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Monica Swanson

the grommom

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Grandma’s Quick and Easy “Pantry Soup.”

by Monica 8 Comments

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As I mentioned in last week’s post, my son Josiah and I took off last week for a quick visit with my family in Gig Harbor, Washington.  We made the visit to attend my Uncle’s funeral, so we knew the visit would be a combination of happy and sad.  The weather was supposed to be cold and rainy, but we were pleasantly surprised by quite a bit of sun.   If you’ve been to Gig Harbor then you know that it’s hard to beat the beauty there on a clear day.  Here’s the view from my parents’ front porch:

As usual, Mom and I exchanged a bunch of text messages before we travelled, and also as usual, she included the question: “So what do you guys want to eat while you are here?”

Which is just one of a million reasons to love my mom.

And look at the view from her kitchen.  A chunk of my heart lives right exactly there.

Anticipating freezing my buns off while also thinking of comfort food, I suggested perhaps soup would be good.  Then, knowing how busy the week would be I suggested a recipe that was first passed down from my mom’s Aunt, which we’ve finally decided to call: “Pantry soup.”  As  you can guess, most of the ingredients in this recipe are things you already have in the pantry.

Pantry Soup has all of the goodness of home-cooked comfort food, with the sneaky fact that it is quick and easy.

The only real “cooking” part is browning some ground beef (or turkey, which I most often use) at the beginning.  If you are in a rush or want to do something different, you can always cut up a fully cooked sausage, or use leftover meat from another meal.

My mom began by browning ground beef with some onions, celery, and peppers.  My mom cannot (read:  cannot) brown ground beef without adding onions, and oftentimes also celery, and peppers.  She’s old-fashioned like that, and I fully appreciate it.  {Don’t tell my mom, but I often just brown the meat and forget the other stuff.  Life’s busy, man. }

Once the meat is browned it’s all about opening some cans and dumping.  If you choose to add noodles, they should go in near the end with just time enough to get cooked.  (because we used gluten-free noodles, it is extra important they don’t stay in too long…GF noodles tend to turn gummy pretty quick.)

^^Hi Dad!  (He made the gluten-free cornbread to go with the soup.  He’s pretty great, that guy. ;))

^^If you close your eyes you might just smell my mom’s kitchen right about there…

My favorite thing about this soup is that you can vary it all kinds of ways depending on what cans you have on hand.  I always add beans (kidney, great northern, garbanzo…whatever I’ve got), and I love something tomato-y:  We added a can of diced tomatoes, but real tomato soup is a great addition to this soup as well.  Besides that we dumped in a can of Progresso Vegetable soup, and a can of tomato sauce.

It’s all about cleaning out the pantry.

The other thing I love is that you really don’t need to add any seasonings to this soup.  All of the canned soups provide more than enough flavor.

Top that soup with some shredded parmesan, and you’d think you just sat down at an Italian restaurant.  Or at my mom’s house (which is even better.)

**Note:  My mom added some mushrooms in there as well, which I love, though I don’t usually include them, because:  Picky kids.  Again, no rules–add what you like!

Your family is guaranteed to love this, so I hope you’ll give it a try soon.

Here’s the printable recipe: (note:  For a big group — like my own family — I double this!)

Print

Grandma's Quick and Easy "Pantry Soup."

Course lunch/dinner
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 8
Author www.monicaswanson.com

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound ground beef turkey, sausage
  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 1/4 cup peppers diced
  • 1/4 cup celery diced
  • 2 cups broth or stock
  • 1 can beans of choice
  • 1 can tomato soup vegetable soup, or your choice of soup
  • 1 can diced tomatoes or tomato soup
  • Any other cans you like or leftover veggies, or frozen veggies....
  • 1 cup uncooked pasta of choice or a handful or 2 as my mom would say...See where I get it from?
  • parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

  1. Place 1 Tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onions, celery, and peppers to the pot. Add ground beef and combine well. Cook until crumbly and browned, about five minutes.
  2. Add the broth and all of the cans. Stir well and allow to heat through, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add noodles and bring to a low boil, just until done, about 5-7 minutes.
  4. Turn heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.
  5. Top with Parmesan cheese and ENJOY!

Share in comments!?  If you make a version of Pantry Soup, I’d love to hear what you put in it.  ALSO:  What’s your favorite comfort food? (Especially if it’s something your mom makes!) 

Now, who wants to sit out on that porch ^^ with me and stare out at the harbor?  (Hard to believe I’m already back in Hawaii…but the trip was truly wonderful, and I’m so thankful for the time we had there.)

With Aloha,
Monica

PS  Love soup?  One of the most loved is my Thai Peanut Chicken Coconut Soup .  If you like ginger, coconut milk, and carrots, this one if for you!  For a little more fancy style minestrone, Monica’s Mini-Meatball Minestrone is hard to beat! ๐Ÿ™‚

Aloha, Monica
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Categories: Gluten Free, Lunches and Dinners, Miscellaneous, Recipes

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Comments

  1. Julie says

    April 13, 2017 at 9:12 am

    I put mini meatballs in my “pantry soup” as I’m not a great fan of ground meat and this way I can easily control how much I eat of it. ๐Ÿ˜€ Along with what your recipe called for I also add carrots, garlic (what recipe can’t use garlic? Lol), sometimes shredded spinach or even cabbage, tomato soup and egg noodles or pasta. It is a great and easy soup! Just use whatever is on hand.

    I love the views of and from your parents house.
    Sorry for your loss. I pray that the service was a real celebration of your uncles life.

    Reply
    • Monica says

      April 14, 2017 at 7:41 am

      Thank you Julie–good idea with the meatballs. ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for the comment, and yes, (I should have mentioned in the post!) it was a sweet time to remember my Uncle and reconnect with so many old friends and family. Much aloha and happy Easter weekend–

      Reply
  2. Nidia says

    April 12, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    I’m sorry about your loss, Monica! Prayers for all the family affected by this event.
    Yes, I could smell the aroma of the soup coming from your mom’s kitchen! I’m going to try that recipe soon. Looks easy and yummy!
    I love soup, especially those loaded with vegetables. Love, love my veggies in soups!
    I’d like to sit on those beautiful glidders out in the porch staring at the harbor.
    Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing!
    Blessings!

    Reply
    • Monica says

      April 12, 2017 at 8:53 pm

      Thank you Nidia! So sweet of you. Those gliders are nice, but boy–it was chilly there! haha. ๐Ÿ™‚ Much aloha to you-

      Reply
  3. Shannon says

    April 12, 2017 at 9:58 am

    First of all, I would have a hard time leaving those rockers with a view of the harbor. Secondly, my mom makes something very similar- but with stew meat and V-8 juice. I think I’ll try it with ground beef and canned soup because we always have those on hand. Delicious! Thanks. BTW- on the menu this week are your famous fish taco ( they’ve become my 7yo favorite) and one pot pasta. Keep the recipes coming, I appreciate them!

    Reply
    • Monica says

      April 12, 2017 at 10:42 am

      Oh now I’m curious about your mom’s recipe…I have some stew meat in my freezer right now! ๐Ÿ™‚ Sounds amazing actually. (I love V8 too) Thanks so much for letting me know your family enjoys my recipes–that means so much!! XO

      Reply
  4. Nicky says

    April 11, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    I make soup just like this on a regular basis as we have a big family of 6 to feed. I often prep it in the crockpot in the morning and leave it to cook all day so it’s good to go when we all get home after school/work! I stop and pick up fresh bread rolls and everyone loves soup day ๐Ÿ˜Š
    Only thing I like to add sometimes is a bit of spice – chilli or tobasco sauce to season with maybe a dash of lime or lemon juice for a Mexican flavour too… yummy ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
    • Monica says

      April 12, 2017 at 7:46 am

      Sounds great Nicky–Nothing like walking in to smell food all ready in the crock pot! ๐Ÿ™‚ With fresh bread rolls all the better! Much aloha–

      Reply

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