Instant Satisfaction

Returning to the topic of convenience foods. One I have to admit to using, and quite often, is the cuppa soups (as I am sure you have realised). Again if cooking for a family, soups would ALWAYS be made from scratch, even when cooking for just Beloved I make his soup from scratch. But as ever, cooking for myself, take the speedy way to get my soup in the mug. just because it IS speedy. Having said that - when making chicken stock, do keep some in reserve in the fridge, so that it can be boiled up and the cuppa soup (usually tomato) added instead of using just water. This then really does taste like 'the real thing'.

Cuppa soups are also handy when needing to make a quick beef gravy (oxtail cuppa) or as a cooking liquid when slow-cooking beef or chicken (oxtail, tomato and beef or chicken cuppas). Have even added oxtail cuppa to a spag.bol sauce instead of a stock cube. Cuppa soups also help to thicken the sauce.
I try not to use these, but sometimes (waving the flag of old age), it is easier to be able to sit down with a mug of soup that is almost instantly made, than having to bother to go through the cook/blitz/reheat method that a good cook uses. Most of you will not agree with this approach, and suggest alternatives.
But before you slap my hand, if I had room in my freezer, would probably make all soups from scratch and then freeze these away in one-mug servings. Even then, having to defrost the soup would take too long for my instant pick-me-up. With me it is usually "I'm cold, tired and need a quick sit down with something warming to drink that will double up as lunch". To get this, it needs planning.