Crock Pot Beef Stew

In crock pot, toss:

• 3 lbs stew meat (season with kosher salt and ground pepper)
• 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch

 In a small bowl, whisk:

• 1 can tomato paste
• 4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Pour tomato mixture over stew meat and stir well.

In a large bowl, combine

• 1 lb onions, large dice
• 1 pound yellow potatoes, peeled, big bite dice
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, big bite dice
• 6 cloves minced garlic

Drizzle vegetables with olive oil (generous) and season with kosher salt and pepper.

Pour on top of beef mixture in crock pot.  Add

• 2 bay leaves.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Remove bay leaves and stir well before serving.

Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup

In a large pot over low heat, melt:

• 2 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil

Add:

• 1 onion, small dice
• celery, small dice (to equal the amount of onion)
• pinch kosher salt and ground pepper

Stir well and sauté 10 minutes.

Add:

• 2 cloves minced garlic

Stir well and sauté 1 minute.

Add:

• 1 Tablespoon yellow corn meal

Stir until dissolved and mixture is thickened.

Add:

• 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes (pureed with a stick blender)
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 boxes chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 Tablespoon parsley (fresh cilantro at the end of cooking would be better)
• 2 peppers in adobo sauce

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 25 minutes.

Remove the peppers.

Add:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 bag frozen diced chicken*

Bring back to boil.  Serve with

• Sour cream
• Avocado
• Tortilla strips
• Lime wedges
• Fresh, chopped cilantro

*Shredded rotisserie chicken would be good, or cook 4 raw chicken breasts on the bone during the simmer time (adjust simmer time to make sure chicken is falling off bone and ready to shred).

Bone Broth

In a slow cooker add:

2 lbs beef bones (roasted 30 minutes in 350 degree oven)
2 carrots, large chop
2 celery stalks, large chop (leafy ones are fine)
1 medium onion, quartered
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 quarts water

Let cook for 48 hours, replenishing water if needed.

Last 30 minutes add:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch parsley

Strain through fine mesh strainer.

Mushroom Bisque

1 quart chicken broth
1 pound finely chopped shitake and crimini mushrooms (or variety of your choice)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
6 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 shakes hot sauce

Bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add mushrooms and onions.  Simmer, covered, one hour.

In a separate pan, melt butter.  Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two.  Continue whisking as you as the half-and-half.  Whisk until thickened.

Combine the mushroom broth and roux.  Add salt and hot sauce.  Blend with an immersion blender for a minute or two, not completely blending in all the mushrooms.

Serve immediately.  To make it a Zupas Night, serve with a thick slice of french bread and a chocolate covered strawberry (Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers make it easy).

Oven-Baked Pork Stew

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 Tablespoons fat

3 Tablespoons flour

2 16 ounce can tomatoes, blended

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/2 cup water

4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled, large dice

1 large onion, cut into thin strips

1 green pepper, cut into thin strips

1 12 oz package frozen peas

In a large skillet brown meat, half at a time, in hot fat. Remove meat from skillet, reserving drippings. Stir flour into drippings. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, bouillon granules, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper sauce, and water. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. In a large casserole combine meat, sweet potatoes, onion, and green pepper. Stir in tomato mixture. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven about 1 1/2 hours or till meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. Stir in peas. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Serves 6.

Kristen's College Spicy Bean Soup

1 Tablespoon fat (bacon grease, olive oil, butter, coconut oil)

1/2 onion, small dice

1 carrot, large dice (optional--c'mon Kristen, you eat pickles now--try a carrot!)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can vegetable or chicken broth (or stock or two cups water and two cubes chicken bouillon)

1 can tomato sauce

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce*

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 cup frozen corn

Heat fat in a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the onion and cook five minutes.  Add carrot, cook two more minutes.  Add garlic, cook one more minute.  Add next five ingredients, raise heat until soup comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 30 minutes (you probably want to remove the pepper after 10 though!), stirring occasionally.  Remove pepper and add corn.  Stir and let corn warm through.  Enjoy!

If you are going to double this soup, add variety by making the second can of beans something different like kidney or white beans.

*This will result in a very spicy soup.  For a milder flavor, only keep the pepper in for 10 minutes of cooking time.  Also, you'll have a bunch of peppers leftover.  Freeze them individually (spread out on a plate), then place in a freezer bag to use later.

Potato Cheddar Soup

7-8 medium red potatoes, scrubbed (peel off anything ugly), large dice

3 Tablespoons bacon grease (butter, olive oil, coconut oil if you don't have any)

1 onion, small dice

4 ribs celery, small dice

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Put potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook until tender (about 15 minutes).  While the potatoes are cooking, in a stock pot, saute onion and celery in bacon grease on medium low heat until tender (about 10-15 minutes).  Add butter and let it melt.  Stir in the flour and let it cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the milk, sugar, bouillon, and parsley.  Increase heat to medium.  Either drain the potatoes, or remove from water with a spider, and add to the soup.  Cook until thick and bubbly (about 5-10 minutes).  Stir in cheddar cheese.  Enjoy!

P.S.  If you have some diced ham in the fridge, that makes a good addition.  Pictured you can see some chopped bacon and extra cheddar on top for a beautiful presentation.  :)

Split Pea Soup

2 large onions, chopped

1 cup celery chopped

2 small carrots, chopped (optional)

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

1/4 t marjoram

1 lb. split peas (dump onto a cookie sheet to check for unwanted debris, pour into a fine mesh strainer, rinse)

2 quarts water

1-2 cup diced ham (optional)

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

In a large stock pot, saute onions and celery (and if using, carrot) in olive oil and butter on low heat until translucent (about 10 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Cook at a low simmer with pan lid, stirring occasionally, about two hours, or until peas are soupy.

Beefy Tortellini Soup

This delicious soup makes a TON! Feed the masses, or make it one night during the week, and then heat up the left-overs for an easy Sabbath Day dinner--talk about a satisfying day of rest!

In a large stock pot, cook 15 minutes on medium low:

1 lb hamburger, 85/15 (any leaner and you'll have to add fat to cook the veg)

1 onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 small carrots, 1/4 inch rounds

salt and pepper

Add and cook 1 minute:

3 cloves minced garlic

Add, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes:

3 14.5 oz cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes, blended*

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 boxes beef stock in a box (about 8 cups)

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon sugar

Add and simmer 3 minutes:

20 oz Buitoni cheese tortellini

Add and simmer 3 minutes:

1 can cannellini beans 

10 oz bag spinach (chopped, if you want, or you could use 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed)

Serve with:

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Big ol' slice of bread

*The easiest and cleanest way I've found to do this is to dump the tomatoes into a quart jar (one can at a time) and use a stick blender until smooth.

Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino

This recipe was on Giada at Home, a great source for family friendly food. The episode was called Comfort Food and I'd have to agree this recipe fits that description. Perfect for those days late in May when you wake up and see SNOW on the ground! I really liked this soup and was surprised by how much I enjoyed biting into the bits of artichoke. You feel nourished after eating this soup. Serve this with Bruschetta with Fontina and Greens.


Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 (4-ounce) piece pancetta, diced into 1/4-inch pieces (I didn't have any pancetta, so I used bacon)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (if all you've got is dried basil, it'll still be yummy)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 skinless chicken breasts with rib meat(about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

In a heavy 5 or 6 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on paper towels. Set aside. (If you're using bacon, just chop it up--or, don't and crumble it later--and you will probably have plenty of fat in the pan after that and won't need any olive oil. Oh, and I always cook bacon on low or I end up burning it.) Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. (Here again, I cook these things on low--I just like how the onions turn out better--so it probably takes about 15 minutes.) Stir in the chicken stock, basil, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf. Add the chicken and press down to submerge. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, turning the chicken over and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the artichokes and the cannellini beans and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes. (I don't add the artichokes and canellini beans until I return the meat to the saucepan because really all you're doing is heating those up and canellini beans are already really soft and I don't like them falling apart it the soup.)

Remove the chicken and let cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes until warmed through. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season the spezzatino with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the spezzatino into bowls and garnish with the cooked pancetta. (or in my case, bacon and some of the cheese from the bruschetta)

It's March. It was forecast to be 68 today, snow tomorrow. So, even though we're anxious for asparagus and strawberries, we still need something warm and cozy to nourish us through the storm. This hearty meal does the trick. Obviously this is a really good food storage recipe. You can tell by my dusty lids that most of the cans came from storage! :)

Vegetarian Chipotle Three-Bean Stew

Dave Lieberman, Young & Hungry

Makes 12-15 healthy servings (This makes a ton! After three adults and two kids dined on this recipe, I had three quarts left over! Freeze some for another meal or feed the masses!)

Serve with Corn Bread (Oooo! I'll have to put that recipe up soon!)

¼ c extra-virgin olive oil (extra light)

2 medium onions, diced (You'll notice I used one huge Vidalia onion.)

One 1 lb bag “baby-cut” carrots (I think those are too big for one bite. I could cut them up, but I'd rather just peel some carrots and cut them into big chunks.)

5-6 garlic cloves, pressed (I always have bottled minced garlic in the fridge. I really prefer using that because sometimes the quality of the fresh garlic is not so great.)

One 26 oz can chopped tomatoes (Since the kiddies don't like chunks of tomatoes in their food, I pour the tomatoes into a jar and puree them using a stick blender.)

Two 15 oz cans pinto beans

Two 15 oz cans red beans (kidney)

One 15 oz can pink beans (white)

Two 15 oz cans vegetable broth

One 12 oz can dark beer (ginger ale)

4 canned chipotle chilies packed in adobo sauce, finely chopped almost to a puree, plus 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce (I only use the 2 tablespoons of sauce. Then I remove all the peppers, pour the rest of the sauce in a jar and freeze that for future use.)

1 teaspoon salt

The next ingredients are added near the end of the process!

One 11 oz can sodium-free whole kernel corn (I usually only have regular corn.)

1 small bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped (I usually use dried.)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring until they start to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic, and cook for a few minutes. Strain and rinse the beans. Add them and all the remaining ingredients except the corn and parsley. Add enough water to cover ingredients by an inch or two, about 2 cups. Bring to a boil and then adjust the heat so the liquid is simmering. Simmer for about 1 hour, until the chili has reduced and thickened and the beans are barely covered by liquid. Stir in the corn and parsley, and turn off the heat.

You can make this up to a few days in advance without adding the corn and parsley. Keep it in the fridge and the flavors will really develop, and the chili will taste even more amazing. Just remember that before you put it into the fridge for storage, it needs to come to room temperature—at least a few hours of sitting after it has finished cooking.

Green-Pea Soup with Mint

Green-Pea Soup with Mint

1 onion
3 T butter
2 T olive oil
3 10-oz pkgs frozen peas
4½ c chicken stock or broth
1 c water
1 t salt
¼ t pepper
2 t chopped fresh mint or ¾ t dried mint

Chop onion. Melt butter with oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add peas, stock, water, salt and pepper. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Add mint and puree soup in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary. CAUTION: When blending hot mixtures, always leave an opening at top for air to escape! If possible, let soup cool before blending. When ready to serve, simmer until heated through.

Prep Time: 45 min.
Number of Servings: 8
Per Serving: Cal. 171; Pro. 7g; Fat 9g; Sod. 425mg; Carb. 16g; Chol. 12mg

I really try to make this a day ahead. I also use an immersion blender to puree the soup—one of the best tools out there. Fun Fact: This is what David asked for when someone very nice asked him what dish from home he'd like for Christmas Dinner.