in my mind a stew is a a hearty chunky bowl of deliciousness that has many ingredients.. beef stew for example meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion. broth. that to me is a stew. soup on the other hand, (to my way of thinking is more liquid, less other stuff. So if you go by my way of thinking. then the recipe I'm about to share is a soup recipe. but I've grown up with them being called "stew" my whole life and I'm not going to argue with grandma and mama about it so. stew is what we will call this soup.(these soups) all three start with the same basic ingredients and can be tweaked to become salmon stew, potato soup, or oyster stew. Get creative tell me what you would add to this basic soup/stew starter in comments. the starter- all 3 require milk, butter, salt, pepper... the rest is up to you. *add salmon and serve with saltines or oyster crackers for salmon stew. (we sometimes add canned diced potatoes also. and daddy likes to put ketchup in his. this could also be made using leftover cooked salmon steaks or fillets if you have that on hand) *add canned potatoes, garlic, your favorite cheese for a simple potatoes soup. serve with saltines, or my favorite for potato soup townhouse crackers (add ham, bacon, sour cream, chives, if you want to fancy it up a bit) *add canned oysters and a dash of hot sauce for a great oyster stew served with crackers (you could also add canned potatoes or canned corn, or both to add a little more umph to it. but I never do that. Fresh oysters can be used but thats alot of work this will no longer be a quick easy recipe) this is not a fancy recipe, but this is a good very quick meal for a night when your running low on time or energy or both. kids football game starts in an hour you need something quick.. THIS IS IT! worked late still have baths and homework to tend before beditime... THIS IS IT! Low on time and energy and need a meal that's quick. easy. and cheap? THIS IS IT. ONE RULE it's an important rule. DO NOT LET THE MILK BOIL. How I avoid this is I put in my 1/2 or 1/3 stick of butter in one whole piece and when it's warm enough to melt the whole clump of butter it's warm enough to simmer on low or to serve right away. the potato soup will be fine on low for a good while. But I dont usually let my fish or oyster stew simmer for very long. It's a personal preference I guess but I dont really like the fish stews taste after simmering to long. the potato soup could probably be made with raw diced potatoes and in a crock pot. but this post is about quick and easy and cheap. and that's not quick. the recipe
3 cups milk 1/2 stick butter salt and pepper to tastes 1 can salmon or oysters or 2 cans potatoes or a combo of above add all igredients to to your pot and simmer until butter is melted and soup/stew is warmed thoroughly serve with saltines, or your choice of crumbled crackers. or croutons in a bowl. (optional add-ins ketchup, hot sauce, chives,French fried onions or French fried jalapenos im sorry i dont have pics of these dishes to share. I will update with pictures when I cook these. I am making this post because someone commented on my fried oyster post that they wanted the salmon stew recipe and I said I would post it. Let me know what you think.