Country Potato Soup FEATURED FAVORITE

Difficulty: **

Ingredients:
4-5 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1-1/2 cups water
2 chicken boullion cubes (do not substitute)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk, 2% or whole (1% or skim gives the soup a funny texture)
1 cup sour cream (8 oz)
2 Tablespoons flour

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes, celey onion, water, boullion cubes and salt. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender - about 20 minutes. Watch carefully. DO NOT OVERCOOK. They should still be tender, not mushy. Add 1 cup milk into the pan with the potatoes and heat. In medium bowl, mix sour cream, flour, and remaining 1 cup milk. Gradually stir this mixture into soup. Cook over low heat. STIR CONSTANTLY - don't let it burn to the pan. Remove from heat after it thickens.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Tip: After I've cooked over low heat for 30 minutes, I usually put the mixture in a crockpot and let it simmer on low for several hours. Keep checking and stirring. 

Beef Stew (A Family Favorite)

Difficulty: *

In the Crock Pot or Oven:

2 lbs boneless stew meat
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 can tomatoes (16 oz)
3 medium onions, chopped
4-5 medium potatoes, diced
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tablespoons Tapioca
1 cup celery, chopped
5-6 large carrots, chopped

Wash and chop the vegetables. Put everything into the crockpot or a casserole dish. Do not brown the meat. If using the crockpot, let it simmer away on medium to high for 5-8 hours. If using a casserole, bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours or more. As a rule, the longer it cooks the better it is. Stir frequently and add small amounts of water as necessary to keep from drying out.

Tip: I vary the ingredients in this depending on what I have. I've left out the onions, the Tapioca, the celery. I've used beef stock to make it more liquid, and I've used water when I didn't have any. If you have the basic stew meat, sugar, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and salt, you can make this recipe.

Broccoli Cheese or Potato Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

2# block of Velvetta Original  (yes, the big one)
1 cup diced onion 
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional) 
1 package frozen Broccoli Florets (fresh works well, but par- steam prior to adding to soup) OR
5 large potatoes, diced (cook until soft in another pan)
1 teaspoon olive oil 
4 cups – chicken broth 
1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk 
1-2 cups – water (as needed - see note below)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in fry pan. Fry onion for 2 minutes. Add Minced Garlic. Fry both until onion just begins to caramelize. Remove and scrape contents into a stock pot.

2. Add broth and milk (and water, see below). Heat to boiling. Dice cheese into no bigger than 1" blocks square. Add cheese into boiling stock pot stirring frequently. Add spices and reduce heat way down to simmer. Direct heat on the pot will burn cheese to the bottom. Prepare to stir every 2-4 minutes or place a diffuser between the heat source and the pot if using a stove. Moving to a crock pot to finish is also a good way to keep the soup from burning. 

3. Add broccoli or potatoes and allow to cook approximately 45 - 90 minutes on low heat.

4. If thickening is required, use the puree technique.

[Puree Technique:  Remove 2 cups of soup from pot and place in a blender. Blend until smooth and return to pot and mix in. If still not thick enough, use small amount of flour roux.]

[Flour Roux: Start with 1/4 cup of flour and add water, stirring with a whisk until it's smooth and creamy, then add to soup in slow measures. Repeat as necessary.]

Soup will also thicken as it cools. Once cool, if too thick, add milk or water to the mixture.

2016 Note:

This is one of those recipes that the more we make it, the more we tweak it. 
A whole lot of this recipe depends on how you like your creamy soups. If you like it with slightly more liquid, add the 1-2 cups of water.  If you don't, omit that ingredient and use only a bit as needed to keep the soup from getting too thick.  Also note if you use 2 cups of water in addition to the other liquids, it will take longer than the 45 minutes listed in #3 to reduce. Average is about 1.5 hours. Be prepared to follow the thickening technique noted above if necessary.

Tips: 

1. Absolutely don't substitute regular cheese for the Velvetta. It doesn't melt like Velvetta and needs a cream sauce to give this soup the volume and texture it needs.

2. You can substitute potatoes for the broccoli and have a great potato soup too. Chop the potatoes into small pieces and cook in a separate saucepan until soft.  You can also make a combo broccoli potato soup or add celery and diced carrots, too. This is one recipe that's adaptable to however you like your soups. 

3. You can put the soup into a crockpot after the cheese is melted and it can simmer on warm for as long as necessary.

4. This soup also freezes well if you'd like to save portions for lunches or other meals.

Beef Barley Soup

Difficulty: **

There are many recipes out there for Beef-Barley Soup but this one from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook is a family favorite. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs beef chuck or sirloin, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 tablespoons cooking oil
7 cups beef broth
1 16-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
1/2 cup shopped green pepper
1/4 cup snipped parsley

In large skillet or dutch overn, brown meat in cooking oil over low heat, drain well. Stir in broth, undrained tomatoes, onion, salt, basil and Worchestershire sauce. Cover, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in carrots, celery, barley, green pepper, and parsley. Cover and simmer for another 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft, not mushy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Cauliflower Soup

Difficulty **

Ingredients:
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 med onion, chopped
6-8 scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

2 stalks celery
2 med. cauliflower heads (cored and coarsely chopped)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp curry powder (optional)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried savory or marjoram

Saute the first four ingredients in a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook uncovered several minutes, stirring frequently. Add 6 cups of water and 2 Tablspoons white miso (or 1 cup Vegetable Broth, or vegetable bouillon). Bring to a boil. Simmer covered over medium heat for 15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Use blender to puree and make creamy.
reheat if necessary before serving. Sprinkle with fresh ground nutmeg, if desired. Serves 4.

Mix-n-Match Vegetable Soup

Difficulty: ***

Choose 4 or 5:

• 2 cans stewed tomatoes
• 3 green onions
• 4 stalks celery
• 2 cans green beans
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 6 large carrots
• 2 green peppers

Add:

• 1 package Lipton Chicken Noodle Cup of Soup
• 6 cups chicken OR beef broth
• 3 cups water

Season with:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley

Method:

1. After choosing 4-5 vegetables, cut all to bite-sized pieces.
2. Boil vegetables in water and broth for 10 minutes.
3. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes and serve.

Tips:

• Fresh vegetables can be substituted for any canned vegetables.
• If using more than 4 or 5 vegetables, add another 1/2 cup of broth and 1/4 cup of water per vegetable.
• Any noodle you prefer can be substituted for the Lipton Cup of Soup.

Serves 6.