Thursday, July 19, 2007

Slow Cooking Thursday for July 19


Today’s recipe is for a terrific slow cooker appetizer. My daughters got this recipe from one of their dorm supervisors at the Christian boarding school they attended for high school. Despite its disgusting name, it always goes over well at get-togethers or potlucks!

DIRTY DIAPER DIP

1 can cheddar cheese soup*
1 16-oz. pkg. Velveeta (store brand is fine), cut in cubes
1 16-oz. jar mild picante sauce or salsa
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
Combine all ingredients in crock pot on High. It will take
approximately 1/2 hour for the cheese to melt. Serve hot with tortilla
chips.


You can probably see by looking at this recipe that it could easily be made in a regular saucepan rather than a slow cooker. However, the slow cooker keeps it at a nice even temperature so the dip stays hot right to the very last tortilla chip.

* If, like me, you refuse to pay good money for a can of cheddar cheese soup, you can do what I do and make your own cheap and easy substitute.

I’ve included the basic recipe and variations for this condensed soup substitute below. The cheddar cheese variation is in bold.

CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTES

Do you hate buying canned soups for use in recipes? This recipe makes a perfect substitute for 1 can of soup.

3 Tblsp. margarine
3 Tblsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk or other liquid (as specified in variations)

Melt the margarine in heavy saucepan; blend in flour and salt and cook until bubbly. Remove from heat and gradually stir or whisk in liquid. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until smooth and thickened.

VARIATIONS:
Cream of chicken: Use 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. chicken broth as the liquid. Add 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage.
Cream of celery: Saute´ 1/2 c. chopped celery and 1 T. finely chopped onion in the margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
Cream of mushroom: Saute´1/4 c. finely chopped mushrooms and 1 T. finely chopped onion in margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
Tomato: Use tomato juice as liquid. Add a dash each of garlic salt, onion salt, basil, and oregano.
Cheddar cheese: Use milk for liquid. Stir into the finished sauce 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese and 1/4 tsp. dry mustard.
Cream of shrimp: Drain the liquid from a small can of tiny shrimp into a measuring cup. Fill cup with milk to measure 1 cup of liquid. Add a dash of pepper, onion salt, curry powder, and paprika to the finished sauce, and stir in the shrimp.

17 comments:

  1. I laughed when I saw your slow cooker recipe. I have never heard of this before but it looks like a good dip to serve to company:).
    Thanks for the alternatives to the cream of soups. A while ago I ordered the More with Less cookbook and these recipes were in them. I ordered that book at your recommendation in one of your older posts.
    On another note, I printed off your prayer journal ideas. Of course, I do pray but my thoughts are requests are all jumbled up sometimes. I want to organize everything on paper in order to pray more effectively. Thank you for the wonderful ideas!

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  2. Anonymous11:44 AM

    what a funny name :) I think this would taste excellent though. Great recipe and thanks for sharing it.

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  3. Anonymous11:45 AM

    Looks good.. .definitely could use a better name! Thanks for sharing.

    MJ

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  4. I bet this is a great dip! Cute name too! lol

    Linda

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  5. Hi everyone!

    What a nice group around my kitchen table! I promise you this is a very tasty dip even though the name could use some work. It's the name that came with the dip, and I just haven't wanted to change it 'cause it's a part of my kids' high school memories, and our whole family still calls it by this name.

    Rachel -- so glad you got the More with Less Cookbook. I have found that book so very helpful! Mine is missing both covers, and the pages are tattered and torn, but I still turn to it often.

    And I'm tickled that you have printed off my prayer journal ideas. Having a prayer journal has greatly increased the effectiveness of my prayer life. And I'm still adding to it... it's definitely a work in progress. I'm just thrilled that my ideas have been helpful to others out there!

    On a side note, I did add ranch dressing mix and related recipes to my Christmas blog today. Even dreamed up a couple of tags to use on the mix!

    Have a great day, everyone!

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  6. I just made this and it is great. My recipe doesn't have great such a interesting name. :) It is just called Beefy tortilla dip.

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  7. LOL I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the name but I really really want to try it, it sounds soooo good :)

    Thanks for sharing :)

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  8. Hi Sandra and Mari,

    Thanks for coming by! So nice to have you here at my kitchen table!

    And Sandra, thanks for hosting Slow Cooking Thursdays... I am having so much fun being able to join in!

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

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  9. I laughed when I read the recipe title! The dip does sound really tasty and thanks so much for the alternative recipes for soup mixes! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  10. Hi Renee --

    These soup substitutes really do work well! They take a few minutes more than opening a can, but are cheaper and healthier. Hope you try these and enjoy them.

    Thanks for stopping by... see you next time!

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  11. The dip sounds delish! Oh, and thank you greatly for sharing the soup substitutes! I have been wanting to try home-made, but wasn't sure how to go about doing that. :)

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  12. Hi Arlene,

    So nice to see you here at my kitchen table again! Glad you can use the soup substitute recipes. I have tried also a homemade dry mix which can be used as a substitute for "cream of whatever" soups, but I really didn't care for it. This saucepan method produces a much better substitute. Hope you try them and that they work out well for you.

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

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  13. Mrs. T, I tried the soups last week, and they turned out wonderfully! Thank you so much for sharing! It is getting too expensive (and unhealthy) these days to pay almost $1.25 for a can of salt, lol, so I am happy that I can now make my own at home. My husband enjoys the recipes I get from you, as well. thanks again, Mrs. T! :)

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  14. Hi Mrs. T. I just stumbled on your blog tonight through way of Arlene's blog. I love your ideas. THANK YOU so much for the cream soup subs. I am always running across a recipe that calls for cream of... soup and finding out that's the one thing I need to fix it! But then again, I am ALL ABOUT whole foods and homemade as much as possible. So that is right up my alley! THANK YOU! I'll be back! LOL

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  15. Starr,

    It is so nice to see you here at my kitchen table. I hope that the soup substitutes work out well for you. We think that they are wonderful.

    Please stop by anytime!

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

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  16. Thank you internets!! I was frantically trying to find a substitute for cream of shrimp soup as I stood in Target with my toddler. Your recipe popped up and I grabbed the tiny shrimp. Not only did it work like a charm, I think it made my recipe a ton better! :-) Thank you!!!!!!

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  17. Julia, that is great that after all of these years someone is getting even more use out of the cream soup substitute recipes. Isn't it amazing that one can stand in a store, do a search for a recipe, and one will pop up. I do think that these cream soup substitutes make recipes tastier than using a can of soup.

    Thanks so much for letting me know how well it worked for you. Please come and visit at my kitchen table any time ... there are loads of recipes in the archives that might interest you.

    God bless,
    Mrs. T

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Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my kitchen table! I love company here in my kitchen, so be sure to leave a comment so I'll know you've visited! I'll answer your questions and comments here on the blog unless you request otherwise.