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Showing posts with label winter meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter meals. Show all posts

Saturday, March 3, 2012

All Day Vegetable Beef Soup

Homemade vegetable soup is a bowl full of love and caring.  It is a bowl of "good for you."  It is also a bowl of easy to make.  Both children came home yesterday to spend the weekend celebrating a family birthday.  The day dawned gray and drippy as so many winter days this year.  It was the perfect day for All Day Vegetable Beef Soup.  



I always start this soup sometime mid morning and just let it simmer all day on the stove.  After a while, I may turn it off and let it set for an hour and then turn it back on.  The beauty of this soup is that you can't really overcook it.  It just keeps getting better as the flavors meld and it cooks down.  It is also fabulous reheated.

So yesterday morning I pulled down my old pressure cooker pot, which is very heavy and prevents any possible scorching.  Then I got to work.  The most time-consuming part of the process for me is trimming and cutting up the chuck roast.  I always buy a roast instead of pre-cut soup or stew beef.  I like to know what I'm getting, and I believe the quality of the meat is better with a whole roast.  I am also kind of obsessive about trimming as much fat as possible from the meat.



Once the meat and onions are browned and all the ingredients are in the pot, the soup virtually minds itself.  Just check back now and then to stir and/or adjust the lid.  I leave the lid partially askew to allow steam to escape and to prevent the soup from boiling.  The key is to simmer the soup over a long time, which makes the meat melt-in-your-mouth tender.  And being from the South, I don't mind my vegetables soft.

Turns out, the All Day soup was an especially good choice yesterday.  The daughter got caught in a snowstorm and there was a wreck on the interstate.  The road was closed and she was stuck for some two hours waiting for the accident to be cleared.  No problem, the soup didn't mind waiting, and neither did we.


All Day Vegetable Beef Soup

3-3 1/2 pound chuck roast
1 medium-large onion, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 carrots, sliced
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, cored and rough chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
2 cups frozen green beans
2 cups frozen lima beans
3 cups frozen corn
1 large russet potato, diced (about 2 cups)
9 cups water
2-3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme

Trim fat from chuck roast and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.  Heat skillet over medium high heat, add meat and onions.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Brown meat and onions, stirring frequently.  Transfer browned meat/onion mixture to large, heavy stockpot using a slotted spoon to allow fat to drain.

Add tomatoes, carrots, frozen vegetables and potato to pot.  Add water and stir to combine.   Stir in herbs.  Cover with lid set slightly askew and cook over low heat about six hours or more.  Stir occasionally.  Add more water if needed.


Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Chicken in Every Pot (Pie)

So I guess Herbert Hoover never really promised a chicken in every pot; at least that's what the Herbert Hoover Library says, but wherever the phrase originated, it hits home with me.  We have had an unusually warm winter so far in northern Illinois -- temperatures in the high 40s and even low 50s.  What?  In January?  Our snow-thrower has been gathering dust in the garage.  Last night, however, was predicted to be the beginning of a real Midwestern winter.  We expected to wake up to at least a couple of inches of snow.  Well, still no snow, but I used that weather forecast as an excuse to warm up and fatten up last night with chicken pot pie.

I make my pot pie using an Ina Garten recipe as the starting point.  But where she adds pearl onions, I add potatoes.  I also add thyme and use less salt and butter.  If you'd like her original recipe, you can find it at the Food Network site.

The filling is ready!
This pot pie is the real-deal comfort food -- warm, creamy, rich, and tasty.  Be warned, though, it is not for a quick dinner.  I started a little late last night (maybe 5:30), and we didn't eat until around 8:30.  I also missed half of the Chicago Bulls game because I was in the kitchen.  Even so, it is always worth the trouble for this delectable pot pie.


Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Ina Garten, 2005

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
5 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion (about 1 onion)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen peas

For the pastry:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup cold butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

                                                                                                                                                               
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then dice into bite-sized pieces.

Put carrots and potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until partially cooked.

Make the pastry.  Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.   Add shortening and butter and mix with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour and the pieces of fat are no larger than peas.  Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, adding only enough to make the dough hold together.  Place dough on lightly floured board and knead a few times into a ball.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock with the thyme.  In a large pot, melt the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Saute onions over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.  (This will be very thick.)  Add the hot chicken stock to the flour mixtures and whisk until all the flour is incorporated.  Simmer over low-medium heat, stirring, until the mixture is very thick (about the consistency of potato soup).  (If your sauce is not thickening sufficiently, you can whisk in a tablespoon or so of Wondra flour.  Be sure to use Wondra to avoid clumping.)  Add freshly ground pepper to taste and the heavy cream.  Stir well.  Add chicken, carrots, potatoes, and peas.  Heat over very low heat while you roll out the pastry.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out dough into a rectangle to fit over a 9x13 pan.  Spray pan lightly with vegetable spray (like Pam). 

Spoon filling into pan and place dough on top.  Fold under the edges of the dough for a slightly crimped edge, or press down to allow it to hang over the sides.  Brush dough with egg wash.  Cut three slits in the crust.

Place pan on baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.  Allow to stand 5-10 minutes before serving.


If you let it set a while before serving, it is less runny.  I can never wait!
Printable recipe