When you first stir the ingredients for this Nacho Cheese Soup from Sargento together you'll wonder what you ever got yourself into. Fear not, after you let it bubble away for 20 minutes or so it magically transforms into a creamy base for the rest of the ingredients. Once you add the milk and cheese you'll be bowled over by the thickness and richness of this hearty soup. I don't think I've ever even made au gratin potatoes out of a package but believe me when I tell you, they really make this soup and it sure beats slicing potatoes at your campsite. This is a perfect campfire meal, you could probably get away with using canned evaporated milk if you don't want to lug a carton in your cooler. You can make the soup as spicy as you like, use hot or mild salsa and if you opt for the Rotel it's guaranteed to have a real kick. Toss in some smoked sausage and make it a cheesy, stick to your ribs, stew.
Nacho Cheese Soup
1 5 oz. package dry au gratin potatoes
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 cup salsa OR 1 10 oz. can Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (Rotel)
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Taco flavored cheese
1 2 oz. can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
Crumbled tortilla chips for garnish
Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
Combine potatoes, dry au gratin mix, corn with liquid, salsa OR canned tomatoes and 2 cups water in dutch oven.
Heat over a full compliment of coals with as many briquettes on the lid as you'll need to bring it to a strong simmer.
Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
Add milk, cheese and olives.
Cook until cheese is melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.
Garnish with tortilla chips and more cheese if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
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At first you'll think, yuck, when you combine the corn, salsa, water and potatoes    |
Gave this one a try tonight and my verdict is....GREAT! This would be an excellent cold winter's day meal. Filling and warming. I was looking for a not-spicy dish so I went with diced tomatoes only and did not add any salsa or Rotel. I also doubled the recipe and made some changes to accommodate a 12" oven. Here's my modified, doubled, 12" recipe:
ReplyDelete2-5oz boxes au gratin potatoes
2-15oz cans sweet corn (undrained)
1-15oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
4 cups water
2 cups milk
2 cups (1 package) Mexican 4 cheese
13 oz smoked beef sausage.
Combined the potatoes w/ the included mix, corn, tomatoes, 4 cups water, and sliced sausage.
Full compliment under, 22 coals on top. After about 30 minutes the potatoes were done and I added the cheese and milk. Cooked 10 additional minutes. I figure this would serve 8-10 (maybe 12 if you have younger Scouts).
I'd like to try it substituting a can of evaporated milk instead of the 2 cups milk. I'd call it a stew rather than a soup, but that's splitting hairs.
I do have a question for you, how do you determine number of servings?
Anyway, thanks again Liddy for the site and recipes!--K.C.
Thank you for your recipe K.C., adding smoked sausage sounds really good. I post the servings that are given with the original recipe, to me it always depends on the size of the appetites of the people you're serving it to, Liddy
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