Recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup

We had spring thunderstorms all day yesterday, so it was a perfect day for warm hearty soup.  This thick and flavourful soup has a wonderful tomotoe herb base, with ground beef and vegetables.  What I liked most about it, is that it wasn't too beefy at all.

I modified this recipe to what I had on hand.  The recipe had some big gaps in it where it mentions an ingredient but never says what to do with it.  It was a good base to go from, and the end result was delicious.

Although I loved this soup, the kids didn't really care for it.  I served some to my friend who was visiting that afternoon and she really enjoyed it.  It's so difficult sometimes to find a dish that everyone likes.

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
Printable Copy

1 24oz. can  of diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
dash salt & pepper
Put herbs in food processor with juice from tomatoes and process 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and pulse 4 times. Put in bowl and set aside.

1 lb. ground beef
1 large white onion
3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup tomatoe juice
Blend together in food processor 30 seconds. Place in wide bottomed soup pot and boil 20 minutes until ground beef is fully cooked.  Add tomatoe and herb mixture that was set aside.

3 cups tomatoe juice
3 cups beef broth
1 cup pearl barley
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 small (or 1 large) red potatoe, diced
2 bay leaves
Add to cooked ground beef mixture and simmer on low heat until carrots and potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaves.

I made this around 2:00pm so I'd have it ready for after school.  I transferred it my slow cooker and placed it on low (or keep warm setting).  I froze the leftovers into lunch-sized portions for later.

Enjoy!

My troop flys-up from Brownies to Juniors soon. 

I'm so proud of them!

From Scratch: McCormick's Meatloaf Seasoning

This is a dish that we eat regularily and has been on my list to make-from-scratch for a long time.  I finally just stopped buying the McCormick's Meatloaf Seasoning packs to force myself to make it from scratch.  I can't believe how easy it was.  I simply did an internet search and found the recipe here.

This was exactly what I was looking for.  It tasted exactly like the mix and better.  I didn't tell anyone until they were done their meal that I'd made it from scratch.  I wanted to see if anyone could tell and they loved it.  I was a little nervous as I was messing with our families favourite meal ;o)

I don't think it's more natural or healthful to make it this way, but it's got to be cheaper in the long run.  The next items on my list to go more natural is to convert my spice rack to organic spices only.  I'm going to use up what I have first.  Before that, though, I need to start buying grass fed meat from a local farmer.  Baby steps, baby steps but they lead in the right direction.

MCCORMICK'S MEATLOAF SEASONING MIX
Printable Copy

2 tsp. dried mustard
2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder

Combine dry spices and seal in ziploc or vacuum seal bag (or jar). Measure all into a ziploc bag, seal & shake to combine. Pour into a spice jar or bottle.

MEATLOAF DIRECTIONS
1 package Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix
2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 slices bread, finely crumbled or 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup

Mix Seasoning Mix, ground beef or turkey, eggs, milk and bread crumbs in large bowl (I also add the ketchup in this step). Shape into a loaf. Place loaf in a shallow baking pan or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Spread ketchup over top of loaf.

Bake in preheated 375F oven 1 hour or until cooked through.  Makes 10 servings, approx 3oz each

Happily submitted to the Make It From Scratch Carnival #164.  There's so much inspiration there!

Enjoy!



from the book "The Children's Hour - Best Loved Poems"
1953 Spenser Press

Happy Earth Day!

Recipe: German Meatloaf

This meatloaf was very delicious and moist.  It has saurkraut and caraway seeds which made it taste a little sweet.  This makes a huge 2 lb. meatloaf so you may want to cut the recipe in half.  It was so big we renamed it "Bigfoot Meatloaf".  I had so much leftovers that I froze them and am going to serve them another time with roasted vegtables and homemade spatzle (which is a German egg noodle).

The saurkraut is only drained, not rinsed which adds that vinegar "bite" you'd expect with kraut and it really tastes good in this meatloaf.  I didn't use the rye breadcrumbs and substituted with plain breadcrumbs.  This was difficult to mix with a spoon so (eeew) I had to get my hands in there to mix properly.  The smell of this baking filled the house with wonderful smells.  Everyone was coming in the door saying "mmmm, what's for dinner?".  The kids really liked this meatloaf and cleaned their bowls.  I served it with boiled potatoes and corn on the cob.



This recipe is from "Heartland - The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens" by Marcia Adams.  The book gives famous recipes from each state in the Midwest (i.e. this German Meatloaf was from Ohio).  I've flagged at least a dozen recipes to try like Old Fashioned Pot Roast, Chicken with Peanut & Chipoltle, Sweet Spareribs with Garlic, Cincinnati Chili and lots more.  I adore regional or local group cookbooks as the ingredients are usually what you can find locally and they're tried and true.

GERMAN MEATLOAF
from the book "Heartland - The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens"
by Marcia Adams

2 cups soft unseeded rye bread crumbs (I used plain bread crumbs)

1 16-ounce can sauerkraut, drained (I used a 14oz. can)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon caraway seed/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons catsup or chili sauce (I used chili sauce)
2 pounds lean ground beef

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the meat and mix well. Add the ground beef and mix thoroughly (I had to do this by hand to mix it properly). Pat into a thick, flat loaf approximately 10 inches long and 8 inches wide and place on a rack in a greased or foil-lined 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake for 1 and 1/4 hours, or until nicely browned. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

For a printable version of this recipe go here.

Enjoy!



from the book "The Children's Hour - Science Fiction"
1953 The Spenser Press, Inc.

Recipe: Zucchini Beef Skillet

Thank you to Gina @ Home Joys for this delicious recipe. What a great way to use up small zucchini.

I changed the recipe a bit by adding some Tastefully Simple Green Tea Peppercorn Seasoning, which I purchased at the Wednesday morning Overland Park Farmer's Market a few weeks ago. I served this meal with garlic bread and grated parmasan cheese on top.

It was easy to make and smelled wonderful cooking!