Beef & Veggie Soup

One more recipe for 2007 :o). Since the weather has been so cold here, I made this beef and veggie soup before Christmas Eve service. It was warm and ready to go when we got home. This is a very fast recipe...only about 25 minute from start to table.


1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
1 C. diced carrots
1 C. diced potatoes
4 C. water
4 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Beef base (or more to taste)
1-14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 C. green beans sliced
1 C. corn
4 C. cooked barley or pasta (about 2 C. uncooked of either)


Choose barley or pasta.

If barley, start boiling the water and rinse the pearled barley thoroughly. When the water boils add the barley and test often as pearled barley cooks fast. You want the barley to have a "pop" when you bite into it so it does not get soggy in the soup. Rinse the barley in cold water and set aside.

If pasta, boil water, add pasta and cook until it still has a bit of a crunch to it. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

As the barley or pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef and season with pepper if desired (no salt as the bouillon is salty enough). Drain and set aside.

As the beef is browning, dice the carrots, potatoes and green beans. I love keeping the skins on the potatoes for a wonderful looking soup :o), but you may prefer to peel the carrots and potatoes.

In a large pot heat the oil and saute the carrots and potatoes until they start to get soft. If you cook them fully they will be mush in your soup.

Add the water, beef base and diced tomatoes (with the juice). Stir until well mixed.

Add the ground beef.

Add the green beans and corn.

Stir thoroughly and taste. Add more beef base if needed.

Add the barley or pasta.

Cover, reduce the heat to simmer and serve when ready.

Just a note...taste again right before serving as the barley and pasta will reduce the flavor of the beef base as they soak in the broth, so you may have to add a bit more beef base for just the right flavor.

I threw this recipe together one night as I was desperate to get dinner on the table. The best recipes come out of necessity :o). We love eating this with wheat rolls and a green salad. YUM!

Enjoy and stay warm out there.

C.

Potato Leek Soup

Seeing that the weather is getting rather chilly, I thought I would post a very fast, easy, low cost and yummy soup that only has a few ingredients. Potato leek soup has the potential to be spicy if the leeks are strong, so if you have children and spicy leeks...use more potatoes and less leeks :o).

3 Tbsp. butter or oil
3 large leeks (or 5 smaller ones)
2 1/2 or 3 cups potatoes of your choice
4 cups veggie broth
salt to taste
nutmeg all to taste
cayenne pepper (optional)


Wash the leeks out thoroughly, by trimming off the ends and slicing the leek lengthwise only half way through. This will allow you to rinse the layers of the leek without it falling apart. Once you have all the leeks clean, slice them into 1/4 inch "disks."

In a large pot, saute the leeks in the butter or oil until limp. This is a lot of leeks, don't worry they will cook down. While to leeks are cooking, wash and chop the potatoes into smallish cubes; if you want a soup that does not have brown "flecks" in it, peel the potatoes before chopping. After the leeks are limp, add the potatoes and vegetable broth. Increase the heat and cook until the potatoes can be mashed against the side of the pot with a little bit of effort.

Let it cool for a little bit, and then puree it in the blender until smooth. I prefer to have a few chunks of potatoes still intact for texture. The volume of soup will take several blenders full, so either have a big bowl ready or another pot in which to pour the pureed soup into.

Once the soup is pureed, turn the heat to low and add salt and nutmeg to taste. If you add too much nutmeg your soup will turn bitter...so add slowly. If you and your family like to spice things up add cayenne to give it a bit more "zip."

This soup is wonderful with rolls to dip in the soup along with a salad or a sandwich on the side. From start to finish this soup takes me about 25 minutes to prepare, and while the soup is simmering I finish the side items for a complete meal.

This will make about 6-8 adult servings.

Enjoy and stay warm out there :o)

C.

Banana Muffins

This recipe also comes out of UPRISINGS baking book, but this is the revised 1990 edition. It is still the same in content, meaning whole foods in origin and no refined sugars or processed food ingredients. Some of the bakeries in this edition are different with new recipes and some are duplicated from the previous edition. I love owning both editions of UPRISINGS well worth the investment.


2 1/2 ripe bananas
1 egg
2 Tbsp. honey
1/3 cup oil (I prefer coconut)
1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
handful or more walnuts broken into small pieces (optional)

Mash the bananas. Add beaten egg, honey, oil, and vanilla and mix well.

In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves.

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the liquids. Stir just enough to combine everything. If you stir too much the will not rise.

Spoon into oiled muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

My modifications include:

1. changing the original recipe from 1/4 tsp. nutmeg to 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp cloves.
   
2. adding walnuts...yum!
   

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Here is a recipe taken from one of my all time favorite baking books: UPRISINGS (1986 edition). Unfortunately it is no longer in print, but I have found several copies on ebay and Amazon used book sales. This baking book is a co-operative effort from many whole food bakeries across America who shared their recipes. There are no refined sugars or processed food ingredients in this book, only wholesome baked treats to enjoy :o).


3/4 cup safflower (or coconut) oil
3/4 cup honey
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp lemon rind
3 tsp. vanilla

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/8 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or defrosted

Blend wet ingredients together with a whisk or beat well with a wooden spoon.

Mix together the flour, coconut and baking powder. Blend into wet ingredients. Lightly stir in the blueberries.

The batter will be thick (like cookie dough)-this makes a delicious muffin. You can add milk or water, however, if you desire a runnier batter.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 18 muffins.

If you are using coconut oil make sure your berries are defrosted because the coconut oil will solidify when the berries cool the batter down. This will result in a very dense muffin (speaking from experience here).


I hope you enjoy these gems as much as we do :o) , C.