This week's soup was from a can - 2 actually. We had just returned from a lovely long weekend in Prague to an empty fridge and had no desire (it was Sunday and we were tired) to go to the store or order in so I rummaged through the pantry and the freezer to see what I could concoct. I call these kinds of meals "food storage drills". It's a way to make myself feel less guilty for not going grocery shopping and like I'm doing something about my food storage - testing myself to see if I could cook a meal (or on one occasion a week's worth) with whatever happens to be shoved to the back of the pantry and freezer.
Anyway, what resulted was Herby Cream of Tomato-Mushroom
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of tomato soup (my least favorite of the cream soups)
2 cans hot water
half a small onion, chopped
oil
herbs and seasonings (I probably used mixed Italian herbs, garlic, celery salt and probably some other stuff)
Saute onion in oil until clear, stir in soups, water and seasonings, heat on low until hot and bubbly. I think I let mine simmer a bit to let the herbs work their magic.
We ate ours with grilled cheese sandwiches that I gourmet-ed up (sprinkle some sea salt and oregano on the cheese before you grill them and use nice, seedy bread).
The result was not bad, which is exactly what I was going for. Had I been feeling slightly more ambitious (read: not so tired) I would have used the last box of tomato puree and made my own tomato soup but that was one step too many at the moment. Plus I was then able to use that tomato puree in last night's food storage drill (tomato veggie lamb kebab curry with rice...?).
So next time you look in your empty fridge/pantry and think "what in the world can I make with this assortment of crap?" just add some onions and herbs and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant and only have enough money to order the cheapest things on the menu - soup and cheesy bread.