Soup Sunday

A few Sundays ago, the youth at our church held a soup luncheon to raise funds for a mission trip.  Each youth family was asked to contribute a pot of soup for the event.  Before I even asked my son what he wanted to take, I knew he would say potato soup.

Given his answer, you might think my son had always liked potato soup. However, he never cared for my tried and true crock-pot potato soup recipe, or my mother's stove top version.  What he did like, though, was the potato soup served at one of his favorite restaurants.  I found a copycat recipe online and, although my son thought the soup tasted good, I didn't think it tasted anything like the restaurant version.  I had to plan ahead of time to make the soup since it required a lot of prep work.  Once the prep work was done, I had to keep a close eye on the soup to ensure it didn't stick while cooking.  In my opinion, the finished dish wasn't worth the amount of effort involved.

Last year, while skimming through my box of untried recipes looking for inspiration, I spotted a potato soup recipe a friend had given me.  Although my friend's recipe used several of the same ingredients as the copycat recipe, it also used some time saving shortcuts.  I decided to make a batch hoping my son would like the soup.  Not only did he think it was good, he thought this soup was better than the copycat recipe!

The soup starts with cans of sliced potatoes, a huge time saver since there's no need to peel and dice a bag of potatoes.  If the potato slices are too large, I take a few minutes and cut them into four or six pieces, depending on the size of the potato.

The potatoes and remaining ingredients -- canned potato soup, water and heavy whipping cream -- are mixed in the pot the soup is cooked in which, for this recipe, is a crock-pot.  Using a crock-pot eliminates the need to keep an eye on the soup and stir it periodically.  While my tried and true crock-pot potato soup recipe made with raw potatoes takes eight hours to cook, this version is ready in two hours.  The short cooking time stems from the fact the canned potatoes are already cooked.  The ingredients just need to be cooked long enough to be heated thoroughly.  When the soup's ready, ladle it into bowls and add your favorite toppings. Around here, that would be cheese and bacon.

You may have noticed there's no seasoning added to the soup.  I don't add salt because both canned items -- potatoes and potato soup -- have salt as do the cheese and bacon.  I put salt and pepper shakers on the table and let everyone season their soup to taste.

The luncheon was held on a beautiful, unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon.  All the soups were a hit and I came home with an empty crock-pot.  I made the soup for supper recently on a rainy Friday night.  While just as delicious, this time there were leftovers for Sunday.

Easy Crock-Pot Potato Soup

6 Servings

2 (15 oz.) cans sliced potatoes

2 (10 1/2 oz.) cans cream of potato soup (undiluted)
1 soup can water

2 cups heavy whipping cream

bacon, cheese, chives (optional; for topping)

Cut sliced potatoes into smaller pieces, if necessary.  Combine potatoes, soup, water and whipping cream in a crock-pot.  Cover and cook on low 2 hours.  Ladle into bowls and add desired toppings.

© Margaret's Morsels

A Do Ahead Side

A couple of years ago at a church potluck, I saw a bowl filled with green beans and onions.  Normally, I would have ignored the dish -- I don't like beans with onions -- but the beans smelled delicious so I put a small serving on my plate.  After one bite, two things were apparent.  One, the beans were flavored with something besides onion.  Two, I wanted the recipe!

As the potluck wound down, I watched as people collected their bowls and pans from the food table.  When I saw Aaron, owner of the now empty bowl, pick it up off the table, I walked over and asked how he made the beans.  He graciously shared the recipe and I made the beans for the first time a few weeks later for Thanksgiving.

The recipe starts with a can of cut green beans.  The liquid is drained into a saucepan with some water, chopped onion and -- the ingredient that makes the beans so good -- adobo all purpose seasoning.

I wasn't familiar with adobo so I looked it up on the Internet.  My search yielded a lot of recipes for making the seasoning using salt, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder, or some combination of these ingredients.  I didn't mess with perfection and bought a bottle of Goya adobo all-purpose seasoning with pepper which is what was called for in Aaron's recipe.

I assumed the seasoning would be with all the other spices, but I found it in the aisle with Hispanic food.  The Goya brand is available in many different varieties!

The liquid, onion and adobo are brought to a rolling boil for 30 minutes. During this long boiling time, the liquid is reduced, thereby intensifying the flavor of the remaining liquid.  

After boiling for 30 minutes.

The beans are added to the pot and simmered over low heat for 15 minutes.  You can add water, if necessary, but don't add too much or it will dilute the wonderful flavor of the beans.

The beans can be served the same day they're cooked, but I think they're better reheated the next day after the flavors have had time to blend.  You can reheat the beans on the stove, or in a crock-pot.  Using a crock-pot is a big help at the holidays, especially if there's not a spare burner available on the stove.  You also don't have to keep a constant eye on the beans since the crock-pot does all the work for you.

Green beans have always been on our Thanksgiving table, but now I fix them ahead of time.   When I'm cooking holiday meals, any dish that can be made ahead is something I'm thankful for!

Aaron's Green Beans

6 to 8 Servings

1 (28 oz.) can cut green beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp. adobo all-purpose seasoning

1 cup water

Drain liquid from beans into a saucepan; add onion, adobo and water. Bring ingredients to a boil and let boil for 30 minutes.  If the liquid is reducing too quickly, turn the heat down.  Add the green beans and, if necessary, a little additional water.  Turn heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.  Let the beans cool and then store them in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to blend.  The next day, reheat beans in a crock-pot on low for 2 hours, or until heated through.

© Margaret's Morsels

Slow Simmered

Every January, I make it a point to share a crock-pot recipe in honor of National Slow Cooking Month.  With my husband's surgery earlier this month, January almost got away from me this year.

I like to vary the recipes I share and not post similar recipes close together. However, I'm going to break that unofficial rule today and share another recipe that uses ground beef.  It's quite different from the Sweet and Sour Meat Loaf recipe I posted earlier this week.

Homemade spaghetti sauce is one of my favorite cold weather recipes.  It only requires a little prep work, is quick to assemble and can easily be doubled.  It's also the best spaghetti sauce I've ever eaten!  Over the last 20 years, I've adapted the recipe to suit our tastes.  The easiest adaptation I made was to move the sauce from the stove top to the crock-pot.  If you're making one batch of sauce, you'll need a 3 1/2 to 4-quart crock-pot. If you double it like I do, you'll need a 6-quart crock-pot.

Although I don't brown roast beef or chicken before I cook them in a crock-pot, I always brown ground beef before using it in a crock-pot. Spaghetti sauce doesn't take as long to cook as roast beef or chicken, so I want to make certain the meat is fully cooked.  Browning the meat beforehand gives me that peace of mind.  It also gives me the opportunity to drain off the grease so it won't be in the finished sauce.  The easiest way to drain the grease is to set a colander inside a large bowl and pour the meat mixture into the colander.  I let the meat drain while I prep the other ingredients.

Grease from two pounds of extra lean ground chuck.

Once the grease is drained, the meat and onion are combined with the remaining ingredients.  Unlike many spaghetti sauce recipes, this one doesn't use crushed or diced tomatoes.  It uses tomato sauce and tomato paste instead.  It can be difficult to get all the tomato paste out of the can, so I want to share a trick my mother taught me when I first started cooking. Open one end of the can of tomato paste.  Leaving the lid in place, turn the can upside down and open the other end.  Remove this lid, turn the can upside down over your mixing bowl or pan and use the lid on the other end to push the tomato paste out of the can.

The sauce is seasoned with oregano, garlic powder and a package of Italian style spaghetti sauce mix.  Sometimes I can't find Italian style spaghetti sauce mix so I use a package of thick and zesty spaghetti sauce mix instead.

A little bit of sugar is added to the sauce to help cut down on the acidity of the tomato sauce and tomato paste.

The only other ingredients are the liquid and canned mushrooms.  To give the finished sauce more flavor, I drain and reserve the mushroom liquid, adding enough water to it to equal the amount called for in the recipe.

 Liquid from two (8 ounce) cans of mushrooms.

Mushroom liquid and water for a double 

batch of spaghetti sauce.

If you don't like mushrooms, you can leave them out and just add water to the sauce.

Once everything is thoroughly combined, cook the sauce three to four hours on high, or six hours on low until the sauce is heated through.  The last 30 minutes of cooking, I fix the pasta and garlic bread and assemble the salad.

I always double this sauce so I can freeze some to use later in the year. To do this, I refrigerate the sauce overnight so it's completely cold.  The next day, I ladle the sauce into a freezer safe, resealable plastic bag, making sure I date and label the contents.  The sauce expands as it freezes so don't fill the bag completely full; leave about an inch of headspace.  To save space in the freezer, I freeze the bag flat.  I have a chest freezer so it's not always easy to find a spot to lay the bag flat.  To solve this problem, I put the bag on a cookie sheet and put the cookie sheet in the freezer overnight.

The next day, the bag looks like this:

To use the frozen spaghetti sauce, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.  It can be reheated on the stove top or, what I do, in the crock-pot.  Either way, you'll need to add some additional water to the sauce when it's reheated.

I've often wondered why January is National Slow Cooking Month.  I finally decided it must be because a lot of people only use their crock-pots in the summer when they don't want to heat up the kitchen.  National Slow Cooking Month is a great way to remind people to use their crock-pots in cold months too.   Even better, use this time saving appliance all year round!

Spaghetti Sauce

4 Servings

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste

1 (1.5 oz.) envelope Italian style spaghetti sauce mix

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. crushed oregano

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 (8 oz.) can mushroom stems and pieces, liquid drained and reserved

reserved mushroom liquid and enough water to make 1 1/2 cups

Cook and stir the ground beef and onion in a large pan until the meat is brown and the onion is tender; drain.  Combine the meat and onion with the remaining ingredients.  Cook in a crock-pot for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 hours on low until the sauce is heated through.  Serve over hot spaghetti. Recipe can be doubled.  Leftover sauce can be frozen.

© Margaret's Morsels  

Spotlight on Summer: Won't Heat up the Kitchen

The last two weeks, I've shared recipes that were cool and creamy, picnic fare and quick cooking.  For the series finale, I'm sharing recipes that won't heat up the kitchen.  Click the words in bold to go to the page with the recipe.

Grilled Peppered Steak:  This is my favorite way to cook steak and the only recipe I have that's cooked on the grill.  The steak is seasoned with a dry rub before grilling.  The dry rub infuses the meat with flavor which intensifies during cooking.      

Barbecue Chicken:  This recipe takes five hours to cook, but it won't heat up the kitchen. The secret is to cook the chicken and barbecue sauce in the crock-pot.

Chicken a la King:  This crock-pot version takes longer to cook, but it's still easier than the traditional recipe.  The chicken and peas don't have to be cooked; the onion, celery and green pepper don't have to be sauteed; the sauce doesn't have to be cooked and thickened.  If you want to serve it with rice, you'll need to cook it separately, but that doesn't take long and won't heat up the kitchen.

French Dip Sandwiches:  This crock-pot recipe takes all day to cook, but it's worth the wait!  An advantage to crock-pot cooking is you can use cheaper cuts of meat; they'll get tender during the cooking process.

Coleslaw:  Coleslaw is a great warm weather side since it's served cold.  If you want to save time, forget about grating the cabbage and use a package of coleslaw mix instead.

Pickled Beets:  This recipe only uses three ingredients and, since it starts with a can of sliced beets, you don't have to cook or peel beets.  You do have to turn on the stove, but just long enough to dissolve sugar in the vinegar.  The beets are a great summer dish because they're served cold straight from the fridge.

Corn-on-the-Cob:  There's no vegetable I look forward to in the summer more than corn!  My mom always cooked fresh corn in a pot of boiling water, but I cook it in the microwave.  Not only is it quicker, the corn retains more flavor than when boiled in a pot of water.  

Microwave Brownies:  These brownies are great when you want something sweet, but don't want to heat up or spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  The brownies can be cooked and cooled in less time than it takes to make something from a mix!

© Margaret's Morsels

National Chili Week

The first week of October is National Chili Week.  The weather's beginning to turn cooler, so it's a great time to make a pot of chili.  Approximately 132 blogs ago, I posted a crock-pot chili recipe that's chock full of flavor.  In case you missed it, here's the link to the recipe.  The leftover chili is great for taco salad!

© Margaret's Morsels

Crock-Pot Cooking

If I had to choose my favorite kitchen appliance, it would be a close call between a microwave and crock-pot.  A microwave is wonderful for cooking bacon, baked potatoes, fresh corn-on-the-cob and popcorn.  It also does a great job melting butter and chocolate and, its most popular function, heating leftovers.

A crock-pot can be used to reheat soups, stews, chili and spaghetti sauce, plus an entire dish can be cooked in it with little or no additional work required.  It's a tough choice, but for the last reason alone, I'd choose a crock-pot over a microwave.

Although I love crock-pot cooking, I haven't posted many crock-pot recipes. Today, I want to rectify that and share one of my all time favorite crock-pot recipes.

The crock-pot version of Chicken a la King isn't that much different from the version cooked on the stove.  Both recipes contain diced chicken with vegetables in a cream sauce.  The most obvious difference is the crock-pot version takes eight hours to cook.  However, there are several advantages to this long cooking time.

First, unlike the version cooked on the stove, the crock-pot recipe doesn't require the chicken or green peas to be cooked ahead of time.  Second, the vegetables -- onion, green pepper and celery -- don't need to be sauteed. Third, you don't have to make and thicken the cream sauce.

To save time,  assemble the ingredients the night before.  Start by combining the flour, pepper, cayenne pepper and -- what makes the cream sauce -- cream of chicken soup.  I use 98% fat-free soup which has less sodium than regular soup.  For that reason, I also add a teaspoon of salt to the mixture.

Add cubed chicken breasts and diced onion, celery and green bell pepper.

Thoroughly combine the ingredients and store the mixture in a covered container in the refrigerator.

The next morning, put the ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours.  You may be wondering why the green peas aren't in the crock-pot.  The peas and pimentos are added at the end of the cooking time and everything is cooked an additional 30 minutes.

The peas need to be thawed before being added to the mixture.  I find it helpful to put the package in the refrigerator to thaw when I put the chicken mixture in the crock-pot.

Chicken a la King is usually served with toast points or pasta, but I like to serve it with rice.  Shortly after I add the peas and pimentos, I start cooking the rice.  By the time the rice is ready, so is the Chicken a la King.  Add a salad and you've got a meal that doesn't require a lot of work or a lot of cleanup!

Crock-Pot Chicken a la King

6 Servings

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (undiluted)*

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. pepper

dash of cayenne pepper

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 celery rib, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I use frozen)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed

2 Tbsp. diced pimentos, drained

hot cooked rice

Combine the first four ingredients in a crock-pot until smooth.  Stir in the chicken, celery, green pepper and onion.  Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours.  Stir in peas and pimentos.  Cook 30 minutes longer until heated through.  Serve over rice.

*If using 98% fat-free soup, add one teaspoon of salt to the mixture.

© Margaret's Morsels

A Cook's Tools: Cooking School

A few days ago, I shared a list of prep tools I compiled at the request of a friend whose getting married.  She wanted to know what items she should include on her bridal registry.  Today, I want to share my list of cooking must haves.  These are the items I rely on once the measuring, chopping, peeling, juicing, pounding, grating, straining, mixing, whisking, rolling and cutting have been done.  Once again, I'm including links to recipes that use those items.  The list isn't all inclusive but, like the prep tools, this is what I rely on when I'm cooking for three or twenty three.

The Eyes Have It:

Saucepan:  I have this in a one and two quart size.  The one quart is the perfect size for boiling three eggs, cooking a serving of grits or oatmeal or heating a can of soup.  If you cook for several people, you might want to add a three quart saucepan.  Make sure to buy saucepans with lids.

Dutch Oven:  This covered pot is good for stewing and braising.  I also use it to cook potatoes, pasta and boil a dozen eggs.

Stockpot:  I use this whenever I cook chicken breasts or make a double batch of soup.  It's also the only container I have big enough to mix up a batch of Cornbread Dressing.

Skillet:  It's a good idea to have a large 10 or 12-inch skillet with a lid and a smaller 6 or 8-inch skillet.  The large skillet is great for browning ground beef or pork chops and cooking a one dish dinner.  The smaller skillet is handy for small jobs such as omelets, scrambled eggs and sauteing chopped vegetables.

Baker's Dozen:

Roasting Pan:  Although this isn't something I use very often, it's the only pan I have that's big enough to roast a turkey.  Some roasting pans come with a wire rack to hold the meat.  When you put the pan in the oven, you may need to lower the oven rack to keep the top of the meat from being too close to the heating element.

Pizza Pan:  I use this for more than pizza.  It's great for chicken nuggets, French fries and biscuits.

Muffin Pan:  These come in sizes ranging from miniature to jumbo.  I have a 6 cup, 12 cup and two mini muffin pans.  The 6 cup is ideal for muffin mixes that only make 6 servings.  I use the 12 cup for muffins, cloverleaf rolls and Baked Salmon Patties.  The mini pans are good for muffins as well as mini quiche or other bite size appetizers.

Cookie Sheet:  I have these in three sizes.  The quarter sheet pan, the smallest one in the picture, is the perfect size for a batch of Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.  I also use it to bake Little Corn Dogs and Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks.

The cookie sheet pictured in the middle is a standard size cookie sheet. It's a good idea to have two of these.  That way, you can have one pan ready to go in the oven as soon as the other pan comes out.  You can buy cookie sheets without rims, but I prefer rimmed ones.  That way, I can also use them for bar cookies.

The last cookie sheet pictured is known as a sheet or jelly roll pan.  It's larger than a regular cookie sheet and is used for sheet cakes and jelly rolls.

Layer Cake Pan:  You'll need at least two of these for making a layer cake. I have these in both the 8 and 9-inch size.  The 9-inch pan makes a thinner and wider cake.  

Bundt Pan:  This fluted pan is for cakes other than angel food or sponge cake.  To keep the cake from tearing up when it's removed from the pan, be sure to thoroughly grease every crevice.

Tube Pan:  This pan is used for angel food and sponge cakes.  Some tube pans -- like the one pictured -- have feet so the pan can be turned upside down for cooling.  If the pan is large enough, you can use it to bake other cakes too.

Square Cake Pan:  Just like layer cake pans, these are available in 8 and 9-inch sizes.  They're good for things other than cake.  I use mine to bake cornbread, meat loaf and Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole.

9 x 13-Inch Pan:  I like to bake cakes in this pan that need to be frosted. That way, I can bake, frost and store all in the same pan.  Cakes baked in this pan can also be removed and sliced into layers before being filled and frosted.  This pan isn't limited to just cake.  I use it for potato casserole, goulash and Stuffed Breast of Turkey.

Loaf Pan:  This is good for baking bread as well as meat loaf.

Spring-Form Pan:  This pan has a clamp that, when opened, removes the collar which allows for easy cutting.  It's especially good for cheesecake.

Pie Crust Shield:  This sits on top of the pie crust and shields the edges from getting too brown.  It's available for regular and deep-dish pie pans.

Wire Cooling Rack:  Once you've baked cakes, cookies and bread, they need to be removed from the pan.  The wire rack is elevated which allows air to circulate so the item can cool.  It's a good idea to have two or three of these racks, especially if you do a lot of baking.

Dishing It Up:

For easy cleanup, I like to cook and serve out of the same dish whenever possible.  For that reason, I have a variety of glass bakeware in various shapes and sizes.  One advantage of glass is it can be used in the oven as well as the microwave.  I use the round casserole dish to bake Sweet Potato Souffle a day or two before Thanksgiving.  I let the souffle cool and then store the covered casserole dish in the refrigerator.  When it's time to heat the souffle, I put the casserole dish in the microwave and reheat it while the double ovens cook the other food.

The square dish is the perfect size when I halve the recipe for Green Bean Bundles.  I use the deep-dish pie plate when I make Chicken Pot Pie. The rectangular dish is just the right size for four servings of Marinated Baked Chicken.  

What a Crock!

I absolutely love crock-pot cooking!  I have three crock-pots -- small, medium and large -- but each one is good for different things.  The small crock-pot is the perfect size for melting almond bark.  The  medium size crock-pot is the one I use most often for entrees like French Dip Sandwiches and Barbecue Chicken.  I use the large crock-pot when I cook pot roast with vegetables or make double batches of chili or spaghetti sauce.  A crock-pot needs to be at least half full so keep that in mind when selecting a crock-pot size.

If you don't have all the items I've mentioned, don't feel as though you need to go out and buy them.  The tools you need in your kitchen depend on how much cooking you do and what kinds of food you cook.  If you eat a lot of steamed vegetables, you'd probably find it useful to have a metal steamer basket.  If you love to bake and decorate cakes, you might want to purchase different shaped cake pans and lots of decorating tips.  If you're like me and like to make congealed salad, you might want to invest in some Jell-O molds.

Stocking a kitchen is a gradual process that evolves over the years.  I've been cooking over 20 years and I still find gadgets to buy that make work in the kitchen easier.  Just last year, I bought a pineapple slicer that makes slicing and cutting pineapple a breeze.  No matter what you're looking for, chances are -- to paraphrase a popular phrase  -- there's a tool for that!

© Margaret's Morsels