Meatball Stew

I prepared this stew a few days ago using potatoes, carrots, and onion from my parents garden.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Slow-Cooked-Meatball-Stew

It was smelling so yummy within 1 hour of putting it in the slow cooker. By the time supper rolled around, I was so ready to eat it. The first time I made this (the recipe is from an old Quick Cooking issue) I followed the recipe and put a note by it -- "yum, try cream of mushroom soup next time". So this time I tried Cream of Mushroom Soup rather than the tomato soup. It was very tasty. So if you prefer a non-tomato based stew, don't be too nervous about making a substitution.

Dinner for a Friend, Part 4

Yesterday was my last meal to finish out the baby gift for my friend. I decided to be brave and experiment with a new recipe that got Bryce's and one sister's vote as something to try. It was not "spicy hot", though I was worried it might be. I'll just say it was interesting. As Bryn said: "It doesn't look too appetizing. . . it has a weird texture. . . but it tastes pretty good." I served this soup with a green salad, butter dips, and another sister's Weight Watchers Key Lime Pie.

Satisfying Lentil Soup

* 4 medium carrots, chopped
* 2 celery ribs, chopped
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
* 2 teaspoons curry powder
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
* 5 cups water
* 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Progresso ® Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth or vegetable broth
* 1 package (16 ounces) dried lentils, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* Dash pepper

In a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil until tender. Add the ginger, curry, garlic, cumin and coriander; cook and stir 1 minute longer.

Add the water, broth and lentils; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-55 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in the cilantro, salt and pepper. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 203 calories, 3 g fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 415 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 15 g fiber, 14 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

Butter Dips
These are a favorite from when I was a little girl. We would beg Mom to make these when we had soup. My kids love them, too.

1/3 cup butter
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk (or buttermilk)

Melt butter in 450 degree oven in 13x9" pan. Remove the pan from oven as soon as butter it melted.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 1 cup milk. Stir slowly with fork until dough just clings together (about 30 strokes).

Turn onto well-floured board. Roll over to coat with flour. Knead lightly about 10 times

Roll out 1/2 inch thick into a rectangle, 12x8". With a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 16 strips. Dip each strip in butter on both sides and lay close together in two rows in pan.

Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 (4 serving size) package sugar-free lime jello
1/4 cup boiling water
2 containers (6 oz each) key lime pie light yogurt
1 (8 oz) container fat-free whipped topping

Dissolve the jello in the boiling water. Whisk in yogurt. Fold in the whipped topping and then fill the pie crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Soup-In-A-Loaf

One of my favorite ways to eat a nice creamy soup is "soup-in-a-loaf". This soup recipe reminds me of Mrs. Powell's Chicken & Wild Rice Soup at the mall. The bread recipe is one that my sister posted on our family food blog. I have other recipes that I use when I'm in a hurry, but I'm sure this one is great because Valerie is an awesome cook. One way to make the servings not quite so big (for myself as well as my children) is to cut the loaf in half and then stand it up on its end and scoop out the middle.


Chicken Wild Rice Soup
I usually use a little more celery and carrots. This last time I used a 12.5 0z. can of chicken for speed. It was great.

5 2/3 cups water
1 package (4.3 oz) long grain and wild rice mix
1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix
1 celery rib, chopped
1 medium carrot chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup cubed cooked chicken

In a large saucepan, combine water, rice with contents of seasoning packet, and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in celery, carrot and onion. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken soup and chicken. Cook 9 minutes longer or until the rice and vegetables are tender. Yield: 5 servings.

White Bread 101
Makes 1 large loaf or 3-4 small loaves

3 cups (12 ¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons (1 ¼ ounces) sugar
2 - 4 tablespoons (1-2 ounces) butter, softened
¼ cup (1 ½ ounces) nonfat dry milk
¼ cup (1 ½ ounces) potato flour OR 1/3 cup (3/4 ounce) potato flakes
1 1/8 cups (9 ounces) lukewarm water

Mix together half the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, dry milk, and potato flakes. Add butter and water. Mix well (for about 2 minutes). Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. You should not need all the flour. At this point, the dough will have barely come together and be extremely rough-looking. You can give the dough a twenty minute rest (called the autolyse) to allow the flour to absorb the liquid fully, making it easier to knead and less likely that you’ll add too much flour during kneading. This step isn’t crucial, and can be skipped if you’re in a hurry. Sprinkle your work surface with flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth and supple. Be careful not to add too much flour during kneading—the more flour you add the heavier and drier your final loaf will be. The dough will become more and more elastic as you develop the gluten, until eventually it should feel soft but springy. Take a break at about the five-minute mark; giving the dough a five-minute rest at this point allows the gluten to relax, making the kneading a lot easier. Put the kneaded dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise, at warm room temperature, until it’s puffy and almost doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and squeeze it gently to deflate it. Remember to treat your dough gently—rough treatment toughens the gluten and makes it harder to shape. Shape the dough into an 8-inch log or divide into smaller pieces if making smaller loaves. I used 8-ounces of dough for most of my small pans. My pans that are slightly smaller only required 6-ounces of dough. Shape each portion of dough into a log (roll out and shape as for a full-size loaf). Transfer the log to a lightly greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with greased plastic wrap and allow the bread to rise till the outer edge has just barely risen over the rim of the pan, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the pan and bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil for the final 10 to 15 minutes if it appears to be browning too quickly (my small loaves only bake about 20 minutes). Remove the bread from the oven, take it out of the pan, and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. After 15 minutes brush it with melted butter if desired; this will give it a soft crust (I don't do this step).

Angie’s Bake Potato Soup

This is so good! We eat it a lot during the winter!

1 lb bacon

1 onion

4 celery stocks, sliced

5-7 potatoes

Cook bacon, add everything else and sauté. Cover with enough water to cover potatoes and boil until soft. Add:

1 pint whipping cream

1 lb velveeta

8 oz Mexican Cheese

Season with Morton Nature’s Seasons Seasoning Blend

Potato Bar Soup

From Becky

6 C water
5 chicken boullion cubes (or chicken stock)
1/2 chopped onion
3 garlic gloves, crushed
8 large potatoes, cubed

Boil until soft, then smash, leaving some chunks. Turn on low and add remaining ingredients listed below. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve. Stir occasionally, making sure soup does not boil. Serves 4-6.

1/2 TBS dill weed
2 TBS parsley
1 TBS chives
1 TBS caraway seed
1 to 1 1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C butter (I use 1-2 TBS)
1 C bacon/ham

St. Louis Bread Company Potato Soup

From Becky

4 C chicken broth
4 C potato chunks
1/4 C minced onion
1/4 tsp red pepper (I prefer 1/8 tsp)
1/4 tsp white pepper (I use 1/8 tsp black pepper)
1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I prefer 1/4 tsp)

After potatoes are simmered and soft, mash to release starch, then add 1 8 oz creme cheese package. When cheese melts, serve. Serves 4-6.

Taco Soup

After trying many different taco soup recipes, this is our FAVORITE!!!

1 ½ lb hamburger (I use only 1 lb and it is still good)
1 onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 can pork & beans
1 can beef broth
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 package taco seasoning
3 TBS parsley (optional)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté hamburger, onion and green pepper in soup kettle until meat is brown.
Drain excess fat. Add pork & beans, broth, water, taco seasoning and 2 types of soup.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour into a large bowl and garnish with cheese and parsley.

Potato Cheese Soup

I like to add ham to this YUM! This soup freezes and re-heats well.

2-3 cups of cubed raw potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
6-8 chicken bouillon cubes
¾ cups flour
¾ cups butter
1 quart half and half
1-3 cups of cheddar cheese

Place all vegetables and bouillon cubes in large pot and cover with water and boil until vegetables are tender.
In separate pot, melt butter and then add flour to form paste.
Then add half and half, stirring constantly till mixture is thickened.
Add white sauce to vegetables.
Salt and pepper and top with grated cheddar cheese to taste.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I give this soup 5 stars I love it!!!

Cook
4 cups cubed potatoes
1 ½ cups carrots
1 cup celery
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups water
6 cubes chicken bouillon
10 oz. chopped frozen broccoli

Then make white sauce in separate pan:
½ cup margarine
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
¾ lb. Velveeta cheese
1 TBSP Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend

Add the two together and stir on med. low until serving.