Stuff To Do With The Stuff In Your Pantry

    I never thought I would admit this, but I miss "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee." It wasn't one of my favorites on the Food Network, but ol' Sandy did know how to take simple storebought stuff and make some super stuff out of it. I realize she's still on the network, having been re-branded, but the new show seems really tedious with all the penny counting.  Sign of the economic times, I s'pose.

But, speaking of pinching pennies.  Now that I am married and have someone else to cook for and answer to about the grocery bill...ehem...I've become fairly adept at taking what I have and making what I want out of it. Case in point, my pantry.

I go to the store...A LOT.  I buy too much stuff...MOST OF THE TIME. Hence, I have "stuff" in my pantry that sits there until it expires. Therefore, I often find myself experimenting with most of the "stuff" in order to keep food costs low and make the best use of my grocery habit because I love to shop for groceries more than clothing...if I would stop grocery shopping/eating so frequently, I might enjoy shopping for clothes more, but that's for another blog! :-)

SIMPLE SEAFOOD BISQUE for any day, but especially great on days like today when the ground is covered with snow and we can't get out and go!

Okay, when I look in my cupboard (love that word, so homey!) all I see are cans of soup and some canned meats such as tuna, crab, tiny shrimp, and (dare I admit it) Underwood Deviled Ham which is a nostalgia food for me and not something I eat on a regular basis. I'll give you a nostalgic deviled ham recipe in a later posting! Promise you'll love it!

So, beginning with soup, I have:  chicken noodle, matzo ball, shrimp bisque, tomato bisque, shrimp & tomato bisque, cream of asparagus, cream of mushroom, cheddar cheese, all of which are on the Healthy Choice or low-sodium without MSG plan, of course!

Since Bisque is actually a French method of pulling every bit of flavor from imperfect crustaceans not good enough to send to market, using canned seafood such as shrimp, crab, clams or oysters is totally acceptable.  Just do not use the fake lobster or crabmeat made from white fish - trust me, it doesn't work!

Okay, here goes. Take out the pot and put it on the stove. Proceed to open all bisque soups, cream of asparagus and mushroom -- oh, what the hell, let's throw in the cheddar cheese!  Open can of fancy crab and sort out any shells, then open can of tiny shrimp.  Dump soups and seafood in your pot and stir over low heat for about one minute with a wooden spoon. Note:  If you have a can of tomato soup (not tomato bisque, just the soup) you might throw that in as well to even out the consistency and add a more tomato-e flavor.

While this is simmering, I dash downstairs to see what liquor we have left in our bar and find, to my amazement, a full bottle of Sherry! Perfect! Back upstairs to pour 1/4 cup of it into the mixture. Taste and turn up heat. Add black pepper, small dash of nutmeg. The bisque will be thick, so you may wish to thin it out with 1/3 cup of vegetable stock or water, but be careful not to make it "too" thin.

Creme fraiche is not the type thing I have hanging out in my fridge, and the container of heavy whipping cream was used to make sea salt caramels, so, I reach for sour cream for garnish.

Do not let this mixture boil or bubble, it comes together within minutes. Serve it immediately with a shot of the Sherry (from a teaspoon or glass, not from the bottle) and as my friend, Tory http://www.titchtoryroberts.blogspot.com/ would say, "Just a titch" of sour cream on top. I like to save a few pieces of the fancy crab or shrimp to decorate the top, then sprinkle with black pepper, dried parsley and serve with warm bread.

One word of warning. This will make several  servings (8-12) and although you may use lower sodium soups, the bisque will still contain a rather high amount of sodium. Having said that, you may want to refrain from eating this on a daily or even weekly basis.  You can also serve this as an appetizer in a colorful ramekin (18-20) with a piece of toasted baquette on top!

Oh well, a good tip is a good tip, and one that might just make Sandra Lee proud!