This is a guide about cooking soups and stews. Hearty soups and stews are a family favorite and can also be a good way to use up leftovers.
Thicken Soup With Potato Flakes
If you like your soup a little thicker, sprinkle a small amount of instant potato buds/flakes into the already hot soup. Stir and wait for the soup to thicken. It is so good and easy!
Tips for Delicious Potato Soup
When making potato soup, add 1 can of cream of chicken soup and one can of cream of onion soup. Thicken the soup with instant mashed potato flakes. Add a little of the flakes at a time until you get the consistency you like.
Product Review: Organic Boxed Soups
I just discovered these wonderful soups. They are boxed, so you can pour what you need and chill the rest. They are delicious, lower in sodium and fat than any other soups, and because they are creamy soups, they go well in a thermos or mug.
Does everyone like long stringy Ramen noodles? I don't, so I pulverize them in a plastic baggy by smushing them with a glass-pint canning jar filled with whatever. After cooking, they are very easy to eat with a spoon.
I am wondering if 4 cups of water is correct for bean soup with bacon. When I make soup using 1 lb. of beans I use 3 qts of water. Please advise.
Homemade Chili with Variations
I make a huge batch of chili with no beans. I split the batch in half and add beans to one half, leaving the other half with no beans in it (don't add beans until after the chili is made). Everyone has their own favorite chili recipe, so I won't give mine.
Homemade Tomato Soup is Too Sweet
I made homemade tomato soup as I can't have salt. It tastes really good, but is a bit too sweet. Vinegar sounded like only thing I could use, but pickle juice is full of sodium. It was a little thin so I put in a little mashed potato flakes.
To thicken meat sauces such as Bolognese, try using porridge oats. It's delish! To thicken soups or sauces, try using instant potato flakes - no more lumps and very tasty.
Always make soup at least a day ahead of time, so that the seasonings will have time to improve the flavor.
Sun Tea Jar for Separating Stock
When making a batch of turkey stock the other day, I needed a large glass container to put it in to allow it to cool. The only one I could find was my old sun-tea jar - a very happy accident!
How Long Will Vegetable Soup Keep in the Refrigerator?
How long can I keep vegetable soup in the refrigerator before it spoils?
Improving the Flavor of Canned Bean and Ham Soup
I love the Campbell Chunky soups. One of my favorites is the Hearty Bean and Ham, but it seems to be missing something. I am not one who likes really spicy foods, but would appreciate advice from you food-savvy people on what spice I can add...
Each midwinter I have a soup party for family and friends. I make several different kinds of soup. I might have potato soup, pea Soup, My own "Better Than Congressional Bean Soup", Chicken or Turkey vegetable - whatever I happen to have on hand.
I made a huge pot of vegetable soup and the bottom scorched. I removed the soup, cleaned the pot and put the soup back in, but it tastes like burnt soup. How do I get rid of that taste?
If you are planning on making soup with leftover turkey this Thanksgiving, here's a tip for adding a little extra nutrition for your family. Put into the soup pot 1 cup of plain pumpkin. No one will ever know it's in there.
Save Vegetable Cooking Water for Soup
Cook fresh or frozen vegetables in water. Once vegetables have cooked, drain the water into a large container in your freezer and add to it every time you cook more vegetables.
Use Soup Bases Instead of Bouillon
Bouillon cubes are basically flavored squares of salt, whereas the paste bases are not as high in salt, and impart a much better flavor. You only use one or two tablespoons and the bases come in beef, chicken, mushroom, lobster and endless other varieties.
In a stockpot, over medium heat, saute' the butter and onion until soft. Stir in the broccoli and cover with the chicken broth.
I save all veggie peels, cooking water, cores, meat bones, etc., and always have a pot simmering on the woodstove. I am assured of having homemade soup stock on hand at all times. However, as much as we love it, my finicky teenaged daughter refuses to sample my soups du jour.
With all the cold weather we have been having, a bowl of steaming soup brings us back to our mother's and grandmother's kitchens. Soup is a labor of love. Even if you don't like to cook, most of us can heat a can of soup and magically be brought back to that time and place.
