That Darned KNEE and Another SOUP! - Tomato Cheddar Dumpling Soup (Two Ways!)

My posts have been kind of spotty lately, partly because I've been working on my so-called "home office" and just this past weekend because The Uncooperative Knee went rogue again and Somebody had to have surgery on it.  That's NINE since March of 2019.  So it's going to be back to home nursing once again.

Oh well.  It is what it is.

ANYWAY!  I thought I had already written a post about this particular soup, but I was WRONG.  So here it is!

I found this soup recipe when I was browsing the internet.  It sounded tasty and easy (two reasons to like it), so it was put into the soup rotation.  It's a pretty basic recipe - tomato soup with cheddar dumplings, and really easy, no matter which way you decide you make it.  It's just super fast and convenient one way, and not so fast the other.  Mostly common pantry staples either way.


Tomato Cheddar Dumpling Soup (Two Ways)

The Original Way

For the soup:
2 T canola or olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped red bell pepper
3 T flour
28 oz whole canned tomatoes, undrained
2 c water
2 T minced celery leaves
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t dried basil

For the dumplings:
1 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 T shortening or butter
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c milk

In a 4-quart pan, heat the oil, and saute the garlic, onion, and bell pepper until fragrant.  Blend in the flour and let it cook about a minute.  Add the tomatoes and break them up.  Add the remaining soup ingredients.  While it is heating to a simmer, mix up the dumplings.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in the shortening or butter to make loose crumbs.  Add the cheese and milk and mix until all dry ingredients have been moistened.

By this time, the soup should be at a simmer.  Drop the dumpling batter into the soup by tablespoons, or use a sprayed cookie scoop.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.


The Convenient Way

For the soup:
Use your favorite shelf-stable tomato soup and prepare enough to make about 2 quarts of soup. Heat it to a simmer.  You might want to add some garlic powder and basil.  It's up to you!

For the dumplings:
1  7.75-oz box of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit or similar mix (Aldi has a good one)
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 T melted butter
1/2 c milk

Mix all the ingredients together, including the contents of the entire seasoning packet from the biscuit mix.  Treat the batter the same way as the Original Way, above.  By this time, the soup should be at a simmer.  Drop the dumpling batter into the soup by tablespoons, or use a sprayed cookie scoop.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

OR

1 c Bisquick or similar baking mix (Jiffy makes a good one)
1/2 c shredded cheddar 
1/3 c milk

Mix all the ingredients together.  Treat the batter the same way as the Original Way, above.  By this time, the soup should be at a simmer.  Drop the dumpling batter into the soup by tablespoons, or use a sprayed cookie scoop.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

That's all there is to it!  

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak - Remember TV Dinners?

Are you old enough to remember TV dinners?  Oh, those divided trays covered with foil, and inside, old-fashioned comfort food - fried chicken, turkey, meatloaf, and Salisbury steak - YUM!  It was a treat when Mom fixed frozen TV dinners.  My gosh, you actually got to CHOOSE what you were going to eat - just like in a RESTAURANT!  Before the advent of fast food, kids weren't really welcome in most restaurants, so the novelty of being given a choice was heady stuff.

They still make frozen dinners (notice they don't call them "TV dinners" any more), but no more aluminum trays and covers - everything has to be microwavable.

One of the most popular TV dinner at our house was Salisbury steak, which used to come with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a little sort-of-apple-cobbler dessert.  The new frozen dinner has cooked apples instead of the little "cobbler" thing, and corn instead of green beans.  I don't know what the old Salisbury steak was made of, but the new one I saw said it was "made with chicken, pork, and beef," which means mostly chicken, then pork, and lastly, beef.

I receive several different foodie emails, and lately there has been a rash of Salibury steak recipes.  I guess everyone is craving comfort food.  Upon reading the recipes, they all seemed to use some form of ground meat patty.  What I remember from my childhood was cubed steak, not hamburger, in Mom's homemade version.  Disappointment.

But a couple of weeks ago an email came that showcased "Poor Man's Steak."  Cubed steak!  An almost dump-and-go recipe!  BINGO!  

The original recipe calls for the Universal Binding Ingredient (UBI, as characterized by Thomas Pynchon in his book, Vineland), condensed cream of mushroom soup.  I'm not averse to cooking with condensed "cream of..." soups, as some people are (too much salt!  too much fat!  too processed!), but I'm not a fan of cream of mushroom soup, which makes absolutely NO sense whatever, because I'm a HUGE fan of mushrooms!

Go figure.

Anyway, I use cream of celery and cream of onion soups instead of the cream of mushroom.  The cream of onion can be difficult to find, but there's ONE nearby store that carries it (Meijer), so I've lucked out!

The original recipe also calls for an envelope of onion soup mix, which will probably also set off  cries of "too much salt!  too processed!" but you know what?  I'm talking about fast, easy, convenient, comfort food.  If those ingredients bother you, make some white sauce and add your own mushrooms and onions.  For me, this is one of those "I'm feeling lazy today, but I want a home-cooked meal" recipes.

So here it is, with my substitutions:


Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak

The classisc combination!

2-3 lb cubed steak
1-oz envelope onion soup mix (either beefy or regular)
1  10.75-oz can condensed cream of celery soup
1  10.75-oz can condensed cream of onion soup (if it's not available, just use another cream of celery)
2/3 c (or about 1/2 soup can) water
2 T Worchestershire sauce
1/2 t pepper

Place meat in a slow cooker.  Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the meat.  Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.  Mix the gravy well before serving.

Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding - in the Microwave!!!

I've been going through some of my cookbooks - just browsing for ideas, you know.  I've come across some recipes I didn't even know were in them!  This is one.

When the kids were much younger, and Lazarus department store was a thing, we used to go to their second-floor restaurant for the buffet lunch when we were in the mall.  It was a great place for people watching because the windows overlooked the fountain in the very center of the mall - the busiest spot.  One of our favorites there was the bread pudding - yum!  When Lazarus was bought out by Macy's, the restaurant was no more, which, for us, meant no more bread pudding!  

I tried a couple of recipes here and there, but they were, well, meh.  Not bad, but not great.  Nothing I'd want to go to the trouble of making, especially because you had to bake it in the oven for an hour.  And if something's not all that, why bother?

Well!  I was leafing through my ancient (1984) microwave cookbook that came with my very first microwave oven and spied a recipe for bread pudding!  What?!?!?!?!?  How did I never notice that?  I mean, I use that cookbook a LOT.  There are several recipes in there I use frequently!

Oh, well.  I guess I have blinders on when I'm cooking.

Anyway, it's EASY and FAST, and because it's cooked in the microwave, it doesn't burn and requires no watching.  My kind of recipe!

I've seen bread pudding listed with recipes for breakfast, which gave me pause at the time.  But then, after thinking about it a bit, bread pudding is pretty similar to french toast casserole, except the bread is in smaller pieces.

So here it is!  The original recipe assumes a 750-watt microwave oven, but I've adapted it to a 1,100-watt oven.


Quick and Easy Bread Pudding

8 oz bread, cubed (fresh, not dried or toasted)
3/4 c dark brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 c raisins (optional, but they impart a deeper, more complex flavor - I prefer golden raisins)
2 c milk
1/4 c butter
2 eggs, beaten

Spread bread cubes evenly in an 8-inch, round (see NOTE below) microwave-safe dish.  Mix together brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt, then sprinkle evenly over the bread cubes, followed by the raisins.  

Measure the milk into a 1-quart microwaveable measuring cup and add the butter.  Microwave on high power for about 2 minutes, or until the butter is completely melted and the milk is warm (not hot).

Rapidly stir in the eggs with a fork and mix well, then pour over the bread cubes.

Microwave at 50% power for 10 to 11 minutes.  The center may still be slightly soft, but it will set up as the pudding cools.  Serve warm or chilled (but warm is best!).

[NOTE:  Using a ROUND dish in the microwave will allow the pudding to cook evenly, with no weird overcooked corners.]

Bakery-Style French Bread at Home (in Less Than an Hour!)

It's been a challenging couple of weeks since my last post.  Not only the election and the COVID surge, but THAT KNEE...!  Still no cooperation!  So it's back to the surgeon and the hospital, and instead of the hoped-for new knee replacement, it will be yet another antimicrobial spacer and another six weeks of IV antibiotics administered by yours truly, which will finish up RIGHT before Christmas.  Ugh.

Anyway, I'm kind of on a specialty bread kick.  Just like I said about hamburger buns in the previous post, it somehow seems like kind of an ordeal to run to the store to buy french bread, and even though it's not expensive, it still feels like you pay a lot for what you get, and making bread at home is time-consuming.

I've been on the lookout for a french bread recipe that doesn't take half the day, and I finally found one that takes less than an hour!!!  Yippee!!!  You don't have to knead it, and it only has to rise once, so it's super easy and fast, plus it has a lovely texture.

The recipe makes three big french loaves.  You can halve the recipe, make two smaller loaves, and still have loads of bread.

Bakery-Style French Bread

2 T yeast

1/2 c warm water (about 110 - 115 degrees)

2 c hot water (hot from the faucet)

3 T sugar

1 T salt

1/3 c vegetable oil (I use canola)

6 1/2 c bread flour

1 beaten egg

In a small bowl mix together the yeast and warm water and let it sit 5 - 10 minutes.  It should get foamy.  In a large bowl, combine the hot water, sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour.  Mix well.  Add the yeast mixture and the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.  I use a stand mixer, but that's not necessary.  Let the dough rest in the bowl 10 minutes.

Separate the dough into 3 pieces.  With a rolling pin, on a floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 9" x 12" rectangle (this takes the place of kneading).  Roll each up like a jelly roll, tuck the ends under, shape into a french bread loaf and smooth out the edges.

Place shaped loaves seam-side-down on a sprayed baking sheet, well spaced apart.  Using a sharp chef's knife make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf.  Brush with the beaten egg.  Let rise uncovered in a warm place for 30 or 40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees 20 - 24 minutes.  Loaves should be light brown.

Remove from the oven and transfer from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.

Apple Crisp (From Mom's Recipe Card File)

I'm trying to make one homemade dessert a week, just because I'd gotten out of the habit of even THINKING about making desserts.  Oh, I've made my shortcakes for strawberries, and apple strudel when I'm feeling particularly Deutch-ish, and dump cake in a camp dutch oven, but cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, and all those "normal" kinds of things have pretty much fallen by the wayside.  

Because calories.  UGH.

But...NO MORE!  I've decided to just EAT, by golly!  Life's too short to do without dessert.  So, that's where my kinda-sorta resolution came from.  I'm going to explore and rediscover DESSERT - what a concept, right?

I'm starting out with an old standby, Mom's apple crisp.  No pie crust to fuss with, so it's fairly foolproof and fast (don't worry, I'll get to pie crust eventually), and it doesn't last long in our house.  I bake mine in an eight-inch square CorningWare dish I've had an embarrassingly long time.

It's great warm and topped with vanilla ice cream, of course.

Apple Crisp

4-6 large apples, peeled and sliced (1/4")
1/4 c water
1 c granulated sugar
3/4 c flour
2 T apple pie spice (or 4 1/2 t cinnamon and 1 1/2 t nutmeg)
6 T butter, softened (NOT melted)
1 t salt

Set the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the apples in a sprayed 8-inch square baking dish and pour the water over them.  In a medium mixing bowl, place the rest of the ingredients and work them together with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly.  Spread over the apples evenly.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.


That's all there is to it!   Nothing fancy, but oh, it sure makes the house smell heavenly!