February 22-28, 2009

February 22-28, 2009

I have not made this soup in 15 years because I swore I would never cook with processed cheese again. I made it until the last step (the cheese). I tasted it and it lacked flavor in the broth so I added chicken bouillon and that didn't help. I finally added the cheese.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

1 ½ pound ground chuck
1 onion diced
8 cups water
¾ cup barley
2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes
½ pound carrots diced
Salt, pepper
1 t oregano
1 t basil
½ bag frozen corn
1 ½ cups fresh green beans
1 pound velveeta

Saute the ground chuck and onion together until cooked through. Add to stock pot along with the water, barley, tomatoes, carrots, salt pepper oregano and basil. When the carrots are cooked through add the corn and green beans for 3-4 minutes. Move to low heat and add the velveeta cheese until melted

February 15-21, 2009

February 15-21,2009

Last week I cooked two chickens on a rotisserie and made chicken pot pie with the meat. I took the chicken carcasse and added enough water to cover and then added a carrot, celery rib, onion and whole pepper. After simmering for a couple hours, I strained the stock and skimmed off the fat. I froze it until I could make the soup this afternoon.

Turkey Noodle Soup

½ cup butter
½ cup flour
3 quarts chicken or turkey broth
2 cups cut up chicken
2 medium onions diced
2 cups carrots diced
2 cups celery diced
1 pkg reames egg noodles
Salt
Pepper
Thyme

Melt the butter and add the onions. Sweat the onions for 10 minutes until soft. Add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add broth and bring it to a boil. Add celery and carrots, salt, pepper and thyme to taste. When the celery and carrots are tender, add the egg noodles and cook until done, approximately 20 minutes. Serve

February 8-14, 2009

February 8-14, 2009

I occasionally try a recipe I find in the newspaper and sometimes I am pleased with the results. This recipe is flavorful because of the sweet pork sausage.

We have soup suppers at church during lent and I brought this soup a couple years ago. One of the women at church asked for the recipe because she really liked it and they were having a soup contest at work. It was a big hit and she was in a run off contest with another co-worker. I don't think she won but she had fun.

Tortellini soup

1 pound Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans beef broth (13 ¾ ounce)
½ cup water
1 can peeled whole tomatoes, (28 ounce) cut up
1 can tomato sauce (15 ounce)
1 cup sliced carrots
½ t. dried basil
½ t dried oregano
1 t parsley flakes
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 package cheese tortellini (9 oz)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
Shredded parmesan cheese

Brown sausage in large pot then set aside sausage. Keep drippings in pot, and cook onions and garlic in drippings for 10 minutes. Add all ingredients down to and including the parsley flakes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini, tortellini and green pepper, and then cover and simmer another 20-25 minutes until tortellini is tender. Top servings with cheese.

February 1-7,2009

February 1-7, 2009

With the rest of the 17 pound ham I made, I decided to find a recipe that had a ham bone for flavor and this is what I found. It wasn't my favorite recipe but it was filled with vegetables and it was flavorful. I added the ham to the recipe since I wanted some protein too. The pesto I made from my garden basil last summer, but I love the parmesan cheese addition the most.

Minestrone

3 T olive oil
5 canned plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped, plus ½ cup of their juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk sliced
¾ pound butternut squash, diced
1 T dried rosemary
3 T fresh parsley
1 large carrot, diced and peeled
1 pound green cabbage shredded
1 can pinto beans
3 quarts water
2 T. salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ pound green beans cut into 1 inch lengths
Ham bone
2 cups diced ham

Sauté the onions and celery in olive oil until soft in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, with their juice, potato, squash, rosemary carrot, cabbage, salt, pepper, water, and ham bone. Bring to boil and then simmer till vegetables are tender. Add the green beans, parsley, and diced ham until green beans are tender. Remove the ham bone. Serve with pesto or freshly grated parmesan cheese