RECIPES FROM THE SOUP QUEEN

I keep thinking the weather will settle into fall and we will start thinking about soups, stews and cool-weather comfort foods. I can't believe we are still running the air conditioner and wearing summer clothes. Just look out, though. One of these days we will wake up and winter will be here.

Bettie Heise, one of our great cooks at the Senior Center, tells us the tale of the persimmon seed. Every year there is a fork, a knife or a spoon shaped object in the center of the seed. She brought some to the center and every one she opened had a spoon in the center, which means snow. I hope so. I love snow, as do our children. But until that all happens, let's look at the recipes that were sent in this week.

An Altenburg, Mo., cook sent in a hot dish recipe. She said it could be made on top of the stove as well as in the oven.

Supper Casserole

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 can tomato soup

1 can mushroom soup

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 small can mushrooms, drained

1 (8 ounce) package noodles, cooked and drained

Grated cheese for topping

Brown meat and onions together; drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into a sprayed baking pan. Add grated cheese over the top. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until cheese melts.

A Cape Girardeau reader, known by readers of this column as "the soup queen" recently ate at Tractors Restaurant in Jackson and had the fiesta bean soup. She enjoyed the soup so much she went home and made up a soup that she says she likes just as well. It may or may not be close to the one served at Tractors, but is her favorite version of fiesta bean soup.

Fiesta Bean Soup

1/2 to 1-pound bulk Italian sausage

1/2 medium onion, slivered

1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can kidney beans

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can pinto beans

1 cup beef broth

2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste

Brown sausage with onion. Drain off fat and cool. Crumble sausage with fingers. Return to soup pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Busy? Lazy? Hungry? The same reader from above has help for you. She makes an easy and hearty soup that may be just right for you.

Texas Black Bean Soup

In a slow cooker add:

2 cans black beans

1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes

1 can stewed tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 (11 ounce) can Mexicorn

1 (8 ounce) can green chilies

4 green onions, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

Cook on high 4 to 5 hours. You might try adding browned ground beef or Italian sausage for a heartier dish.

Also shared by the soup queen is a cheese soup recipe that she also made up. Be sure to read all of her suggestions at the end of the recipe.

Cheese Soup

5 to 6 cups chicken broth

1 small onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup cold water

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 (12 ounce) can beer

Place the first eight ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours. Combine flour and water. Stir into soup. Cook on high 30 minutes. Stir in cheeses and beer. Cook on low until hot.

She substituted pimento for red pepper, and instead of using flour and water, she used instant potato flakes. She also added a can of chopped green chilies for a little zip.

A regular at the Senior Center wrote in to plug the center and its services saying it is a great hot lunch for only a $2 donation. Recently we served a salad for which she would like the recipe. Just in case you're wondering, lunch is served daily at the Center at 921 North Clark Street in Cape. There are senior centers in many communities around the area. The recipe she requested is what we call autumn salad.

Autumn Salad

1 large can crushed pineapple, including juice

1 cup sugar

1 (3 ounce) box lemon gelatin

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 (8-ounce) carton whipped topping

1 cup diced apples, unpeeled

1 cup chopped nuts

In a saucepan, bring pineapple (with juice) and sugar to a boil; simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in gelatin and let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients and add to cooled pineapple mixture. Pour into 1 1/2 -quart casserole dish and refrigerate until set. Yield about 8 servings.

Recently we had a request for the white taffy similar to the kind that can be purchased at the fair. Another reply has come from Ruth Graham of Perryville. This is the recipe her mother made as she was growing up in Virginia. She also adds that make sure you don't have hand cream on. This happened once and the taffy tasted like perfume!

White Taffy

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup cold water

3 tablespoons vinegar

Little butter

Pinch of cream of tartar

Nuts, if desired

Food coloring or flavors, if desired

Put all together, except nuts, coloring and flavorings, in a pan and boil until cracks on side of a cup when a bit is dropped into cold water. Pour on buttered plates and cool until able to pick up in hands. Add nuts, coloring and flavoring while pulling. Peppermint flavoring is good in pink taffy. Pull until hard and white. Lay out on waxed paper, and cut immediately with kitchen shears.

Again we come to the end of another week of recipe swapping. There are no requests for this week. Should you have one, please send it in so we can get to work on it.

Have a wonderful week, and happy cooking.