Shortcuts: I used rice milk instead of milk and dried parsley instead of fresh. I used a can of chicken broth, so it was 14 ounces instead of 12.

Results: Very good. I felt it need a little something else, so I added a pinch of garlic and ginger.

Keeper? YES

38. Corn-Peanut Chowder

This week I tried Corn-Peanut Chowder from the Better Homes and Gardens Soups and Stews cookbook. This is a very quick soup to throw together and there was nothing that needed or that I wanted to prepare ahead. I made a few changes which follow.

Corn-Peanut Chowder

2 cups water
1 envelope regular chicken noodle soup mix
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
1 16 oz can cream style corn
2 tablespoons peanut butter

In a 3 quart saucepan bring water to a boil; add soup mix, onion, and salt. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 10 minutes or till noodles are tender. Stir in milk, corn, and peanut butter; heat through. Serves 4 – 6

Changes and Shortcuts: This soup seemed like it needed some real chicken in it. Since I always have some cooked chicken on hand, I chopped some up and added it at the end. I also thought it needed a little kick to it. I like peanut butter and red pepper flakes in a stir fry so why not? I add a few pinches of pepper flakes and it seemed to do the trick. This soup could be as spicy as you want by adding the pepper flakes or maybe Tabasco.

Results: Pretty good and easy to make.

Keeper? Probably

41. Shrimp (Crab) Bisque

I had a request for Lobster Bisque. I decided to use a recipe that I had for Shrimp Bisque from the Better Homes and Gardens Soups and Stews Cook Book and substitute lobster for the shrimp. I wasn’t able to get lobster meat, so I used a lump crab meat instead.

Shrimp (Crab) Bisque

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced potato
½ cup chopped onion
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 8 oz package frozen thawed precooked shrimp, thawed
2 tablespoons butter

In saucepan combine celery, potato, onion, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, and a dash of pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes or till potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Blend milk and flour; stir into potato mixture. Add shrimp and butter. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Garnish with snipped parsley, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Changes and Shortcuts: The only change I made was substituting an 8 oz container of lump crab meat for the shrimp. As I usually do, to save time I chopped the celery and onions in the morning before work. Since there was only one potato to be dealt with, I left that until I was ready to cook.

Results: For some reason, I never have much luck when the recipe says “cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.” That never happened with this soup. Instead of just mixing the flour and milk and adding the butter at the end, I think it might work better to make a roux, add the milk, then add that to the soup. Although it wasn’t as thick and bubbly as I had imagined, it was a good soup, quick to make, and I think I like this better with crab than I would with shrimp.

Keeper? YES!

45. Swiss-Broccoli Soup

Broccoli and cheese always go well together. This recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Soups and Stews Cookbook uses Swiss cheese instead of the usual cheddar. There are just a few ingredients and a short cook time so the soup can be made quickly after work.


Swiss-Broccoli Soup

2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
1 10 oz package frozen cut broccoli
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded process Swiss cheese, (4 oz)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup all purpose flour

In saucepan heat bouillon granules in 1 ½ cups water till dissolved. Add broccoli, cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or till tender. Add milk, cheese, nutmeg and dash pepper. Cook and stir till cheese melts. Combine flour and ½ cup cold water; stir into broccoli mixture. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Changes and Shortcuts: None

Results: One of the tricks to melting cheese smoothly into a sauce is to toss the shredded cheese in a little bit of flour before adding it to the liquid and keeping the temperature low. Well, I forgot both of these tips and just followed the recipe. As a result, I wound up with little bits of lumpy cheese in my soup. Today, I also saw a tip on the food channel for melting cheese into a sauce. Supposedly, cheese that is bought already shredded in a bag will melt more smoothly than cheese that you grate yourself. The secret is in the process that the cheese in the bag goes through. The soup tasted good though and was very easy to make.

Keeper? Probably

52. Creole Tomato Soup

The first soup that I made was Creole Tomato Soup from the Better Homes and Gardens Soups and Stews cook book (ISBN 0-696-00445-3, which can be found at www.Amazon.com ). This recipe was “souper” easy! I get home from work late in the evening, so I’m always looking for something quick to make for dinner. I served this with some multi grain toast topped with melted cheese. There are just a few ingredients and the soup has a short cooking time.


Creole Tomato Soup

¼ cup sliced green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 12 oz cans (3 cups) vegetable juice cocktail
1 cup water
¼ cup long grain rice
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 4½ oz can shrimp, drained and deveined

In a saucepan cook onion and garlic in butter or margarine until tender but not brown. Add vegetable juice cocktail, water, uncooked rice, sugar, salt, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 25 minutes or till rice is tender. Stir in shrimp. Heat through. Remove bay leaf before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Changes and shortcuts:

I chopped the green onion, minced the garlic, and measured the spices in the morning before going to work. Instead of using a can of shrimp, I used about a ¼ pound of small shrimp cut in half.


Result:
This recipe was quick and easy. It was good with the shrimp, but would be just as good without. Nice quick meal.

Keeper? YES