Three super easy 1950s soup recipes for rainy spring days

It's a very wet day outside as I sit here and type this post. The sort of slate gray morning that makes it feel as though someone has put a dimmer switch on the sun and turned the knob way, way down. Sometimes on days like this I find energy comes to me in spades and I work like a madwoman, on others - like right now - it seems like the rain almost lulls me back to sleep and leaves me in the mood to little more than curl up with a good (history or vintage) book, the cat nestled on my lap, as my thoughts take on a meditative quality between the steam of pages and raindrops.

This is not a day for complex meals or anything that involves reams of intense activity. It's the sort of damp springtime Wednesday that calls for, to my mind, one food perhaps more than any other: a steaming, alluringly fragrant, delightfully tasty bowl of warm soup.

Whether on the coldest of winter eves or a drizzly May afternoon, there's nothing quite like soup to comfort, nourish, and relax the mind, body and soul - which no doubt accounts in part for why this dish - in its countless iterations - has remained such a beloved classic the world over for thousands of years.

While we aren't reaching anywhere near that far back in time today for today's vintage soups, this trio of 1950s recipes (quartet if you count the suggestion of cooking frankfurters in your soup) featuring Lipton soup mixes that one jazzes up to turn into more exciting lunch or dinner fare, certainly harkens back a few decades and brings with it all the timeless appeal that soup has held since day one.

 

 

{Circa 1950 Lipton Soup recipe booklet page featuring fun ways to enhance packaged soup mixes, from the terrific Flickr stream of alsis35.}

 

Of the three recipes above, I think that the Chinese Noodle Soup appeals most to me at the moment, but the Tomato Fish Chowder and Milky Way Soup both certainly have their merits, too (I'm not the biggest seafood fan though, so I'd be included to turn that recipe into Tomato Chicken or Turkey Chowder if I was cooking solely for myself).

Aside from the ultra easy mid-century soup recipes themselves here, I'm drawn to - and just adore - the wonderful ice cream and coral inspired colours of this charmingly illustrated cookery page. Talk about fabulous vintage decor - or wardrobe - inspiration!

I can feel that book - and the cuddle bug cat - calling my name, so as raindrops pounce off the roof and restoratively turn the grass - at long last - verdant once more, I'll mosey on for now. But not before wishing each of you a peaceful, lovely Wednesday - no matter your weather!

Two quick and easy 1950s cold weather Campbell's Soup recipes

Before launching into today's tasty vintage eats, I really want to thank everyone who weighed in on my quest for hangers earlier this week. You've helped me narrow down the options and I hope to find a good deal on the types I'd most like to stock my closet with in the near future. Thanks again, you fabulous gals, you, I absolutely appreciate you impute!

On this end, amidst a week of pounding winter winds, we've been fighting off cold and flu viruses right, left, and centre around our house. The mister fell prey first, coming down with what seemed to be a cold at initially a couple of weeks ago, yet morphed into a flu last week (and he's still very much battling it off.) So far (knock wood!) I haven't succumbed to anything that harsh, but I do have a mild cold of my own.

Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination, but not exactly fun either - especially while we're trying to pack (and pack...and pack) for our upcoming move. It seems that as each day draws closer to our moving date in late February, there are fewer and fewer hours in which to accomplish everything we hope to do - not to mention a rather tricky scarcity of available room in which to stack boxes (it wasn't until we started packing everything up that my husband and I realized just quite how much we'd carefully displayed and stored our possessions vertically in our little apartment!).

Between flu bugs and hectic days, we likely won't be cooking to many three course dinners (or even two course meals!) for the next little while. Couple those factors which the biting cold outside and weeks like this practically scream out for quick, hearty comfort foods that can be whipped up with store cupboard staples.

For decades now people have been turning to canned soup to help them get a speedy, tasty meal on the table and while some gourmands may turn their noses up at canned soup, I think there is a great deal to be said in favour of this tried-and-true staple.

I have a soft spot in my heart for all vintage Campbell's soup ads (they often delightfully cute, wonderfully homey, or surprisingly chic), so today's pair of vintage recipes is delivered in the form of a Campbell's ad from 1958.

While one recipe ("Souper Scramble") is geared a bit more towards breakfast, it can just as easily be the star of the show at lunch or dinner, too (pair with a crisp green salad, toast points, or baked potatoes to help really fill everyone up).

The second recipe is one of those endearingly fun mid-century casseroles that sees canned green beans being partnered up with condensed soup. In this case though, it's not the more traditional mushroom, but instead chicken noodle that come together with the beans, as well as cooked chicken meat and egg noodles, for a hearty, ultra simple dish that is sure to please dinner-goers of all ages.

{Economical, filling, and absolutely spot-on for days when time is of the essence, these two vintage Campbell's Soup recipes are terrific to have in your arsenal of last minute meals. Image via Charm and Poise on Flickr.}

 

Of course you can swap in any brand of soup you like here (or alter the recipes so that they bypass store bought soup and are made from scratch). Growing up I was a big fan of Heinz, too, especially their tomato soup.

These days it's trickier for me to find gluten-free premade soups here in Canada, but various brands offer a few varieties (Campbell's Tomato with Basil and Oregano, Chicken with Rice, and Chicken with Wild Rice, for example, are all currently gluten-free and the second two can easily be used instead of chicken noodle in this 1950s casserole recipe, as can gluten-free pasta), so I can often alter vintage recipes like these to ensure I'm still able to enjoy them.

I grew up in a family who loved both canned soups and homemade ones alike, often using the former in all manner of lunch and dinner recipes. As such, I'll never eschew condensed soup - after all, if it was good enough for Andy Warhol to immortalize, it's definitely worthy of a spot in my kitchen cupboard.