Soups and Stews

Potato Soup

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•  6-7 Medium to Large Potatoes
• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 Medium Carrot
• 1 large onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup milk
• 28 ounces chicken broth
• 2 cups grated Italian cheese

Cook bacon until crispy, drain and set aside two tablespoons of bacon grease.  Dice up onions, carrot and celery.  In a large soup pot, saute vegetables in bacon grease, about 4 minutes.  Peel and dice potatoes, add to sauteed vegetables, along with chicken broth and pepper.  Allow to cook until potatoes are done (about 20 minutes covered on low-medium heat).  While cooking, chop parsley, bacon and garlic in small food processor.  Then with an immersion blender or food processor, blend until relatively smooth.  Add parsley, bacon and garlic and blend about two minutes more.  Add milk and stir.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Serve.

Vegetable Soup with Beef

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. Stew Beef - seared, cut up 1-2 inch pieces
• 4 cups beef stock
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons mushroom or vegetable stock
• 1 pack sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 can cut green beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
• 4 carrots, peeled, cut up
• 3 potatoes, peeled, cut up
• 1 onion, cut up
• 4 celery stalks, cut up
• 1 pack Beef Stew Mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown gravy mix

Posset  (tube of cheesecloth, about six inches long.  Tie a knot in one end, turn inside out.  Include the following and use rubber band to close)

• 2, 3 inch sprigs of rosemary
• 4-6 sprigs of thyme
• 4-6 sprigs (about 20 leaves) of oregano
• 4-6 sprigs of parsley
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorn
• 6 basil leaves

Combine all ingredients and either cook in crock pot (high 5 hours) or over stove (bring to boil, cover then simmer for two hours).  Serve with biscuits and/or salad.

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

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(Yields about 6 bowls of soup – you will need oven safe soup bowls for this)

• 3 lbs sliced onions
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups water
• 8 beef bouillon cubes or () teaspoons of beef bouillon base
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups of croutons 
• 6 slices of provolone cheese

You can start this the night before, finish it in the morning and refrigerate it for up to 3 days until you’re ready to serve it.  Just re-heat it on top of the stove.

Caramelizing the onions:
Put the onions and salt in a crock pot, pour the melted butter over it, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  (I set these to cook overnight and then finish the soup in the morning and refrigerate it until I’m ready to serve it.) 
Finishing the soup:

Dissolve the 8 bouillon cubes/tsp base in a couple of cups of the 6 cups of water required.  Using hot tap water for this helps with dissolving.  Add the 6 cups of bouillon water, pepper and bay leaf to the crock pot, cover and cook 2 more hours on low.  Serve immediately or allow to cool one hour and refrigerate.   

To serve:
Set your oven on broil.  Place the desired number of oven safe soup bowls on a cookie sheet.  Fill the bowls with hot soup to about one inch from the top.  Spread a layer of croutons on top of the soup and then top with a slice of provolone.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven under the broiler and cook until the cheese just starts to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Soup

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   Using my Zojirushi Bread Machine - could not be easier and it taste so good.  

 Get this mouth party started:

• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup chopped onion

Pour 5 tablespoons melted butter into the bucket. Add 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle in 3 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. Spread 1 cup chopped onion (2 small-to-medium onions) evenly over all. 

Press Start. Start your own timer, as well.

When the 15-minute timer goes off, add the following:

• one 28-ounce can tomato purée
• ¼ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• a couple of shakes of black pepper
• 1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste; optional
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 can (a scant 2 cups, 14 to 15 ounces) chicken broth

Reset your timer for 45 minutes.

When the 45-minute timer goes off, heat 1 1/2 cups light cream, half & half, or evaporated milk (one 12-ounce can) over low heat on the stove top, or in the microwave, until it’s just below a simmer.

While the milk is heating, you can purée the soup, if you have a stick blender; insert the blender into the center of the bucket (carefully avoiding the paddles*), and blend until relatively smooth.

Stir in the hot milk, close the lid, and allow the machine to complete its cycle.

From King Arthur Flour site - and simply the best tomato soup you can make.  

* I did not avoid the paddles the first time I made this - took me an hour to clean my Zo.  Next time, I poured into a large bowl, THEN used the blender.  But it doesn't need that much if any blending.