Beef Soup

 
2-3  lb lean boneless chuck roast
4 quarts water

Bring chuck roast and water to a boil. Skim off any foam and discard.

Reduce heat to low add:

4 beef bouillon

2 medium onions, skinned
1 whole tomato
5-6 stalks celery including leaves
1/4 cup dried parsley or 1 cup fresh
and cover pot with a lid.

Simmer on low for 2 hours. 

Remove meat to a plate and strain out the onions, whole tomato and celery, and discard.

Add:

1 lb bag carrots, cut into fourths
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
and return meat to pot
Add 1 quart more boiling water and cook another hour or until meat is tender. Remove meat to a serving platter. Cut meat into serving bite size pieces and return it to the soup. 

Add 4 medium potatoes, cut into quarters and cook 1/2 hour more.

Make homemade gumboli (or use store bought egg farvel) and add to soup.

This soup brings back memories of my father. I think this may have been one of his favorite soups that my mother would make.

Not only did he enjoy the soup, he would have my mom not add the meat back to the soup, but to leave it separate. (He liked his soup with just the broth, carrots and potatoes. The roast  my mom would then use the bite size pieces of meat to make him a hearty sandwich, served on white or rye bread, and spread with mustard (brown not yellow for my dad, yellow for me) to go along with the bowl of soup.

Oh what a wonderful Sunday feast my mom would make of this meal.

Homemade soup is really very simple, it’s just the length of time cooks don’t like to put into their cooking. Everything in this fast world has to be done in under 30 minutes. The flavors of yesterday, start to feed you with just the aroma and your sense of smell over the time frame it takes to simmer. It really isn’t a lot of work to cook it’s the time I think we don’t like to put into it.

 

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Apricot Cold Dough Cookies

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 large egg
2 tbsp. coarse sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour and mix until just incorporated.
Turn dough onto floured work surface, and just bring all the dough together. Form the dough into 2 (1-inch) thick rectangles. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll one of the rectangles into a 9X12 inch rectangle. Spread 1/2 the jam over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into thirds, making  three 9-by-4 inch rectangles. Roll each rectangle into a 9 inch log. Wrap each log in waxed paper and refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes. Repeat this with the remaining dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the logs intp 9 one inch pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 18-22 minutes or until color appears on tops.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Cherry Squares Deluxe

1 box white cake mix
1 1/4 cups oatmeal
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
21 oz. can of cherry pie filling
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 inch pan. In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 6 tablespoons butter and 1 cup oatmeal. Mix until crumbly with electric mixer and then reserve 1 cup of this mixture for topping. To the crumbs left in mixing bowl, add 1 egg; mix until well blended. Press this mixture into prepared pan. Pour cherry pie filling over crust; spread to cover evenly. To the reserved crumbs, in large bowl, add remaining 1/4 cup oatmeal, 2 tablespoons butter, walnuts and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly and then sprinkle over the cherry filling.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool completely. Cut into 2 inch squares to serve.

Who would I say loves this recipe the most??? Well, that would be Hannah. I can see her smiling as she sees this post. Makes me smile too.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Wedded (Wedding) Soup

Why Wedded Soup? Wedded, because it is the marriage of my Mom's basic Chicken Soup recipe and my version of a great Wedding Soup.

Chicken Stock Ingredients:
5 quarts water
8-10 chicken thighs
4 chicken bouillon cubes
2 medium whole onions, skinned
1 whole tomato
5-6 stalks celery
1 pound carrots cleaned and cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup dried parsley or 1 cup fresh
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 package frozen chopped spinach

In large stock pot, put the chicken thighs with skin in the 5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that forms on the top of water, and discard. Turn heat down to medium low and add bouillon, onion, celery and parsley flakes. Simmer on low with a lid on for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken pieces to a casserole and let cool and refrigerate to use for another recipe tomorrow.
Strain out the onions and the celery. Return liquids back to pot and add the carrots, salt, pepper and frozen spinach. Keep on low heat while you make the meatballs.

Meatball Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground pork
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all the above ingredients. With clean, wet hands, form into 1/2 inch, bite-sized balls. Drop into the hot broth. Continue cooking for 30 minutes with lid on. Boil one bag of farvel store-bought noodles (or make your own from my gumboli recipe). (Gumboli.) Add to broth when serving.

This is my version of wedding soup that I developed on my own, using the knowledge given to me from my Mother's basic Chicken Soup recipe. I feel that if you have a great basic recipe (without a lot of fussiness), you can take it and make exquisite dishes out of it with little added bonuses.

A great meal by itself served with bread, or a great way to start a grandiose meal.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Scallop Casserole

12 oz. frozen scallops
3/4 cup "half and half"
1 cup dry seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Paprika (optional)

Remove any shells and wash scallops in cold water.
Drain well and pat dry.
In a greased 8x 8 inch or 12x 7x 2 inch baking dish, arrange the scallops in a single layer.
Pour half of the "half and half" over top of the scallops.
Mix the bread crumbs, melted butter, salt and pepper together well and sprinkle over top of all the scallops. Pour the remaining half of the "half and half" over top of the bread crumb mixture.
Sprinkle top with a little Paprika if desired.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!