Beefy Vegetable Goodness

Well tonight actually went well. No big surprises or lack of ingredients, but I guess I made a hell of a lot of soup tonight. But the greatest thing about this soup is it freezes very well. Now the thing I love about beef vegetable soup is that there are no rules, no restrictions. It is such an easy soup to make, no matter what your cooking experience. Whatever veges you have in your cupboard or in your fridge you can totally add. My version of this soup is veges to beef 3 to 1, but if you want more meat just double the meat or half the veges, depending on how many servings you want to make.

Beefy Vegetable Soup

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 large carrot, halved then sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can green beans

1 (14.5 oz) can carrots

1/4 head of cabbage, chopped

3 c beef broth

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 T cajun seasoning

1 T parsley

Heat beef on medium heat, cook for about 5 min or until halfway browned. Add onions, bell pepper, celery and carrot and cook for another 5 min or until translucent. Add garlic and jalapeno, cook for about a min. Add canned tomatoes, green beans, carrots and the cabbage. Add broth, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and parsley. Bring to a boil. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook on low for an hour.

CHEF'S TIP: The reason I loved canned vegetables is the liquid that it sits in. Never, never, never throw that away, it's like an added bonus of vege broth. It really helps to develop the flavor, especially in soups, stews and sauces.

Another Night of Trouble

So another day of things unplanned...I decided to make chicken noodle soup, since the weather dropped like 60 degrees...and of course nothing ever seems to go to plan. There were no egg noodles or bay leaves though I swore that I had both in the pantry. Luckily I was able to score the noodles but it would have been useless to add the bay leaves at the last moment. Either way, the soup turned out f-a-b-ulous! A little thinner than I'm used to, but the flavor more than made up for that:)

Chelle's Cocky Chicken Noodle Soup

2 T olive oil

2 c chicken breast, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 celery, sliced

2 green onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1/4 c white wine

1 1/2 q chicken broth

1 T hot sauce

1 T parsley

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t cayenne

4 oz dried egg noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Brown chicken in olive oil in pot on medium for about 2 min. Add carrot and celery, cook for about 5 more min. Add green onions, garlic, and jalapeno and cook for 2 min. Add white wine, cook for 5 min to let wine cook down. Add chicken broth, hot sauce, parsley, nutmeg and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Add egg noodles, let simmer covered on low for 15 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.

CHEFS TIP: The reason you add the larger vegetables first, is because the smaller ones would burn. If ever a recipe calls for the garlic to be added with the onion and other vegetables...DON'T DO IT, you'll burn the garlic, resulting in one n-a-s-t-y dish.

Chili: A Burning Good Time

Well tonight I thought I'd whip out my chili for dinner to prepare for a souper month:) It did not turn out well. I thought the chili had been simmering on low for a half hour...it was on HIGH! The smell was revolting:( Luckily I had enough of the ingredients to make a second batch, though it was somewhat difficult because I had a different can of tomatoes to use. Anyways all is good, here is the recipe:

Michelle's Cook Off Winning Chili

1 lb ground beef

1 c diced onion

1/2 c diced green onion

1 jalapeno, minced (I keep the seeds and rib in, but you can take it out)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (14.5oz) can tomato sauce

1 (10.5 oz) can diced tomatoes and chilies

2 Roma Tomatoes, diced

1 (14.5 oz) can pinto beans

1 (14.5 oz) can red kidney beans

2 c beef broth

1 T hot sauce (I like Franks)

1 T worcesterchire sauce

1 T dried parsley

2 T chili powder

3 T cumin powder

1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef on medium heat,(about 5 min) until almost fully coooked. Add onion and green bell pepper (about 5 min) until transluscent. Add garlic and jalapeno, cook for about a minute. Add tomato sauce, tomato and chilies, tomatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans, broth, hot sauce and worcesterchire sauce. Bring to a boil on high, add parsley, chili powder, cumin powder, Montreal Steak Seasoning and salt and pepper. Turn to medium low and let simmer for an hour, covered stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for another half hour on medium, stirring frequently or until chili is to the consistency you like. Adjust seasonings if needed.

A Quick Decision

I have decided to embark on a journey of making soup. In reality, I don't do alot of soup eating in my past. Living in Texas I have perfected chili, and growing up in New Orleans I can make a mean gumbo, but other than those two and your basic beef vegetable and chicken noodle soup, I haven't really been that adventurous. So for the month of February, it's nothing but soup for dinner, which kind of goes along with the theme that the actual Super Bowl is in February:) This weekend I will be going the grocery store to start the endless number of soups I am going to make and try.