I know you’re probably not searching the net for a Chicken and Kielbasa Gumbo recipe, but now that you found it, make it! One of my favorite things to do is cook, because it relaxes me, helps me think clearly, and it’s always nice when the family brags about my cooking.
I am going to be honest, I was a little worried about how the Chicken and Kielbasa Gumbo recipe would turn out, mostly because I hadn’t tried Bear Creek Country Kitchens soups before. Of couse the Chicken and Kielbasa Gumbo recipe turned out fabulous for my favorite meal fo the day. Dinner time is the best time to sit down with family and friends and reflect on the day’s happenings. Preparing the meal is one of the best parts of dinner time as well. You all may know that I love to cook and create new dishes.
Also, every chance I get to spend time with my nieces and nephews I take full advantage of. Cooking with the kids is great fun and being messy and spontaneous is just icing on the cake for them (and me.) Bear Creek Country Kitchen has dry soup mixes that are simple, delicious and hearty all by themselves. So, I took a good thing and ran with it to make 3 different soup flavors my own.
I love potato soup and on a cool winter day there is nothing better. Bear Creek Chunky Potato Soup is a warm, hearty meal with chunks of potatoes, onions, carrots and herbs. Preparing as the directions say is a delicious way to enjoy this soup when it’s chilly outside and my family wants something to warm them up and fill them up.
I decided to add a few twists to this soup to make it my own. I cubed some ham and fried it in butter with some onion and mushrooms and used the remaining liquid to create a roux. I then joined the soup with the roux, ham and vegetables in a casserole dish and topped it with mashed potatoes and baked it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes to create a wonderful Shepard’s Pie. FYI, sprinkling some cheese on your final casserole makes it yummy and gooey and adds a great flavor.
Being from New Mexico, I always find ways to incorporate green chile into my meals. Bear Creek Country Kitchen has a Beef with Rice Mix that I thought would be perfect to use as a base for something delicious with green chile. It’s a very hearty and wholesome meal on its own, but how about adding some spice? Great idea!
I prepared the soup as suggested on the package and I added some beef tips, roasted green chile, onions, green bell peppers, tomato and some garlic cloves and simmered for about 45 minutes. As a side serving, I double fried some flour tortilla strips and sprinkled with garlic salt and cayenne powder. It definitely adds some flare to an already tasty and hearty soup and I suggest you give it a try.
The third soup, Chicken with Pasta, Carrots and Seasoning Soup Mix, was the perfect base for one of my favorite dishes; Gumbo with Chicken and Polska Kielbasa Sausage. Adding the southern veggies and the proteins to the soup mix made a dish that my family fell in love with. It was so popular that my brother-in-law made a special request that I make a batch for his coworkers two days later. Talk about popular!
I prepared the soup mix as suggested to on the package and after cooking the sausage and chicken in oil, I made a roux full of flavor to add to the liquid and proteins. Along with that, I sautéed onions, celery and green bell peppers in butter and Worcestershire sauce and added to the soup. After an ample amount of cooking, I then added stewed tomatoes and cut okra and continued simmering until all the flavors were infused and the result was fantastic!
Bear Creek Country Kitchens have several more Soup Mix flavors including some new flavors just released in grocery stores all over. They are an easy, tasty and hearty meal for the whole family and as I have discussed, can be used to create personal and fun recipes that give an extra twist to a traditional soup.
Give these suggestions a try and let me know what you think and put your own flare on an already delicious meal. I look forward to trying other Bear Creek soups and creating more recipes that are accented by the homestyle flavor of those soups.
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