When I was a kid and stayed home sick from school, my mom served me tomato soup with cheddar cheese and crackers. She considered it an excellent way to give me extra vitamin C while I slumped on the couch watching “Gilligan’s Island” reruns.
This is the scene I conjure every time I open a can of condensed tomato soup: the feeling of being cared for and having a reprieve from my everyday worries while Gilligan and the Skipper scheme to get off the island.
We’re all stuck on our own little islands these days, and tomato soup seems just the right way to comfort ourselves (while getting extra vitamin C). Here are three recipes that use this iconic pantry item in very grown-up ways. For hundreds more soup-based recipes, visit www.campbells.com.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Start by heating your oven to 425 degrees. Then make the sauce in a bowl by mixing one can of tomato soup, 1/2 cup of vinegar (any kind is fine, but balsamic makes a sweeter, richer sauce), 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. I also add dried or fresh ginger, a couple dashes of soy sauce and minced garlic.
Put 1 1/4 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast in a glass baking dish, along with 3 large peeled and sliced carrots, half a sliced large onion or a whole small onion and a sliced bell pepper. You can also add a can of pineapple chunks, drained.
Pour the sauce on the chicken and vegetables. Toss everything around so it’s thoroughly coated. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
A note on the chicken: I prefer bone-in, skin-on thighs or legs, cooked longer but at a lower temperature — 375 degrees for an hour or an hour and 15 minutes. For thighs, start with the skin side down, then flip them over after about 45 minutes. For the last five minutes, turn the chicken skin side up again and raise the temperature to 400 degrees for a nicely browned skin.
Serve with rice and feel free to lick the plates. Post pictures of your plate-licking family on Facebook, especially if they get sauce on their noses.
Cabbage Rolls
My grandmother loved cabbage rolls because they’re a hearty, filling meal that uses one of her favorite ingredients: cabbage. This recipe streamlines the process with tomato soup.
First, cook your rice, brown or white — 1/2 cup of uncooked rice to 1 cup salted water yields about a cup of cooked rice, which is what you need for this recipe, although I always double the rice so I have leftovers to use for other yummy things.
While your rice is steaming, fill a wide saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add eight cabbage leaves and let them simmer until soft, anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes. Remove and drain excess water. Reserve 1 cup of water from the pan and set aside.
Next, combine a pound of ground beef or turkey with 1/4 cup chopped onion, an egg, a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. I also add a bit of fresh or dried sage, rosemary or oregano. Mix the meat with a cup of cooked rice and two tablespoons taken from a can of tomato soup.
Fill and roll each cabbage leaf, securing with string or toothpicks as needed. If filling comes out the side, it’s not the end of the world. (The pandemic might be, but not a leaky cabbage roll.)
Put the cabbage rolls in a skillet on medium heat and pour the remaining soup, thinned with 1 cup of cabbage water, over the top. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, checking often to baste the rolls and make sure they’re not sticking to the pan. You can also cook these in a crock pot on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or until the filling reaches 160 degrees.
Tomato Soup Spice Cake
This will appeal to folks who like to sneak vegetables into un-vegetable-y food, like putting avocados into brownies, beets into cake or rutabagas in creme brulee.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix 2 cups flour, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice or pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon cloves with a can of condensed tomato soup, 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening, 1/2 cup water and 2 eggs. Here’s my subversive little secret: I almost never mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, even though you’re “supposed” to. Nobody has ever noticed the difference.
Pour the batter into a greased 13-by-9-inch pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, then cool for 20 minutes in the pan.
Frost with cream cheese frosting: 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese with 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups confectioner’s sugar.
For an even easier route, blend a boxed spice cake mix with the soup, water and eggs, and top with cream cheese frosting from a can. Now you’re cooking like a rebel.
