Nothing Like Some Hot, but Quick, Soup
We’re on our fifth day in a row of below-freezing nights. When I think of something to have for dinner, it’s been something that would give me an excuse to crank up the oven, or keep the crockpot going.
Today it might be soup. While you might think of soup as something that needs hours of simmering, that’s not always true. So here are two recipes for quick and easy soups that are way better than anything you can get out of a can.
Potato Soup
This one is so easy you’ll wonder why you never thought of it before!
To four cups of boiling water, add 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon or soup base. Add ½ to 1 cup of instant mashed potato – flakes or granules, doesn’t matter which. Sprinkle in some dried minced onion and parsley for color, and there you have it!
You might want to garnish it with some thinly-sliced cucumbers or sour cream.
Corn Chowder
Brown 4-6 slices of bacon, drain and set aside. Sauté ½ an onion, chopped, ½ a green pepper, also chopped and two stalks of sliced celery. Add 4 cups water, 4 tsp chicken bouillon or soup base, 1 bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Add 1 large or two small potatoes, peeled and cubed. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add one 10-oz package frozen corn, the bacon, and allow to heat thru.
Whisk 3 tablespoons flour into 1 cup of milk, making sure there are no lumps. Add to soup, again bring to a boil. Allow to cook another 10 minutes or so, and serve.
If you can get pumpernickel rolls, they go really well with either soup.
January 19th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I’ve made fake potato soup before, and used powdered milk also. I could taste the fakeness (not sure if it was from the potato flakes, dried milk, or both). But it was nasty - I can’t stand potato flakes.
I don’t know if everyone can taste potato flake fakeness; I also can’t drink out of soft plastic because I can taste it. But I can’t taste microwaved coffee like DH can. Weird how some people can taste unnaturalness in foods, while others can’t.
What’s up with all those links at the bottom? Is that like one gigantic ad section?
January 19th, 2007 at 11:02 am
The links at the bottom are the other blogs that make up 451 Press. There are some pretty good ones there! You can find a blog to match almost any interest.
January 19th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Tim from Wii Rally here I write a 451 blog all about the Nintendo Wii. Keep your eyes peeled for my report on “Cooking Mama” for the Wii.
January 19th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Hi Shreela, I’m BB from 1PStart.com. Just like Tim, I am also a gaming blog, but instead of focusing solely on the Wii, I write about everything big that’s going on in the gaming world. Nice to meet you
January 19th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Hi Shreela, I’m Allison and I write http://www.findreligion.net and http://www.RealityonBravo.com (and yes, I do cover Top Chef!). If either of those strike your fancy, I hope you’ll stop by. Regardless, happy reading with 451.
January 20th, 2007 at 5:05 am
Hi Shreela, my blog is all about food history. Right now it’s mostly Australian and English Regency cooking.
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Thanks for the corn chowder info, I’m addicted to corn chowder, and since I’m a “cold body”, ie, I’m freezing all the time, it’s just the thing to warm me up!