"dump recipe" soups

My Grandmother was a great cook and rarely used a recipe. She never made anything fancy. She was the person who taught me cooking basics. If she had a ham bone, it would be split pea or bean soup. With "soup" bones, it was veggie soup. The soup recipes were total DUMP recipes with no specific amount and ALWAYS came out great!

Her pea/bean soup: Ham bone, covered with water in a BIG soup pot. A bay leaf was mandatory. Diced onions, celery and carrots. Dried split peas/white beans, right out of the bag DRY. Once water came to boil, occasionally stir and simmer till thick. Split peas will eventually break down to make what I now call "exorcist" soup. Once the beans are tender, it's ready.

Her veggie soup: Ingredients depend on what you have. Brown some soup meat and bones in a little oil in that BIG soup pot. I like to trim stew meat so pieces are totally bite sized. Once brown, add veggies. Carrots, celery, onion are essential. A big can of some kind of tomato product... sauce, puree, whole peeled. If you have cabbage, add some sliced like for cole slaw or chunked. Could add corn/green beans... fresh or frozen. Whole thing simmers for a few hours. You can add potatoes or some kind of pasta, but wait till last 10-15 minutes or so. Since "recipe" depends on what you have available, the veggie soup can vary pot to pot, but it's always good.

Thatchairlady -

My split pea soup is similar -- differences = I saute the onions and celery in rendered saltpork (that has been simmered in water for a few minutes to reduce the saltiness) or bacon drippings; I add a couple of teaspoons of dried rosemary (crushed); and, I usually don't have a hambone, so I use a large smoked ham hock from the Dutch market near me (from a Lancaster County, PA butcher).

A "dump recipe" soup I make from time to time is "cream of anything green" soup. I take leftover veggies -- broccoli, asparagus, etc. -- heat them with some chicken stock or broth, add whatever flavorings I like - thyme, parsley, rosemary, white pepper, chives, onion, etc. -- process in blender, then add back to pot with heavy cream and heat through.

All of my staple soups, stews and sauces are off the cuff, which is the way I learned to do them from my momma and grandmothers.

We had a big old coal burning stove in the kitchen. There was soup on 24 hours a day. In addition to new stuff all left overs went into the pot and you could help yourself to a bowl morning, noon or night---it was always good, expecially after coming in from ice skating on the lake we lived on or after walking 1 1/2 miles in the cold coming home from school. There was no name for this soup my Mom just called it Soup de Jour and it certainly was "the soup of the day".-----------Fine stuff.

Ivyhouse... LOVE that "cream of anything green"!!

The "dump soup" name remainded me of my soup I called "Root Soup." As the name implies, it was made with everything of root extraction; onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga. You get the idea, and it could be just made with water as it makes its own vegetable stock, but chicken stock would be a good addition also. Love making all kinds of soups.

Donna

I love homemade soup....the canned is way too salty and most you get in a resturant has a stale taste to me..I keep a stock pot and cook up chicken, or some type of neck bones and cool it for the fridge,,,as I have left overs during the week,,I throw them into the pot..a little rice,,pasta,,beans,,,greens,,veggies,,, and once a week, I make soup...I usually will add a lot of fresh onions, peppers,,and celery to the pot along with some form of tomato,,,like sauce,,canned tomatoes without salt,,,and then just put in some spices or herbs.

This soup is ever changing as I keep adding left overs pieces of steak, chicken, whatever to the pot...After a week, I bring it out and cook it on simmer for a couple of hours or longer and just let things meld together...then I take it and put it in pint size portions in the fridge for anyone who is hungry..it is the most popular thing I cook...I like mine with saltines, or crutons on top...DH likes cornbread with his. I never have to worry if we are late getting home,,there is always soup..

My mother would make something like the "dump soup" described at intervals, She called it "ice box soup" because that was where the ingredients came from!

I have always loved soups, stews and chowders - I can only remember and occasional vegetable soup being made when I was growing up, but there was always Campbell's!

I'm always looking for new soup recipes - I made a version of Italian Wedding Soup for lunch today - had to make a few substitutions and found we liked it better than the original.

Monday night we're in for cold, possibly freezing rain so I'm making a hearty beef stew with French Bread.