Friday, April 26, 2013

Can Can

Well, here we are again kids.  Another week down, another weekend upon us.  As luck would have it, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, plus Greg and I have some fun company to boot!  Gregs Cousin Jennifer is over from Germany for a combined NYC and Rochester trip, so we get to hang out until Tuesday-woohoo!  Tomorrow is a Family picnic days and Monday we'll do some sight seeing (help me out, locals, where should we go?) but for tonight....well, it was a pizza and movie type of night.  Turkey sausage, onion, and broccoli on ww homemade pizza dough.  And jammies.  And a movie.  Cause that's what makes a Friday good (in my old lady humble opinion, anywhos).
Oddly enough, though, I want to talk about the week.  Yep, I went there.  As this lovely 40 week "condition" progresses, I'm trying to cover more at work for when I leave, and also in the mix, getting a ton more tired as time goes on.  It's not really a good combination.  As a result, I end up exhausted by 8pm and crash on the couch.  So, needless to say, my dinners are getting a ton less creative, and relying a bit more on convenience foods.  My latest obsession?  Soup.  But there's only so many nights you can have soup and grilled cheese for dinner.  So we're getting inventive.  Here's a few low cost, super easy dinners I've managed to finagle over the past few weeks using this simple staple.

1.  Stir Fry with bean soup and beef- Delicious, simple, and healthy.  I drain a can of black bean soup, and dice up some veggies to steam in the liquid, along with beef tenderloin strips.  Cook on medium for 10 minutes or so, add in beans, garlic, soy sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve over brown rice.  Delicious and ready in under 30 minutes = my kind of meal. 

2.  Beef soup over rice = another simple meal.  Beef and vegetable stew (chunky Campbell's is the best here.)  Add in 1 tsp of flour, heat to a boil, then simmer. Serve over rice or noodles. 

3.  Chicken soup with biscuit = chicken pot pie.  This is a decent family meal-I use two cans of chicken and veggie soup, thicken with cornstarch, and pour into a 9x13 pan. Add in half a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Top with one can of 10 buttermilk biscuits, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Simple chicken pot pie. 

4.  Onion soup used to flavor a roast- my best crock pot easiness.  Add one can of french onion soup to a chuck roast, stick it in the crockpot, then let cook on low for 8 hours or so.  Perfect dinner after work, barely any prep.  Serve alongside a green salad and you're good to go.

And that's been my love affair with soup lately.  When soup goes on sale 10/10 at the store and you have double coupons, you look at the 10 cans of soup you procured for a measly 6 bucks and go....what's for dinner?  What's quick, but not boring?  And what can I tolerate in terms of creativity on a Wednesday night after a 13 hour day?

Yeah,  that's what I thought.  Do you use soup in any recipes other than just plain ole cuppa?  Share!
 

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