The Family Table: A side of soup, please
Every once in a while, I open the fridge and realize I have way too much stuff 鈥� even though I feel like I have nothing.
The reality is that there蘑菇视频 a little of this, a little of that, but nothing put together.
On those days, I know the kids hope for nachos for dinner. It蘑菇视频 our guilty pleasure and a great way to clean out the roasted vegetables we always have on hand. (Plus, who doesn鈥檛 like the occasional feeling of having junk food for dinner? The kids probably don鈥檛 realize 鈥� and wouldn鈥檛 care anyway 鈥� that their nachos are packed with vegetables.)
Rice or pasta also make a bed for roasted veggies if we鈥檙e out of tortilla chips, and I need to use up what I鈥檝e already made.
My husband calls these monkeyed together meals 鈥渞efrigerator roadkill.鈥� I can鈥檛 think of a less appetizing moniker.
Some days, though, I want something a little more grown up and put together.
Our family loves to eat soup no matter the time of year, so when I had one of those days recently, I pulled out this old staple.
I鈥檓 pretty sure it takes more time and effort to make the homemade croutons to go atop the soup, but they鈥檙e well worth the effort!
I use cornstarch in it to thicken it slightly, but if you don鈥檛 mind a thinner soup, you can leave it out.
For me, cooking inspiration lurks around every corner 鈥� or every open refrigerator door.
Corn and Crab Soup
2, 14 陆 ounce cans vegetable broth
1, 15-ounce can creamed corn
2 scallions
2 cobs of corn (cooked or raw)
16 oz can crab meat
1 陆 teaspoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons cold water
陆 teaspoon chili paste
Finely dice the white part of the scallion. Cook over low heat in a medium-sized pot, stirring occasionally for about five minutes. Finely chop the green stem of scallion and reserve for garnish.
While the onion is slowly cooking, break apart the crabmeat, ensuring it is clean of any shells and cut the corn off the cob. After the corn is cut off, use the back of a large kitchen knife to gently run down the cobs to get the pulp out. Add that to the crab, and add the chili paste (dried chili flakes will work here as well). Mix those ingredients together and in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until dissolved. Add that to the crab-corn mixture, stir again, and set aside.
Pour the broth into the pot and crank the heat up to high. When boiling, pour the broth in the creamed corn and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat down to medium, and pour in the corn-crab mixture. The cornstarch will slightly thicken the broth. Heat through. Just before serving, add the chopped greens of the scallions. Top with homemade croutons.
Homemade Croutons
陆 loaf day-old French bread
Few drizzles of olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1-2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Cut the bread into chunks depending on how big you want the croutons. They鈥檙e not supposed to be perfect, so don鈥檛 stress over the varying sizes. Drizzle about one tablespoon olive oil atop the bread and toss with Italian seasoning and cheese. Bake until golden in a 425-degree oven. They鈥檒l keep about one week in an airtight container.