McSoup! Ten Nugget Trick to a Full House

I’m a fan of cheater recipes ONLY if they deliver a gourmet taste, save lots of time, and only dirty up one pan.  Make this soup out of Chicken Nuggets from McDonald’s!  It cooks up in 10-15 minutes, feeds six hungry people, and doesn’t disappoint.

Mmmm… something smells good!

“If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t winnin’.”   

Oh wait…that’s what I think when I try to steal the deal in Euchre. 

The first rule of cheater cooking is to get all your crap ready to go.  In this case, you’ll want to have your onion diced, your carrots sliced and blanched and your McNuggets cut down to size.

To a dutch oven melt and simmer until softened:

1/2 stick butter

1 small diced onion

Add in this order:

1/4 cup flour, stir to make roux and then add:

3/4 cup of white wine (a flavor booster)

3 cups of chicken broth

Bring to boil and add:

Two handfuls of Dumplings or Reames Frozen Noodles, let them boil and soften, then add:

1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley (or 1 TBL dried)

10 McDonald’s McNuggets, cut in thirds.  Tyson Frozen Chicken Nuggets work too!

1 cup sliced carrots (I dump mine in a measure cup filled with water and nuke for 3 minutes, then drain)

1 cup of heavy cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

When I made this McSoup, I used some frozen dumplings that I had.  If you don’t have carrots, use peas.  If you don’t have chicken, use shrimp.  This is a very flexible soup base.  — I will post my dumpling recipe below.

The ONLY noodle that has a chance to trump my dumplings is Reames frozen noodles.

I can’t make fresh any better.

Use Reames Frozen Egg Noodles to really cheat your way through this recipe!

Dumplings are about the easiest (and cheapest) way to stretch any dish.  These little devils put the home in home cooking.  Here’s how I roll:

2-1/2  Cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbl. softened butter (not margarine!)

Seasonings to taste…can add some salt or chopped parsley if you like.

Mix ‘em up in a bowl and pinch them into little balls. They don’t have to be pretty.  Roll ‘em in flour and keep flour on your hands so the dough doesn’t stick.  Don’t make a mess:  put some flour on a paper plate and roll them and stack them on it.  Remember, these dumplings grow bigger when they are cooked!  Use what you need, ziploc the rest, and freeze them.  To eat, just boil them in water, sauce, or soup bases.

The kids will eat their peas and carrots if you toss in some dumplings boiled in water or chicken broth.  Just drain, add nuked (frozen, never canned) veggies and butter…makes a side dish they will gobble right up.

So put on your game face and win some points with McSoup!

Kelly’s Clam Chowder

This is not a recipe for sissies.  It is a lot of work but the payoff is huge.

Boil, drain and set aside

• 1 lb. of baby yukon gold potatoes (unpeeled) and halved or quartered to bite size

To a dutch oven (5 qt. casserole pan)  add

• 6 slices of bacon, diced
  

and cook until transparent.  Add

• 1 large diced onion
• 3 large diced stalks of celery
• 2 diced garlic cloves
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 3 tsp. FRESH chopped basil
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 2 bay leaves

and cook until tender.  All these seasonings make this dish aromatic and mouth watering.

Add

• 3 tsp. butter
• 1/2 cup flour

and cook for another 3-4 minutes over LOW heat until it thickens and forms a roux.

Add

• 4 cups of heavy cream
• 4 bottles of clam juice (sold near tuna in supermarket)

Heat until just boiling and Add

• potatoes that were set aside
• 2 bags of FROZEN clams with their juice

Bring to a boil slowly, stirring, and Add

• 1/4 cup chopped FRESH parsley
• 1 tsp. chopped FRESH dill

At this point I like to throw in 6-8 live clams and leave the shells in the soup pot for added flavor and to add interest when serving the chowder up.

Oyster crackers on the side and you’ve got about four quarts of soup that feed 12-14 people as a starter to a meal or 6 people as a main course.

My family truly loves this dish.   Please, please, please use fresh herbs and the frozen (not canned) clams.  It makes all the difference!

De-Vinely Delicious

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup    (for dummies)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Use an 11×17″ baking sheet.  Fill it with tomatoes that are cored and halved.  I use a combo of Roma and red ripe ones (about 2.5 lbs).

Dump the roasted mixture into a big stock pot, including any liquids on the baking sheet.  To this add:  3 cups of chicken broth (I use Knorr in the little cups), and 1/2 stick unsalted butter.  Simmer 20 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves and puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.  Alternative method:  puree in food processor.  Then add 3/4 cup heaving whipping cream and stir.  D O N E