Beef Vegetable Soup

Submitted By Katie Griffin

So I did a bit of tweaking on this recipe because it sounded so good but I didn't have all the right ingredients. The original recipe is in black and my "tweaking" is in red. If I didn't make any red notes next to the ingredients then I used the original ingredients. This turned out so yummy and yielded plenty of left overs.

Beef Vegetable Soup

1/2 T vegetable oil
3/4 lb beef chuck cut into 3/4" chunks
(I drained 2 cans of canned beef that I had in food storage, omitting the vegetable oil and fresh beef chuck)
1/2 medium onion chopped (I didn't have fresh onion so I used about a teaspoon of dried onion flakes)
2 cans (14.5 oz each) beef broth
1/2 can (28-35 oz) plum tomatoes in juice (I used a jar of tomatoes I canned last summer, if I were to do it again, I would strain a little bit of the juice before dumping it in)
1 c water
1/2 bay leaf
1/8 t dried thyme
1/8 t pepper
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 lb red potatoes, peeled and diced (I used russets as I didn't have red potatoes on hand)
1 1/2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 package (10 oz) frozen peas (I drained a can of peas as I didn't have frozen on hand, though I would have preferred the frozen)
1/2 package (10 oz) frozen corn (I didn't have any corn so I did without but I will most definitely be adding it next time)

Brown beef in oil in large pot. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and juice, water, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes.
Add carrots, potatoes, and celery; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add peas and corn and cook 15 minutes.

In a large pot place beef, onion flakes, broth, tomatoes and juice, water, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper; bring to a boil. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery; cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add canned peas and let boil for about 5 minutes. Enjoy with some fresh french bread :)

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Submitted by Katie Griffin

Honey Garlic Pork Chops
1/4 c Honey
3T Soy Sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 pork chops

Mix together honey, soy sauce, and garlic with a wire whisk. Pour most of it over the chops and let sit for about 10 minutes (about 5 on each side). I save a little bit of the sauce so I can pour it over the chops while we BBQ them.

Honestly I've made this marinade so many times I just "Rachel Ray" it (no measuring). If I remember correctly though, 1/4 c of honey seemed a bit too sweet but that's the great thing about marinades, you can make it your own.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Submitted by Katie Griffin

I don't know if any of you have been to Zupa's but I LOVE LOVE LOVE their cauliflower soup. We had some cauliflower that was within days of going bad so I did some searching and tried out a recipe that I think comes "kind of" close. They probably use real Wisconsin cheese but I just used sharp cheddar.

2 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a white onion because I felt the flavor of a yellow onion would be too strong)
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
2 c milk
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 t dijon mustard
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1) In a 4 quart saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and cook until golden (about 10 minutes) stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes stirring frequently.

2) Gradually stir in chicken broth, milk, and 1 1/2 c water (add the broth first so you don't scald the milk on the hot saucepan); add cauliflower and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 10 minutes).

3) In a blender, blend the cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.

(it's smart to do this in small batches so you can remove the center cover of your blender to let some steam escape)

4) Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat until steamy hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard (with a whisk!) and 1 1/2 c cheese until melted and smooth. (if you add the cheese while the saucepan is still over heat it can make the cheese stringy) Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

When I make this again I think I will substitute some of the cheddar cheese with pepperjack cheese to give it some "kick". We ate it with some french bread and it was so so yummy!

Honey Game Hens

 

Submitted by Katie Griffin

but I must give credit where credit is due. This is Miss Paula Dean's Recipe and it's nothing short of fabulous!

Ingredients

• 6 Cornish game hens (about 3/4 to 1 pound each)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (1-inch) piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, minced

Directions

Rinse hens, trim off excess fat, and pat dry; place in bowl. Put garlic and ginger in food processor and process until nearly smooth. In another bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, oil, orange juice, and zest. Add the garlic and ginger. Pour mixture over game hens, coating well. Refrigerate overnight, turning in marinade several times.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place game hens in shallow roasting pan; pour marinade on top. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes. Remove hens to serving platter. Pour cooking juices into small, heavy saucepan and boil for 4 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Pour over hens just before serving. Serve with sesame noodles or rice pilaf. These hens can also be grilled; just remember to baste often.