Soups and Casseroles

Skip’s Chicken and vegetable Soup

1 large whole chicken
3tbs olive oil
4 leeks, sliced
1/2 a bunch of celery, chopped including leaves.
4 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
As much frozen and fresh vegetables as you like
Salt and pepper
Thyme
Parsley
Oregano
2 packets of 2-minute noodles
2 tins of creamed corn

In a stock pot, heat olive oil and cook leeks, onions and garlic until softened. Add the chicken, carrots, celery and frozen vegetables on top. Cover with water. Add the seasonings. Boil covered until the chicken is falling apart off the bones.
Carefully remove the chicken and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile add half of the soup mixture to the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour back into the soup.
Pull apart the chicken, and adding the chicken meat to the soup. Crush the 2 minute noodles with the back of a serving spoon. Add to the soup. Pour in the creamed corn. Stir until steaming. Taste and add seasonings as you need them. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

REVIEW: This soup is an excellent winter warmer and a great way to use up lots of vegetables. The more vegetables used, the more soup there will be. This soup is a large amount, and is more suitable for setting aside some for the freezer. If you don’t want to freeze some, then you will need to cut the recipe down. Use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken.

Flavour: 8/10
Ease: 8/10
Expense: 8/10

Chunky Vegetable Soup
2 onions, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 tbs olive oil
3 large carrots, sliced
2 large potatoes, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 800g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbs Basil
2 tbs Parsley
4 cups chicken stock

Milk for serving

In a large pan/stock pot heat oil over medium heat and cook onion and celery untill tender. Add stock. Mix and let boil for a few moments. Then add potatoes, carrots, peas, tomatoes and seasonings and stir. Bring to boil then turn down to low heat and cook gently. When all vegetables are cooked, transfer half of the soup mixture to the blender (will need to be done in a few batches) and blend untill smooth. Return to saucepan.

If you are serving immediately add some milk and stir through. Don’t let it boil otherwise the milk serperates. If you are freezing this soup, best leave the milk out untill you are ready to eat it.

REVIEW: I don’t think anyone can go wrong with vegetable soup. This recipe will serve approximately 10 people so it will do a few meals for the average family.

Flavour: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Ease: 7/10

Pumpkin Soup
2 kg butternut pumpkin
2 tbs olive oil
2 onions diced
7 cups chicken stock
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper, to taste
300ml cream

Peel pumpkin and chop into pieces. Heat oil in pan and cook onion untill it is soft. Add pumpki and stock. Simmer untill the pumpkin is cooked through. Blend or process the pumpkin untill smooth. Add seasonings and cream. Stir over low heat.

REVIEW: I love this pumpkin soup, it’s so thick and sweet. You can replace the cream with lite evaporated milk for a lower fat version of this recipe.

Flavour: 9/10
Price: 8/10
Ease: 8/10

Poor Man’s Potato and Carrot Soup
1kg potatoes
6 large carrots
3 leeks
1tsp minced garlic
2 tbs olive oil
10 cups of chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
300ml cream

Peel and chop carrots, potatoes and leeks. Heat oil in pan, add leeks, garlic and carrots and cook untill tender. Add potato and stir quickly. Add stock and seasonings to vegetables and simmer untill the vegies are cooked. Blend or process mixture untill smooth. Return to pan and add cream.

REVIEW: My husband and I had this soup frequently when we were saving for a deposit on our house - it’s so cheap! It’s quite thick and when served with some toast or bread, it is fine for a meal in itself.

Flavour: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Ease: 8/10

Skipper’s Creamy Chicken Casserole

1kg chicken breasts cut into large chunks
5 cloves
A good amount of freshly ground pepper
2 large carrots sliced
4 stalks of celery sliced (including leaves)
2 onions (1 diced, 1 sliced)
1 clove of garlic
1 400g tin mushrooms in butter sauce
1 tin Cream of chicken and corn soup (condensed)
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of stock
250g broccoli florets
300ml sour cream

Combine all ingredients apart from the sour cream and broccoli in a slow cooker. Cook for a few hours, then add 250g broccoli florets. In the last half hour of cooking add half a carton of sour cream.
Serve with basmati rice to stretch the casserole out further.

REVIEW: This casserole was a hit in my family. The kids loved it and so did the adults. My brother and husband thought it was very tasty. Since it’s a slow cooker meal, it’s so easy. Bung it in and forget about it. It’s not a very cheap meal, but you can change the cuts of meat to make it less expensive.

Flavour: 7/10
Price: 6/10
Ease: 9/10

A Taste of Asia Pumpkin Soup

1 butternut pumpkin
2 small onions
1 clove of garlic
2 tbs Lemon grass
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbs lime juice
1 litre chicken stock
1 tin evaporated light milk
½ tsp coconut essence

Peel and chop pumpkin into large chunks. Peel and dice onions. Heat some vegetable oil in a large pan and cook onion, garlic and lemon grass, stirring until the onion is cooked. Add the pumpkin, oyster sauce, lime juice and stock. Boil over medium heat until the pumpkin is very soft. With a bar mix or blender, blend the mixture until smooth (some lemongrass may not blend smooth and that’s totally fine) Add the evaporated milk and coconut essence. Serve with crusty bread.

REVIEW: This soup is one of my favourites. It’s flavours are delightful and it’s truly a winter warmer. I find peeling and chopping the pumpkin paricularly painful, but other than that it’s an easy dish to prepare.

Flavour: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Ease: 7/10

Apricot chicken

1 kg of chicken drumsticks
Plain flour
1 tin of apricot nectar
1 cup of chopped dried apricot pieces or 1 tin of apricots
1 packet of French onion soup
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 large onion, sliced into wedges
1/2 tsp cumin

Toss the chicken drumsticks in plain flour and quickly pan fry untill crispy and golden on the outside. Place into a slow cooker along with all remaining ingredients. Cook for about 6 hours. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.

REVIEW: I love apricot chicken. It’s such a tasty dish with such little effort. I like to make this when I am expecting a baby and pop it in the freezer for later on.

Flavour: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Ease: 9/10

Mango Chicken
1kg chicken thigh fillets
800g tin of mango
1 packet of French Onion soup
1 litre chicken stock
1 large onion cut into wedges
1 tsp curry powder
cornflour to thicken

In a slow cooker put all ingredients except the cornflour in and combine. Allow to cook for the day. Mix some cornflour with a little water to make a paste and add an hour before serving to thicken the sauce. Serve with steamed vegetables and rice.

Flavour: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Ease: 9/10

Skip’s Beef Goulash

1kg gravy beef, diced
1 cup of plain flour
1 tbs Hungarian style paprika
1 800g tin diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs beef stock powder
2 cups water
4 large carrots sliced

In a medium bowl combine the paprika with the flour. Toss the beef pieces through the flour until coated well. Shake off the excess. In a large pan, heat some oil and in batches brown the meat and add to slow cooker. (I cook it at a high setting, making the meat look “crispy”) In the same pan put the stock powder and water, and stir, scraping off the crusty stuff on the pan. Add to the slow cooker. Add all other ingredients, stir and leave to cook for at least 6 hours.
Serve on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and steamed green vegetables.

Flavour: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Ease: 9/10

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 onion diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
350g broccoli
1 cup of chicken stock
150mls cream

Place onion, celery, broccoli and garlic in a pan. Cover with hot water and cook until broccoli is tender. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the water. Add stock. Puree until smooth. Stir in cream and season as desired. Can be served hot or cold.

An alternative to cream is cream cheese. I love it!! I often make this soup with equal amount of cauli flower. It’s a thick tasty soup, so nice with crusty bread.

Flavour: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Ease: 9/10

Granny’s Hot Pot

500g cubed steak
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
440g tin Rosella Salt Reduced Tomato Soup
4 tsp Gravox (or other gravy powder)
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
1 tbs margarine

Place carrots and potatoes in 500ml boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Cook onion and meat in separate pan, in the margarine. Mix gravox and water and add to meat. Stir until boiling. Add undrained veggies and Worcestershire sauce. Lower heat and add soup. Simmer until potatoes are soft.

REVIEWAnother family favourite. Mum used to make this on freezing cold days. Very tasty and rich.

Flavour: 7/10
Price: 8/10
Ease: 7/10

Chile Con Carne
1kg mince
1 onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced chilli
1 can of Rosella Salt reduced Tomato Soup
800g can diced tomatoes
1 can of baked beans
1 tbs tomato paste
Steamed rice to serve.

Brown mince in a large pan (I use my electric fry pan) add onion, garlic and chille and cook for a few minutes. Add soup, tomatoes, baked beans and tomato paste and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Serve over steamed rice.

REVIEW: This dish is best cooked in the morning so the flavour of the chile goes through the meal. If served immediately it can be bland. You can replace the baked beans with kidney beans in you desire. My kids don’t like kidney beans so I use baked beans instead. This is prefect to cook in the slow cooker. Just add the cooked meat to all the other ingredients and leave until the evening. Overall I think it’s a great dish and very tasty.

Flavour: 8/10
Ease: 9/10
Expense: 8/10

Beef Goulash with Herbed dumplings
1 kg diced beef
½ cup plain flour
Oil
2 onions cut into wedges
1 clove of garlic crushed
300g button mushrooms
1 tbs paprika
1 cup beef stock
½ cup sour cream

Dumplings
2 cups SR flour
60g butter melted
¾ cup stock
2 tbs parsley
2 tbs oregano
2 tbs thyme

Toss meat in flour. Heat oil in large pan. Cook floured meat in batches and place in slow cooker. Saute onion and garlic in the same pan you cooked the meat. Add mushrooms and paprika. Cook stirring for a minute or two. Add to the meat. Pour the stock into the pan and scrape the bottom to get the extra flavours, then pour over the meat. Stir in the sour cream prior to adding the dumplings. Best to let go for 4-6 hours in a slow cooker, or simmer over a stove for 1 hour.

Dumplings: In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients, mix well. Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture on top of the goulash. Untill the top is covered. Replace the lid of the slow cooker and cook until the dumplings float to the surface, plump and moist.

REVIEW: I love this dish, it’s so hearty and perfect for winter. Sometimes I add a cup of grated cheese to the dumpling mix for a bit of a difference. And close to serving I sometimes pop it in the oven at 200 with the lid off to crisp the top of the dumplings. This is perfect to freeze. I freeze them in individual portions so they can be quick lunches or dinners for those lazy days.

Flavour: 8/10
Ease: 7/10
Expense: 7/10

Rich Beef “Mish Mash” Casserole

Mish mash is my term for “anything and everything thrown together”

A handful of mushrooms, quartered
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 med onions, sliced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 knob of butter
100g diced bacon
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 cup water
¼ cup plain flour
500g chuck steak, diced
2 tbs oregano
Oil for cooking

In a fry pan, heat a splash of oil then cook the steak until well browned and crisp on the outside. Remove from pan. Melt butter in pan and add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add flour and stir. Slowly add water to pan, stirring until it’s thick and bubbling. Remove from heat. Place meat, onion mixture and all other remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and combine well. Cook for 6 hours. Serve with steamed corn on the cob, beans and baked potato.

REVIEW: Ohher I love dishes that use up bits and pieces in the fridge. It saves so much money and saves on wastage as well, which I HATE! This dish was very rich and very hearty. A good one to warm the cockles of your heart.

Flavour: 8/10
Ease: 8/10
Expense: 8/10

Thick Chunky Minestrone Soup
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium onions, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
3 medium carrots diced
2 zucchini diced
3 tomatoes, diced
3 tbs tomato paste
7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 cup soup pasta
1 400g tin of Cannelleni beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs oregano
Pepper and salt to taste

In a large pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions untill onions are soft. Add the vegetables, paste, stock and beans and cook untill vegetables are soft. Remove half of the soup and blend untill smooth, then return in the pan along with the soup pasta, herbs and seasonings. Simmer untill pasta is soft.

REVIEW: This dish was sooo thick and so yummy. It was very filling and very tasty. I really enjoyed it, as did my family. It’s a really healthy soup too, in light of all the fresh ingredients that are used. This recipe serves 6.

Flavour: 9/10
Ease: 7/10
Expense: 8/10

Cream of Mushroom Soup
600g mushrooms
100g butter
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/3 cup plain flour
Chicken stock
300ml lite cream

Chop the mushrooms roughly, stalks and all. Melt butter in a saucepan and then cook the mushrooms and garlic together until mushrooms are soft. Add the flour and stir until it turns grey and looks pasty. Pour over chicken stock until the mushrooms are well covered. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Blend the mushroom mixture with the cream until smooth. Reheat gently. Season as desired. Serves 6-8

REVIEW: I love cream of mushroom soup! Even my husband loves it, and he is not a huge fan of mushrooms!! This is a beautiful creamy soup and is delicious served with warm damper or crusty rolls. It’s relatively easy since mushies are no trouble to chop up, and the results are just wonderful

Flavour: 8/10
Ease: 9/10
Expense: 8/10