Soup is good food

I have always been rather terrified by recipes calling for a can of Cream-of-Something soup, and for good reason. However, I will reveal that the one dish that probably makes me happiest in the world -- my mother's beef stew over broad egg noodles -- does in fact take both an envelope of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix and two cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup. This is added to browned cubed beef (and it's great to make this with a good cut, not generic stew meat), a little Worcestershire sauce, a touch of wine vinegar, carrots, peas, and sliced mushrooms, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Simmer that away and take it from me, the onion soup and the tomato soup blend with the seasonings and the meat juices to form a very rich brown gravy that has just a hint of sweetness, enrobing meat that falls apart with a fork.

Thanks for bringing that over tonight, mom!