Reading The Spam Fans blog made me remember a recipe my mother used to make when I was a kid. I loved this stuff. Good hearty food for a cold winter night. Yeah, not so cold right now, but I had a craving so I asked mom to send me the recipe.
One of the good things about this recipe is you can add, substitute and play a bit and I think it will pretty much always taste good. And it has Spam. What more could one ask for? Plus, since, it's um...mostly canned food, it comes together pretty quick.
Mom said she found this recipe on the label of a Campbell's Mushroom Soup can almost 50 years ago.
ROZ'S SPAM CASSEROLE
(also known as Spam Stovetop Casserole)
1 12oz can of Spam, cubed (original flavor)
2 cans of Cream of Potato Soup
1 large onion diced
Diced or crushed garlic to taste.
3/4 to 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 pint Milk
Saute onions and garlic until softened. Add Spam and lightly brown. Add cream of potato soup and milk. Mix well. Add frozen mixed vegetables and bring almost to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir and simmer until blended(and vegetables are cooked).
Substitutions: Per Mom, she has used 1 to 2 cans of baby potatoes (cubed) if she didn't have potato soup. You can also substitute Cream of Mushroom Soup. Mom says she prefers the Potato soup. I'm thinking even Cream of Celery or Cream of Cheese would work here :) You could also use the different types of Spam for a different flavored dish.
Notes: You can make this with just half a can of Spam and 1 can of soup.
Notes: I used frozen petite peas instead of mixed vegetables. I used a cup and a half which was to much and Mom said it had to much pea flavor so I listed the veggie count as 3/4 cup. You can add more or less of the frozen vegetables to your taste.
Note: Mom also said there wasn't enough garlic. I put in probably two or three teaspoons of the jarred crushed stuff. You might want to add more.
Note: As for the milk, mom used milk "to desired consistency". With 1 pint it made the dish pretty thick so you might want to add more for a soupier version, but how much you use is up to you.
Didn't quite get it to taste like "moms version" on my first try. She is going to make it sometime soon and let me taste it. As for Mr. L? I gave him a taste and his response was "I could eat this"...ah...welcome to the Spam side....
I might just have to try this, seeing as how it is a family recipe, but PEAS! How could you? This is tainting the food! YUCK!
Posted by: Shannon | August 29, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Way to go. I'm with Shannon. I like peas in small amounts. It does have a very strong flavor. Use mixed vegetable and you can always take out the carrots as you eat it. The flavor of the different vegetables seems to blend better with the SPAM. Do not add salt as this is salty enough without it unless you like salty food (like my brother). But otherwise you got it right. This is a recipe that can be tweeked and tweeked to your liking, just keep the basic ingredients the same and it will work. You can use different soups but don't forget the potatoes.
Posted by: Roz | August 29, 2007 at 09:16 AM
You are really getting my curiosity up about Spam! One of these days I am going to try it.
Posted by: Jan | August 29, 2007 at 10:33 AM
One more note: This is so good over rice, you can eat it with crackers, if you have leftover mashed potatoes around add it to the mix and make a nice thick soup for those very cold winter nights, or eat it as is for a great lunch. This is really a versatile dish.
Posted by: Roz | August 29, 2007 at 12:54 PM
As a lover of peas, I don't understand the horror (grin) but this really can be made with any canned veggies I think. Yes, fresh would probably be better, but it would defeat the "quick" part of the recipe and it just really wouldn't be from the 50's!
Posted by: Mrs. L | September 06, 2007 at 02:55 PM
As a lover of peas, I don't understand the horror (grin) but this really can be made with any canned veggies I think. Yes, fresh would probably be better, but it would defeat the "quick" part of the recipe and it just really wouldn't be from the 50's!
Posted by: Mrs. L | September 06, 2007 at 02:56 PM
As a lover of peas, I don't understand the horror (grin) but this really can be made with any canned veggies I think. Yes, fresh would probably be better, but it would defeat the "quick" part of the recipe and it just really wouldn't be from the 50's!
Posted by: Mrs. L | September 06, 2007 at 02:56 PM
I just saw your recipe on Pinterest. It looks tasty. I added it to a blog post and gave you full credit with a link to your blog: http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/2012/02/spam-coupon-and-recipe.html Thank you and hope it brings you more traffic. Susie
Posted by: Susie | February 20, 2012 at 12:04 PM