How To Make Canned Soup Great!
Canned soup is an inexpensive meal that is easy to make. All you have to do is open up the can and heat up the contents. Unfortunately, this can get boring fast. What is an amateur cook to do? If you are in a hurry, you are probably not going to be able to cook a full meal from scratch. The good news is that you can improve any can of soup to make things more interesting, without things getting complicated.
The right additions can turn your canned soup from a bland sort of meal to a fabulous one. For instance, a few extra vegetables can make things a lot more fun. Chop up whatever you have around and saute it quickly in a pan, or just cook it a little in the microwave. Add the partially cooked veggies to your soups and improve the flavor right away.
Do not forget the frozen vegetables, either. Adding a handful of frozen corn or peas to a can of soup can make it a lot more interesting, especially when you are talking about chowders and cream soups. It does not get much easier than this – just add the veggies and heat.
For those who would like to make their soups a little meatier, leftovers may be the answer. Save up the extra bits of chicken, beef, pork, or seafood from a previous meal, heat them up in the microwave, and add them right into your canned soup. You can use any kind of meat at all, as long as you use safe handling techniques.
If you do not usually have leftovers, try keeping cans of small shrimp, chicken, or other meats in your cabinets instead. Make a standard clam chowder into a seafood one with canned crab or shrimp. Add canned chicken to noodle soups, and try all kinds of other methods. These soup recipes do not have to be hard.
Leftover grains are a wonderful addition to soup meals, as well. Leftover rice, barley, or pilafs, a handful of extra noodles, and many other grains can add a bit of interest to a boring canned soup. Precooked grains can be added right to the soup when you heat it.
Spices and condiments can really change tastes, as well, and may make dull soups a lot more interesting. Garlic and onion, herbs, seasoning salt, hot pepper, or black pepper could be just what you need. Wine and sherry make things better, as do interesting vinegars. Try hot sauce, soy sauce, or even a little ranch (in a cream soup) and see what happens.
Cheese is great on top of soups, or heated in cream soups and chowders to create something new. Alternatively, try adding a spoonful of sour cream to a canned soup, after you have heated it up. The extra richness could make the meal a lot more appealing.
Your chicken soup recipe is unique. Even if you get it online or from a book, it will always turn out the way you make it, compared to how your mom or your sister may make it. There are tiny differences that will come through. Soup takes on your own unique cooking signature.
