Mexican Shrimp Soup

Mexican Shrimp Soup (Sopa de Camarones)

Serves 4

This soup, which should be served ice cold, is the Mexican counterpart of Spanish gazpacho. I based it on a recipe I found in the Healthy Carb Cookbook for Dummies by Jan McCracken.

This nourishing soup's broth has a delicate flavor, which is absorbed by the shrimp. You can serve Mexican Shrimp Soup as the main dish at a summer luncheon or as an exciting prelude to a fish dinner.

Tip: Make sure your avocados are ripe, but not overripe.

Fresh ingredients combine to make this cold soup the perfect warm-weather lunch.

Ingredients

1 lb. 35-40 count (medium) shrimp, cooked, tails removed
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
 1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
32 oz. Clamato juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. If using canned diced tomatoes, remove 1 cup from the can and drain.

2. Dice the shrimp.

3. Combine the shrimp, onion, tomatoes, cilantro and avocados in a big bowl.

4. Add the Clamato juice and stir well.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Every spoonful has a riot of flavors and textures.

Beef and Noodle Dinner

Assembled ingredients for Beef and Noodle Dinner

Ramen noodles are the key to success of this hearty concoction. Cooked right in the skillet in the midst of the other ingredients, they even come with a packet of thoroughly tested seasoning. Be sure to make plenty, because some folks will want seconds!

Beef and Noodle Dinner

Serves 4

Chunky, delicious soup with an Italian flavor.

Equipment

10-inch skillet

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

3 ounces (one regular package) ramen noodles

1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1/2 cup chopped onion (about half of a small onion)

1 cup water

1 packet beef ramen noodle seasoning

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

Spray the skillet with Pam. Add meat and onions. Stir well over medium heat until meat is browned; drain. Stir in tomatoes, water, ramen seasoning and Italian seasoning. Heat the mixture to boiling. Break up the ramen noodles into small bits. Stir the ramen noodles into the mixture in the skillet. Allow the liquid to boil gently for 5 minutes, with occasional stirring.

Cauliflower and Spinach Curry

Assembled ingredients for Cauliflower and Spinach Curry

A can of coconut milk, a teaspoon or so of curry powder, and voila, you have turned a mundane head of cauliflower into an exotic, spicy Asian dish. A whiff of its pungent aroma is enough to transport you, for the moment anyway, to a tiled terrace overlooking the hills of Bangalore. The spinach is added at the last minute so it doesn't overcook.

This hearty dish is based on a standard in Indian cuisine, Aloo Gobi Masala. Most recipes call for potatoes as well, but this recipe can stand alone as a meal when served with rice. It can also make a tasty accompaniment to simple meats and fish.

While my wife loves it, I'm lukewarm on this version.  But since this recipe is so easy, it's my pleasure to make it for her.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Cauliflower and Spinach Curry

Serves 2 as a meal

Easy slow cooker curry is my wife's favorite dish!

Equipment

Slow cooker (I use liners when I do crock pot cooking.  It makes cleanup a breeze!)

Ingredients

4 cups cauliflower florets (very small)

14-oz. can coconut milk

14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 medium onion, chopped

6 oz. fresh baby spinach

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon crushed basil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Add all the ingredients, including the seasonings, but not the spinach, to the cooker. Stir thoroughly. Cook on low for 4 hours. Stir in the spinach and let it cook for 10 more minutes. Serve in large bowls.

Taco Soup

Assembled ingredients - super easy!

I took this recipe from the slow cooker book Make It Fast, Cook it Slow. The lady who contributed it said, "I can’t remember how often I've made this, but each time, I’m thrilled with the ease in preparation and the finished result." I can testify that the taste is really great. My product turned out to be more like a stew than a soup. Maybe some canned things are juicier than others!

Taco Soup

Yields 6 generous servings

Equipment

This recipe will completely fill a 2-quart (one gallon) crock pot.

Ingredients

1   pound lean ground beef, browned and drained

¾  medium onion, chopped

1   15-ounce can of kidney beans

1   15-ounce can of pinto beans

1    15-ounce can of Ro-Tel

1    14-ounce can of diced tomatoes

1    14-ounce can of corn

1    packet of taco seasoning

1    packet of ranch dressing powder

Directions

1.   Brown the meat and drain.

2.   Add the meat and onion to the crock pot.

3.   Drain and rinse the pinto beans and kidney beans.

4.   Add the pinto beans and kidney beans to the pot.

5.   Without draining, add the corn, diced tomatoes and Ro-Tel.

6.  Add the seasoning, both packets.

7.  Stir the contents of the crock pot so as to distribute the seasoning evenly.

8.   Cook on high for 4 hours.

Mmm, hot and spicy Taco Soup keeps you warm
on a brisk November evening.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Assembled ingredients 

This dish never fails.  It is a casserole which contains two teaspoonfuls of poppy seeds, quite enough to justify the title of the dish. Poppy seed chicken is also distinguished by use of Ritz cracker crumbs, not only in the casserole but also on top of it, as a crust.

My wife, Pat, taught me to crush the Ritz crackers in a 1-gallon freezer bag. I finish the job off with a potato masher.

The number of calories in this recipe is “many, many,” as one glance at the photo of the ingredients illustrates.  Our daughter, Bonnie, redesigned the recipe for us when she was visiting last July, to make it healthier, but we prefer it our way.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
8 ounces of Ritz crackers (2 packets)
2 teaspoons poppy seed
1 cup butter or vegetable oil spread,  melted

Directions

1. Put the crackers in a 1-gallon freezer bag and crush them into crumbs.

2. Mix chicken with soup and sour cream in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, mix crushed crackers and poppy seeds with melted butter.
.
4. Mix half of cracker mixture into the mixture of chicken, sour cream and cream of chicken soup.

5. Add this mixture to a 7 x 11 baking pan or casserole dish..

6. Spread the remaining mixture of crackers, melted butter and poppy seeds over the contents.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

8. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

9. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes at 350 degrees.


(“Revised for Good Health” Recipe: This recipe calls for 1 packet of Ritz crackers, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and ¼ teaspoon of curry powder. Also, the cream of chicken soup and sour cream are to be fat-free. The directions are the same except that the melted butter is not added to the crushed crackers. Instead, half of the mixture of crushed crackers and poppy seed is added to the mixture of chicken, sour cream, cream of chicken soup and curry powder, and the resulting final mixture is added to the baking dish.  The remaining dry crushed crackers are spread over the contents of the dish, and, at last, the melted butter is drizzled over the top layer of crushed crackers.)

Cucumbers and Onions

Simple ingredients

In published collections, this recipe is called “Cucumber and Onion Salad.” In our family, though, it was never served as a salad. In the refrigerator, during the summer, stood a large jar in which cucumber and onion slices quietly marinated in a sweetened solution of vinegar diluted 50-50 with water. When it was time to eat some of the cucumbers and onions, my wife, Pat, would take them out of the jar and distribute them on plates, Next to each pile of cucumbers and onions she would place a small pile of saltine crackers. We would consume them as follows: Place a cucumber slice on a cracker. Place a strip of onion on the cucumber slice. Open wide your mouth. Pop the whole shooting match in for a big delightful bite.

Pat added a nice touch  by scoring the peeled cucumbers with a fork along their length, working all the way around each cucumber, thereby making ridges all around. When the cucumber is sliced, the slices have serrated edges.

Cucumbers and Onions

Ingredients

3 large cucumbers (the fresher, the better)

1 large onion

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

dash of salt and pepper

Directions

1. Peel the cucumbers.

2. Score them along their length with the points of the tines of a fork, so as to make ridges.

3. Slice them thin (but thick enough so that they are not floppy).

4. Put the slices in a bowl that is big enough so that they fill it about 1/3 full.

5. Trim and peel the onion and slice it into fairly thin slices. Cut the slices roughly into quarters.

6.  Add the cut-up onion to the bowl with the cucumbers in it. Stir.

7. In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix.

8. Pour the liquid mixture over the onions and cucumbers. Stir.

10. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let the contents marinate. The longer it marinates, the tastier.

Saltine cracker, ready for action