Do you cook with soup?

[JustVanessa]

This is not a brand thing.

Do you ever use canned soup in cooking? I pretty much never buy jarred/pre-made sauces or soups but sometimes I use a can of condensed soup as a base for them while making them. It makes cassaroles so easy too!

[lil_earthmomma]

Not any more. I hate all the crap that's in them.

You can replace them with a simple cream sauce flavored to your liking, or sometimes I just use cream cheese, a bit of sour cream to thin it out, garlic, onion and flavor. (mushroom, celery... cream of whatever I want! )

[Daisie125]

Nope, never. I make a white sauce if I need it for a casserole or something. The ingredients list is like a mile long. If I'm gonna eat all that junk I'm not gonna waste it on a cream of __ soup

[BetsyS]

Sometimes. But, it's like a twice a year, "I must have this specific thing" craving. I love Campbell's cream of mushroom with ritz crackers, and once a year, I like the old faithful green bean casserole. I love it, even if my mother (who doesn't eat it) refers to it as "snot casserole." LOL

[katiesk]

ew. no. i think it is sick when people do. the other day, my friend made enchiladas with cream of mushroom soup. ew.

i know lots of people do it regularly and love it. but mostly, i think that cooking is not about dumping canned food together. thats not really cooking, in my mind.

dp makes green bean casserole delicious and all homemade. he makes his own cream of mushroom soup, fresh green beans, and bakes onions for the top. it's fun and way more yummy than a bunch of cans dumped together...ew.

[artemis33]

No.

I occasionally buy broth instead of making it (like a couple of weeks ago when it was 100 degrees and I hadn't roasted a chicken for a while) but not soups.

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by katiesk

dp makes green bean casserole delicious and all homemade. he makes his own cream of mushroom soup, fresh green beans, and bakes onions for the top. it's fun and way more yummy than a bunch of cans dumped together..

I make this style, too, but it's just not the same. It's my dirty food secret. The holdover from childhood that I'm always shocked people eat is boxed macaroni and cheese. Now that is gross.

[Astraia]

I got a bunch of recipes from a friend that called for canned soup, and I got a cookbook (5 ingredient meals!) that called for soup so i bought some and tried it out.

Eugh. Horrible. Awful. Couldn't eat them. They're salty, over-flavoured, weird consistency... not my thing.

[Ruthla]

I thought this thread was going to be about cooking with homemade bone broths. I generally don't do that because we prefer broth all by itself or in regular soups; grains cooked with broth don't seem to be enjoyed as much as grains cooked with olive oil or butter and salt. To me, that's what soup is- the stuff I make myself in the crock pot!

I haven't bought canned soups in YEARS. The meat-based ones are usually not kosher, and the kosher brands of meat broths are full of MSG and other junk I won't eat or feed my family. Some of the "cream of veggie" soups are kosher, but I stopped using those when DD2 went on the Feingold Program. The few brands of "all natural soups" available aren't kosher. I have found basic chicken broth in the frozen section, but it's expensive and I'd rather make it myself. I could see buying ready-made broth if I had less time and more money.

I can't have dairy or corn, so if I made something with "cream of celery soup" I woudln't be able to eat it anyway. What's the point? If DD wants to make something with a cream sauce, she'll make a roux and add whatever spices are desired, or add cheese for cheese sauce, etc.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through the book by the Duggars. There was a recipe in there that called for a 2lb brick of velveeta and a can of cream of something soup, with instructions to melt the "cheese" in the microwave, stir in the soup, and microwave a bit longer, then mix with pasta and some other ingredients. Reading that, I was thinking "when you're microwaving food for 20 people, is it really saving you any time over cooking a roux from scratch?" I just can't comprehend growing up with such a large family, taking turns in the kitchen, yet still not learning how to cook "real food."

[gardenmommy]

Occasionally. There are some things that I make when I am in a hurry, and for those, I will use an organic cream of soup. Oh, and for the famous green bean casserole, since DH LOVES that during the holidays. Otherwise, I really don't care for the taste of dishes made with cream of anything.

[lil_miss_understood]

Not since we went gluten and dairy free. Although I occasionally crave a terrible dish my mom used to make with only pre-made junk food.

[elmh23]

Yes, I do. But really only for one recipe. Enchiladas. I've tried with a homemade sauce and it didn't taste as good, so since it's the only thing in the recipe that's not fresh, I have no problem with it.

[dachshundqueen]

NO. Ever since being pregnant with William the smell makes me want to retch.

Liz

[MeadowSong_]

I grew up cooking that way and did myself for years. I mean, around here everyone makes hotdishs and creamed soups are the #1 thing on everyones shopping lists lol. I haven't bought a can of cream of mush/chick/cheese/celery soup in YEARS. Just had to learn how to make a good roux or white based sauce instead. My food is just as yummy and free of all the fake goodies you get from the cans lol

[oiseau]

I too grew up cooking that way a lot. I cut dairy out of my diet a couple years ago and had to come up with a new strategy. I usually make something similar to a white sauce, but instead of milk, I use homemade broth. I actually did that last night with some super yummy turkey bone broth to re-create one of my favorite meals from when I was a kid. Turned out excellent with no cream of mushroom soup in sight.

[mamatoablessing]

I rarely use any kind of canned soup in my recipes. In fact, that's why I haven't bought any of those crock pot cookbooks - most of them use a canned soup of some kind for the sauces/bases of the recipe. The only time I use condensed soup is when I'm making hash brown casserole (totally junky potato dish) and that happens about twice a year when my family begs for it at some kind of potluck function.

[Owen'nZoe]

I grew up on cream of mushroom recipes, too, but make my own white sauces now that I'm the cook.

That said, I still make the green bean casserole with Cream of Mushroom soup for my husband for Thanksgiving every year, because he loves it so much.

[texaspeach]

sometimes. If I've got a specific comfort food from my childhood craving I'll use the soup. If I'm in a huge hurry and don't want to bother with making a roux, sauteeing mushrooms, onion or celery I'll use it. We try not to eat a lot of prepared foods, but once in a while I'll make something that is better IMO with canned soup.

[crunchy_mama]

Dairy free here as well- but before then I had went to homemade as it only takes a few minutes. Now I do like others and usually do a bone broth base. I have bought premade broth- I think like 2 x but man it is expensive and since I only use whole chickens I always have carcasses around.

[BedHead]

I am in the process of trying to not cook with canned soups. Right now I generally avoid recipes that call for them, but there are a couple of holdovers from my pre-healthy-eating life that the kids just LOVE and so I make them every couple of months.

What would you use instead of tomato soup in a recipe?