Soup for a Winter day

It's the right time of year for a warm, comforting bowl of soup so I thought I'd rehash a couple of recipes from my old blog. Both are quick, easy, and delicious.

Easy Tortilla Soup

2 (10.5 oz.) cans condensed chicken and rice soup
1 (10.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
8 ounces tortilla chips
4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the soup, tomatoes & chilies and tomato sauce. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Place some tortilla chips in the bottom of an individual bowl and sprinkle cheese over the chips. Pour soup over the chips and cheese. Yield: 2 servings.

This recipe is easy to double or quadruple for more people. It's also easy to tweak with different varieties of cheese, chips, canned tomatoes, or the addition of meat.

Refried Bean Soup

Darlene Brenden of Salem, OR in Simple & Delicious

1 can (16 oz.) spicy fat-free refried beans
1 can (15-1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup water
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1/4 cup salsa
Tortilla chips

In a large sauce pan, combine the first eight ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Again, this is an easy recipe to change to fit the tastes of your family. It's on the menu at our house tonight. Yum!

A new year

My husband and I welcomed in the new year in our usual way. We gathered with two other couples, ate entirely too much food, laughed, talked and played boards games. We've done it for years and years and always have a good time.

Today we slept in, had a late lunch of Black-Eyed Pea Soup and Mexican Cornbread, then headed to the movies to see Avatar. Considering my attention span is sometimes a bit short I wondered if I would enjoy an almost three hour movie. I did have to shift around in my seat and peek at my watch a couple of times, but the movie was wonderful and I really liked it!

When I finish here and shut down my computer for the evening I plan to settle in with my handwritten journal to make my annual New Year's entry. I'm not always good about writing on a regular basis throughout the year, but I always write on New Year's Day. It's my time to look back and reflect on how well I met the goals I set a year ago and to decide what I want to work on in the coming year. First, though, I'll share a few recipes from our New Year's eating.

Eggnog Tube Cake

Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Mary Ellen Severance of Biggs, CA

1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. rum extract

1-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp. rum extract

3 to 4 tsp. eggnog

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix. pudding mix, eggs, eggnog, oil, extract and nutmeg. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into a well-greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350F for 38-41 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract and enough eggnog to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Contributed to American Profile by Joyce Gates of Clovis NM

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 pound Polish sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

2 (15 oz) cans black-eyed peas with jalapenos, undrained

1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 oz) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

1 (4 oz) can chopped mild green chilies

1 to 2 medium jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups water

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onions and cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover tightly. Simmer 45 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Reheat before serving.

Mexican Cornbread

(my mother's recipe from when I was growing up)

Sift together:

1-1/2 cup cornmeal

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Add in:

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs, one at a time

1 cup sour cream

1 (no. 2) can cream-style corn

1 cup grated cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (I sub dried, chopped chives)

Bake in a greased, square glass dish at 425F about 45 minutes.

A pot of soup

It got cold this week. Perfect weather for soup!

My mother made a wonderful vegetable soup when I was growing up. She's been gone for many years now, but my sister and I have carried on the tradition with our own takes on the original. Mine has evolved into more of a cabbage-tomato-barley soup. Here's how I make it:

Put a soupbone, an onion or two, and some seasonings in a soup pot half filled with water. Bring to a boil then simmer about 45 minutes to an hour to form the stock. After removing the soupbone add a chopped head of cabbage, some diced fresh carrots, a large can of crushed tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste. Top off with tomato juice until the soup pot is full. Simmer on medium low heat all day. An hour or so before serving add a can of green beans (drained) and about 3/4 cup of barley.

Mmm, mmm good!

Something old and something new

My daughter was asking for this recipe over the weekend (originally from Quick Cooking magazine), so I decided it was time to rehash it here. Always a favorite during my vegetarian years, I still love it and make it often. I never hesitated to use chicken broth during that time, but assume vegetable broth could be subbed for those who won’t use meat-based broths.

POTATO CHOWDER

8 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup*
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
Snipped chives, optional

In a slow cooker, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until potatoes are tender. Add cream cheese; stir until blended. Garnish with bacon and chives if desired. Yield: 12 servings (3 quarts).

Nutritional Analysis: One 1-cup serving (prepared with reduced-fat cream of chicken soup and reduced-fat cream cheese; calculated without bacon) equals 148 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 655 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

* I prefer to substitute cream of celery soup. Cream of mushroom could also be substituted.


This morning I tried a recipe from my last issue of Simple & Delicious. It was contributed by Amie Longstaff of Painesville Township, OH. I didn’t have enough of a couple of the ingredients (and had to make a substitution for one) so I cut the recipe in half. Also, my muffin pans are standard sized rather than mini, so it ended up making 12 muffins. I extended the baking time to 20 minutes and probably should have pulled them out after 18. They still tasted quite good.

MONKEY MUFFINS

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the bananas, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups three-fourths full. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350ºF for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 6 dozen.