Quick Bean Soup

I have not been lost, just tired and worn out. But, I have been cooking--just not blogging. And, it's been super cold, and snowy, so I've been leaving for work even earlier, and getting home later. 

But, home-cooking is never far from my mind. I wanted to make bean soup, the way my mom does, but I couldn't find the beans I wanted, so I was going to just substitute dry beans. However, as my week and weekend started to get away from me, and I knew I had to use some leftover ham, I decided to forgo the beans and use canned. But, I didn't have any canned navy bean. So, I decided to use pinto, because I always have those. Lo and behold, I only had one can. So, I used cannellini beans (white kidney beans) in addition to the pinto. Overall, this came out tasting almost the same as my mom's.

Ingredients
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
about 1/3 cup carrots, sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
2 medium red potatoes, cubed
1/2-1 cup white onions
About 8-10 oz cubed ham
pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients into a large pot and simmer for about 1-2 hours, or until veggies are tender. Serve hot with saltine crackers for the best flavor! :)

Verdict: Fantastic! I'm sure nothing will ever beat my mom's soup, but let's face it, I don't have the same amount of time she does to complete her meals. Thus, finding some short cuts help me out a lot!

Beef Soup/Stew

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I used to make this stew over the stove top, but decided to use my slow cooker over the weekend. While I need to cut back on the water to make this more stew-like the next time, I found using the slow cooker was much better!

Ingredients
1-2 lbs stew meat, browned with onion
1 large onion, chopped, browned with meat
Scant 1/4 cup red wine (optional--used to deglaze the pan)
1 lb. carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 large potatoes, diced (I always leave the skins on)
1 c. frozen corn
1 lb. mushrooms, chopped
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water (optional--use if making over the stove top)
1-2 TBSP flour (optional--may need it to thicken the soup to a stew)
pepper to taste

Brown onions in 1-2 teaspoons EVOO. When translucent add beef and cook until browned, then shut off heat and add red wine to deglaze the pan. Set to the side to cool.

Place all veggies in the slow cooker, then add beef broth (and water if you choose) and the cooled beef. Cook on high for 6 or so hours, and low for another 2-3.

If you need to thicken the soup you have two options. You can smash a potato and add it back to the pot, or you can add flour like you would a gravy.

Personally, I like my stews more like soup, but it's all up to you!

VERDICT: This tastes great--like always--but was so much less labor intensive than cooking it over the stove top, because I didn't worry about the burners being on.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Once again, this is a slow cooker recipe that I modified from one I found online. Even though I only drink soy milk (due to an intolerance), I can use cow's milk if it is being cooked. Thus, my recipe was tested with skim milk. Also, I am not a fan of heat, but Jeff is, so feel free to in/decrease the amount of hot sauce used. We used 0tt's, which is a Midwestern product.

1 lb cooked, shredded chicken
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1/2 white onion, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 cups skim milk
4 oz 2% Velveeta
1/2 cup buffalo chicken wing sauce
1/4-1/2 tsp celery seed
Equivalent of 1 clove of garlic (I used a garlic paste that I keep in the freezer)

I put my chicken in the slow cooker first, because it was frozen in the bullion/water (broth) combination from the other day. Once it was defrosted I dumped all of the ingredients in and let it meld together.

Jeff digs this soup, I do not. It's a little too warm for me, but the leftovers were better than the first day. However, I will make this again, because Jeff really does like it.

Salsa Black Bean Soup

I found this on another website and modified it for my own needs, especially based on my food intolerance's. So, here goes a new soup that will be eaten a lot in the M@ngus household! Note: I cooked 2 lbs of chicken in the slow cooker the day before and shredded it. I froze 1/2 of in in chicken broth and put the other half in the fridge for this soup. Also, if I had more time I would probably use dry beans and just cook them up.

1 lb cooked, shredded chicken
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
4-5 cups water
2-3 cups sliced/diced mushrooms
1 c. frozen corn
1 jar thick-and-chunky salsa--mild
1/2 tsp. cumin

Garnish:
sour cream
cheddar cheese

Add the first 8 ingredients to a large saucepan and heat thoroughly. Garnish with the sour cream and cheese.

Can add to slow cooker, but I didn't have time and am too rushed lazy in the morning to put in my slow cooker. So, I made this over the stove and let it simmer for 1-2 hours. I absolutely loved this, which says a lot, because I generally hate salsa. Jeff, as usual, loved it.

Onion Veggie Soup

1 lb ground beef, browned with onion (or add onion powder)

pinch of salt and pepper

1 can chicken broth (or beef broth)

1 can tomato sauce

About 1 C chopped tomatoes

1-2 stalks chopped celery

1 package frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)

1 package dry onion soup mix

Brown beef and onion, add broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes and mixed veggies. Stir in onion soup mix. Boil until desired consistency is met.

Turn off heat and add: 1/4 c fat free sour cream

The dry onion soup was a little too much for me, so I would either use 1/2 a package next time or use more broth to counteract it. Jeff liked this, I tolerated it.

Cabbage Stew

1/2 head green cabbage--torn or cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 diced onion (optional)
cubed ham

Mix together and put into an 9x13 pan (or a crockpot)

In a bowl mix:
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup
about 1/3-1/2 cup milk
cubed Velveeta (about 1/4-1/3 cup)

Pour over the cabbage mixture. If baking, bake at 425 for 1 hour, and stir 1/2 way through. Otherwise, cook on low in a crock pot for at least 4 hours and add a bit more water.

I love this and love how the flavors meld together. Not only does it work for the late summer/fall, but it is perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Taco Soup

We were served something similar to this is elementary school, so that's where I came up with the recipe.

1 lb. hamburger, browned (with onion if you want)
onion (diced)
green pepper (diced)
1 lg. can tomato sauce or canned tomatoes (I like it with tomato chunks)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1-2 cans kidney beans (I like beans, so I add at least 2)

Mix together in crock pot and heat through all day, or hey, make it and let it simmer on the stove for 20 minutes--you may have to add water if you're not going to be around to watch it in the crock pot, though.

When ready to serve add cheese to individual servings and eat with taco chips. May also add sour cream and lettuce to individual servings.

Aron's Famous Campfire Stew

This is called Aron's Famous Campfire Stew because my brother started it on fire during a camp out. I have two brothers (Aron and Evan) and they always make this stew when we are camping.

1 pound hamburger, browned over the campfire
1 large can tomato juice
1 bag of frozen vegetables

3 or 4 raw potatoes, sliced
A few slices of green pepper
A couple slices of tomato

Put in a large kettle over the campfire. Simmer until desired consistency is reached.

Note: This is still a staple when we're camping, however some things have changed. We now add 1-2 beef bullion cubes (or beef broth) to the stew to mellow the tomato flavor. We also add diced tomatoes and onions.