Two kinds of BLT soups - the traditional is great with a salad or sandwich or as a first course to a meal, and the latter is great as a meal all in itself.
Traditional:
3 Strips Bacon, cut into lardons
1 T butter
3 ½ c lettuce of choice, sliced thin
½ c AP flour
6 c chicken, ham or vegetable stock
2 c fresh chopped tomatoes, or small can diced
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne
1 c half and half or cream of choice
Salt and pepper
In heavy soup pot, sauté the bacon until crispy, and then set aside to drain. Add lettuce and butter and cook 2 min. When butter is melted, add flour and stir well to coat lettuce. Let cook 2 min while still stirring so does not burn. Gradually stir in stock, whisking to incorporate. Add cayenne, tomatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and stir occasionally until it thickens. Make sure heat is on low, and stir in cream, blending well. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.
Kicked-Up Version: Basically Veggie Chowder
Same as above but add:
1 stalk celery, minced
½ c corn, frozen
2 med or 1 large potato, peeled and diced
½-1 c red lentils
½ t ham bullion (when using veggie or chicken stock – use chicken bullion if using ham stock)
1 onion, diced
And subbed cabbage for lettuce as it wilts down and cabbage keeps its texture
Add celery, onion and cabbage to sauté before making roux. Add potatoes and lentils with liquids/stocks. Cook until potatoes are just barely tender. I took out about 2 c of the soup and pureed it to give it more creamy texture without all of the cream. Return it to soup pot and add corn, cook 3-5 min more. Stir in cream and fresh herbs (parsley or chives). I served garnished with toasted whole wheat croutons and the bacon pieces.
Note: You could toss in any veggies you have on hand that you’d like to use up with this soup – green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc. It’s really not BLT soup but it’s heartier and is definitely a meal whereas the BLT soup really isn’t.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Crock Pot Beef Vegetable Soup
My husband's favorite! I use canned and frozen homegrown veggies from summer
but fresh and canned ingredients are also excellent.
Ingredients
• 1-2 lbs beef short ribs or boneless chuck roast*
• 3-4 c beef stock
• 1 can diced tomatoes or stewed
• 1 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1 t dried parsley (or 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish)
• 1 T dried Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 t celery salt
• 1 T marjoram
• 1 t dried thyme
• 2 T seasoned salt, plus extra for seasoning as desired
• 1T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic (or 1 large), minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 can sliced green beans or fresh equivalent
• 1 can corn kernels or equivalent
• 1-2 large potato, diced
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves
• ½ -1 c red wine or a soft rose
• (opt) 1 c peas, frozen
• (opt) 1 c barley
Directions
Trim off excess fat from meat. Put all in large slow cooker. Dust meat with flour, shaking off excess. Then you can either brown all sides of the meat in a skillet with a bit of vegetable oil before placing in crock pot and deglaze the pan with wine to pick up any leftover delicious bits and add to meat in slow-cooker. Otherwise, just put meat dusted with flour in the crock pot with all ingredients, saving the stock for last. Put in as much of the stock as you can. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat starts to fall apart. Remove bones, fat, and skim the surface of the soup. (An alternative is to put the entire pot in the fridge overnight, and lift the hardened fat off in the morning. You can save the hardened fat to flavor other dishes if you’d like.) Add more stock if necessarily while cooking. Test for re-seasoning before serving and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
*The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.
but fresh and canned ingredients are also excellent.
Ingredients
• 1-2 lbs beef short ribs or boneless chuck roast*
• 3-4 c beef stock
• 1 can diced tomatoes or stewed
• 1 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1 t dried parsley (or 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish)
• 1 T dried Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 t celery salt
• 1 T marjoram
• 1 t dried thyme
• 2 T seasoned salt, plus extra for seasoning as desired
• 1T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic (or 1 large), minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 can sliced green beans or fresh equivalent
• 1 can corn kernels or equivalent
• 1-2 large potato, diced
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves
• ½ -1 c red wine or a soft rose
• (opt) 1 c peas, frozen
• (opt) 1 c barley
Directions
Trim off excess fat from meat. Put all in large slow cooker. Dust meat with flour, shaking off excess. Then you can either brown all sides of the meat in a skillet with a bit of vegetable oil before placing in crock pot and deglaze the pan with wine to pick up any leftover delicious bits and add to meat in slow-cooker. Otherwise, just put meat dusted with flour in the crock pot with all ingredients, saving the stock for last. Put in as much of the stock as you can. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat starts to fall apart. Remove bones, fat, and skim the surface of the soup. (An alternative is to put the entire pot in the fridge overnight, and lift the hardened fat off in the morning. You can save the hardened fat to flavor other dishes if you’d like.) Add more stock if necessarily while cooking. Test for re-seasoning before serving and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
*The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Spaghetti Squash
I learned yesterday that you can cook squash in slow cookers. Who knew? I was aware of microwaving, boiling, and oven-cooking, but these methods do not improve or infuse additional flavor into the squash itself during the processes.
Ingredients:
I took some spaghetti squash I had grown over the summer(they store really well), chopped it into four pieces and gutted the seeds. The seeds can be put aside on paper towels to dry and replant next spring.
Place squash rind-down on the bottom of the slow cooker, and cover with spaghetti sauce*, allowing to simmer on low for 6-8 hours.
Since simmering that long can make sauce smokey, I added fresh chopped tomatoes about half way through.
When done, just pull out the pieces of squash. They will easily scrape clean with a fork, the flavorful flesh falling off in delicious shreds.
Put squash back into the crock pot to cook for a little bit more time.
At this point, I added some regular spaghetti for texture, allowing to cook for approximately 10-15 more minutes.
Verdict: Excellent! Great for lower carb needs. Just the little bit of spaghetti pasta added helped the texture while the squash absorbed the flavor of the sauce. I am going to try this again as I have two more spaghetti squashes, except with a buttery garlic mushroom sauce.
*The sauce I used was made two months prior from ingredients in my garden(veggies and herbs) and jarred fresh with the addition of mushrooms and bratwurst from the store. I do recommend pork or sausage of some kind with with recipe if you are not vegetarian.
Random Tip: If you have any baby jars or small jars that you can sterilize, you can use them in many ways. Buy garlic when it's on sale in bulk or in season from local farmers. Place in a small roasting dish(like corningware) and add salt, a dash of pepper and olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees F for an hour or so, until it gets mellow and yummy. Spoon into clean jar and store in the fridge. I use this a lot instead of fresh garlic when I can't saute it, like with crock pots or in sauces. It's also good heated up and smeared on bread for garlic bread.
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti sauce of your choice, 2 pts
- 1 medium to large spaghetti squash, scrubbed clean
- 2-4 Fresh roma tomatoes, diced
- Additional pasta of choice, optional
- Slow Cooker
I took some spaghetti squash I had grown over the summer(they store really well), chopped it into four pieces and gutted the seeds. The seeds can be put aside on paper towels to dry and replant next spring.
Place squash rind-down on the bottom of the slow cooker, and cover with spaghetti sauce*, allowing to simmer on low for 6-8 hours.
Since simmering that long can make sauce smokey, I added fresh chopped tomatoes about half way through.
When done, just pull out the pieces of squash. They will easily scrape clean with a fork, the flavorful flesh falling off in delicious shreds.
Put squash back into the crock pot to cook for a little bit more time.
At this point, I added some regular spaghetti for texture, allowing to cook for approximately 10-15 more minutes.
Verdict: Excellent! Great for lower carb needs. Just the little bit of spaghetti pasta added helped the texture while the squash absorbed the flavor of the sauce. I am going to try this again as I have two more spaghetti squashes, except with a buttery garlic mushroom sauce.
*The sauce I used was made two months prior from ingredients in my garden(veggies and herbs) and jarred fresh with the addition of mushrooms and bratwurst from the store. I do recommend pork or sausage of some kind with with recipe if you are not vegetarian.
Random Tip: If you have any baby jars or small jars that you can sterilize, you can use them in many ways. Buy garlic when it's on sale in bulk or in season from local farmers. Place in a small roasting dish(like corningware) and add salt, a dash of pepper and olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees F for an hour or so, until it gets mellow and yummy. Spoon into clean jar and store in the fridge. I use this a lot instead of fresh garlic when I can't saute it, like with crock pots or in sauces. It's also good heated up and smeared on bread for garlic bread.
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