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Tag Archives: “steak soup”

steak soup weather

11 / 11 / 14

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Right off the bat I’m gonna tell you that I am a believer in recipes, but more as a guide than a rulebook. Sort of a suggestion on how to “begin the process” of creating your own personal culinary masterpiece!!

Or not.

Yep. That’s part of the deal when you allow yourself to be a creative cook. You must take risks, think out of the box, have fun and – yes – be willing to fail sometimes. Boo-Boos happen. So what. One of the biggest problems I have is trying to re-create something that does end up coming out pretty tasty. I start “creating” with a little of this, a pinch of that, a little more of the other and a whole lotta whatever.  At the end of the day, I have NO IDEA how much of this or that is actually in the final product. My poor hubbie… “Hey sugar lump; any chance you can duplicate this?” Ummm… ya… No. Sorry. And, sadly, he does not actually call me sugar lump.

So I’m getting better about tracking my “culinary creativity”. I have always been one to mark all over the recipes in my many, many (many) cookbooks.  Cross this out, halve that ingredient, omit this, sub that… What I have also started doing is making notes on a post it note until I get to the “final answer”. I write down the exact ingredients as I add them, updating the amounts as I go along. For example, I may start out by adding a tablespoon of minced cilantro to a dish; but after two more adjustments I end up at 1/2 cup in the end. The same goes for something you might add that you aren’t so keen on. Make a note. Cookbooks were meant to be tattered and dog eared and scribbled on!! It’s a sign of love and affection!  (Side note: the exception is BAKING.  For the most part, stick to the exact measurements when baking)

So it’s the first really cold day outside today.  All thoughts are on comfort food. So how ’bout some Steak Soup? I am going to give you the recipe as it was given to me, first.  Then we’ll talk.

STEAK SOUP

8 T butter                                                                                                                                                                           ½

1/2 c flour

40 oz. cans beef broth

¼ c diced carrots

¼ c diced onion

¼ c diced celery

½ c chopped canned tomatoes

1 T Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce

¾ t seasoning salt

¼ t black pepper

5 oz frozen mixed vegetables

½ lb lean ground chuck, chili grind, browned and drained

Melt, but do not brown, the butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and stir to form a roux. Cook over medium heat without browning for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beef broth to roux and stir until smooth and slightly thickened. Bring to a full boil. Add the carrots, onion, celery, tomatoes and pepper. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just tender, 20-30 minutes. Stir in browning sauce to achieve a richer color and flavor. Stir in frozen vegetables and cooked ground beef. Simmer an additional 15 minutes, or long enough that the flavors become well blended. Makes about 4 servings.

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Here’s how I “personalized” this soup to make it mine… I gathered whatever veggies I had fresh, and oven roasted until tender, rather than boiling them in the soup. (In this case that included carrots, onions and tomatoes.) I had frozen peas and corn on hand, so those were my frozen veggies. (On the fresh and frozen veggies – I don’t measure. Just add as much as you want) I also had some oven roasted sweet potatoes leftover from the night before, so in they went as well. I don’t use butter.  I use a combination of a little olive oil and some of the stock.  I use unsalted beef stock, eliminate the seasoning salt and add in 1-2 packets of beefy onion soup mix.  My hubbie likes a meaty soup, so I double the amount of meat… or more!! I also add dried thyme; to taste. (I like a lot) and I double the pepper to 1/2 t (or more).

So there we go.  My version of Steak Soup. Would love to hear what YOU add into your Steak Soup to make it special…

live happy

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the comfort of comfort food

2 / 28 / 13

log cabincomfort foodSo here we are, stuck in the middle of a “real” winter.  You know what I mean.  There is snow and cold and ice and cold and freezing rain and cold.  Oh – and did I mention, cold…?  For me, being the lover of all things SPRING & FALL, I need coping mechanisms to help me…  well…  COPE!  Enter comfort food. LOTS of comfort food.  With every impending storm, the grocery stores swell with high strung, desperate shoppers.  I was literally on my hands and knees getting cans of beef stock from the deep, dark crevasses on the bottom shelf last week… Seriously.  Lucky for me, I buy the “low sodium” beef stock, which is (surprisingly, Ha!) all that was left.   If you are looking for bananas, milk, a rotisserie chicken or fresh bread… forget it.  Don’t even bother venturing out into the craziness.  I do, however, find it quite interesting to see what people “stock up” on when they are in a state of panic… (OK – I know that I am not the ONLY one checking out other people’s baskets!!  I’m just admitting to it!)  So what have I spied in the checkout lane???  Well, let’s see… Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, hotdogs, Hamburger Helper, taco seasoning packets, chips and ice-cream.  Hmmm…

So, having survived trips to every grocery store in a 10 mile radius over the past week or so, I must tell you that I am well stocked, to say the least.  I have been cooking non-stop.  Again… a coping mechanism.  C’mon.  They call it “comfort food” for a reason.  Since it’s still flu season, I had to make more homemade Chicken Noodle Soup for the freezer, just in case.  And then I had to make more homemade chicken STOCK, just in case we all get sick and deplete the current supply of frozen chicken noodle soup!  And then I made Tomato Basil Soup… White Chili… Curry Chicken Chickpea Soup/Stew… Steak Soup… Blueberry Muffins… Chocolate Chip Cookies….  I know.  Crazy, huh? OK – so before you pass judgement on my “ways of coping”, just know that I have an open door policy for meals… If you have a good pair of boots or a 4 wheel drive and have a way to make it to my door – there will be food.  And a fire in the fireplace.  And wine.  Plenty of wine.  And you are ALWAYS welcome to pull up a chair and join us!!  Just understand that there may not be any fresh bread with your soup.  Or Fruity Pebbles, for that matter…

comfort food 1

White Chili

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced (or more, to taste)
  • 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped mild green chilies (or more, to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 (16 ounce) cans great northern beans
  • 6 cups chicken stock/broth
  • 6 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • 3 cups grated monterey jack cheese (optional)

Directions:

  • Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat.
  • Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in garlic, chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne and saute 2 minutes.
  • Add beans and stock and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat and add chicken & (optional) cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls.
  • FOR FREEZING: Pour soup into a rigid container (or freezer bag), label and freeze. To reheat, thaw in refrigerator overnight or simply put frozen soup into a large pot and gently heat, with lid on and stirring often, till heated through.

Curry Chicken Chickpea Bowl   (Feeds about 6)

  • 3 c. cooked rice (I use whole grain)  Great way to use leftover rice!!
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 lb. ground chicken
  • 1 lg. sweet yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • 2 T. curry powder
  • 1 c. plain yogurt
  • 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 14.5 oz. cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:

  • Add olive oil to a medium hot skillet and brown chicken.
  • Add onion & cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
  • Add garlic and curry powder and saute another minute or so.
  • Add yogurt and simmer gently for about 3 minutes.
  • Stir in tomatoes & chickpeas, season, to taste, with salt & pepper and remove from heat.
  • Divide rice & chickpea mixture among bowls & garnish with minced cilantro, if that’s your thing!  (Or just be lazy and mix the rice right in to the chickpea mixture!)

Steak Soup (Plaza III version…!) 

*** See below for my notes…!)

  • 8 T. margarine
  • 1/2 c. flour
  • 40 oz. beef broth
  • 1/4 c. (each) fresh carrots, onions & celery, diced
  • 1/2 c. diced canned tomatoes
  • 1 T. browning sauce (Kitchen Bouquet)
  • 3/4 t. seasoning salt
  • 1/4 t. coarse black pepper
  • 5 oz. mixed frozen vegetables
  • 1/2 lb. ground chuck, chili grind, browned & drained of fat
  • Place the butter in a soup pot & melt without browning.  Add flour and stir to form a smooth paste.  Cook the mixture (roux) over med. heat without browning, for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add broth to the roux and stir until smooth and lightly thickened.  Bring to a full boil.
  • Add the vegetables, tomatoes and seasonings; return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just barely tender (20-30 min).
  • Add the frozen vegetables and the browned ground chuck.  Simmer an additional 15 minutes, or until the flavors become well blended.

*** OK – so Plaza III Steak Soup is a Kansas City tradition, so I included the recipe “as is”, but the real beauty of this recipe is that you can really do whatever you want!  I never, ever use 8 T. of margarine… I use a combo of olive oil and beef broth.  Works just fine.  I also double (or more) the amount of beef.  That’s how “my boys” like it!  And the best part is that you can add whatever you want in the way of veggies! I do whatever combo of fresh & frozen that works that day.  Some of my favs are fresh carrots, celery & onions and frozen peas, edemame & fire roasted corn (Trader Joe’s).  This soup is a great way to use leftover veggies!

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I love mismatched chairs and organized closets; springtime thunderstorms and Sunday morning coffee; pearls and puppy breath; welcome home hugs and walking the beach; fresh flowers and flea markets; autumn leaves and afternoon tea.

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