Monday, January 24, 2011

Steak and Potato Soup

I made some steak and potato soup for lunch today and hubby thought it was great. So did I, and I was thrilled. LOL  No exact proportions to the ingredients, I just toss. lol  I didn't make a whole lot, enough for four servings. I used left over steak and cut off the fatty stuff (cringing, don't like fat) and cut the pieces of steak into small pieces. I also used pork broth I had in the freezer from when I had made a pork roast. I save the broths when I cook meat. I read an article in a magazine about keeping the broth when you cook veggies, too, and think I will do that, too. After cooking the meat I pour the juice into a plastic bowl, put a lid on it and stick it in the fridge. The fat rises to the top and I take that off, rinse it in cold water, and put it into a plastic bag and stick it in the freezer. Beef fat, tallow, can be used to make candles. They are soft so I put them into containers to stay in there. Pork fat, lard, for pies and biscuits.

Have you bought lard in the stores lately? It has hydrogenated oil in it! I was going to buy lard to get away from the hydrogenated junk and low and behold, there it was in the can of lard! That's why I have REAL lard in my freezer in a bag.

Steak and Potato Soup

  • Cubed left over steak left 
  • Pork broth to fill pan 3/4 full
  • Chopped onion
  • Chopped red pepper
  • White potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cubed (I used three med sized potatoes)
  • Seasonings: salt, pepper, basil, sage, oregano, thyme, celery salt, garlic, rosemary
Throw it all into the pan and cook it till the potatoes are tender. 

We didn't have any leftover soup today. YAYAYAAYAYAAYA  LOL

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New Year Soup!

Only because it's the first soup I made in the new year and had to give it a name so hubby would think I got it from a cook book. :::: eyeroll :::: It DID turn out good, even if I didn't get it from a cook book. I won't give exact amounts for the ingredients because I don't know the exact amounts for the ingredients. I don't actually measure, I toss in stuff. Besides, we all know you're gonna change the ingredients anyway. LOL

New Year Soup

  • pork broth (I used the broth I saved from roast pork)
  • cooked pork, chopped (I used the left over pork from the roast)
  • green beans, frozen or fresh
  • smoked sausage slices (Johnsonville or other brand works fine)
  • onions chopped
  • sweet corn, frozen or fresh
  • collard greens, frozen or fresh, chopped into small pieces and don't need a lot of this
  • cabbage, cut bite sized 
  • red pepper chunks
  • green pepper chunks
  • tomato sauce (I used the small can because I didn't make the normal size big pan of soup)
  • salt and pepper
  • sage, basil, oregano, rosemary, celery salt, garlic, touch of lavender blossoms, parsley
Toss it all into a pan and cook it up. You may need to add extra water as it cooks. Let it cook for a few hours to blend it. Put it away and heat it up the next day for the BEST flavor, of course, but if you can't wait, go for eating the day you cook it. LOL