Category Archives: Recipes – Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Cold Weather Vegetable Beef Soup

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Disclaimer: I have already posted a recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup, but because I made it differently this time around, and because I want to be more active with my blog, today I am bring back this especially-good-in-winter soup. The photo of the ingredients in the pics above is correct, but for the recipe in today’s bubbling soup pot, I added more vegetables (corn and lima beans). In my opinion, a good soup recipe is one that is versatile and allows the freedom to add or subtract ingredients according to what the cook has on hand, so here is the recipe, revised, below.

One thing that doesn’t change is that I always make this soup after I have cooked a beef roast and have meat left over. I knew I would be cooking up this particular pot of soup after hosting our annual “Class of ’67 and Friends” party at my house this month. I buy a roast large enough to feed the dozen of us around the table (the roast featured in French Dip Sandwiches on party night) and one I know is also sufficient for a large pot of Vegetable Beef Soup. You can’t go wrong that way as several meals result from one six pound roast. What could be easier?

Today is a perfect day to enjoy this soup here in our corner of southern Missouri. It is sunny and bright outside, but, oh-so-cold. Check your freezer for any leftover roast (or get to the store if you must), and bubble up this delicious rich soup, filled with the vegetables of your choice, and laden with chunks of your leftover roast. Use the saved broth in which the roast cooked if you have it for even more savory spoonfuls; your taste buds will thank you! The featured pic is of today’s recipe variation. Warm Soup, Warm Heart!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients

1 T. vegetable oil
3/4 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak or beef top round steak, cut 1/2” cubes
3 cups V8 100% Vegetable Juice
1-3/4 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup potato, cut into cubes
1/2 cup carrot
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced thick
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup canned or frozen lima beans
Shredded cabbage, to taste

Directions Heat the oil in a 4-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until it is well-browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat. Stir the vegetable juice, broth, Italian seasonings, pepper, potato, carrot, onion, celery, corn and lima beans into the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and meat are tender. If you want a thinner broth, add water as soup cooks. Adjust seasonings to taste.

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Food for Thought, Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Fresh Corn & Potato Chowder

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When October finally rolls around and that old chill appears n the air then I know you’re going to be thinking of chowder just like I was this week!  This recipe, from Southern Living Magazine, luckily popped up perfectly timed for my chowder craving ways recently.   I did tinker with the recipe somewhat, using heavy cream instead of half-n-half and adding pieces of sliced ham for extra flavor. The original Southern Living recipe list below is so easy to adjust for ingredients that you have on hand, or you can try it “as is”.  Either way you won’t be disappointed.

If you are adding ham, cook it with the corn when you first begin.  The potatoes and broth need only 10 minutes of simmering with the reserved corn cobs.; adding them to the broth produces that extra savory flavor which makes this dish so special. Pureeing some of the chowder  in your blender and adding it back to the pot also supplies texture before finishing with cream poured over and stirred in.  It’s a multi-layered fusion of flavor in just one pot.  Delicious!

It will definitely be worth an hour of your time to prepare the vegetables and start right in on this hearty chowder. Don’t make it early or let it sit too long; it is best served up while still warm without reheating.  Heat any leftovers slowly, adding cream, as needed.  Today it was good with the croutons I used but my guess is that a skillet full of cornbread is the best side dish for hungry appetites.   I feel sure that whatever you serve with it, or however you follow the recipe, this chowder will leave you and your friends and family satisfied and smiling!  Added bonus?  A chilly Fall evening will be immediately warmed, and welcomed! =)

Fresh Corn & Potato Chowder

Ingredients

4 T. butter
5 cups fresh corn kernels, reserve 2 cobs
3 fresh thyme springs or 1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 large sweet onion, diced
1-1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 cups chicken both
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
3/4 cup half-n-half
1 cup chopped ham, optional

Directions Melt butter in a 4-qt. sauce pot over medium heat. Add corn kernels, thyme, diced onion and salt. If using chopped ham, add now. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes or until corn is tender but not browned. Stir in broth, potato, and corn cobs. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Discard cobs.

Process 1 cup of corn mixture in a blender until smooth. Return this mixture to stockpot and stir in half-n-half, and remove from heat. Serve while still very warm.

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Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Cabbage Patch Stew

The first hint of cooler weather in the air today was the impetus for trying this recipe for Cabbage Patch Stew.  I found the recipe in Thelma Carlile’s “Mealtimes and Memories” cookbook and adjusted it slightly (I wanted more than 1 cup of cabbage in the pot!).  The temperature dropped even more by suppertime yet I was completely happy enjoying this queen-of-comfort-food dish along with a tray of cornbread muffins.  If you are a fan of cabbage, stewed tomatoes, and mashed potatoes (and who isn’t?) then this is a recipe you will find yourself reaching for repeatedly as temperatures drop.

I did use more than the original amount of cabbage called for and added more stewed tomatoes than listed.  I adjusted the amount of water to allow for the extra vegetables and added a beef bouillon cube for a richer flavor to the broth.  Do prepare your vegetables before you begin browning the ground beef and allow the cabbage, onions, and celery to simmer slowly until softened.  Taste the broth as you go and season accordingly.

Prepare mashed potatoes for topping individual bowls of the stew. I used a packaged mashed potato mix as it made exactly the 2 cups I wanted. The potatoes add contrasting texture and thicken the broth slightly. A side of cornbread muffins is all I needed to complete this simple, yet satisfying meal. This light stew will have you feeling warm and cozy in no time,  reminding you that autumn is on her way.

Cabbage Patch Stew

Ingredients

1 lb. ground chuck, browned
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup celery, sliced thinly
1-(16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained
1-(16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, drained and snipped smaller
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
2 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Directions: In a pan sprayed with cooking spray, brown the meat over medium heat. Add onions, cabbage, and celery; cook until soft. Add water to cover (approximately 3 cups); simmer with lid on, 15 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and seasonings and cook 15-20 minutes more. Serve in bowls topped with spoonfuls of mashed potatoes.  Lightly add pepper to the potatoes and serve warm.

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Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Tomato Florentine Soup

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When cooking and a recipe has “Florentine” in its name there is your clue that spinach is an ingredient.  Being spinach lovers, it was great that  mama and I thought about this soup last night.  Mama felt bad with a cold and hasn’t hae an appetite at all for several days, and our spying this soup looking through the “Missouri to Maui” cookbook last night was a big a-ha! moment for both of us.  The recipe dates from my finding it in  a low-fat cookbook I was using at the dorm 15 years ago.  I fell totally in love with its rich tomato heartiness and made it often for myself then when visiting the “p’s” in Florida on summer breaks from school. Everybody loves this soup: it’s a great dish whatever the season, guaranteed to piqué your appetite.

Not a long prep or much cooking time really with this one; you’ll be sitting down to eat in less than an hour. Many of the ingredients are already in your pantry and if you have a bag of fresh spinach, you won’t even have to get dressed and head to the grocery store (added bonus!). You must have the spinach, however, for the leafy green flavor here and to Florentine the dish. The pasta is a nice surprise in this soup and ensures that there is something for everyone really: tomato soup lovers, pasta people, and spinach fans. If, like me, you love all three things, you definitely have a win-win-win here! I baked Skillet Cornbread to enjoy with this tonight though crackers work too; whatever you choose on the side, the soup results will have you thinking of a good bowl of minestrone minus any beans.

The soup base comes from canned crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, chicken broth, and chopped onion and it hits the right note for allowing  the pasta and the spinach to star here.  Do chop the onions very small; you want them for flavor, not for showing off.  There is no  need to cook this too long; the broth is thin and once the pasta cooks, you can add the spinach, and turn it off. I enjoy this best while it is still hot, the spinach just wilted and tender. A healthy tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan in each serving is the only garnish; don’t skip it!  All pau and the soup’s ON!

Tomato Florentine Soup

Ingredients

1 T. cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1-(1 lb. can) crushed tomatoes
1-(32 oz.) box chicken broth
2 T. tomato paste
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
4 oz. seashell pasta
2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, for garnish

Directions In 4-qt stockpot, add oil and heat then sauté the onion. Add the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, stir well to blend. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, cover, cook medium-low for 8-10 minutes until the pasta is tender. Add spinach leaves and simmer 1-2 minutes or until the pasta is al dente and the spinach wilted. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with the freshly grated Parmesan. Serve immediately, while hot.

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Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

White Chicken Chili

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Lucky for me that I got to the market yesterday afternoon just as the sleet began pelting our little town because this morning we woke to an ice encrusted landscape.  I knew I braved the sleet to get to the store for a good reason yesterday! This dish, adapted from the Blue Owl Restaurant’s recipe is also found in my cookbook. Blue Owl chili will warm you right up; I know because there is rarely  a time when my family is shopping and having lunch at the Blue Owl, in Kimmswick, MO, that one of us doesn’t order this.

White chili is the New England Clam Chowder of chili dishes.  No tomato products and no ground beef, it is all white and green with diced or shredded chicken, canned Great Northern Beans,  and canned chilis.  The broth, flavored with onion and garlic, and spiced with cumin, oregano, and a dash of cayenne pepper, is bursting with rich goodness.  As the  Monterey Jack cheese melts it adds its soft texture to the mix and the result is a creamy spicy bite.  I adjusted amounts of everything today as I used chicken breast tenderloins that yielded less than 2 cups of meat.  I kept the chilis and the cheese the same though as they are the base of the soup’s flavor.

I love this chili with a big pan of Skillet Cornbread for a mealy crisp texture  balanced with the creaminess of the chili.  The cornbread recipe is here on my blog.; don’t forget to get the bacon grease hot and sprinkle some cornmeal in the bottom of your skillet for a crunchy crust on your cornbread.  Serve it up for lunch AND supper, and I’m guessing you’ll only need to call once up the stairs that the chili and cornbread’s on before you’re gathered at your table.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

4 whole chicken breasts, skin on
1 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-(4 oz.) cans chopped mild green chilies
2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3-(16 oz.) cans Great Northern white beans, undrained
6 cups chicken stock or canned broth
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream for garnish if desired

Directions Place chicken breasts in large, heavy stock pot. Add cold water to cover and bring to simmer. Cook until just tender; do not allow meat to become overcooked, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, remove skin, and dice or shred. Set aside. Heat oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, then add chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Reduce heat; sauté, 2 minutes. Add undrained beans and chicken stock or broth, and increase heat and bring to a low boil. Add chicken and cheese to the pot and stir gently once. Remove from heat and leave covered until cheese melt completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into individual bowls and garnish with sour cream if desired.

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