Cozy Beef-Vegetable Soup

The past few weeks I have been taking a little break from posting on here. Frankly, I was feeling a little uninspired—not sure what I wanted to cook and share with you. I am a recovering perfectionist and sometimes when I feel like an idea or a recipe is not good enough (or creative enough!) I talk myself out of sharing it. This is ironic considering that I created this little corner of the internet as my creative outlet—and as a means of self-care, which means there is no place for self-judgment or the too loud critic. It also means that I need to allow it to be a true creative outlet and that means taking my perfectionistic foot off the performance gas. There is room at the table for success and failure—both are important in life and in cooking. So today, I share a recipe that is close to my heart and is tried and true, with no right or wrong way to make it. You can add or omit what you like and make it your own!

This is my grandmother’s beef-vegetable soup. She is beauty, she is grace. She is a one-pot wonder, with hearty meat, and plenty of colorful vegetables. Truly, I think this soup counted for 85% of my vegetable intake growing up. It is cozy comfort, especially on these gray January days.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 4 stalks of celery and leaves, diced

• 2 1/2 cups chopped cabbage

• 1 cup chopped carrots (dealer’s choice on size: my grandmother liked to add whole baby carrots!)

• 1 package frozen corn (I like corn so I do a 10 oz bag)

• 1 package frozen green beans, 10 oz

• 1, 28 oz can whole tomatoes

• 2 potatoes, chopped

• 32 oz beef broth

• 4 cups of water (or just save the beef broth container and fill it up with water!)

• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add your preferred cooking oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add meat and brown. I like to add a pinch of salt to aid in browning and build layers of flavor.

2. Once browned, add in onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add a sprinkle of salt to help the water pull out of the veggies.

3. In a medium bowl, pour in whole tomatoes and crush by hand to your preferred size, or can crush with your cooking utensil once in pot.

4. Add in tomatoes to the pot and cook until tomatoes are simmering. I like for the acid of the tomatoes to tenderize the meat a bit further so I let it go close to 15 minutes.

5. Add in green beans, potatoes, cabbage, and corn and combine.

6. Pour in beef broth and water, scrape any bits off the bottom of the pot. If you need more water, add in until everything is covered.

7. Partially cover the pot with the lid and bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally.

8. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, with the lid partially covering for 45 minutes to an hour. The longer this soup cooks, the better!

9. Taste for salt and pepper, add, cook for a few minutes more for flavors to combine and serve!

Hearty & Herb-y Chicken Noodle Soup

I asked earlier this week if I was the only weirdo that craves soup in the summer heat. I am so glad to know that I am going to see some friends at the soup asylum with me! Last Sunday, I got the hankering for some chicken noodle soup and it served as my lunch for the better part of the week! Such an easy way to clean out some vegetables and have something on hand that is hearty and healthy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter, olive oil, or avocado oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 4 large carrots, chopped

• 4 stalks celery, chopped (Don’t be afraid to dice those celery leaves and add them too—so much flavor!)

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or microplaned into the pot

• 2 bay leaves

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together

• 1 pound of chicken breasts

• 8 cups of warm water (temperature is important because you don’t bring down the temperature of the pot too much)

• 5 cups of chicken stock or broth

• 8 oz of your choice of dried pasta

• 1 tbsp of poultry seasoning

  • Every poultry seasoning’s composition is different. Mine has sage, onion, white pepper, parsley, ginger, and cumin in it (Morton & Bassett).

• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 tsp of celery seed

• Water or more stock, as needed

• Half a lemon

Method:

Remember: In soups and sauces you are building flavor in steps, so it is important to check for salt and seasoning at every step!

1. In large pot on medium heat, coat the bottom of the pot with your choice of butter/oil. Add the onions and cook until starting to become translucent but not browning.

2. Add in garlic and heat until you smell the garlic. Add in carrots and celery. Add a pinch of kosher salt (1/2 of a tsp) to help pull out the water in the vegetables. Cook, stirring every few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften—6 to 8 minutes.

3. Stir in the poultry seasoning, celery seed, a pinch of salt and pepper, and bay leaves.

4. Pour in the chicken stock, water, thyme bundle, and bring to a boil.

5. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

6. Add chicken breasts into the soup and make sure they are covered with liquid. Reduce soup to a simmer then partially cover the pot with lid and cook, stirring a few times until the chicken breasts are cooked through; about 10-15 minutes or until they register 165 on a thermometer.

7. Take chicken out and dice into bite size pieces. If the liquid seems low, add a little more stock or water. When you add more liquid, you’re diluting your initial seasonings, so check for them! Turn the heat to medium-low.

8. Stir the pasta into the soup cook until tender. Add diced chicken back into pot.

9. Taste the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and pepper, as needed. Fish out the thyme bundle and bay leaves, and squeeze half a lemon into the pot and stir.

10. Serve up in a big bowl and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Soup

It seems that the color orange is my favorite food group during the month of October. From pumpkin spiced everything to sweet potatoes, it feels like my plate wants all in on the fall flavors and colors. One of my favorite things that falls into the orange food group is this brightly-colored soup. When I was in college at Baylor, one of my favorite places to take a break from campus was a small community just north of Waco, called Homestead Heritage.

It belongs an agrarian-based, Christian community that makes all of their own clothes, furniture, grow their own food, even has their own blacksmiths and kiln. In fact, if you have ever been to Rise No. One in Dallas, if you turn their pottery over, you will see that their pieces are stamped Homestead Heritage. One of the coolest parts of the community (besides the most gorgeous, handmade coffee tables with turquoise inlays!) was the restaurant onsite, and often had a 30+ minute wait on the weekends. Don’t worry you can peruse the stores across the way and walk the property while you wait for your table. Everything in the restaurant is homemade in the kitchen, and more often than not, grown on and supplied from the farm on site. While everything on the menu delicious, homemade, and fresh, their sweet potato soup is out of this world! Literally liquid gold. When my husband, then boyfriend, would fly down to visit me he would often request a visit to the Homestead so that he could order this soup. Once we got married, I knew it was a recipe I needed in my arsenal, so this is my interpretation of the Homestead’s glorious, liquid gold, Sweet Potato Soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 3 large cloves of garlic, smashed

• 5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

• 2 tbsp of butter

• 1 tbsp of oil

• 2 quarts of chicken broth

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• 3/4 cup of heavy cream (optional)

• 2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

• 2 tbsp ground cumin

• 2 tsp chili powder

• 6 slices of bacon (this recipe used Pederson’s), chopped

• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped

• A dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt

• 2 tsp turmeric (optional)

Method:

Serves 6 for dinner, 8-10 as an appetizer

1. Set the oven to 415 degrees and place 6 slices of bacon on a baking sheet. Cook bacon for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.

2. In a large pot, melt the butter or spray pot with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot (about 1 tbs of oil) I used avocado oil.

3. Once oil/butter is heated, add smashed garlic and cook until fragrant. Add onions and cook until translucent, adding a pinch of salt to draw out their water. Cook about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Stir, cover, and bring to a boil.

5. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender.

6. When potatoes are done, blend with an immersion blender until smooth consistency is reached. (Hence why you can be lazy and not mince the garlic!)

7. Add in salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and, if so desired, cream and turmeric. Simmer for 15-20 minutes more. Taste, add more seasoning, salt, and pepper, if needed.

8. Chop bacon and cilantro for garnishing.

9. Serve immediately, topping with bacon, cilantro and sour cream/yogurt.

10. Enjoy!