Beef & Mushroom Barley Soup

I've been craving a hearty, beef and mushroom soup for.ever. Finally gathered all the ingredients together and started searching for a recipe. Could not find a single one that sounded like what I wanted to eat. Normally, I would start with someone else's recipe and modify it. This time I couldn't even find a good starting point. So I winged it.

What else was I supposed to do?

Beef & Mushroom Barley Soup

• 1 lb stew meat, cut into bite sized cubes (I prefer SMALL)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 carrots, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 - 16 oz package sliced mushrooms
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup barley

1. Brown stew meat (I used 2 Tbs olive oil) in dutch oven or heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat. When meat is browned, add garlic and onions into the pot. Cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir tomato paste into beef and onion mixture, cook for another three minutes.
3. Add carrots and mushrooms into the pot, stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mushrooms are done. Stir occasionally.
4. Pour in beef broth. Stir well, then add the barley.
5. Cook over medium-low heat for about two hours - until meat and vegetables are tender.

If you like a thicker soup, you can bring the soup to a boil then add about 2 Tbs corn starch mixed with water to thicken. I also added about 3/4 cup of heavy cream to my soup at the end. It was sitting in the fridge and I didn't want it to go to waste - the soup would have been fine without it.

~ Enjoy!

Cheddar and Ale Soup

This recipe found me through a soup group I belong to on Facebook. I had every intention of following the recipe as written, but... There's always a but, right? The sausage was already thawed and I wanted a heartier soup. The potatoes weren't part of the original Ale and Cheddar Soup recipe, but after it was finished cooking I thought it really needed the potatoes for more bulk. So once again, my end product looks NOTHING like what it should have. :)

Yes, that's rosemary.  All out of thyme.  :p

Elizabeth's Ale and Cheddar Soup with Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 ring Polska Kielbasa
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 ~12 ounce bottle ale
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 medium potatoes, cooked, cut into cubes
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the sausage in a pan over medium heat. (I added about 2 Tbs olive oil so it wouldn't burn.)
2. Add the onion and celery, cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the butter and let it melt and get all bubbly then sprinkle on the flour and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the ale and broth, stir well and let cook for 10 minutes.
6. Turn heat down to medium low and a dd the cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and cheese. Cook until the cheese has melted without bringing it back to a boil.
7. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Honestly, I thought it was just okay and would be much better if I would have used bacon. Of course, with bacon, it would have taken a lot longer to make and the small sacrifice in flavor was worth the time I saved frying the bacon. The rest of the family LOVED it and had seconds.

~ Enjoy!

(Almost) Thai-Style Chicken Soup

Thai-Style Chicken Soup
adapted from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution
 
Ingredients

• 1 onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs Garden Gourmet ginger
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 - 14 ounce can of coconut milk
• 2 Tbs Garden Gourmet lemon grass
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine
• 1 lb bonesless, skinless chicken thigh
• 6 ounces sliced white mushrooms
• 1 1/2 Tbs of lime juice
• 1/2 Tbs sugar
• 2 tsp Thai red curry paste

Directions

1. Microwave onions, garlic, ginger and oil in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes and transfer to slow cooker 
2. Stir borth, 1/2 can coconut milk, lemon grass, carrots, 1 tbs fish sauce, and cilantro stems into slow cooker. 
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker 
4. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low. 
5. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces. 
6. Discard lemon grass and cilantro stems 
7. Stir in mushrooms, cover and cook on high until mushrooms are tender (5-15 minutes). Microwave remaining can of coconut milk in bowl until hot, then whisk in remaining tablespoon of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and curry paste to dissolve. 
8. Stir hot coconut mixture and shredded chicken until soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

SO...  in the interest of full disclosure, I forgot to add the second half of the coconut milk (I actually added the whole can from the beginning), the additional fish sauce, the lime juice, sugar, and curry.  When I realized I'd forgotten those things, I stirred two tsp of Thai chili garlic sauce into the soup to give it a kick.

Yes, it was still really good, but I can only imagine how much better it would have been if I would have remembered the rest of the ingredients.  Hopefully, y'all won't make my mistake!

~ Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

My picky eater loves soup.  She especially loves Chuy's Chicken Tortilla soup.  Unfortunately, we don't really like anything else at Chuy's, so she was out of luck until I found this recipe.  It's different from most restaurant tortilla soup and recipes I've seen because doesn't have a thick tomato base.

I adapted this recipe so I could make it with pantry items I already had on hand.  So canned tomatoes and jalapeños for fresh.  This soup is so awesome, my friend Susan blogged about it at Wild Life in the Woods.  She also posted a picture.

Some day I will buy a padlock for my slow-cooker so I can get pictures before my family demolishes the food!

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup
adapted from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution

Ingredients:

• 1 T. olive oil 
• 1 can tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, minced 
• 1 small can chopped jalapeño peppers
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 2 T. minced canned chipotle chile in adobo 
• 1 T. tomato paste 
• 8 c. chicken broth 
• 10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine 
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken thighs 
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, onion, and jalapeño and cook until onion is softened and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotles, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 c. broth, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
Stir remaining 7 c. broth and cilantro stems into slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low. 
Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard cilantro stems.
Stir in shredded chicken, and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Top with crumbled queso fresco cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and lime wedges.


This was a huge hit with the whole family. Even the one who grumbled about soup for dinner at two full bowls! With the toppings, this is a hearty soup that sticks to your ribs.

~ Enjoy!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - DAY #2

Nothing exciting today.

I made broth from the chicken parts (that were hanging out in the freezer just for this purpose), the lone chicken tenderloin, and a pack of chicken thighs. Everything tossed into the slow cooker along with the other half of the onion (leftover from the red sauce and meatballs), onion peels, about 12 cloves of garlic, and a Tbs of sea salt.  Cooked on low, overnight.

Today, I cooked Amish noodles (bought at Kroger) in the broth and added some of the chicken pieces from the above broth making. Totally simple and painless, yet my youngest loves this stuff as much as love chocolate. What an easy way to get brownie points!

Avgolemono ~ Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

This is adapted from Rachael Ray's Lemon and Orzo Soup recipe.  I make no claims to its authenticity given I've adapted it from a non-Greek and I have not a drop of southern European blood running through my veins.  But, MAN is it GOOD!  And easy.  I'm sure the original recipe is tasty, too, but I couldn't bring myself to make a soup without garlic. And vegetables.  So I deviated.

LEMON CHICKEN ORZO SOUP ala Elizabeth
(Irish-American Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup?)

• 8 cups chicken broth (homemade or canned)
• Two 2-inch strips lemon peel
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/8 tsp saffron powder
• 16 oz Orzo pasta

In a large soup pot(6 qt will work here), bring the broth, lemon peels, bay leaves and saffron to a boil. Allow to boil for about five minutes, then remove lemon peels and bay leaves.

• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 12 oz bag Kroger mirepoix style blend vegetables **

Add extra virgin olive oil and garlic to a second large soup pot (8 qt would be best). Turn on burner to medium high. When garlic starts to sizzle add mirepoix vegetable mix and sauté for about five minutes.

Pour broth into soup pot with vegetables and bring to a boil. Stir in the orzo and boil for 5 minutes. Cover, remove the pan from the heat and let the orzo set for 5 minutes.

• Juice of (2) medium lemons
• 4 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
• 2 drops hot sauce
• Salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp Kosher salt)

Whisk together lemon juice, eggs, hot sauce, and salt in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of soup broth to temper the eggs, then slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup. Continue whisking mixture into the soup and cook on low for five minutes.

• 4-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked and chopped

Add cooked, chopped chicken to soup. Continue to cook, covered, on low heat until orzo is fully cooked.

ENJOY!

** mirepoix style blend is a ready-to-use vegetable mixture of onions, carrots, and celery

I have only ever seen this at Kroger and it's their store brand.

Chloe's Famous Virus-Killing Soup

Aren't these vegetables gorgeous?



The gorgeous picture along with the fact that this is the THIRD batch of this soup I've made in the last two weeks inspired me to blog the recipe.  Even when we don't have The Flu, this soup is still wonderfully delish!  Credit for the recipe goes to my e-maginary friend Chloe, a fellow Sonlighter who shared this recipe with us over two years ago.

Chloe's Famous Virus Killing Soup

• One chicken


• Appx 15-30 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed


• 1 Tbs salt


• 3-4 Thyme sprigs


• Cayenne pepper (to taste. I use about a tsp)


• Fresh Rosemary sprigs


• Fresh ground pepper

Place chicken and other ingredients in a soup pot (I use my pressure cooker) and cover with water or chicken broth (I really like those boxes of organic chicken broth). Cook on stove top until chicken starts to fall apart. Remove from heat. Strain out chicken and stuff and set aside until cool enough to chop. Reserve broth for next step.

• 1 large onion (coarsely chopped or sliced)


• 1 fennel bulb (sliced thin)


• 1 leek (sliced thin)


• 4-6 stalks of celery (coarse chopped)


• large red pepper (coarse chopped)


• 1/2 lb. carrots (coarse chopped)

• 2 tbs olive oil


• 1/2 C good White Wine


• salt and pepper

Place oil in bottom of large pot and heat. Add onion, fennel, celery, pepper and leek and saute until onion just transparent. Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cover the vegetables with chicken broth from chicken–add more broth from can or box if you don’t have enough broth from chicken and simmer veggies until just tender.

• Frozen green beans


• Frozen peas


• zucchini


• flat leaf parsely (chopped)


• 1-2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice


• salt and pepper to taste

Add these above ingredients and simmer until everything is tender. Add chopped chicken, salt and pepper to taste.

No virus can withstand this soup.

You can also add cabbage with the end ingredients if you like (We love cabbage!), or any other veggies your family likes.   Go ahead and throw in whatever's in your vegie bin!     The next day add egg noodles and turn it into chicken noodle soup.