I have recently been enjoying the simple delight of Bear Creek soup mixes. Of course, I cannot simply allow pre-packaged food to simply be what it is as it comes out into my bowl or onto my plate. Impossible. This drive to dazzle my food is part hedonism, part creativity and part love for culinary art and science.
The three Bear Creek mixes I've tried so far are the Wild Rice soup mix, the Creamy Potato soup mix and the Cheddar Broccoli soup mix. The rice and potato varieties are my favorite so far. I can't really blame Bear Creek... it's much easier to keep the flavor of cream and milk rather than keeping the delightful tang of cheddar in a dehydrated form.
In order to recreate this delicious lunch that I just ate, you'll need to follow the directions on the back of the soup mix. Please remember there's *rice* in this mix, so the longer you cook the soup, the more tender the rice will be. Wild rice also tends to take longer to cook as opposed to white rice, so expect this soup to take some time. A gentle dance between cooking at a high enough temperature to make the rice tender versus scalding the milk must be done. Cream and milk based soups and sauces must be coddled like a small child.
Remember how I said I couldn't leave packaged food alone? I added the meat from 2 large chicken breasts which I had previously fully cooked. Cut the pieces of chicken into little 1 inch cubes. Honestly, you could boil or bake the chicken breasts... I boiled them because it was faster. The best flavor would probably come from adding the meat of a rotisserie chicken, however.
I also added 8 strips of bacon, cut into little bits. I think this goes without saying: please cook the bacon first.
Creamy Wild Rice is now Chicken, Bacon and Wild Rice potage. Excellent.
I chose brussels sprouts for my vegetable choice. Don't say gross! Wait until you try this recipe for roasted brussels sprouts. Frozen brussels sprouts will take less time, but you can do this with fresh ones. Parboil the brussels sprouts for 3-7 minutes. Less time will be required for frozen sprouts; more time for fresh ones. The point is to begin the cooking process and kill any little buggies that might be living on your baby cabbages.
Baby Belgian cabbages. *awww*
You can buy this shirt here.
Turn your oven on to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease. (I used Pam oil spray.) Place your hot little cabbages on the cold, slippery metal. Dress with a couple pats of good quality butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Now here's your chance to add whatever spice pizazz you want. I usually choose Tony Chachere's famous Creole seasoning.
*sprinkly sprinkle*
Roast these darlings for about half an hour, turning them once throughout cooking. You will notice they begin to develop a lovely brown color. The sprout funk mellows into a nutty green flavor. You might even get others to eat them!
Seriously. They are pretty good.
What would this lunch be without BREAD? Nothing... nothing...
I was lucky enough to choose a sesame seed - poppyseed -garlic tasting thing from Panera Bread. I didn't buy it; I just happened to have it on hand in my fridge from a neighbor's kindness. Thank you Lisa!
Yep, something like that.
This was today's lunch. I hope you try this out, too. I would have gotten a picture... but I didn't feel like it.
Maybe you'll try this meal out and take photos. Send them to me. I'd love it.
In the immortal words of the incomparable jester Yankovic:
Have a banana, have a whole bunch /
It doesn't matter what you had for lunch /
Just eat it
CC
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