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Quick Sauces

Tinned soups can make quick and tasty sauces with very little effort. Soups such as cream of chicken, asparagus, mushroom, celery etc need little more than seasoning. By varying the seasonings you will be pleasantly surprised at how tasty they turn out. Dried soups can also be used but they take a longer cooking time than tinned. Dried soups are particularly good in casserole type dishes. But do not add any other seasoning until the dish has been cooking for approx. twenty minutes then add salt and pepper to taste. Also use half the water recommended by manufacturer.


Quick pepper sauce
1small onion finely chopped
½ red pepper ½ green pepper finely chopped (capsicum)
2 table spoons oil
1 tin cream of mushroom soup
½ teaspoon mixed dried herbs
Dash of tobasco or chilli if liked

Put oil in saucepan when hot add onion and cook until translucent. Add peppers and cook a further minute. Add rest of ingredient and simmer for a further 8 minutes, thin with a little milk if desired add salt and pepper to taste


Quick cheese Sauce
Put tin of cream of chicken soup into saucepan
Add 60gm cheese of your choice
Dash of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until cheese is melted
Thin with a little milk if required add salt and pepper if desired


Basic Cheese sauce
28g butter or margarine
28g flour
250ml milk1 egg yolk well beaten
½ teaspoon dry English mustard
Dash pepper
1 teaspoon salt
28g grated cheese of your choice

Put butter into saucepan over very low heat. When melted blend in flour. Slowly add milk stirring constantly until smooth. Pour in egg yolk whilst still stirring. Add rest of ingredients
Stirring until cheese is melted


Quick Tomato Sauce
1 tin cream of tomato soup in saucepan
Add teaspoon mixed dried herbs (or herbs of your choice)
If too thick add a little water or milk simmer over low heat 10 minutes
Salt and pepper to taste


Quick A la King Sauce
1 tin of cream of asparagus soup
1 small capsicum (red or green pepper) finely sliced
14g butter or margarine
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
Put butter in to saucepan when melted add capsicum fry for a minute. Add asparagus soup, and herbs. Heat through on low heat for 8 minutes


Quick Creole sauce
1 small finely diced onion
1 small finely sliced capsicum (red or green pepper)
4 tablespoons oil
124ml water
1 tin celery soup
1 table spoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon vinegar
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
Two or three drops tobasco

Put oil into saucepan and when hot fry onion and capsicum until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat 10 minutes


Quick Spanish sauce
1 small onion finely diced
1 small capsicum finely diced (red or green pepper)
2 tablespoons oil
1 tin condensed chicken soup
56g mushrooms thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon garlic puree
¼ teaspoon sugar
125ml water
Put oil into saucepan over medium heat. When hot add mushroom cook for 2 minutes then add onion and capsicum fry until onion is translucent. Add rest of ingredients and simmer for 5-6 minutes


Quick mustard sauce
1 small onion finely diced
1 tablespoon oil
1 tin condensed cream of celery soup
2 tablespoons English mustard
1 table spoon vinegar
2 tablespoons water

Put oil into saucepan when hot add onion. Fry until translucent.
Add celery soup and simmer on low heat
Mix 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 tablespoons water with mustard into smooth paste add to sauce, and simmer further 5 minutes


Bread sauce
1 small onion
14g butter
4 cloves
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
84g fresh bread crumbs
425ml milk
Put milk into saucepan with salt and cayenne over low heat. Stud onion with cloves and place into pan bring to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Strain into bowl, and add breadcrumbs and butter.


Hot mayonnaise sauce
3 heaped tablespoons mayonnaise
125ml milk
½ teaspoon dried parsley
Pinch of cayenne
Put mayonnaise and milk into double saucepan heat over boiling water stirring until smooth. Stir in cayenne, and parsley add salt and pepper to taste


Mint sauce
42g caster sugar
65ml hot water
125ml vinegar
28g fresh mint leaves finely chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt

Dissolve sugar in hot water. Add vinegar and bring to simmer
Put mint leaves into a small bowl add lemon juice and salt
Pour boiling liquid over mint leaves
Let stand 1 hour before serving


Easy curry sauce
28g butter or margarine
1 medium onion diced
28g flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
250ml water
1 beef stock cube

put butter into small saucepan over medium heat when hot add onion and fry until translucent. Add rest of ingredients stir until sauce is smooth and thickened

Basic curry sauce
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion coarsely diced
2 tomatoes each cut into six
1 tablespoon garlic puree
½ tablespoon ginger puree
3 tablespoons curry powder
80g tomato puree
½ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon coriander
450ml cold water
1 chicken stock cube
3 tablespoons corn flour
6 tablespoons water

Put oil in saucepan on medium heat when oil is hot add onion. Cook until translucent; add tomato cook a further two or three minutes. Add rest of ingredients except curry powder, corn flour and 6 tablespoons water. Simmer for five minutes. Add curry powder whilst stirring. Mix corn flour with 6 tablespoons water, and stir into sauce cook until thickened add salt and pepper to taste

Quick brown sauce
56g butter,
56g flour
450ml cold water
1 beef stock cube

Melt butter in saucepan blend in flour stirring constantly. Cook until browned. Gradually add water into which you have crumbled stock cube stirring constantly until thickened add salt and pepper to taste


Basic brown sauce
1 medium onion roughly diced
2 tablespoons oil
450ml water
1 beef stock cube
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
3 tablespoons corn flour
6 tablespoons water

Put oil in saucepan and when hot add onion fry until brown. Put in rest of ingredient except corn flour and 6 table spoons water simmer for ten minutes add corn flour which has been blended with the water stir until thickened add salt and pepper to taste


Basic sweet and sour 1
450ml cold water
1 chicken stock cube
3 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon vinegar
100g tomato puree
2 tablespoons corn flour
4 tablespoons water

Put 450ml water into saucepan add rest of ingredient except corn
Flour and four tablespoons water. Simmer for ten minutes add corn flour mixed with 4-teaspoon water stir until thickened


Basic sweet and sour 2
1 medium sized onion roughly diced, 2 tablespoons oil,
1 tablespoon mixed herbs 450ml cold water 1 chicken stock cube
3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons vinegar
100g tomato puree. 2 tablespoons corn flour
1 small tin pineapple chunks 4 tablespoons water

Put oil in saucepan fry onion until translucent add rest of ingredient except corn flour and 4 teaspoons water. Simmer for ten minutes. Add corn flour and water stir until thickened add salt to taste


Basic chilli sauce
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon garlic puree
½ table spoon ginger puree
100g tomato puree
1 chicken stock cube
1-teaspoon chilli powder.
1 teaspoon crushed dried chilli
450ml cold water
2 tablespoons corn flour
4 tablespoons water

Put oil into saucepan when hot add onion. Fry until translucent add rest of ingredient except for corn flour and 4 tablespoons water. Simmer for ten minutes. Mix corn flour with water stir into sauce until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste


Quick mushroom sauce
112g finely chopped mushrooms
1 tin condensed cream of mushroom soup
125ml milk
2 table spoons oil
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
Put oil into saucepan over medium heat and when hot add mushroom. Fry for 2 minutes. Add milk. When milk is warm add rest of ingredients simmer for 10 minutes


Mushroom sauce 2
1x 84g tin sliced mushrooms
65ml water
½ teaspoon mixed herbs
1½teaspoons corn flour
2-3 drops tobasco
Put all ingredients into small saucepan bring to simmer stirring constantly. Add salt to taste.