OT: good fall soup!

psammeadred · 11-26-2006, 10:24 PM

I was playing around in the kitchen today and was bored with Campbell's tomato, so...

1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup + roughly 1/2 can of water
1 can petite dice canned tomatoes in juice
Liberal amounts of garlic and Italian seasoning (I used ~4 cloves of garlic - yes, we all love garlic here - and ~1 tsp. Italian seasoning.)

Stir over medium heat until hot. Garnish with a bit of Parmesan cheese if you like - yummy! This served three of us with generous portions.

Side note: did you know that one can of Campbell's tomato soup concentrate has 24 grams of sugar??? So much for it being health food...

Post your favorite fall/winter recipe!

brendajos · 11-27-2006, 03:43 AM

i check the sugars all the time, but it is the sodium that usually ticks me off the most. i hate all the added cwap they put in foods that diminish the real taste of food. and i really don't have time to cook everything from scratch most of the time....very annoying.

nonny2t · 11-27-2006, 11:45 AM

I make chili with tomato soup and my dh loves it because he is from Southern New Mexico and says chili with beans isn't chili (I think some kidney beans in my chili after serving. He also doesn't like tomato chunks and this works out great. Prepared food of any kind is either going to have lots of sodium or lots of sugar for taste. It is a fact of life, though you can in some markets gets sugar free canned stuff and a lot of places now offer lower sodium.

gimmesanity · 11-27-2006, 02:33 PM

If you like tomato-based soups, one of my favorite quick meals is fake-o minestrone.

I sautee some garlic and onions, then I add a can of low-sodium chicken broth, a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of beans (any kind) rinsed. I then add whatever veggies I have in the freezer or in the fridge. Throw in a bay leaf, some oregano, a pinch of salt and pepper, and then I throw in some spaghetti that's been broken up. Simmer for 15 minutes or so. Longer is better.

For extra flavor, I add a bit of parmesean cheese rind while it's simmering.

Whenever I make this, DD eats it all up. It's better the next day, too.

janelanespaintbrush · 11-27-2006, 06:26 PM

I'm not sure I'd call it a "fall soup," but avgolemono is one of my favorites, and this is a good recipe for it. I've copied the text below from here and added some formatting to make it easier to read:

Boston's Recipe:

I'm 34 and have been making this since I could stand up on the stool in my Yia Yia's kitchen (my grandmother who is now 80 yrs. old).

Soupa Avgolemono:

8 c. homemade chix stock,
1 c. orzo,
4 eggs/ separated,
juice of 3 lemons,
fresh ground black pepper.

This recipe will make a perfectly balanced salty, rich, filling, comforting soup. Boil broth, add orzo and simmer until tender 20 min. Whip whites until medium peaks, add yolks beating continuously, add juice, beating. Temper eggs with 2 c. broth, adding in constant slow stream while continuing to beat furiously so you do not curdle the eggs. Add egg mixture back to remaining broth and serve. When reheating, do not re-boil - heat slowly until very warm or you may curdle the eggs. Garnish with thinly sliced lemon. I sometimes add more than juice of 3 lemons, as the sourness is the best part of the taste! You should taste lemon, richness of eggs, salt of chicken, and starch of rice, in that order and you've made it perfectly. You can also add thin pieces of shredded chicken meat (pull off bone in strips), although classic recipes don't include chicken, vegetables, garlic or any of the ingredients many reviewers added to "fix" this recipe. Try mine and you'll be hooked for life!

DH would probably cringe if he heard me say this, but I think you could get away with canned chicken broth instead of home-made. DH throws all kinds of stuff into his stock to make it dark and rich (which is usually good), but for this, his broth is a little overpowering. I think clearer broth would let the bright lemon flavor come through more -- which is the part I like.

HamburgKnitter · 11-27-2006, 08:00 PM

Now I'm hungry.

I think I have to make a big pot of minestrone next weekend.....

ecb · 11-28-2006, 05:34 AM

ok, good simple recipes
1 jar of Salsa
1 equal jar of Water
Chicken
Mix in baking pan and bake at 350 for 30 min
then add equal amounts of Minute rice in the smae jar to the sauce mix
cover with foil
cook for another 30 min
serve with or without cheese on top

ecb · 11-28-2006, 05:36 AM

how about add a Lb of ground beef with a jar of salsa
mix well cold then Cook in skillet (will come out as MUSH)
pour over cooked beans (either cooked from dry the night before and drained, or drained from a can) and cook for 2 hours
Idiot proof chili

ecb

cookworm · 11-29-2006, 05:02 AM

Originally Posted by psammeadred

Side note: did you know that one can of Campbell's tomato soup concentrate has 24 grams of sugar???

I know--this ticks me off. Also, canned soups are loaded with MSG, which bugs me (brendajos, you're so right about the additives in our foods!). Your guys' recipes sound really good...I'm very hungry! If I have a bit of extra time, I'll try to make a homemade tomato soup using tomato paste instead of the canned stuff, that way, I can add what I want to add instead of all of those extra ingredients like I don't want like sugar, MSG, excess sodium, etc.

My favorite homemade soup is Greek Egg Lemon Rice Soup (Avgolemeno--I don't know if I spelled it exactly right or not). It's not low fat or low calorie, but a nice treat every now and then! I'll make that and pair it up with a Serbian flat bread I make from scratch too (pogaca); it's relatively cheap and easy, and there's usually not any leftovers (which at my house is the highest compliment!). I think that homemade soups kind of deserve homemade bread if you can squeeze in the time; it makes the soup even more inviting.

Avgolemeno
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 egg yolks, beaten
4 cups cooked rice (or you can use orzo)
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stock
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
parsley
1/2 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Put the chicken stock and rice (or orzo) and parsley together in a large pot and heat. In a bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch and mix in the egg yolks thoroughly. Add the milk and egg mixture while constantly stirring, and continue cooking until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and butter, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Sometimes I'll add some cooked chicken to this too to make it more hearty; I'm not sure if that's a traditional way of serving it or not, but it's good. Another "rave review" over at my house is baked potato soup. I'm too lazy to go to my cookbook cabinet and fish out my recipe, but this recipe sounds really similar to the one I make (again, not low fat or low calorie).

psammeadred · 11-29-2006, 05:19 AM

Oh, that avgolemeno sounds so good! I've had something similar before, and it was very yummy. I might have to make that on Thursday, since we're expecting an ice storm. Today's high was 75 degrees; Thursday's high is 28. As Will Rogers said, "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait five minutes." One year, the first Sunday in March was 80 degrees, and that Wednesday, we had a record snowfall!