Vegetable Beef Soup

Imagine it's cold outside, and maybe even raining. What can you prepare for dinner? While chili or beans are good options for a cold winter's day meal, maybe you should give this recipe a try also. This is a soup my dad used to make, and I've taken it and made it my own. I hope you try it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family do.

2 lbs stew meat
1 large can tomato juice
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1-2 12-ounce cans tomato paste
4-5 lbs potatoes, diced
2 cans lima beans
2 cans sweetened corn
2 cans garbanzo beans
salt, season all salt, pepper

First, cut the stew meat into bite size pieces. Some will be in half, others in thirds, and still others may be in fourths. There's no science to it, just cut it up.

Place in a very large stew pot. Add 3-4 Tbsps of season all salt and 2-3 Tbsps of pepper. This seems like a lot, but you will be filling up this entire pot before you're done. Just cover the stew meat with water.

Put on large stove eye on high heat. Once it begins to boil turn down between medium and medium-high. Allow to cook until water reduces and stew meat is cooked through.

Next add the tomato juice, tomato sauce, and one of the tomato paste cans. This will thicken the sauce of the soup, but if you need the second can of paste to thicken more then add it.

Allow to cook for 30 minutes. While it cooks, peel and dice the potatoes. Add carefully to the tomato and meat mixture.

Cook on medium-high heat stirring frequently to prevent the potatoes sticking until the potatoes are fork tender. If stew is boiling too much, then turn heat down to medium. This should take 1-2 hours to get the potatoes cooked. Remember, stir often and be sure to reach the bottom of the pot. Once the potatoes seem to be getting close to done, open and drain the lima beans, corn, and garbanzo beans.

Once the potatoes are tender, add the corn, garbanzo beans, and lima beans. Cook for 30 minutes to an hour until beans are cooked and tender.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in your favorite bowl with a heaping pile of saltine crackers.

Savor and enjoy!

Hungarian Goulash

A big pot of something warm simmering on a cold day lifts my soul and makes everything better. I make some soups and beans, but I didn't have a huge amount of recipes for cold day meals, so when I came across this Slow-Cooker Hungarian Beef Goulash recipe on Pinterest, I knew it was one I needed to try. The final product reminded me of the Hungarian Goulash that I remember from my childhood in Germany. It was rich and thick and aromatic, and warmed the body and the soul. Add a nice warm slice of the Rustic No-Knead Bread that I just blogged and is pictured above and you have an amazing meal!

2 lbs beef stew meat, trimmed and cubed
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 Tbsp sweet or hot paprika (or a mixture of the two)
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups reduced sodium beef broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Dice beef into bite size pieces, and place beef in a 4-quart slow cooker.

Crush caraway seeds with a mortar and pestle (or you can use the bottom of a saucepan or meat tenderizer). Add paprika, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

 

 Sprinkle the beef with the spice mixture and toss to coat well.  

Add onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic to slow cooker. 

Place bay leaves on top. Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 4-1/2 to 5 hours on high or 7 to 7-1/2 hours on low.

Discard the bay leaves. Add the cornstarch mixture to the stew and cook on high, stirring 2 or 3 times, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle fresh diced parsley over goulash before serving.