by jphilo | Oct 21, 2020 | Recipes
Winter is not all bad. That was my mantra a couple days ago when a surprise storm dumped 9 inches of snow on our town in a few hours. It was very pretty coming down (good news) and half of it had melted by evening (even better news). If all snowstorms were like that, I’d be a big fan.
Winter is my least favorite season. My reasons begin with cold and dark and snow. They end with 25 years teaching elementary school, during which I spent 4-5 months of every year supervising kids who at least 6 times a day were either putting on or taking off hats, scarves, mittens, snow pants, coats, and boots.
However, winter is not all bad. Kind of like fictional characters, who need to be a mixture of good and bad, like real people. For instance, the protagonist of See Jane Run! has good characteristics such as caring for kids and seeking justice by catching the bad guy. And the bad guy, who shall remain nameless, is bad. But not all bad. He reinvented himself after a bad break. And he’s a good listener.
But what, you may be wondering, is good about winter? The answer is soup. By my way of thinking, soup season begins with the first snow, so this year’s soup season will be longer than usual. To celebrate this goodness, here are links to my favorite soup and stew recipes. Except for Mom’s Chili, they entered my recipe bank after we moved to Iowa.
- Mom’s Chili
- French Stew
- Minestrone
- Crock Pot Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Thai Soup
- Turkey Tortilla Soup
Do you have a favorite soup or stew recipe? Please share it in the comments below and leave a link to the recipe if you can.
Sign up to receive website updates and See Jane Run! book news on Gravel Road’s home page right under the picture of–you guessed it–the gravel road.
by jphilo | Jun 10, 2015 | Church Newsletter Columns, Recipes
June isn’t usually considered soup weather. But I’d been wanting to try this recipe for Red Thai Soup with Ginger Meatballs ever since a friend posed it on Facebook. The ingredient list included fresh parsley, basil, and cilantro, all of which are ready for harvesting in my herb garden. So we had soup one night, and it was good.
The meatball prep took some time, but the soup went together quickly. Since the recipe makes enough meatballs for 4 batches of soup, several bags of frozen meatballs are ready for quick soup suppers when the weather turns cool again. Both the Man of Steel and I found the soup delicious and filling.
Red Thai Soup with Ginger Meatballs
Ginger Meatball Ingredients:
1 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 cups baby bella mushrooms, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoonground black pepper
Heat oven to 425 F. Mix all the ingredients by hand in a large bowl. Form into 1-inch balls. (Makes 35–40) Place at least an inch apart on broiler pan. prepared cookie sheets. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Divide into 3–4 quart freezer bags and freeze.
RED THAI MEATBALL SOUP
2-4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cups Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1-2 cups stir-fry vegetables•
4 cups chicken or turkey broth
9-12 juicy meatballs
2 tablespoons red Thai curry paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 can coconut cream
Chopped cilantro or basil leaves
Sauté onions, potatoes and mushrooms in coconut oil over medium heat until onion becomes translucent. Add stir-fry vegetables* and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, meatballs, curry paste, salt and white pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add coconut cream, cook on medium-low until hot enough to serve. Stir in cilantro or basil right before serving.
*I used sweet red pepper and broccoli. The broccoli was a bit overpowering.
by jphilo | Jan 21, 2015 | Recipes
Confession time…I’ve been doing a lousy job of remembering to photograph meals for the past 2 months. Blame it on Camp Dorothy frivolity in December. Blame it on the holidays. Blame it on being distracted by house guests. But wherever the blame may fall, recent food photographs leave something to be desired.
Like the above photo of Hearty Hamburger Stew. The picture is of a double batch. But you can see how much the Man of Steel, with a little help from me, managed to tuck away a good portion of it. This stew was hit and very, very easy to make. The original recipe comes from Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. The original cook book is out of print, but a revised version came out in 2007.
Hearty Hamburger Stew
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (2 1/2 cups browned)
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
2 cups peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 16-ounce can cut green beans, drained
1 16-ounce can cut corn. drained
3 stalks sliced celery
1 46-ounce can tomato juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed (I omitted this)
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown grown beef or turkey (I used a half pound of each) in a large dutch oven. Add onion, green pepper, and celery. Saute until tender.
Mix in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and freeze. Can be frozen and thawed for later.
by jphilo | Oct 7, 2014 | Recipes
With soup weather here and me on the road, this top ten list contains links to nine favorite soup and stew recipes along the gravel road. The number one spot is waiting for your family’s favorite in the comment box.
10. Crock Pot Bean Soup: This recipe is easy, inexpensive, healthy, and tasty. What more could you want?
9. Cream of Broccoli Soup: This soup tastes equally good with almond milk for those of you who have dairy allergies.
8. Mom’s Chili Soup: The Man of Steel’s not a big bean fan, so this one doesn’t get made at our house very often. Too bad, ’cause it’s very easy and tasty, too.
7. Cheeseburger Chowder: Hiram and I recently tested a non-dairy version of this family favorite recipe using almond milk and non-dairy cheese shreds. It was surprisingly good.
6. Midwest-Style, Shanghai-Style Noodle Soup: The flavors in this soup are wonderful, though rounding up the ingredients isn’t easy in Iowa!
5. Minestrone: This recipe is our new family favorite. Even the Man of Steel, not a bean fan, likes this one because it doesn’t have too many beans. I like it because it tastes great and is super easy to make.
4. Turkey Tortilla Soup: This one’s not further up because there’s a division in the Philo ranks concerning it. I love this soup, but the Man of Steel does not. Believe me, its delish!
3. Thai Coconut Chicken Soup: This one doesn’t taste dairy-free, but it is!
2. French Stew: This was my daughter’s favorite when she was growing up.
1. ???
Now it’s up to you to fill in the number one spot by leaving a comment and a link if possible in the comment box.
by jphilo | Jul 31, 2013 | Recipes
New recipes pop up in the most unexpected places. This one comes from Book Pages, a monthly book review publication our local library distributes for free. One of the cookbooks reviewed in the June 2013 Book Pages was Bacon Nation. The recipe was included in the review and caught my eye for two reasons:
- I’m an Iowa girl who loves her bacon.
- The recipe uses vegetables included in our CSA share.
So I tore out the recipe and kept it handy until the veggies were ripe and gave it a go. The soup was delicious. Even the Man of Steel liked it. So much that he took the leftovers to work, something he rarely does with soup. With that ringing endorsement, here’s the latest recipe to receive the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
Summer Vegetable and Bacon Soup
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I added a little ham broth to the mix)
1 medium-sized baking potato, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook bacon in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5–8 minutes, stirring often. Use slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper toweling. Leave bacon fat in the pan.
Place the pan over medium heat, add onion and cook about 4–5 minutes, until the onion has softened and is lightly browned.
Stir in the carrots and half the garlic. Cook about 1 minute. Add the chicken/vegetable stock and 2 cups of water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Then let the stock mixture simmer, uncovered, until the carrots soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the potato, zucchini, half the chopped tomatoes and half the bacon. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Then let soup simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Skim off fat or foam if needed.
While the soup cooks, place remaining garlic, tomatoes, basil and olive oil in a blender or small food processor. Process until smooth. Set aside.
When the soup is done, remove it from heat and swirl the tomato–basil mixture into the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with remaining pieces of bacon.
