Sorry Pillsbury, but I don't think you say it best. What says lovin' best is when someone you love has taken the time to "put something in the oven" for you to eat.
Why such a current resurgence of comfort foods? Maybe we all just need to "feel the love" in the kitchen!
My friend Lynne's Great Aunt told her as a young married woman, that if you don't know what to fix for dinner when you get home, put a potato or two in the oven and something will come to you. At the very worst, an hour later, you'll have baked potatoes and whatever you can find to top them with for dinner. Why does this strategy work? Because when anyone else comes in the door, they can smell that something is cooking in the kitchen, and they feel the love. Besides that, it might stimulate your appetite and thereafter ideas of what would taste good.
It really doesn't matter if you're an aspiring chef preparing haute cuisine, a single adult coming home to their cat and an empty apartment with something brewing in the crock pot, or a frazzled Mom making tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches...having something cooking in the kitchen counts!
One of my favorite comfort foods is SOUP . You can cook it stove top or throw ingredients in the crock pot in the morning before you leave. Getting those aromatic vegetables sauteed and the smell of savory herbs wafting through the air, makes my mouth water! Adding a quick bread or bread sticks to the menu says love, love, love!
For FUN you can tell the story of Stone Soup (see WIKI def. in comment below)and have everyone put in their contribution.
So even though we are nearing the end of that season here in Western Washington (or is that too optimistic?!)...here are some recipes I got from someone (sorry, I can't give credit but will do so whenever I know my source by name!)years ago that may come in handy for you sometime.
[SOUPER EASY] Any Vegetable Soup
This soup has been made successfully with a number of vegetables: Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, tomato, potato, leeks, fresh peas, zucchini, crookneck, ad infinitem (you can’t go wrong!)
You can vary the herbs or the broth depending on the vegetable. Otherwise, the recipe is pretty basic:
Lettuce Soup
2 cup chicken broth
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 onion- cut up
Cook the above until tender. Puree in blender with
8 oz. Cream cheese
Season to taste withn freshly ground pepper and any herbs you wish.
Broccoli Soup
2 cups water
hambone
1 large bunch broccoli
1 onion cut up
Cook above until tender. Remove hambone. Puree in blender with 8 oz cream cheese
Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and any herbs you wish. S
Suggested herbs: tarragon, basil, thyme, dill, etc.
Heat soup through. Do not boil after cream cheese is added.
Here's a recipe I got from my busy daughter (mother of three)
No-rise Bread Sticks
1 pkg (1 Tbsp) active dry yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 c. warm water
1/3 c. powdered milk
1 tsp salt
4 c. Flour
Roll into sticks. Sprinkle with garlic salt or Parmesan cheese (if desired). Bake at 400* for 15 minutes.
I was going for the quick and easy recipes, but as my sister observed, we need a low fat recipe so here is one from Weight Watchers that I loved:
ReplyDeleteWW Garden Vegetable Soup:
2/3 cup sliced carrots
!/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic
3 cups fat free broth
1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 TBSP tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini
Saute carrot, onion, garlic 5 minutes (add garlic a couple minutes into sauteeing). Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato past, basil, organo & salt.
Bring to boil.
Cover & simmer on low 15 minutes.
Add zucchini and cook until it is done (10 minutes or less)
Or here is another Weight Watchers easy recipe:
Refried Bean Soup
1 15oz can fat free refried beans
1 15 oz can fat free chicken broth
1 10 oz mild Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
Mix together in saucepan until heated through. [It has really great flavor. If you want it thicker, add 2 cans refried beans instead of one.
Or there is this one:
Zero POINTS®-Value Vegetable Soup
soups
POINTS® Value: 0
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 50 min
Cooking Time: 13 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Some say that this soup is the secret to their weight-loss success. It's a great midday snack or premeal hunger-buster.
Ingredients
• 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 1 medium onion(s), diced
• 2 medium carrot(s), diced
• 1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
• 1 medium stalk celery, diced
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 2 cup green cabbage, shredded
• 2 cup Swiss chard, chopped
• 2 cup cauliflower, small florets
• 2 cup broccoli, small florets
• 2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped
• 6 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
• 1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional
Instructions
• Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Notes
• If you like thick soups, consider pureeing this recipe in the pot with an immersion blender.
Stone Soup is an old folk story in which hungry strangers persuade local people of a town to give them food. It is usually told as a lesson in cooperation, especially amid scarcity.
ReplyDeleteThe lettuce and cream cheese base soup is new to me- I had no idea this was the base for many of your soups!
ReplyDeleteIt's a yummy and easy, adaptable recipe but I don't actually use it very often anymore due to my dairy reaction. Most of the time now I go for the lower fat broth and veggie soups.
ReplyDelete