When I was in high school, I was pressed into cooking for myself and my sister. Something out of a can got boring very quickly. So I began to experiment and improvise. As much as I enjoy making things from scratch, I have to confess some very good things have been made with Campbell's soups as a base. Last night, I wanted something simple and came up with this one. It's a shrimp bisque with green peas over rice. Nothing fancy at all, but the taste is not bad.
Begin with Campbell's tomato soup. Add four tablespoons each of sour cream and cream cheese and blend it into the soup base, add a splash of white wine, and set it aside. Now simmer two cups of frozen peeled shrimp in a saucepan of water and white wine, with a dash of salt. This helps kill the "frozen" taste. Drain the shrimp and add to the soup mixture, and simmer the combination.
Cook a cup of frozen green peas. I just use water with a bit of salt, boil quickly, drain, then add a teaspoon of butter.
I usually have some leftover plain white rice in the freezer, but I'd just say that when you boil rice, replace about one-third of the water with sake and then boil. This really brings out the flavor.
The rest is easy.... remove the soup-shrimp from heat and spoon it over as much rice as you can handle. Sprinkle the green peas over the top and it's ready to eat.
To show off a little with the presentation, I spray olive oil in a bowl, then spoon rice into the bowl, pat it and turn it over into a bigger bowl. This adds appeal for other rice-related dishes like curries or stroganoff, too.
