Best Kept Secret Soup

I have been posting recipes online for over 20 years now. I was probably one of the first food bloggers out there. Admittedly my first few recipe pages were not as sophisticated as this one, and to be honest this one is not very sophisticated when compared to some others.
But that's okay. I am not a very sophisticated person and I like things just the way they are. One of the sites I first shared recipes on was an old site called Recipe Zaar. I was even a moderator of a couple of the forums on that site. It was sold to Scripps and is now known as Food dot Com. And if you click on that link it will take you to all of the recipes that I posted on there.
Best Kept Secret Soup

I am slowly printing out the recipes that I had originally posted on there. A lot came from books I no longer own and were recipes that I cooked for my boss when cooked at the manor. I wanted a record of those.
Some are a bit fancy, some are quite uncomplicated, like this one I am sharing with you today. So simple and uncomplicated that is is almost embarassing, but so delicious I can't help but share with you!
Best Kept Secret Soup

If you are a purist you might want to look away now. This is a soup that is composed by a combination of a whole lot of cans of something else. Yes, that's true. This soup is a bit of a cheat. Okay it is a lot of a cheat.
But it's delicious and quick and easy to make and I figured that it would be perfect for these busy days in the run up to Christmas. We are all run of our feet and a recipe that is quick and easy will surely come in handy!

I actually was invited to a Ministering Sister's pot luck lunch today and I thought this easy soup would be perfect to take. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to cook something and everyone always loves this when I make it.

It went down a real treat. I was not surprised as it really is delicious. We all enjoyed it and I thought you might enjoy it also!

It is rich and tasty. Hearty. Filled with loads of good things. And it is a real doddle to throw together. In fact you just might wear out your tin opener when you go to put it together! LOL
No, I am not kidding.

Here is the best kept secret. This is all you need to make this tasty soup. Six simple tins and a can opener. That's it. Oh and a stove and large saucepan. When I said it was a doddle, I was not kidding by any stretch!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BEST KEPT SECRET SOUP
Well, I don't think it is really much of a secret now, do you think? The cat is well and truly out of the bag, but shhh . . . I won't tell if you don't tell!

1 (15 oz/425g) tin of chili with beans (I like Stag best)
1 (11 oz/312g) tin of corn niblets, undrained
1 (10 oz/284g) tin of condensed vegetable beef soup, undiluted
1 (10 oz/284g) tin of condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 (10 oz284g) tin of tomatoes with green chilies (rotel)
1 (14 oz/400g) tin of stewed tomatoes
Corn chips to serve

I actually didn't have any Stag chili in the house today, but I did have a can of Campbell's Chili Soup so that is what I used. I do have to confess that I enjoy the Stag Chili better.
When I say condensed soups I mean tins of soup that you need to reconstitute to make. In other words soups that you need to add an equal amount of water, except in this recipe you don't need to add any water.

Here in North American Campbells is the most common brand, but Heinz is also good. In the U.K. Batchelors makes a really decent line of tinned condensed soups
In North American the tin of tomatoes with the green chilies are called Rotel. This will be difficult to find in the U.K. I say that you can just use a jar of mild salsa. In fact a jar of mild salsa will give it even more flavor!

Stewed tomatoes are the canned tomatoes that have peppers and onions added. If you are in the U.K. I am not sure you will be able to find those so just use the equivalent in chopped tomatoes in juice.
If you are in the U.K. you will probably be using tomato salsa instead of the Rotel, so your soup will still have plenty of flavor if you use just ordinary chopped tomatoes in juice. And like I said, DON'T drain anything!
The original recipe called for a can of shoe peg corn. We don't have that here so I just use regular corn niblets, again, undrained.

HOW TO MAKE BEST KEPT SECRET SOUP
Now comes the embarrassing part. The secret of just how very simple this is!
This is so easy it is almost embarrassing. You will need a hefty can-opener, lol. Open all of the cans and don't drain anything.
Empty all of the cans into a large saucepan, and mix well together. It is okay to use a bit of water to rinse out the cans and dump that in as well.
Cook over medium heat, until heated through, stirring constantly.
If you want you can warm the corn chips in a low oven (325*F/160*C/gas mark 3) while the soup is heating through. Place some of the corn chips into each bowl.
Ladle the hot sou over top of the corn chips and serve immediately.

Notes

If you like your soup to be a bit spicier you can add a small tin (4 oz/115g) of undrained chopped green chilies to the soup.

For the Pot Luck luncheon I did not serve it ladled over corn chips. I didn't think a bunch of us ladies would want to be sitting around crunching on hard chips.
It would have been rather noisy. Instead I served it with some soft dinner rolls.

This really is a delicious and a hearty soup. It is lovely served hot and steaming, ladled over warm corn chips, and it is lovely served hot along with warm rolls and butter,
You could also sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top if you wanted to. That would be really tasty! In any case this is a super delicious soup that will have everyone begging you for the recipe. It is up to you whether you confess to its simplicity or not! Or you could just keep it a secret, between you and me, and now . . . the entire world. 😇

Some other super simple soups that you might also enjoy from The English Kitchen are:

STONE SOUP - Stone Soup was one of my children's favorite storie when they were growing up and so this simple cabbage, tomato and rice soup became known as Stone Soup. Its a deliciously hearty testament to what can be done with a bit of this, a bit of that, and a whole lot of nothing!

LEMON & CHICKEN SOUP - This is a fabulously tasty chicken soup, with fresh flavours! It uses chicken stock along with lemon juice. You might think the lemon would be overpowering, but it really isn't. It adds a lovely layer of flavor that is quite pleasant! It is delicious and hearty. You can make everything up to adding the pasta ahead of time, but do wait until not too long before serving it to add your pasta.

Yield: 8 hearty servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner