Pinterest is my friend. My cookbook collection (Yes, I know it's ironic that I have a cookbook collection and my cooking skills are so lacking.) originally consisted of pre-1940s cookbooks. My particular area of interest was Depression-Era. These people knew how to cook whole foods, organic (because it was grown at home!). I wanted to know what on earth they ate to make it through one of the worst economic downturns our country has ever witnessed. And then there was WWII. People were gardening again (Victory Gardens), food was scarce again.
One of the keys to success in the kitchen, I've always thought, is the ability to make something from nothing. This came to me many moons ago, I was newly married, back in my grandma's kitchen. She had a large group of people over. We'd had a feast with these same people the day before, but there was no real plan for this meal - lunch I think. But we had some left overs - not enough for everyone to have the same thing, though. I thought it would be rude to feed all these people left overs - my grandma was, after all, a fine Southern Belle (born and raised in West Virginia). So, all of the other fine Southern Belles in our family went into the kitchen and came out with another feast! How did they do it? I was dumbfounded!
They took nothing, in my young, humble opinion, and came out with something! When I could do this amazing magic trick, I too would be a "Good Cook!"
This has been my mission in the kitchen since that day. It's been no less than 20 years, and I'm hardly an expert (my family will attest to this,) but I've had some successes lately and I thought I'd share. If I can do it, literally, anyone can.
Last night (Tuesday) we had an assortment of left overs from the freezer. Nothing exciting, but nutritious: slow cooker ribs (that didn't have 5 servings in it,) with kluski noodles that originally was served with beef tips. This made a great "base" to put the BBQ ribs over - with the BBQ gravy to moisten up the noodles. I also had a bag of cheesy mixed vegetables. Done.
Tonight was a particular success, however. The shelves are getting bare in the fridge/freezer.
Pinterest to the rescue! I wasn't even looking for a dinner idea yet! What luck!
Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
I checked out the recipe and I had most of the ingredients...how lucky can a girl be?
Author: Pinch of Yum, from Cambridge Medical Center cookbook
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 3 (10¾ oz) cans chicken broth ( I happened to have an almost-full box in the fridge!)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed (I had 1/2-ish cup of brown rice left in the bag)
- ½ cup finely chopped green onions (I had a half a red onion in the fridge)
- ½ cup margarine or butter
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups half and half (I used rice milk and it was just fine)
- 1½ cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I had 1-1/2 chicken breast all by itself in the freezer)
- 8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (I had 9 slices in the freezer - what are the odds!)
- Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth and water. Add wild rice and onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30-45 minutes (or until rice is tender). Once the rice is cooked, there will be some additional broth – do not drain.
- In a medium saucepan, melt margarine, stir in flour, salt, seasoning, and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly.
- Gradually stir in half and half with the butter/flour mixture and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add this creamy mixture back into the saucepan with the rice/broth. Add remaining ingredients (chicken & bacon). Heat on low, stirring every once in a while, for at least a half an hour. Do not boil. The mixture will look thin, but the longer you heat the soup, the more the flavors merry and the more it will thicken. This soup is best served after gently heating for an extended period of time (even a few hours) or the next day! For extra flavor, add more poultry seasoning and/or bacon.
Easy peasy! I also made my family eat up the left over bread on the counter - 2 hamburger buns and 2 end pieces (including the heel) of a loaf of bread (ordinarily I would have gotten a French bread baguette).
Done! It was tasty, everyone ate it (minus the bacon for my number 2 daughter - no she's not a Vegan/Vegetarian, that's my number 1 daughter). What more could a girl ask for?
Another successful "something from nothing!"
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