I wish to make my own soups/casseroles

Horace

Miroslav - I always use stock cubes and if I am flush then I will use those Knorr stockpot gel ones. I once made, quite by accident, some lamb stock which I froze and then used last week with some lamb steaks that mum gave me which I chopped up into small pieces and bunged in the slow cooker with the stock - leftovers are in the freezer.

I always have problems judging how much liquid to add so with me it is always trial and error. If I am using say a tin of chopped tomatoes, I will rinse the tin out with water but only ensuring that I fill the tin half full (full is too much) and use the rinsings in the casserole or soup too.

My own cooking is fairly basic but I have made soup - I bunged a carrot, a chopped onion and some chopped up wrinkly tomatoes into the slow cooker with some pearl barley, herbs and black pepper and when it was cooked blitzed it with my stick blender which seemed to make it a bit thicker too - it was delicious served with crusty bread. I tend to add herbs at and the stock cube at the beginning and then add pepper to taste - adding more as I go along until it tastes just right (I never cook with salt).

Stephen_Leak

Miroslav wrote: »

Just reporting back.

I've been making my own Chicken and Vegetable soup and it's gone down very well.

Been cheating a little and using stock cubes, but that aside I think i've done pretty well.

Well done.

Stock cubes aren't cheating. I use them.

I have a litre of chicken soup, with a base of the so-called "Holy Trinity" of carrot, celery & onion, bubbling away on the cooker as I type this. And it's got 2 of the new reduced salt chicken OXO cubes in it.

PS. Sainsbury's. £1.05 per box of 12. The best price I can find. And currently 3 for 2 as well. However, not all stores stock the vegetable ones.

DundeeDoll

If we have roast chicken i make stock from that, but if not i find 3 chicken legs excellent. I simmer them for 1/2 an hour, fish them out to cool, throw away the skin, strip the meat, simmer the bones for another 1/2 hour, fish out bones, strip off last of meat, throw away bones, add chicken and 500ml carton of passata. Nom nom. Or i do same with chicken legs, fry an onion with any veg need using (often diced broccoli stalk and carrot), add half of stock to cook veg while legs making scrummy stock. Add tin of beans, rest ofstock and chicken and herbs and salt to taste (when i was young i thought that meant you couldn't taste it without salt :rofl:)

DundeeDoll

Oh and if you like blended soups get one of those stick blenders. One of my fave kitchen utensils.