SAVORY CORN CHOWDER

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

4 or 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups water

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14.75 ounce) can cream style corn

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup 2% or regular milk

3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Optional)

 

Cook bacon in skillet on top of the stove until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towel.  Fry onion and garlic in about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease left in skillet.  Drain. In a pot on top of the stove cover potatoes with the 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes until soft.  Add onion, garlic, milk, corn, salt and pepper and continue cooking on simmer about 20 minutes longer stirring several times. Crumble bacon into soup. Stir to mix. Add cheese.  Makes 8 to 10 servings. Enjoy!

 

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

2 pounds stew beef
1 medium to large sized onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 potatoes, washed and diced
1 quart green beans, drained
1 cup red wine, optional
1 large can (49.5 oz) beef broth
salt and pepper
thyme


How to:


Heat your pot with some oil on med-high heat. I used lard. Once it's nice and hot, add your stew beef. Brown it on all sides, by stirring occasionally. Next, add your onion and garlic and just a bit of salt and pepper. If you add the salt and pepper in stages, the soup will have a richer flavor because one ingredient won't taste flat.  


Once the onion starts to become translucent, add the wine if you're using it. If not, use 1 cup of your broth. Although the wine is optional, I feel it really adds a depth to the flavor that you won't get otherwise. Turn your heat down to medium and let cook for about 5 minutes while you prepare your other vegetables. As they're cleaned and chopped, add the celery, carrots and potatoes in that order. Add the rest of your broth, cover and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender.  


Once your veggies are done, add the green beans. Taste the broth and add bit more salt and pepper and some thyme. I didn't measure the thyme, but I would start with a couple of teaspoons for this amount of soup. Let the soup simmer for about another half hour to marry the flavors. Just before serving, taste the broth and adjust the seasonings again, if necessary.


Notes:


It's better to add seasonings a bit at a time. You can always add more, but can't take it out if you add too much.  


This is a huge batch of soup. I feel it's better to make more and then have extra to freeze for lunches or another dinner because it's no extra work. If that's not your bag, cut the recipe in half.


If you don't have a garden and can your own beans, use two cans of store bought beans instead.


Sometimes I add corn to this. You could also add parsnips, green pepper, mushrooms or any other veggie you love. Also, you could add rice, barley or noodles to the broth at the time you add your green beans.


If you make steak, roasts or ribs - save those bones and make your own beef stock. Not only will it save you $$, it doesn't get any more nutritious than homemade bone broth. We just bought a grass-fed cow and I have a freezer full of bones that I will be using to make lots of broth with with the next week or so. Unfortunately, I didn't have it ready for this pot of soup.

Southwest Stew

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb boneless pork cut up into cubes
1 large onion diced
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 cup beef broth
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans

Brown your pork cubes in olive oil along with the garlic and onion. Put this in your crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.  Serve this with tortilla chips and garnish the stew with a dollop of sour cream.

 You can  sub beef or chicken for the pork

SOUTHERN-STYLE CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Ingredients

• 9 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup parsley, chopped and divided
• 4 celery sticks, largely chopped
• 4 celery stick leaves, chopped
• 5 carrots, largely chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 7 red potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 dash teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
• 1/8 teaspoon sage
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1 10 3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
• 8 ounces baby bella whole mushrooms, halved
• 1 cup buttermilk biscuit mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly salt and pepper celery and carrots on cookie sheet and toss to evenly coat with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, then toss the veggies to turn them, then return them to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Remove veggies from cookie sheet and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. As flour starts to thicken, whisk in sage, thyme, garlic and cayenne pepper to taste. (This helps to cook off the raw flour taste and to release the flavors of the seasonings in the soup from the beginning.) Slowly whisk in chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, and allow to thicken before adding the next cup. After adding about 4 cups or so you can add the rest of the chicken stock at once.

Cut potatoes and onions into medium sized chunks and set aside until the next step. I like big chunks so my soup is hearty, but if you make them too large you’ll get all potato in one bite and they get too hot to eat if they’re too big.

Stir in celery leaves and chopped parsley reserving 2 tablespoons of parsley for dumplings. Bring to a vigorous simmer over medium heat. While waiting for the soup to get to a simmer, generously salt and pepper chicken on both sides and place on cookie sheet previously used for vegetables. On one side of chicken, sprinkle 1/8 t sage and 1/8 t of thyme. Bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Once the chicken is in the oven, and your pot is simmering, whisk in cream of mushroom soup until smooth. Add potatoes to the pot and simmer for about 7 minutes before adding the onions and mushrooms. Continue to simmer for an additional 7 minutes until potatoes are fork tender and onions are softened.

Shred or cut chicken into bite-sized chunks and add to soup.

1. ***Tip*** To get the most of the flavors remaining on cookie sheet, pour about a cup of the soup liquid onto cookie sheet, scrape bits off of the bottom, and pour soup back into pot. Reduce heat to med/ low and add carrots and celery. Mix biscuit dough according to package instructions, stirring in reserved parsley. Add heaping spoonfuls into soup, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, gently turning them over halfway through. Grab the biggest bowl and spoon you own and gobble it up like there’s no tomorrow!

Taco Soup

12-18 servings
2 lbs fresh lean ground beef
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 (1 1/4 ounce) taco seasoning, packet
1 (1 ounce) Hidden Valley Ranch dip, packet
2 (11 ounce) cans corn, undrained
4 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, untrained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
grated monterey jack cheese, and or cheddar cheese

Brown the meat with the onions in an 8-qrt stockpot.
When cooked all the way through, add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Eat now if you are not freezing it. Top with grated cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc.
If freezing, let cool completely and pour into freezer bags. First mark the bags with "Taco Soup, Reheat to Serve" and the date.
I ususally let the bag partially thaw, enough to get it out of the bag and then heat over low until warmed through.

Cream of Mushroom Soup Base

1 carton (8 oz? the squarer version, not a larger rectangular one) mushrooms. Any will work, though in general the white button style are what goes on sale and are easiest to find
3 T butter
2 heaping T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t thyme
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
2-3 cups milk
salt to taste
Start by chopping your mushrooms to the size you prefer. We like ours somewhere between a dice and chunky. While you are chopping melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the mushrooms, thyme and black pepper.

Saute until the mushrooms have changed to a darker brown and softened.
Once this happens, you will build a roux around the mushrooms, like if you were making a creamy breakfast gravy. Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute (otherwise you'll have a floury taste to the soup base. Yuck.)


Dump in your milk- I honestly eyeball this as I know with what pan I use how much I need. I err on the side of too much and let it cook back down to a creamy consistency, like that of a thick gravy, if it was too much. Stir the milk in and stir from time to time until your base reaches a nice creamy consistency.

Taste and add salt to taste-usually at least 1/4-1/2 t.Let cool and put in labeled containers in the freezer. Its easiest to lay flat on a baking sheet to freeze so you can stack them easier 

We use ours for soup (add milk and more seasoning to taste and thickness), added to casseroles in place of canned condensed soup (comes out to about one can per batch of this recipe) or added to creamy, roux based gravies like what we use on chicken fried steak