Community Cookbook: More back-to-school recipes for busy families and hungry students – speedy-quick soups and sandwiches

Here’s the second installment of our Back-to-School recipes. Today’s brief introduction let’s us squeeze one more recipe in for your enjoyment.

The first Back-to-School installment offered recipes for dinner main dishes. Today’s recipes are suitable for quick and easy lunches and dinners for families and independent-living students alike.

While not guaranteed to improve a student’s grades, they are likely to make everything seem just a little nicer around meal times.

Mom’s Tuna Sandwiches

These are the simple tuna sandwiches that mom made for so many years. They’re pretty good, and we kids always liked them. In recent years, she used albacore tuna, which made the sandwiches even better. The ground thyme is my addition. It adds just a little extra flavor to the filling.

1 (5-ounce) can drained, water-packed tuna

3½ tablespoons finely diced onion

3½ tablespoons finely diced sweet pickles

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

A pinch of ground thyme

Mayonnaise

4 slices sandwich bread

Combine the first seven ingredients (through thyme) in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Stir well before using. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice. Spread the tuna evenly on two of the slices. Top each with a bread slice and slice the sandwiches in half diagonally.

Notes: Mom stretched this out to make three sandwiches, we were a big family. Most will prefer two larger sandwiches. Cheese and lettuce are tasty options that can help fill them out. Albacore tuna are known to have problematic levels of mercury; regular tuna is safer. Tuna should be eaten only occasionally, especially by children.

Yield: Two sandwiches

Micro-Toasted Imi-Crab and Cheese Sandwich

All this tasty sandwich takes to make, is a toaster, a microwave oven, and four or five minutes. This is the poor man’s crab and cheese sandwich prepared in the finest Lazy Guy way: little fuss, little muss. Except for the eating, when the sandwich shows its ooey gooey side. Use the melting cheese(s) of your choice. I happen to like Swiss for this one.

2 slices sandwich bread

Mayonnaise, spreadable butter, or margarine

Garlic powder

2 sandwich-sized cheese slices

½-¾ cup imitation crab (any variety)

Toast the bread slices in a toaster to the desired doneness. Coat one side of each slice with mayonnaise, butter, or margarine and place in a single layer on a microwave grill or dinner plate, coated sides up. Very liberally sprinkle garlic powder on each. Top each with a slice of cheese. Microwave on high power until the cheese starts to melt, 20-30 seconds, depending on the amount and type of cheese used. Quickly layer the imitation crab on one of the slices and top with the remaining slice, cheese-side down. Let the sandwich cool on the grill or a cooling rack. Slice in half when sufficiently cooled, if preferred. Alternatively, after applying the garlic powder, stack half of the imitation crab on half of each bread slice so that when the 2 slices are stacked, the filling fits together to make a sandwich. Microwave on high power with the filled halves facing outward until the cheese starts to melt, 30-40 seconds. Quickly stack the two slices to make a sandwich and cool on a grill or cooling rack.

Notes: An uncovered microwave grill will keep the toasted bread crisp. The bread will soften slightly when microwaved on a plate but will still be delicious. Be sure to fully toast the bread first, as it won’t continue to brown or crisp in the microwave oven. Louis Kemp Crab Delights, Trans Ocean Crab Classic, and Kanimi are top-rated imitation crab brands. Other fillings, such as deli meats, cooked meats, seafood, and sliced vegetables can substitute for imitation crab. This recipe was developed using a 1,000-watt microwave oven with a turntable. Cooking times will vary with ovens of different wattages.

Yield: One sandwich

Nearly Instant Chicken Noodle Soup

This simple soup is as flavorful and nearly as easy as the boxed, dried soup varieties. It provides an excellent broth for building more substantial soups. See the notes below for some ideas.

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder

¼ teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon MSG (optional)

⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

⅛ teaspoon onion powder

A pinch of ground ginger

A nip of black pepper

2 cups water

½ cup of ¾-inch long dried fideo or thin spaghetti

1 teaspoon dried parsley

Combine the first seven ingredients (through black pepper) in a small bowl or custard cup. Heat the water to a boil in a covered medium saucepan over high heat. Stir the pasta in and return to a boil, covered, stirring frequently. Stir in the seasonings and reduce the heat to medium-low. Lightly boil, covered, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.

Notes: For a more substantial soup, add a cup of chopped vegetables such as onion, carrot, cabbage and peppers to the water at the start. Add cooked seafood or finely shredded chicken at the end of cooking. Or add coarsely shredded spinach leaves, a cup or so, no stems, for the last 2 or 3 minutes of cooking.

Yield: About 2½ cups

Tomato Soup

From a Can

Homemade-tasting tomato soup from canned ingredients? It can be done. You may be tempted to take credit for making this robust soup from scratch. If so, be sure to hide the empty cans first. Sugar or high fructose corn syrup is the second -most common ingredient in canned tomato soup. Sodium is usually right up there also. Not so with this delicious homemade version.

1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup water or milk

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder

½ teaspoon celery salt

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

⅛ teaspoon chili powder

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon butter or margarine

1 teaspoon dried parsley or ½ teaspoon dried basil

Purée the tomatoes, water, optional milk, and tomato sauce in a stationary blender, or with an immersion blender (be careful not to beat too much air into the soup, or it’ll be foamy). Combine all ingredients, except the butter or margarine, and parsley in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter or margarine and parsley. Serve hot with plenty of crackers, if preferred.

Notes: Diced tomatoes with green chiles or fire-roasted tomatoes can be used. Double the recipe or more to feed a hungry crowd.

Yield: About 4½ cups

Dick Sellers is a freelance writer. Contact him at dickskitchencorner@outlook.com