I have not included pictures for this section, as I believe the best soups are done by the seat of your pants! What I am saying is that I am going to give you some basics of good, nutritional, fast, soup making, and I want to see you take it from there. Be inventive. There are endless things you can do with a good base! So, here is to a great 2011, may it be healthy, productive, happy, and most of all, YUMMY~
First, a good soup base is going to be a nice stock, either a meat, poultry or fish stock, or a vegetable stock. There is the slow cook method, filled with great nutrition and flavor, or the fast cook method, still nutritious but made from store bought bouillon or boxed/canned stock. I do both, depending on the time I have to make soup!
Earlier, I spoke of boiling a chicken for a dish, and keeping the stock in Glad screw top containers in the freezer! I would do this especially if you have access to a large freezer, separate or attached to your fridge. There is nothing quicker and more nutritious than having homemade stock on hand!
To make home made stock, you will use the carcass of a chicken, turkey, or several Cornish Hens after a well made dinner etc or the bones of ham, beef, lamb etc. You will put the leftover meats and bones of fowl or mammal into a large stew/stock pot and cover with water. I like to use filtered water, to remove the chlorine and fluoride taste, and you can use bottled or Brietta filtered water to achieve a great base.
Bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat to keep it simmering. When the water is reduced by half, add more water to the pot. Reduce again, and repeat about 3 to 4 times. I told you, this is the long way! But it sure tastes great when done. After the reduction process, you will pour the stock through a strainer to remove all the bones. Don't worry about the left over bits of meat. This is not when you want meat in the mix! This is a base stock to freeze for later consumption! I put the cooled stock through a 2nd strainer lined with a loose cheesecloth. This removes fat and scum from the stock! Now it is ready to pour into the Glad screw top containers and into the freezer!
You can do the same thing with veggies! I like to place whole carrots, stalks of celery, green beans, cabbage, onions, and spinach or chard in the stock pot. Add water to cover and begin the boil. Reduce to simmer and add water again, doing the reduction several times. Again, pour through a strainer and allow stock to cool in a large bowl. This stock does not need a 2nd strain as there is no meat scum or fat to remove. Keep the veggies for a goulash casserole the next day! Chopped with meat and added potato's or rice makes a delicious meal! Again, place the stock in the Glad screw top containers and freeze till you use!
OK, that is the base method for full on stock. Next is the quick method and ingredients follow for full soups!
A quick method is to have chicken, beef, or veggie stock on hand either in the boxed containers or the canned containers, sold in the soup aisle. I prefer the boxed version as you can use as much or as little as you like, and they tend to be less salty! You can keep the boxed type in the pantry till you open it, then remainder of contents must be refrigerated! If you use the can stock, and have leftovers, place the remainder in a Glad screw top container! DO NOT STORE ANYTHING IN THE FRIDGE IN AN OPEN CAN!!!!!!! Yes, that was loud, but very important for you to stay alive, and without ptomaine poisoning! You can also make quick stock from bouillon! I like to buy the powdered bouillon from the Mexican food aisle, as it is cost effective and it is the same as the ones on the soup aisle! Both are made by Knorr and they are the same ingredients! They have Beef, Chicken or Tomato base and all work great for a quick fix!
Now for those quick, yummy soups!
1. Quick Chicken Soup!
Items are per person, so double or triple etc for how many you are cooking for!
Ingredients:
- Stock, about 16 oz (two helpings)
- (for bouillon, use 16 oz of filtered water and measure per pkg instructions for water oz)
- one chicken breast, cut in cubes (or reduce the chicken cooking time if using leftover cooked chicken)
- one tomato quartered
- one stalk of celery finely sliced,
- 1/2 onion diced,
- one to two carrots sliced thin
- basil ribbon cut, about two leaves
- extra water add after boiling the stock as the chicken and veggies begin to add their own flavor
- salt and pepper to taste
- .Add the chicken and the carrots first, boil about 10 minutes,
- then add the celery and onions, boil an additional 10 minutes,
- add some water as it is reducing,
- add the tomato's and basil and salt and pepper to taste,
- bring back to a boil,
- then toward the end of the cooking, you can add 1 cup of flat noodles, or, 1 cup of rice, or, 1 cup of precooked canned beans, or, heck turn it into a minestroni type soup and add all three.
- Just remember, it will last longer in the tummy if you add a starch item. They are endless, like the three mentioned or corn, peas, squash, basically any of the starchy veggies, including potato's. But, if you use potatoes, they need to go in about the same time as the chicken as they need a full 30 minutes to devolve into a soft mass. The other starches need only about 5 to 10 minutes to break down enough to take on the flavor!
- After about 30 minutes of boiling, reducing and adding water, make sure it is boiling when you reduce heat to take it to a simmer. It is ready to eat now, but if you can afford another 5 to ten minutes at a simmer, you will benefit from the extra flavor and the slight thickening from any starch item you added.
- Full time should be between 30 and 45 minutes from start to finish.
B. When you put the chicken and carrots in, you are now slicing the celery and chopping the onions.
C. When you add the celery and onions, add a little water, then bring back to a boil and slice the tomato's
and basil.
D. After 10 min more, add the tomato's and basil, and salt and pepper to taste, boil an additional 10 mins!
E. Now add what you like in starch, the noodles or rice etc. They need about 10 minutes of simmer, or
soft boil to break down. Now either let it sit for 5 minutes or let simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes if
you have the time.
Plate it up: I love fancy bowls. When it is soup for dinner, make it beautiful. Pretty bowls, big soup spoons,
maybe a nice hard crust bread like a good sour dough, or dutch crunch! Good butter for the bread is essential! I like squeezing some lemon juice on the buttered bread, and sprinkling some pepper on it as well! Nothing like hot sour dough and butter dipped into a good soup to warm the soul!!!
I'd say You Know What To Do Next, but we're not finished!!!
Now for the beef soups!
Follow the recipe above, but use beef stock instead, and instead of chicken breasts, use precooked roasts cubed up, or meat off of precooked left over ribs, or even cubed up left over steak! There are longer versions of both soups that I will share below, but for quick meals, these suffice!
Now, there are the pea soups, legumes and bean soups! I love to come home on a blustery day and throw together a hearty soup to take the chill off! Just use your bouillon or stock, and add the lentils, split peas or navy beans etc. These take about 45 minutes to an hour when using dry legumes and peas. But for beans, for quick hot meals, I use canned beans! Also, do the recipe above only substitute frozen Lima Beans! Ooooeyy! You can make most traditional bean soups using canned beans! Add those veggies from first recipe to pump it up! If using dry beans, it is always best to plan ahead and soak overnight, then it still takes a good 1 1/2 hours of simmer/low boil to break them down to devolved mass!
Have I mentioned CHOWDERS?????
I am famous in our house for quick chowders! It is a really cold day. I mean, like, snowing, or ice rain. Or maybe, like me, you are now in Florida, and just want the taste of the cold blustery day chowder, even though it is like 65 outside, and everyone else is eating ice cream and wearing short sleeve shirts! A chowder invokes the warmth of hearth and home! I have several ways to do it!
First. What is a chowder anyway! People automatically think of CLAM Chowder. As well they should! BUT, there are all kinds of chowders, both fish and non fish! To me, a chowder means something thick and creamy, and to others, it just means lots of ingredients and mostly seafood! Well, to all the experts out there, bite me!!! Hahaha! Here is Mama Mungo's version of Chowder!
First, I think of chowder as creamy and filling. I like making a quick corn chowder on the most blustery day, when the snow and weather made it a difficult commute, and all I want to do is get inside, build a fire, get those cold wet clothes off, and get into some toasty PJ's and cook something hot and quick that will stick to my stomach and make me fall asleep despite the wind howling outside! So, all you really need to start your chowder is, you guessed it, stock!!! Beef, Chicken, or Veggie! Get it boiling.
Now what to add!
First, I love corn chowder! This one is quick and of course, the experts will say, "She's cheating!" Who care's , as she blows a raspberry at them!! I need something hot and filling right now!!!!
Like I said, Corn Chowder is the quickest one to make, (ok, cheating) but here goes!
Bring the stock to a boil, add a can of corn or frozen corn (takes about 5 minutes longer, boil until the corn begins to soften, then add some carrots that have been mulched in the food processor, a thinly sliced celery stalk, salt and pepper to taste, and last but not least, Ta Dahhhh, instant potato's!!! Slowly add the potato's just after the carrot mulch breaks down to a softness, (or use precooked frozen carrots, thawed and mulched for even faster time). Add the instant potato's a little at a time as they thicken as they congeal, and when you have the consistency that you like, turn off the flame and let sit for about 5 minutes, (if you can), then serve it up in nice tall bowls with rye bread if you have it. Don't get me wrong, sourdough is OK too, but the rye bread seems to blend well with the thicker taste of this chowder!
Other ways to make a chowder if you love fish or seafood, is to get the stock boiling, then add whatever veggies you like, get them soft, then add your canned clams, or oysters, or fish, or that fake crab stuff cause it works for this as well. Just after adding the seafood, begin stirring in a half and half or heavy cream, and then at the end, I LOVE to add clam juice!!! Slowly stir while simmering and wallah, you have a nice creamy seafood chowder! To make it thicker, add a little cornstarch to a cup, about 1/4 cup cornstarch and then use your fingers to mix it with some cream. Once the lumps are gone, add it to the simmering pot while stirring slowly! Turn heat off after adding this and keep stirring. It thickens quick. Add same amount again if you are serving a large crowd and the pot is large!!!
OK, as promised, long tedious soups! But tooooo good to not pass on instructions!
Remember I said use precooked beef etc to make the quick soups?? Well, when time permits, and it is a Saturday, and you have nowhere to go etc, get out those short ribs, or stew meats, or cube up some really good steak or use bone meat like Ox Tails etc,or Ham Hocks, and get to boiling/simmering early in the day, like about 5 hours before you will be serving the soup! First, just like in a stew, you need to pre-brown your meat! (Not necessary for Ham) Then, add to a pot of water and let it boil first about 1/2 hour, then reduce to a simmer for many hours! You will add water as it reduces, but basically, the meat stays in the pot the whole time! About 2 1/2 hours into the meat cooking, add veggies (from 1st recipe) and things like Lentils to Beef or Split Pea for Ham Hocks, and let these cook an additional 1 hour. Then, as those veggies dissolve into the mix, you will have a rich broth with shredded meat or ham and it tastes incredible! If you Like More Veggies, add more about 1/2 before serving, and let them simmer with the broth and meat and Legumes! Don't forget that the tomato's, if you use them, are always added last! The mix will be too acidic if you add them earlier!!! Always salt and pepper to taste toward the end, or health wise, you will have too much sodium in the broth! Veggies, meat, and especially celery have natural salt, so that is why you must wait for the broth to "BLOOM" before adding additional flavor!
Well, this is quick and not nearly all the soups I've made, but it will get you started and thinking about ingredients that are special to YOU!!! Once you have the basics of soup, you can go anywhere with it! Let alone all the cold soups for summer, but that will be another story!!! LOL!
You Know What To Do Next!!!!
