SLOW COOKER TACO SOUP

I'm posting this using Bill's sign-in.  

The recipe below is from Anne Golia, my sister-in-law (John's wife) who shared it with me recently and gave me permission to enter it into the family cookbook.  

2 lbs browned hamburger meat

2 cans ranch style beans or pinto beans  (we like Great Northern or Navy beans) just a suggestion

2 cans whole kernel corn

2 cans diced stewed tomatoes

1 can tomatoes with green chiles

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 package taco seasoning

 

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for six to eight hours (or more).

Serve, if desired, with chopped onion, grated sharp cheddar or other cheese AND taco chips.   WE DO ALL OF THIS.

Add a salad and you have a feast. 

This also makes a great offering for potluck suppers with friends and family.

Spicey Potato Parsnip Cabbage Soup with Veggie Sausage

Really I set out to make a spicey potato cabbage soup and learned we had only one white potato . . . oh, well.  Sometimes scarcity is the true parent of enjoyment!

Ingredients:
1 medium white potato, cubed
1 medium parsnip, cubed
4 inner stalks of celery with leaves, sliced across grain
4 medium-large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 head medium cabbage, sliced in strips and longest strips cut in half
2 Morning Star Italian Sausages (soy product)
1 cube low sodium vegetable bouillon
1/2 cup Bill's pasta sauce (from freezer)
1/3 cup Andrea's Thanksgiving mashed potatoes (with rutabaga)
plenty of fresh ground black pepper
few gentle shakes of cayenne
6 chili pequin peppers, crushed
good pinch of Kosher salt
few dried rosemary leaves (about an inch of dried leaves from our garden)
sufficient olive oil for looks and early saute of celery, potato, parsnip, garlic

Voila!   I heated the pan added smidgen of olive oil and piled in the celery potato, parsnip and garlic for a bit of a saute.  Once the sizzle was loud enough to suit me, I added a couple of cups of water followed by all of the other ingredients in turn and brought to a nice gentle boil and simmered for, oh, say 30 minutes or so.  While it continued to gently simmer, I added the sausages cut in half, allowed the water back to a full simmer then put on the lid, counted to 10 and shut the fire off and let it set for about 5-6 minutes before serving.  Andrea had gotten us a nice, dark and crusty artisan wheat bread.  A little butter on the bread, a little parmesan cheese on the bowl of soup and . . . ahhhhhhh . . . Andrea liked it!

Vegetable Soup

I found this on the Real Simple website but I have made some modifications.  They are below in Blue.  ENJOY!!!

Vegetable Soup

 

Ingredients

• ·        2 tablespoon Olive Oil
• ·        1 large yellow onion, chopped
• ·        2 carrots, chopped
• ·        2 celery stalks, chopped
• ·        3 14.5-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth / I use vegetable broth :-) I use 64oz
• ·        1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• ·        1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ·        kosher salt
• ·        1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes /I use a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chillies 
• ·        1/4 pound green beans cut into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)
• ·        1 cup chopped broccoli

I am adding some frozen okra

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until tender but not brown, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the broth, 1 cup water, potatoes, thyme, and ½ teaspoon salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, 15 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, beans, and broccoli. Cook 5 to 10 minutes more or until all the vegetables are tender.

5. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve with toasted baguette slices (if desired). (I Don't Do This)

ENJOY!!!!

Bill's Sauce

I made sauce yesterday. Here's what I had on hand and what I did with it:

102 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed (either by hand or sparingly in blender)
virgin olive oil (to saute onions and mushrooms - add tbsp when adding tomatoes)
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
1/4 piece medium/large bell pepper, chopped
2 8 0z. packages of sliced mushrooms, broken into pieces by hand
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt, added immediately after mushrooms to facilitate juice release
1/3 medium carrot (small end) finely chopped
1 bouillon cube (I used "not-beef" vegan cube made by Edward & Sons)
1 bunch parsley (I use scissors and finely cut the bunch into the pot stems and all)
fresh thyme leaves (I use enough leaves to cover palm of my hand)
fresh oregano leaves (good fistful straight from the herb garden)
fresh ground black pepper (generous tbsp)
crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I usually put only a little and then add more at the table)
1/2 tsp paprika (first time I've used this - not sure why I did - but it works okay)

Saute the chopped onions, bell pepper and chopped carrots gently so as not to brown. Continue cooking onion is translucent but not starting to candy. Add broken mushroom pieces along with kosher salt stirring as needed to allow mushrooms some contact with bottom of pot. Keep heat low (or medium low) to allow mushrooms to slowly release their brothy juices. Once the mushrooms have released a generous amount of juice, add the crushed tomatoes (if using a blender to crush tomatoes, make sure that a good portion of the tomatoes are only lightly blended so that there are actual tomato chunks in the sauce. We do not want a tomato puree at all!

Bring the sauce to a light simmer, turn heat down to maintain simmer (but not boiling). Add bouillon cube, parsley, thyme and oregano (in no particular order). Add freshly ground pepper and a little more olive oil (and, if you insist, additional salt, but you really shouldn't need additional salt). You can also add the crushed red pepper flakes and paprika (if you use them).

Gently simmer about 45 minutes to an hour. The key here is "gently" - please do not boil the sauce.

Now you just need your favorite pasta, a chunk of hard Italian cheese and a cheese grinder.

Enjoy!

Maria's Cooking

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:

2 cup Long Grain Rice

¼ Medium Onion

1 clove of Garlic

1 small can of Tomatoes with Green Chilies

1 Tablespoon of Chicken Bouillon (can Sub Veggie Bouillon)

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of black pepper

½ - small line

2 tablespoons of canola oil

Water to make 4 cups of liquid

Directions:

In the blender add tomatoes, onion, garlic, bouillon, cumin, pepper, and water then blend until it is liquid. Take a medium sauce pan with a tight lid and add the oil. Heat on high and add the rice to sauté stirring constantly. Once the Rice is turning to a darker white add the juice from the half of line and continue to stir. When the rice turns to a light brown color add the liquid and stir. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and cover the rice and let it simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes. Stir occasionally if the rice gets too dry and it is not soft you may need to add water.

First Post

We expect a lot of recipes and a lot of changes as we cook and experiment our way closer to perfection!