SOUPS, STEWS AND CHILI, PART 2

If you don't have a crock p0t, now would be a great time to invest in one. They are easy to use and you can get them with the lift out container which is easier to clean and you can get everything ready the night before an just stick it in the fridge until you are ready to leave for the day and come home to the aroma of beef or chicken stew or soup. The supermarkets are full of bags of vegetables that will fit your needs or you can use canned veggies (my choice) and packages of the kitchen wonder drug MTB broth. Yes, something better that bullion cubes has come along but I still prefer to use my chicken stock when I can but the beef is out of this world. I get three packets for around a buck and it's worth every penny because I also use it in my Bloody Mary mix, voted the best in Washington, D.C. three years in a row.

In your crock pot, put two packages of the beef broth in the bottom of the pot, throw in a package of stew beef (or if steak or beef roast is on sale buy it and cut it into stew beef size pieces) and toss it in the pot. Open 2 cans of potatoes; 1 of whole kernel corn; 2 cans of green beans; and one of carrots and pour them into the pot. If you have a cup of coffee left over from breakfast add that and then throw in a sliced onion and maybe a piece of celery chopped and you are done. Yes, you do add the water from the veggies until you are about an inch from the top. Turn the crock pot on low before you leave the house (leave yourself a note on the front door). You can also make sandwiches if you want but the soup with some "dipping bread and butter" might be enough. For stew, leave out the corn and to thicken the soup into stew, you can fuss with flour or corn starch or do what Auntie Stella does and add some instant mashed potatoes when you get home. (Who knew!!! HE, HE I did) The bags of frozen veggies work great too but let them thaw in the fridge over night before putting them in the crock pot. You and your families can come home and dinner is all but done and the whole house smells great.

Next we're on to chili,
Stella

SOUPS, STEWS AND CHILI

Now is the perfect time for this category when my friends outside of Florida (and it's cold here too) as they are freezing their butts off. Some of you are probably like me and after a dinner you take the left over veggies to the kitchen and put them in bowls and put in the fridge until they are unidentifiable before throwing out (or) eating them so that you don't waste food. Well, I have a new idea for you that isn't actually new, just forgotten. Save those veggies in a large container that will fit in your freezer and just keep adding them until you are ready to make soup. It can be thawed in the fridge overnight or just throw them into a pot or crock pot and you have a soup base. When I cut a fresh onion I always cut off both ends and throw them in the bowl as well to help season the soup. Do you buy fresh celery? Cut off the leaves and slice the celery at the base and clean it up and chop it into smaller pieces and freeze that as well for seasoning. These are simple things that you can do to make a great pot of soup.

When I make chicken soup of any kind, I buy the large package of chicken thighs when they are on sale and cook the whole batch at once. Chicken thighs are not only cheap but they only have one bone and it's large enough that I can even find it without my glasses. I spice it up with onion, celery (seed or real); caraway seed (yep, the stuff that makes rye bread); dill weed while it's boiling. Once it's done you can just pull the thighs out, remove the bone and the skin (throw the skin back into the pot to boost your chicken stock) and just shred the thigh meat or dice it if you prefer. For those of you who keep telling me that you don't have time or can't cook, you can just put the thighs in the fridge or in the freezer until you are ready to make your soup. Homemade chicken and noodle soup, chicken and rice soup or chicken and vegetable. Beware though, when your family tastes these home made treats they will want more.

Many people say that I cheat when cooking but I prefer to think of it as cooking smarter and taking easier routes. Dry beans are much cheaper than canned and are actually very easy to do, trust me. I recently made a pot of split pea soup, a large pot actually and there were only 3 of us eating it and it was gone in one night. I soaked 2 packages of dry split peas (88 cents a bag) over night with 2-3 inches of water above the peas. Next morning I drained and rinsed them twice and put the same amount of water over them again. Threw in a slab of ham (you don't have to buy the whole ham but you can get a lot of meals out of one) diced into pieces about the size of dimes or pennies, and just boiled the hell out of them for about 1/2 hour. Removed from the heat and scooped out the peas that were still a little hard and threw them into the blender and hit the puree button and then returned them to the pot. Poured in a can of diced potatoes drained and a can of diced carrots drained of course and brought the mixture back to a boil. Slowly added a pint of half and half and it was done and ready to serve. Served with heat and serve rolls and butter.

I think that's about all I can get on one blog so I'll continue in minutes with part 2.
Stella