Quick Chicken Soup

Back in the days when the DH and I both worked full time jobs and needed sometimes to come up with a meal in a hurry, this was one of our favorites.

Quick, easy, inexpensive -- all good things!

Yesterday my daughter asked me to remind her again how we did this -- now that she and her husband sometimes need to do this.


Happy to do it






Ingredients:

32 ounces of chicken broth -- more or less -- homemade or from a can
large (12.5 ounce) can of chicken meat or equivalent of left over chicken
1 cup frozen peas or mixed vegetables
1 cup raw noodles

How to:

Pour the broth and the chicken into a pan (if you are using left over chicken, add a bit of water, if you are using the can, pour in the liquid from the can too)

Bring to a boil

Add vegetables and noodles

Cook until the noodles are to the desired doneness -- about 10 minutes

Enjoy!!

Gma's Boston Style Clam Chowder

I like clam chowder -- especially the Boston Style ones.

This recipe came from my mother

Ingredients:
3" cube of salt pork or an equivalent amount of bacon (about 1/4 pound)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cans of clams
1/2 pound (about 2 large) carrots, cubed
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 quart of milk

How to:

Cut the salt pork or bacon into small pieces, brown in the pan until browned

Add the chopped onion and cook until tender (do not brown)

Drain the clams and set aside, add the liquid to the pan

Add carrots and potatoes and enough water to cover, cook until the potatoes are tender (10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the pieces and your altitude)

Add clams and milk, heat but DO NOT boil

enjoy with crusty bread

Potato Soup

I like potato soup. There's something soothing about that warm, creamy potatoey goodness.

I remember eating potato soup as a kid. My dad will eat potatos 9 times a day (must be his Irish genetics!), and I must have gotten that fondness for the stuff from him.

Besides all that, its pretty easy to make. And its pretty forgiving of little variations in ingredients too.

So, here is the recipe:


Potato Soup

2 pieces of bacon, cut in fine dice (I've also used little pieces of ham for this)
2 ribs of celery, cut in fine dice (the idea is for a little texture, not big chunks)
1 bunch green onions -OR- 1 medium onion, cut in fine dice
1 tsp salt (or to your taste)
8 to 10 small to medium red potatoes, scrubbed and diced (I've also used other potatoes, and they work okay too)
1 to 2 cups chicken broth (homemade is great, out of a can is fine)
4 to 5 cups water
1 can evaporated milk (or whatever milk you have on hand, half and half is really good)

In a LARGE pan, brown the bacon.

Add the onion and celery and saute until transparent

Add broth, water and potatoes and cook until potatoes are soft.

Blend soup to desired consistancy. Use an immersion blender, a blender (in small amounts at a time) or a masher to do this step.

Add milk to the soup and heat to just below a boil (boiling the milk gives it a funny taste)

Serve with a dab of butter, or sour cream, or shredded cheddar cheese or whatever other garnish you like on potatoes.

This also reheats well in the microwave, so it makes a great carry along for lunch in the office the day after.

Gpa's Chili

This recipe is the creation of my dad, and has been variously "tinkered" with by him for years.

I kept asking for the recipe, and finally one day when he was putting it together, my mom sat in the kitchen and wrote it down as he went.

Just a few notes about the ingredients: Kuner's is a mountain region brand, and I'm guessing that any brand would do if this one isn't available. An institutional can is one of those great big ones that you can get at some of the grocery stories and at Walmart, at least in our area.

Dad uses a canning kettle to cook this in, and the only warning here is, don't turn up the heat too high or you'll burn the bottom, which is not all that tasty!

So here's the recipe:

Gpa’s Chili

1 pound ground pork
5 pounds hamburger
Kuner’s Chili Beans in chili sauce 6 pound 12 ounce can (institutional size)
Kuner’s Dark Red Kidney beans 6 pound 12 ounce can (institutional size)
46 ounce can tomato juice
2 medium mild onions, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbls salt
½ cup ketchup
3 tbls sugar
1 tbls chili powder

In 18 quart kettle, scramble cook ground pork until it begins to loose red color.

Add ground beef and onions. Cook until meat is done but not browned and onions are transparent.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Rinse cans with a little water and add to pot too.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer and cook for at least 2 hours.

This freezes really well, and reheats in a jiffy either in the microwave or on the stove.


Aside from just eating this yummy stuff with shredded cheese on top and some oyster crackers, we've also used it in these ways:

mixed with left over macaroni and cheese for chili mac
rolled in a tortilla for a quickie burrito
poured over tortilla chips, topped with cheese and heated for mealtime nachos

There are probably more ideas out there, how about sharing yours?