Throw-Together Soup and Bread

With my fever raging, and the whole family down for the count with this swine flu, I just didn't feel like cooking yesterday. But I could throw things in the crockpot ... so I did. Sorry but I didn't measure - that's why I call it "throw"-together!

white beans (maybe a cup or 2?)
water to cover

Cook until soft. Added quinoa (maybe a cup?) and more water, and cooked until quinoa was soft. Added dried soup veggies (maybe a cup - green beans, peas, carrots, potatoes, onion, bell peppers, etc.). Also added lots of dried garlic (good for immune system) and dried onion dices. Pinch of hot pepper flakes.

When it smelled ready, we ate it with some bread I had done in the bread machine (comes in handy when I have no energy to knead).

I'm re-heating leftovers for tonight, after adding a dash of Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb mix, and we'll be adding some goat or sheep cheese to melt in the hot soup. Yum.

Crockpot Potato Soup

I hadn't made this soup since I had my first apartment at age 17. It was easy then, and is easy now! With the 100 pounds of potatoes I bought this weekend (99 cents per 10 pounds of potatoes - Safeway special thru today!), I had to come up with something.

So yesterday I made soup.

In my small crockpot, I cut up 2 large and 3 small potatoes (washed, with skin on). Added 1 medium onion, cut in chunks. Added 3 cups of water. Set on high for 3 hours.

When the potatoes were soft, I smooshed some of the chunks with a fork which made it really creamy looking without using butter. Then I added another onion (cut in small chunks), 3 tablespoons real bacon pieces,1 tablespoon seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder.

To serve, I sprinkled with dried parsley, and added sheep-milk cheese to Hubby's bowl (he can tolerate only goat and sheep cheese), with swiss to mine. If I could have found the box that had Velveeta in it (still haven't finished unpacking), I would have used that.

Pretty tasty! A bit salty, tho, from the bacon and seasoned salt. Will go easier on those the next time.

A quick meal when can't find kitchen stuff!

We've finally sold the horrible house and moved into our temporary place. I've been down with the flu (not THAT flu!) so I haven't really unpacked yet. No idea where the dishes are, and still can't find my clothes!!!

I did just find my small crockpot and a bag of white northern beans so I put 1 cup of beans in the crockpot with 4 cups of water. On high. I'm going back to bed for a while.

Then... an hour before dinner, I'll add another cup or 2 of water, 2 tablespoons of dried carrot dices, half a small can of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of dehydrated onion flakes, and 2 tablespoons garlic powder (can't find the garlic flakes!!). IF I can find some bacon in our chest freezer, I'll add a couple of slices too. Or maybe 2 tablespoons of jarred bacon pieces.

Now... where's my bread machine?

Recipe: Creamy Asparagus Soup

It's asparagus time! Time to clip them out of your garden, or get them from your local farmer's market, all fresh and ready for your palate. This is a simple soup, using some pantry items in addition to the asparagus.

Ingredients:

1 cup diced asparagus

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 soup-can of milk (reconstituted powdered is fine)

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Directions:

Cook asparagus in a small amount of boiling, salted water until tender, then drain well. In the same medium saucepan, add the cream of chicken soup, milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat. Use an immersion blender to puree. Pour into bowls and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with steamed asparagus tips, if desired.

Copyright (c) 2009 V P Lawrence-Williams

Recipe: Crockpot Beans and Salt Pork

I just discovered this recipe - found it in a pioneer book and modified it to suit me. Before bed on Friday, I placed all of the ingredients in the crockpot and let it simmer on low all night. The house smelled wonderful! Hubby and I ate on it all day; VHTS is a very picky eater and had to be coerced to eat any, but he loved the "bacon" taste.

For this recipe, you need to use a large-sized crockpot, and trust me, it will provide many meals! Well worth it.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dry (picked-through) kidney beans
• 1 ham bone or a big ole chunk of salt pork or bacon
• 5 cups water or broth or red wine or any combination thereof!
• 1/2 cup various spices (you choose from: tobasco sauce, bay leaves, garlic, onion, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, marjoram, etc.)
• 2 cups miscellaneous dried vegetables (bell pepper, celery, carrots, potatoes, etc.)
• Garnish: chopped parsley, grated cheese, chopped scallions

Directions:
Put the beans, pork, spices and liquid in the crockpot on low heat. Cook covered for 8-10 hours. Then check the liquid level - add more if you need, to cover the beans. If it's too liquidy, you could add a half cup of rice or pasta. Add the dried veggies (if you do it at the beginning, they'll be mush!) Cook another couple of hours - beans should be very tender. Remove bones and any bay leaves. Sometimes I thicken it up by adding 2 tablespoons of rice flour (you could use wheat flour but we're gluten-free here) and cook for another 30 minutes or so. Serve in bread bowls or regular bowls, and add garnish just before serving.

This is a really cheap dish. Sometimes we get cheap bacon end pieces for $4.99; we could use a fifth of the package for this, so $1.00 plus $1.27 for the beans, and another $2.00 for the various dried veggies and spices + nothing if you use water instead of broth = $4.27 for a big crockpot that makes 8-10 servings. Add in bread and you have a well balanced meal for around $5.00 for 8-10 people!

This soup can be made so many different ways, just by varying the beans, spices and veggies. Enjoy!

Copyright (c) 2009 VP Lawrence-Williams

Recipe: Easy Black Bean Soup

Keep this recipe near your stored cans! Basically, all you do is combine, heat and serve!

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 can white kernel corn (or yellow if you prefer), with liquid
1 can minestrone soup (ready to serve)
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can new potatoes, with liquid
1 can black beans

Directions:
Drain and rinse the black beans. Add all ingredients to medium saucepan and heat to very hot. Serve topped with green can parmesan cheese.

Copyright (c) 2009 VPLW

Recipe: Easy Tomato Soup

Tired of yet another can of tomato soup? Here's a way to spruce it up!

Ingredients:
1 can of condensed tomato soup
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
dash of hot sauce (optional)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small-to-medium saucepan, add one soup-can of water, and heat to very hot. Serve immediately.

Copyright (c) 2009 VPLW

Recipe: Corn Chowder

This is a rich wonderful stew (Rachel Ray would call it a stewp - cross between a stew and soup) with lots of yummy goodness. The potato flakes thicken the broth and makes it surprisingly creamy-ish.

Ingredients:
3 cans corn
1 14-ounce can creamed corn
1/2 cup dried onion dices
2 14-ounce cans chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 cup dehydrated potato flakes
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in small crockpot. Stir carefully to mix. Cover. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve topped with crackers or green can parmesan cheese.

Alternative:
Add 1 cup dried chicken or turkey dices for a hearty-protein stewp.

Copyright (c) 2009 New View Group, LLC

Recipe: Ground-Beef Stew

Easy Beef Stew, and not previously canned! A good way to control the salt intake, and quality of ingredients.

Ingredients:
4 cans new potatoes (drained)
2 cups dried cooked ground beef
1/3 cup dried potato flakes
3 cups water
1 cup dried carrot dices
1/2 cup dried bell pepper dices
1/2 cup dried onion dices
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add all ingredients to crockpot. Stir to mix. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add more or less water as desired.

Copyright (c) 2009 New View Group, LLC

Recipe: Cheezy Potato Soup

This will do well in a pot on a grill or stove, or even in a crockpot.

6 cans new potatoes, drained, chopped
1 cup dried onion dices
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups chopped processed cheese loaf (like Velveeta)
jarred bacon pieces
dried parsley

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except bacon). Cook for about an hour on the stove, or 4 hours on low crockpot. Serve hot, garnished with the bacon and dried parsley.

Copyright (c) 2009 New View Group, LLC

Recipe: Chicken and Rice-Noodle Soup

This is a take on regular chicken noodle soup, but it uses rice noodles. Rice noodles are gluten-free and come in many shapes, including little cars, macaroni, and penne. They also store well.

Ingredients:
2 5-ounce cans chunk chicken in water
2 14-ounce cans chicken broth (or about 4 cups made from boullion)
1/4 cup dried vegetables (mixed: carrots, spinach, celery)
2 tablespoons dried onion dices
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt/pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup rice noodles

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in large pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Add rice noodles (and more broth if needed) and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until noodles are cooked through.

OR - cook in crockpot for 4-6 hours, and add the rice noodles about 15 minutes before serving.

Very healthy, and lactose-free/gluten-free.

Copyright (c) 2008 New View Group, LLC


Update 1/2/09 at 7:13 p.m.: Hubby raved about this soup, calling it "absolutely delicious". Although he likes and/or tolerates my cooking and experiments, this was the first dish he went ga-ga over. Son said he would prefer it be made with no veggies except a couple bits of carrots, and wanted rice spaghetti-shaped (long-skinny) noodles so it would look more like his favorite canned chicken soup.

Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup

Some people believe eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is good luck - so here's a recipe to help you bring all of the best to you in this near year.

Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup
· 1 pound dried rinsed/picked-over peas
· 1 medium can of diced tomatoes with liquid
. 1/2 cup dried vegetables: broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, carrots, etc.
· 1 teaspoon chili powder
· ½ cup dried onion dices
· 1 cup cornmeal
· 1 cup diced ham (or Spam)
· salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Open/pick over and rinse the peas night before and place in crock-pot with enough water to cover. Let sit overnight. Next morning, change water, add the rest of the ingredients, and cook in crock-pot on low for 6-8 hours. Skim any froth.

Copyright (c) 2008/2009 New View Group, LLC

Recipe: Kidney Bean and Pasta Soup

Kidney Bean & Pasta Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dried onion
• 1 large can diced undrained tomatoes
• 4 cups water
• 4 tsp chicken or vegetable bullion
• 1 cup small regular or gluten-free shell pasta
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• pinch crushed red pepper
• ½ tsp dried garlic
• 1 can rinsed and drained red kidney beans

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve topped with green can parmesan cheese and dried parsley. If you don't like beans, puree them first then add to crockpot. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Copyright (c) 2008 New View Group, LLC