Soup

Here is yet another leave it and crawl back under the covers kind of meal! I am really loving this type of meal! Beef stew is on todays menu! Who doesn't look the heartiness and chunkiness of beef stew? It is a wonderful meal that you could even have for a couple different meals! All you do is throw all these ingredients in a slow cooker and leave it! Best for cold nights and days where you have too much to do but still would like to have a hot meal!

INGREDIENTS

3/4 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large stalk celery, minced
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/4 pound green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 (14.5 ounce) cans fat-free chicken broth
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef consomme

DIRECTIONS

1. In a slow cooker, combine beef, onions, garlic, celery, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, and potatoes. Pour in the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Season with bay leaf, pepper, thyme, and marjoram. Stir together chicken broth and flour. Pour chicken broth mixture and beef consomme into slow cooker, and stir.

2. Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Posted by Sabriena at 18:37

I am freezing my feet off right now, literally! So all I want to post about is warm meals that you do not have to stand in the kitchen and make. Chili is both warm and a slow cooking all day kind of meal. It is something which fill you up as well as warm you up. Although there are a lot of ingredients to this recipe, it is not hard at all. A lot of it is store bought canned items and you really only have to pop open the cans and mix it all together!


INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato puree
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans with liquid
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.

2. Place the beef in a slow cooker, and mix in onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, tomato puree, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. Season with chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.

3. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low.

Posted by Sabriena at 18:19

I am absolutely freezing right now, so the only food that I want to think about today will be soups. This is going to be the theme for today, SOUP! Something warm and filling. Sounds good, right? Harvest soup sounds good as well. It has a lot in it like wild rice, peas, tomatoes, and pasta. With all that it should fill you up. With only 80 calories a serving, you should be able to have a couple servings or maybe some hot bread with it.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 c. dried split peas
1/3 c. plus 2 T beef bouillon granules
1/2 c. barley uncooked
3/4 c. lentils dried
1/2 c. dried minced onion
3/4 c. long-grain wild rice, uncooked
3/4 c. tiny bow tie or alphabet pasta
3 quarts water
28 ounces diced tomatoes
(optional 1-1/2 lb. stew meat, browned, not calculated here)

DIRECTIONS

Add soup mix to large stockpot. Stir in 3 qt. water and tomatoes (and meat if you choose). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for one to two hours or until peas, lentils, and rice are tender.

Posted by Sabriena at 13:32

Chicken soup is good. It is good for cold nights and it is good for your soul. It's comforting and delicious, I love it. But I have never quite heard of buffalo chicken soup. There is a lot of ingredients in this one and I have never heard of Xanthan gum before. I wouldn't know where to purchase this either, any ideas?

INGREDIENTS

1 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 lb. deli-roasted chicken, skinned, boned, and coarsely shredded
2 Tbsp. butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 14-oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 cups Skim milk
1 Tbsp. bottled hot pepper sauce
1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
1-1/4 cups crumbled blue cheese (5 oz.)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)
3/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In 4-quart Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in broth, milk, and the 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce.

2. In bowl toss together mozzarella, 1 cup of the blue cheese, Parmesan, and xanthan gum. Add gradually to soup, stirring after each addition just until melted. Stir in three-fourths of the shredded chicken; heat through. Top with remaining chicken, blue cheese, and hot sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Posted by Sabriena at 11:29

This soup doesn't take long to make so it would be perfect to make it when you are looking for a warm and filling meal with not a lot of time on your hands. It uses basically everything that you have handy in your house already and will definitely warm you up on a cold night.

INGREDIENTS

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup chunky salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

DIRECTIONS

1. In an electric food processor or blender, combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth.

2. Heat the bean mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

3. Ladle soup into 4 individual bowls, and top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sour cream and 1/2 tablespoon green onion.

Posted by Sabriena at 10:27