Some do....I don't....hate the flavor that that "canned soup" gives.
But I know people who make chili with tomato soup and meat loaf with a can of vegetable beef ...my MIL made meat loaf with a can of chicken gumbo, not to mention all the chicken and rice things with a can of cream of something soup added.
Then we can move to all the recipes with a package of dry onion soup mix....everything from a dip with sour cream to a pot roast wrapped in foil.
The only soup in my house is boxed chicken broth and perhaps a can of beef broth.
But to answer your question...many people would be unable to cook anything but steak or eggs without their canned soups.
Linda C

Well... sure, some people do. But then again I know people who never cook anything, they eat out or do take out for every meal. Yes, every single meal. I'm not making this up.

So anything made at home is at least a step up from that!

However, thinking about what you wrote...
Maybe it's not as bad as you think.

You make cheesy potato casserole which everyone loves, and since people were asked to submit their favorite recipes maybe these are just the recipes that their family loves that they thought would be simplest to submit.

I mean, just because the majority of recipes submitted contain canned soup that doesn't mean that each family that subitted a soup can recipe cooks only with canned soup. If all the recipes came from just a few sources and all had canned soup, that might be different.

But in any case, yeah, I'd bet there are a lot of canned-soup-is-a-staple cooks out there.

A lot of times, for cookbooks where people submit their favorite recipes like that, the compilers specifically ask for easy, family style recipes that anyone could make and enjoy. The books are usually meant to be sold to generate funds. So, you end up with a lot of casseroles, crock pot meals, and recipes made with prepackaged convenience foods.

But, that said, I'm afraid a lot of people do cook/eat that way. Why else are there entire rows in the grocery store devoted to items like boxed noodle/rice/potato meals (just add hamburger), canned soups, meal-in-a-cups (just add hot water), cans, cans, cans, etc? And that doesn't even address the frozen foods aisle.

Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these foods, or in using them...occasionally they come in handy.

My ex-sister in law cooked that way. She'd never liked to cook, didn't really care to learn, and worked full time, but had to put dinner on the table. A can of mushroom soup dumped over some browned chicken and popped into the oven served with frozen broccoli and Uncle Ben's was better than take out.

Let's face it, for all the cookbooks full of 30-minute, healthy meals, most of us who cook from scratch take a deal longer than that making dinner unless we take care to plan very well. Cleaning & prepping produce takes time, as does roasting & grinding spices, cooking whole grains & legumes, cutting, trimming & boning meats, kneading breads, canning, freezing, drying...yada yada. Lots of people simply don't have the time, and add to that, many don't have the knowledge.

If Mom (or someone) didn't teach us the basics, it can be a daunting task even to follow a simple recipe. I remember once, trying to explain to a friend on the phone the difference between mince, dice and chop.

What May said.

Even though most of the cooks on this forum probably don't cook with canned soup or wouldn't consider it "cooking", other people who don't like to cook as much as the folks here would definitely consider it cooking. And might look at cooking as a chore instead of an enjoyable activity, so anything to make it easier (i.e. canned soup) would be welcome to them.

I don't mind it every once in a while, and have some fond memories of dishes my mom or grandmother made using soups. I once made the dreaded green bean casserole with a white sauce instead of canned soup and no one (including me) was impressed lol

I think the only meal I make with canned soup is the No Peek Casserole.

Canned soup, even "low-sodium", has a huge amount of sodium.

E.g. Campbell's low sodium cream of mushroom soup has 1700mg sodium per can (690mg per 120ml and a 10.5 oz can is 310ml).

Why not simply saute some mushrooms and puree in cream and milk? It takes 10 minutes, and tastes better.

I do use low-sodium tetra-pack chicken broth when I'm in a hurry. (280mg sodium per 4 cup container.)

I don't use canned soup because, as Johnliu noted, even the low sodium stuff has a ton of salt. Plus, I just don't like it, it tastes icky to me.

That said I do make the infamous green bean casserole once or twice a year, usually Christmas and Thanksgiving, and Ashley will sit on the couch and eat that Cream of mushroom in the red and white can. Right out of the can. Cold. Now that's disgusting!

I seldom even buy canned broth, I make stock and can it so I nearly always have it on hand. I haven't found a dried soup base/bouillion yet that I like.

My sister, however, hates to cook. Her kids live on frozen pizza, hamburger helper and cold cereal, I swear. And it shows, the terrible twins are both significantly overweight and the 16 year old is already pre-diabetic. They need some fresh vegetables, for crying out loud.

And my ex-SIL didn't even cook that much. She would occasionally put a frozen pizza in the microwave (!!) but other than that, it was takeout. She lived in Muskegon, so it was McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's/Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken/Fazoli's/Pizza/G&L Chili Dogs. Repeat. Breakfast was cold cereal, she didn't even make toast!

So my answer is yes, people do cook like that. A LOT of people, in fact.

Annie

Recently an organization I was part of published a cookbook to raise funds. Each member was asked to contribute 5 recipes.
All levels of cooking were encouraged.
One member, an elderly gentleman was quite a gourmet cook, and contributed 5 of his best recipes.
The committee chairperson turned down every single one, on the assumption "New brides wouldn't know what that means".
Another member (a retired Home Ec teacher and also restaurant owner) requested a chapter exclusively for things that can be made from cake mixes.
It definitely takes all kinds.
And johnliu, while it is true that even low sodium canned soups have a lot of sodium, once that can is mixed with several other ingredients for a dish that serves several people, just how much of that sodium is each serving going to contain? Probably still too much, but it's not like anyone was eating the whole can, undiluted.

So yes, I do use them on occasion.
And enjoy the dishes they are in.

Rusty

I have never bought one of those fund-raiser cookbooks for that reason alone. Not only canned soup, but cake mixes, jello, and all kinds of packaged, pre-made stuff.

Now that is not to say I don't, won't or haven't made stuff using a canned soup or packaged mix on occasion, but I sure don't need a whole book of recipes with nothing but!

Unfortunately, there are a LOT of people that cook/eat like that. I work with a lot of women and nearly all of them use stuff like that every single day. Their kids have no idea what freshly made food tastes like. It makes me sad.

Linda

Rusty, I think that Ashley very well may be the only person alive who'll eat an undiluted can of soup.

Annie

Rachelellen said it well: "A can of mushroom soup dumped over some browned chicken and popped into the oven served with frozen broccoli and Uncle Ben's was better than take out." I don't use canned soups much (because of the sodium level), but using them is better than always eating out or take out. You can combine different frozen vegetables, lean meats, noodles or rice to make relatively healthy & tasty meals.

And as one who has to carefully watch sodium content, I definitly agree with Rusty: "...while it is true that even low sodium canned soups have a lot of sodium, once that can is mixed with several other ingredients for a dish that serves several people, just how much of that sodium is each serving going to contain? Probably still too much, but it's not like anyone was eating the whole can, undiluted."

Regarding family/charity/church cookbooks: The cookbook compilers are looking for easy, familiar recipes that have a very broad appeal.

However, back to the original question, yes, I think a lot of people do rely on canned soups or sauces for their meals. It's not "from scratch" cooking, but it's still cooking. And I think it's better than frozen meals, take-out or dining out all the time.

And frankly, sauteeing mushrooms and then pureeing them in cream sounds like a lot of work to me. It may seem like nothing to those of us who enjoy spending a lot of time in our kitchens cooking up a storm and dirtying every pot & pan in the house. But to others, it might be daunting. What's simple to me may not be simple to you.

There's only one thing I used canned soup for--my m-in-l's recipe for meat loaf uses a can of tomato soup. Other than that, I'm pure!

I never buy canned soup, but I used to watch Cookin' Cheap, a show from Virginia where two middle-aged men would collect white trash recipes from the south that would go something like this: "Take a can of this and add a can of that and cook it till the cows come home." Then they would get in drag and impersonate Southern dowagers and critique the recipes, most of which were pretty bad, even by their standards. It was very entertaining to watch, but I would never make any of their recipes!

I have found some soup bases that I like at the restaurant supply store in vegetable, lobster, and mushroom flavors. I don't like the chicken soup base as much but will still use it in small amounts in place of salt in certain recipes. I also found some Kosher bouillon cubes from Israel that I like - the vegetable ones have chunks of minced vegetables when reconstituted. I avoid the dried soups mixes except for the ones at the Japanese market. I've found some very good dried soups from Japan that will have large pieces of vegetables when reconstituted, and the dried cabbage has the texture of fresh. I do read the sodium content before buying, however.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Cookin' Cheap, now on DVD!

The only thing I use a canned soup in is "Tuna noodle salad". And that is because that is the way my mom made it when we were young. We even make our own creme of mushroom soup for the Thanksgiving must have...Green Bean Casserole. I just enjoy cooking the majority of food we make by scratch. It's a fun process, and it is healthier and better for my family then all the crap that is in processed foods. But yes, I do see lots of families eating and using canned soups and other process foods. Such a shame it's not that hard to do actual cooking. I guess that is why our daughters' friends enjoy coming to our house for dinner. They say that none of their parents "cook for real." NancyLouise

Yes, many families eat like this. I can tell that by the church cookbooks I have seen and the homes I have visited. And as someone else said it is preferable to always eating out or trying to eat those horrific frozen or boxed dinners.

I remember learning how to make Basic White Sauce as one of the first things we did in Home Economics Class (back in the olden days - LOL), and then using it for any number of things people now use canned soup for, and have avoided canned soup.

There are lots of recipes out there to make-your-own replacements for canned soup - at a fraction of the cost and much lower in sodium. How nice to make "cream of chicken" with homemade chicken stock, or "cream of mushroom" with fresh mushrooms.

I use a base mixture called "Magic Mix" which was developed by the Utah State Extension Service (found at the link below). I make the mixture with powdered milk, cornstarch and coconut oil, but there are blends using all-purpose flour and butter or vegetable oil along with the powdered milk. This mixture is really great for making your own condensed soup mixtures, white sauce, Alfredo Sauce, gravy, even pudding and Fudgsicles. One of my favorite homemade "convenience" foods.

It's generally about what you get accustomed to using, and canned cream of _______ soup certainly is easy and regularly used in most homes. Most people don't worry about what's in a can until they have to watch their sodium intake. There are some good alternatives to canned soup, unfortunately it requires a little more than opening a can.....

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Do It Yourself With Mixes

I do use them for a few things that have been staple recipes with my group. The first one being the famous green bean casserole along with the tuna noodle hotdish. They are once or twice a year things though. We make a squash casserole that calls for a can of COC too and some of that preseasoned stuffing mix. Oh, and I've had that hashbrown casserole more than once too. Not every week but they are cool with me for the most part. Then there is the blue box mac and cheese...LOL Again, not every week but once in a great while.

Ashley is not alone in eating that stuff from the can. There is a lady at work that does the same thing with the bean and bacon soup...sometimes she spreads it on crackers...LOL

I guess we can put some of the blame on Joe Campbell. Thinking he was one of the first to introduce ready made in the can sort of stuff. What I find amusing is that all of this type of prepared food was and still is marketed to get you out of the kitchen faster to spend more time with your family. Of course TV and marketing played a big role in all of this....TV dinners come to mind.
I remember them being a treat as was going to a fast food joint back in the day. Well, for us anyway, as money was tight growing up and it was really a treat and fun and unique thing to do, not the norm as it is now for so many. I grew up on meat and potaoes type of eating as both of my parents were raised on farms. Then you factor in Mom going to work so you can have more stuff, a bigger house, two cars, and again more stuff...Mmmm intersting for sure. I loved George Carlin's take on this years ago. LOL

I really don't know what to think about all of it to be honest. The world has had people starving for food for as long as I can remember and then there is all of this convienent and fast food stuff that so many consume for whatever reason. There are so many different variables that come into play that it boggles my mind.

What really cracks me up is that most of the advertisers on a lot of the cooking shows/channels feature so much of these premade items.

Just random and rambling thoughts from me tonight folks...

David

There are two things I make that use cream o' shroom soup. And I learned them from my mother. And while I have the time and the technical ability and the $$$ to do it with actual mushrooms, I can't stand the flavor of mushrooms.
(By the way, mushrooms are not inexpensive and not everyone can afford to make their own cream of mushroom sauce!)

I suppose I should find a non-canned alternative that is mushroom free.

Oh...my dad would eat the Campbell's cream of mushroom soup straight from the can. I wouldn't be surprised if he still does!

I use canned soup in three recipes. One is Diane's (Craftyrn) Cabbage Rolls which calls for a can of tomato soup...... delicious! Another is a hash brown casserole that everyone loves. The third is a tuna noodle casserole using cream of celery soup. When Meredith was little, and I was working, this was a meal I could get on the table in no time flat and she loved it.

While, I myself do not care for canned soups in recipes I can see why some people do. Fast, cheap and usually kid friendly which must work for lots of working Moms.

There is a lot more to feel sad about in this world than people who use canned soups in recipes. Frankly, I don't understand the disdain. I don't use them often, but I certainly do use them.

My favorite recipe is to brown one pound ground chuck, remove the fat, pour in one can french onion soup and simmer for a few minutes. Serve on buns with beans or potato salad. Wonderful!

Why do I feel like this a confession thread for using canned soups? Too funny.

I wonder if the ham and swiss cheese casserole I sent to a funeral luncheon engendered comments like "poor thing ... she really doesn't know better" or "well, you know ... her family eats a lot of processed food.":)
Cathy in SWPA

LOL, I'll fess up! I do use canned soups in cooking too but not very often. I used to use a lot more than I do now. They are Fast, cheap and kid friendly. And when you come home at 6 and want the kids in bed at 830, you don't have a lot of time to spend messin around in the kitchen!

Now, as time went on, I got more into doing my own thing and skipping the canned and processed foods. But that's because I like to cook. I know people who cook because they have to not because they like to. So that convenience factor is invaluable to them. As has been stated many times above (including by me), IMO, no matter what processed or canned or frozen foods get used, a dinner that is made in your kitchen is better than take out night after night.

I am amazed by those who fed their kids something made with canned soup....no way would my kids touch something with "mystery glop" on it or in it or anywhere near it.
I didn't work when my kids were little but there were often times when I needed to get dinner on the table in a hurry. Those times I resorted to the dreaded fish sticks, frozen french fries and frozen corn. LOL! Or hot dogs, or pancakes and sausage, or the blue box of mac and cheese.

And dinner made in your home isn't ALWAYS better than take out. I know someone who runs through the deli at the supermarket and gets a container of cut up veggies and a pre-cooked chicken breast or some sliced beef and mashed potatoes and it's dinner. You can get take out that's better than canned soup over noodles with a can of tuna.

But kids are different. My grand daughter would starve rather than eat anything that had ever been near broccoli....but her brother loved the stuff. One noon my daughter fixed up some leftover rice, leftover broccoli and cheeze whiz for herself and the the 2 preschoolers, the 18 month old and the broccoli hater, who got peanut butter and jelly was in tears about mom feeding that yucky stuff to baby. Crying and saying no no baby, don't eat that...mommy don't give my baby that yucky stuff...ooh poooor baby LOL!
Different strokes....
Linda c

Well, sad to say but we can't ALL be LindaC! And you may hate those soups Linda but I'll go out on a limb and say that frozen fish sticks are not exactly the epitome of flavor and nutrition so I'm not sure how anyone who serves those to kids can say anything against those who make dishes with canned soup for kids.

I used canned soups to mix in with pasta, veggies, ground beef, chicken pieces, etc. It was not exactly "mystery glop" more like "mish mosh" which my poor unfortunate neglected kids had to consume, although they did so willingly.

And what I said was a dinner that is made in your kitchen is better than take out night after night. I emphasize "night after night". Sure you can pick up some mighty nice veggies at the salad bar and those rotisserie chickens are tasty and even the premade foods at the deli counter are not bad. But every night? No thanks!

Most of us use at one point or another use some kind of packaged product whether it be canned soup or Wheat thins but this should unite not divide us! We are all kindred cooks and food prejudice is just silly.
I use Campbells canned beef broth occasionally because I like the way it tastes. I don't like the msg in it or the preservatives so I don't use it often and that, not taste, is what usually drives me to make things homemade.

My tuna noodle casserole wasn't quite canned soup over noodles with a can of tuna and I don't think it's fair to call Campbell's soups "mystery glop".

Your kids are very lucky never to have had any food except that which was freshly made by you.......too bad they had to miss out on hot dogs though.

Even if it was mystery glop we were served by our mothers, at least our mothers actually made the stuff instead of buying something premade. I think that "mom loves me" feeling is priceless, especially later in life. In my memories, the older I get the better my mom's homemade mystery glop tasted lol

My kids' palates were apparently not as sophisticated as those of LindaC's children. Even though I've always had an organic garden, grown my own beef, had chickens for eggs, baked my own bread, Ashley has always liked some amount of "mystery glop". Of course, she also eats frozen pizza and Velveeta Shells and Cheese, as well as commercially canned creamed corn and she'd rather have cake mix cake than any of my homemade recipes.

Ah well, it's what makes the world go round, we all have different tastes. I don't even like homemade mac and cheese made with real cheese, so her precious Velveeta Shells are safe from me!

she is also an exception to the theory that kids will eat in adulthood what they grew up eating, because I've always cooked in spite of working full time their whole lives and Ashley still would prefer fast food and canned soup and frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese from a box. She also likes an occasional beer, now that she's old enough to drink, and I abhor beer. She sure never had THAT while growing up!

Annie

That's true for my kids, too, Annie. My son the great cook ate nothing but peanut butter & jelly and Oreos for years when he was growing up - now there is no holding him back.

Every one of my kids was raised on natural peanut butter and mainly home made meals, but the minute they got out of the house they bought Jif and Hamburger Helper...that is, until their own kids were born. Then it was back to good cooking.

We're kidding ourselves if we think that, just because we cook it, we are cooking from scratch. We live in paradise compared to the way our grandparents - and a lot of the rest of today's world - cooked and the variety of foods we can get. None of us cooks that way any more; maybe Annie and grainlady come closest, but I'll bet even they have things like bananas and salt and spices and other not-locally-grown foods in their kitchens. But who cares? Most of us here LIKE to cook and are pretty good at it, even if we do use canned soup.

Sherry

I have two or three recipes that I use which calls for canned cream soup too and I'm not about to quit using them because someone else has great disdain for the soups. I also use a jar of Cheeze Whiz now and then. I bet those who hate the canned cream soup and cheeze whiz use bacon and cream and butter and lots of other things which aren't very healthy. Everybody gets a chance to choose their own type of poison. That's kind of like my mother who always put "sins" in order of which one she though was the worst one. LOL

Well I probably shouldn't say anything but Lindac I really am laughing hard because you say that your children would never eat "mystery glop" yet your daughter is making lunch for herself and kids using Cheese Whiz. What do you consider that?

Yes, I have used canned soups before but not on a regular basis and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I still remember the first time I ever had Campbell's (cream of) tomato soup. I was staying overnight at a girlfriend's house when I was a kid in the 50's. And at another overnight stay with another friend, I had Frito corn chips for the first time. And then there was sour cream and real butter and on and on and on...

I grew up poor with a lot of siblings and we ate what we grew and didn't get much else. So it was a real treat to have "convenience" foods.

Fast forward to now. We lived for 2 years in the Netherlands. The Dutch do not use much in the way of processed foods. And in their canned goods, very little sugar or salt and absolutely no HFCS. It didn't feel like deprivation at all - since I can cook, I made food we enjoyed eating. But convenience foods were certainly off the table for those 24 months.

Sadly - I cannot stand the sugary taste of canned Campbell's tomato soup now. It was my fave for years and years. I keep trying to revisit it, but keep rejecting the sweetness. And the same for Miracle Whip. I was weaned on that stuff. Can't gag it down anymore.

seagrass

Anyone that disdains cream of soup so much can't be too fussy if they eat hot dogs and sausage, unless they make them at home, which very few here do. For the record, I do not eat either, but I do use cream of soup once in awhile, like most everyone else on this board has.

"I remember learning how to make Basic White Sauce as one of the first things we did in Home Economics Class (back in the olden days - LOL), and then using it for any number of things people now use canned soup for, and have avoided canned soup."

I think that's the key to it. If you can make a basic white sauce there is no need for canned cream soups. White sauce is not difficult or labor intensive. The best thing about it is that it is the basis of infinite variations, none of which would be cream of mushroom or cream of celery in my cooking. If the dish I'm cooking has mushrooms or celery in it, they will end up in the sauce along with other flavors. Otherwise I just don't have a need for sauces in those flavors. The variations come from choice of liquid and fat. Sometimes a choice of thickener or cheese comes into play. Because the liquid or the fat or both are usually byproducts of cooking the main ingredient, the sauce matches well with the finished dish. You don't get that with sauce out of a can.

Related to the use of canned soups as ready made sauces is the use of canned pie fillings. I find them more useful, but they are limited to a few choices. Thickening fruit-based desserts is similar to making savory sauces and opens up another universe of possibilities.

It's a shame that more people don't get the instruction Grainlady did in her Home Economics class. It's so useful and it's not beyond anyone's ability to learn. If I were in charge of such a course, the whole curriculum would revolve around basic white sauce.

Jim

I don't think LindaC was calling anything anyone made or fed their kids, "mystery glop," I think she was relating how her children would refer to a food covered with canned soup, a creamy sauce that was unfamiliar to them...and I have to say, if my Mother had tried that, she'd have been hard put to get me to eat it too. As a kid, I far preferred my food plain and easily recognizable. I didn't even care for mayo in my sandwiches because it was "slimy."

Cheez Whiz isn't "glop." It's pasteurized, processed cheese stuff...er...food. MILK, WATER, MILKFAT, WHEY, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ALGINATE, SODIUM CITRATE, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR), ANNATTO (COLOR), ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE.

Not really as bad as we would suppose. Basically, it contains much the same ingredients as any other cheese, though they probably start out in powdered form, some salt, a binder derived from algae, citric acid for tang (saves aging) and a couple of vegetable-based colorings.

Yep...I like hot dogs...and sausage. But I can't stand that gelatenous goo that comes out of a can called cream of whatever soup....and even the vegetable soup has an odd taste to me.
Not at all sure why some feel defensive because they like what I dont'...nor why they need to disparage my favorite junk food.
Like Seagrass, I remember loving cream of tomato soup and toasted cheese made with Velveeta! A few years back, during a rough time I wanted comfort food and went out and bought velveeta, white bread and Campbells tomato soup.
I couldn't eat it...it was awful...sweet salty and the cheese was gluey. So much for remembered tastes!
Mystery glop was a term coined by my kids, not me...but it seems to fit!

"Not at all sure why some feel defensive because they like what I dont'...nor why they need to disparage my favorite junk food".

I don't think any of us are being defensive at all. We are just stating how we feel. Don't you do that on a daily basis?

It's all good. We are all allowed to have our own taste buds and like or dislike what we want.

For those that don't like Campbells tomato soup, what kind of tomato soup do you like or make? I actually like it a lot (make with half milk/half water).

I have toyed with the idea of making homemade cream of tomato but most recipes I have seen have been described as "bland" over and over by reviewers. At least canned tomato soup isn't bland.

Seagrass, I used to love Campbell's tomato soup, heated and with popped corn in it. The popped corn takes the place of the crackers some people crumble in theirs. I can no longer find any kind of tomato soup I like.

Before a company markets a soup, they put in a lot of effort in recipe development, testing, etc. in its huge and well equipped research kitchen. Them they do focus groups, taste testing, test marketing etc. A lot of money goes into a new product.

So you donÂt like canned soup?

They sell four billion dollars of canned soup a year.

I donÂt like canned soups. Just clam chowder once in a while.

dcarch

I don't like any kind of canned vegetable soup -- vegetarian, beef, or chicken. I know I'm going to gross someone out, but the reason I don't like canned vegetable soups is because, TO ME, they smell like overly ripe underarms. In fact, my husband and I have an underarm rating: OK, Vegetable Soup, and then the dreaded Skunk.

I emphasize the fact that it's just my take on canned vegetable soup. No one else probably reacts like I do. I also can't abide the smell of quinoa cooking. It makes me gag. Truly, we all react differently to certain tastes, textures, & aromas.

Popped corn...what a great idea. Or white cheddar popcorn...yum! I can a lot of roasted tomato soup, really good heated up with some half & half, but it's nothing like Campbells. I have friend who makes homemade tomato soup that's much like it....I'm waiting on her recipe. She made us tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches one day and we were six again. Our favorite french dressing calls for a can of tomato soup. I've made it with other tomato products, but it needs to be Campbells or it's not right.

I usually make the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving. Our neighbor eats with us and years ago he got all wistful about his mom's gb casserole, so I make it...complete with french fried onions.

Also have a couple of casserole recipes with cream of mushroom that just aren't the same made from scratch.

Hasn't this thread veered off topic somewhat? As I understand the original post, it was about the use of canned soup as an ingredient in cooking, not about a critique of canned soup eaten as soup. By that definition, Katie's post would be an example of an on topic post because it talks about soup as an ingredient in french dressing, green bean casserole and other casseroles. Some others would not.

Please don't remind me of how many times I've veered OT. :-)

Jim

I make, eat and freeze a lot of soup, but I keep several cans of cream of mushroom, tomato and even chicken noodle. Every once in a while I get a craving for them. Tomato soup, without any milk or cream tyvm and a tuna sandwich. Chicken noodle to go with the occasional bologna sandwich. I'm kind of a nut about having soup with my sandwiches and I generally freeze my soups in gallon jugs so it comes in handy to have a few cans around, and it is a comfort thing, plus if I'm really having trouble getting around it's easiest to open that can to go with my sandwich.
The cream of mushroom, well, never used it for tuna casserole, that's always been a from scratch thing like mac and cheese but I use it as the base for a fake stroganoff with beef or chicken. I actually got Christy to start cookin stroganoff by having her use the soup and extra mushrooms at first. Now she got confident and will make it all without the aid of the soup, however sometimes during the week when she's really tired, she'll brown off some chicken cubes, throw a can of mushroom soup over it and some broth, then serve it over noodles. Tastes good to me, and to her too. Granted, it's not something we do every week but it serves a purpose in our house.

For people struggling financially, getting a can of soup, tuna and bag of noodles at the dollar store for a dollar each that can turn into several meals for two people or feed a fairly large family, can't be done at any fast food joint I know of. Buying veggies on sale to supplement and you could do worse. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer grain/legume based proteins for money saving meals, but I can understand those who choose other options.

Oh yes, and I do get a craving for the mushroom soup as just soup, with croutons or crackers and when I am making it.... gotta have a spoon or two of the concentrate. Smiles.

David, I can imagine eating the bean with bacon soup on crackers...lol..

Lars I used to love watching Cooking Cheap... the little witch thing swooping in with the recipe.. and the messes they made.. lol.. Their drag was great. Yup.. loved that show.

Jimster, some of our best conversations are when we veer off course from the original question. That's the fun of the CF.

Katiec, I hope you try the popcorn in your soup. Could you please print your tomato soup recipe?

Shambo, I have yet to try quinoa. Now I don't know if I want to.

Anyone else have Shambo's reaction the the odor of quinoa?

I'm not KatieC, but here's her recipe!!
Delicious! I love to can in pints and just grab one to take to work. I can microwave it right in the jar and drink it!

Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup
Recipe By :Katie C

12 tomatoes -- *see Note
2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces
1 large onion -- quartered
2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste)
olive oil
2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
cream -- to taste DO NOT CAN WITH CREAM.

Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until almost smooth. Add cream to taste. To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000 ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft. *Note: These measurements are approximate...I use whatever it takes to cover the cookie sheet. This makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of soup.

That said, I do keep a couple of Cream of Mushroom and Chicken on hand for recipes that I make infrequently for when "I don't want to cook". Yes, I've opened a can of tuna, can of soup and boiled noodles. Of course I always have to toss in some frozen peas, chopped celery, maybe olives or roasted red pepper.

My White Chicken Enchiladas use a Cream of soup and they just aren't "THE RECIPE" without it.

I probably use a total of 4-5 cans a year. Whatever.
It's not any worse the hitting the drive through at a burger joint! I probably do that once a year!

I say "to each his own".

The only thing I don't like about prepared/packaged stuff in general is that the supply of basic ingredient selections at the grocery seem to be dwindling (pure space issue, I'm sure).

Produce areas are smaller, meat counters, fresh seafoods and basic dairy products have fewer feet of space. :-(

Just one more reason I'm always looking for a more direct source!

Deanna

Thanks Deanna, I must try this if I can get some really good tomatoes.

Beverly