For AU students craving homemade Italian meals with minimal effort required, look no further. One easy way of preparing Italian meals is with canned soup assortments. While the idea may warrant some raised eyebrows, I can vouch that not only does this cut the amount of effort, but also guarantees some quality meals you can count on for a simple weekday dinner. By adding a touch of original ingredient, sometimes it’s difficult to tell it came from a Campbell’s Soup can.
Cream of Mushroom Fettucini
In the past month, during my practicum, I lived in Wainwright, a town in Eastern Alberta. In my time there, I had some time to invent some new recipes that I could take home with me. A can of Cream of Mushroom soup alone is high in salt content and oftentimes not the healthiest option available. However, in making several tweaks, the Cream of Mushroom base can be a fast option for students that tastes gourmet and feels healthier.
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of fettucini
200 g of ground beef
1/4 cup scallions
1 tsp olive oil
4-5 Mushrooms
2 Kraft Singles or other slices of cheese of your own choice
Chopped parsley for garnish
- i) Boil fettucini until cooked and transfer to a plate
- ii) Bring heat to medium and add olive oil to a sauce pan
iii) Add scallions, mushrooms, ground beef for 1 minute to bring out flavors
- iv) Add cream of mushroom soup, ground beef and stir consistently for 20 minutes on medium heat
- v) Add Kraft singles or cheese of your choice and wait until fully melted
- vi) Add cooked fettucini to the sauce mixture
vii) Add chopped parsley for garnish
viii) Serve
Gourmet Italian Wedding Soup
Recently, I had a craving for Italian Wedding Soup. The fragrant herbs and hearty Italian sausage that accompany such an abundant and flavourful soup was a childhood favourite of mine. However, upon recalling the lengthy preparation involved, I lost interest in adding this masterpiece to my dinner. Instead, I opted for something that was simple but equally savoury. While you can buy traditional Italian Wedding Soup in a can, the health value of this option is quite low. Especially being reminded of the salt content, I knew I had to tweak this recipe to improve the canned version.
Recipe:
1 can of Italian Wedding Soup
1 cup of chopped Romaine lettuce
1/4 cup of chopped onions
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 chopped garlic
200 g of ground beef
Chopped basil or herbs of choice
- i) Add olive oil to a frying pan and slightly char garlic and chopped onions
- ii) Add ground beef to frying pan and cook until brown
iii) Add Italian Wedding Soup and chopped lettuce to the mixture
- iv) Stir consistently on medium heat for 15 minutes or until lettuce is cooked
- v) Add fresh basil or herbs of choice
- vi) Serve
Tomato Soup Linguini
If you have leftover tomato soup in a can, don’t be in a hurry to make yourself a highly mediocre and sodium-infused cup of hot soup. Instead, you can greatly improve your canned soup experience with a few tweaks. Pasta seems to have a strong affinity for canned soups. After adding linguini to the mix, you suddenly have a presentable dinner option.
1 cup of tomato soup
1 cup of Linguini
1 cup dried parsley flakes
1-2 chopped garlic
1/4 cup of chopped onions
1-2 slices of Kraft singles or cheese slices of your choice
Instructions
- i) Bring water to a boil in a sauce pan and cook linguini for ~12 minutes or until ready
- ii) In a separate sauce pan, add chopped garlic, tomato soup and chopped onions
iii) Stir sauce pan constantly for 5 minutes on medium heat
- iv) Add 1-2 Slices of Kraft singles or cheese slice of your choice
- v) Add linguini to the sauce mixture
- vi) Serve