BEEF TOMATO-BARLEY SOUP

"It has finally stopped snowing", she said quietly as she knocked on wood. We actually saw the sun today and they are calling for more sun tomorrow; it has been quite a winter!! My poor old crock pot has hardly hit the shelf this winter; it seems like there is always some bean or soup recipe bubbling away in there.

Today's post is one of picky-picky husbands crockpot favorites. It is very rich, very beefy, very filling and it just keeps getting better and better the longer it cooks.


I was a young bride when I tried to make  home made beef soup the first time and it was terrible (I think it called for a ton of bay leaves). I remember cooking it all day and wanting it to taste as good as it looked, but we just couldn't eat it.

I didn't give up though, I tried all kinds of magazine recipes; some had a ton of herbs; some had onion soup mix; some had Italian salad dressing mix in it; I tried them all, with little success. I decided to go back to a no frill vegetable soup recipe.  I tweaked it for years until it evolved into the recipe I'm posting today. Picky-picky husband is crazy about this soup and loves to dip hot buttered bread rolls into it.

2 pounds beef chuck roast
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
2 cups carrot chopped
4 large potatoes cubed
2/3 cup pearl barley (don’t leave out)(2) 32 ounce boxes beef broth
(1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
(2) heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules

Cut the beef into 1” cubes, removing as much fat as possible. Brown beef in a minimal amount of vegetable oil until beef is nice and crusty brown (this is where the majority of your soup flavor will come from, so don't skip this step).
.
Remove beef from fry pan and drain off as much fat as you can; add onion, celery and carrots. Using the moisture from the veggies, de-glaze any crusty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. If the brown bits are stubborn, add a table spoon of water and use your spatula to scrape up the fond . Cook until onions are transparent.
.
Put the beef and sauteed vegetables in the crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients, stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
.
NOTE: Do not leave out barley. It not only gives a wonderful flavor to the soup, but it thickens the broth.

NOTE: Put any vegetables you like in the soup, just make sure they are vegetables that can stand up to long cooking times.

NOTE: Taste the soup for salt when it is almost done cooking.

CROCKPOT CHICKEN CHILI

This is a new recipe for us and I must tell you it was delightful. It is one of those rare recipes that is not only good for you, but it's very tasty, very hearty and it rings all the familiar bells of comfort food.

This recipe is also a breeze to make because you put most of the ingredients in the crockpot the night BEFORE you want to serve it (no need to pre-soak the beans) and then in the morning, you just add the chicken and carrots and let it cook all day!! It will make your house smell fantastic!!

1½ cups DRY Great Northern white beans (rinsed)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped onion (sauteed)
4 ounce can mild green chile's
2 cups grated carrots
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt  (see note below)
½ teaspoon black pepper
6 cups chicken stock (see note below)
1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese shredded

Wash and sort the dry beans (do not pre-soak) and put them in the crockpot. Add the stock, sauteed onion, seasonings and chile's. Cook on LOW setting overnight (or about 8 hours).

In the morning, remove about a cup of the beans and mash them thoroughly. (I put them in the blender)  Return the mashed beans to the crockpot; this will thicken up the broth in the chili.

Cut the raw chicken into large pieces and add it to the crockpot along with the shredded carrots.  Cook this on high for 6 to 8 hours. If your crockpot runs very hot (as some of them do) cook it on low instead.

About 30 minutes before you want to serve the chicken chili, add the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and stir.

I hope you like this hearty "good for you" chili as much as we did.

NOTE: If you use salt free chicken broth, go ahead and put the teaspoon of salt into the chili. Taste it again after it is finished cooking (and you've added the cheese) to see if it still needs more salt.   If you use chicken broth made from bullion, I wouldn't add any salt to the recipe, as the bullion broth is already quite salty.

NOTE: I hope you don't leave out the grated carrot, it really adds a wonderful taste and texture to the chili.

NOTE: We are fairly timid when it comes to spicy heat in our food. The recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I used a scant 1/8 teaspoon and it was absolutely perfect for us. If you like more heat in your food, add more cayenne.

CLASSIC SPLIT PEA SOUP

We have lots of snow and it was five below zero a couple nights ago. That can only mean one thing; it is hot soup season!! I love having a pot of soup on the stove (or in the slow cooker) all weekend.  This is a great classic recipe for split pea soup; it is  quick, easy, packed with flavor and one of our favorite soups.

¾ pound smoked ham, cubed
1 cup onion chopped (I like Vidalia or sweet onions)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 pound dried split peas (rinsed)
2 quarts chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons salt (see important note below)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cream (or half and half)

In a large stock pot, saute onion, celery and carrots together in a tablespoon of vegetable (or canola) oil for a few minutes (they don't have to be cooked all the way through).

Add the split peas, chicken stock, potatoes, ham, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly (covered) for about an hour or until the peas are very soft (stir occasionally).

Now you have to process the soup in a food processor or blender (stick blenders don't work very well for this), so work in small batches, processing the soup until very smooth and thick.

Return the soup to the stock pot and add the cream (or half and half). Stir well and reheat , but don't boil.  When you serve it, top it with some crisp fried bacon (optional). I like to decorate each bowl with a rolled up slice of bacon (looks like a "bacon rose" lol).
NOTE: Don't automatically add the 2 teaspoons of salt before you consider the following.  If you are using home made chicken stock that has not been salted, go ahead and use the 2 teaspoons of salt.

If you are using a soup base, like McCormicks soup base (a fantastic product), well it has salt in it (but not as much salt as bullion).

If you use this, I would use only ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt.  If you are using regular bullion, leave the salt out all together and taste the soup just before serving to check for salt content.

KID FRIENDLY CHILI

Because this recipe doesn't really have a name, I'm calling it "kid friendly chili" because it is very mild. There are several people in our family that prefer this mild chili as opposed to more traditional chili. The tomato acids are offset by grated carrot and a little white sugar, and there is very little "heat", but lots of flavor from the beef broth & long cooking time.

1 pound lean ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 cup grated carrot
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 scant tablespoon white sugar
(1) 12 ounce can tomato paste
(2) 15 ounce cans kidney beans
4 cups beef broth
corn chips

Brown ground beef and onions until there is no more pink in the meat then drain well. Return the meat-onions to the pan and add everything else. Simmer slowly for a couple hours if you have the time (at least one hour). If the chili gets too thick, add a little water. You can put it in the crockpot at this stage.

Throw a handful of broken corn chips into the bottom of each bowl and top with the chili and chopped avocado, tomato and cheese.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP (CROCKPOT)

I spent the weekend battling a cough and sore throat, so Saturday morning, I filled my largest crockpot with all my favorite chicken soup ingredients and snuggled under a blanket with hubby (he's sick too!!). This elixir (soup) tasted so warm and comforting. Whenever the level of the crockpot started to go down, I just added more chicken broth...it is so easy and heavenly good!!

5 BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS
1 CUP CHOPPED ONION
1 CUP CHOPPED CELERY
1 CUP CHOPPED CARROT
32 OUNCES GOOD CHICKEN STOCK
1 TABLESPOON CHICKEN BULLION GRANULES
1/2 TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER
1 TEASPOON SALT
2 CUPS FAVORITE VEGGIES
SPAGHETTI OR FETTUCCINE NOODLES

Cube and brown the chicken thighs in a tablespoon of oil until you get brown crusty spots on the chicken. Remove from pan and put it into the crockpot. In the same pan, saute the onion, celery and carrot until they get a little soft. Use a spatula and use the moisture in the veggies to de-glaze any crusty bits left in the bottom of the pan. Add this mixture into the crockpot.

Add the broth, 2 cups favorite veggies, bullion granules and salt and pepper. Stir and cook on high for about 6 hours, stirring once in a while. Half an hour before you serve this soup, break the noodles into 4" pieces and put into hot broth and stir. The noodles should be ready to eat in about 30 minutes.

NOTE: I have tried many different kinds of noodles in this soup. Spaghetti seems to hold up the best without turning to mush if you are cooking the soup for a long time. I also use rice instead of noodles, however, do NOT put the rice into the soup (after a while, it will deteriorate and make your soup a mushy mass). Instead, make the rice separately and put a big spoon of it in your soup bowl and ladle the soup over the rice.
NOTE: Any cut of chicken will work in the soup, however, the dark meat gives the most flavor and after 6 hours, it will still be very moist and "fall apart" tender.
NOTE: Any kind of veggies can be used for the "favorite veggies" part. Just make sure you use veggies that will stand up to long cooking. I usually use a frozen veggie mixture that has peas, corn, green beans and carrots, but anything will work (just don't used canned veggies).

NOTE: Homemade chicken broth is best, but I never seem to have any when I make this soup, so I use a good quality BOXED chicken broth (just don't use bullion & water to make broth).

TURKEY and BLACK BEAN CHILI

This is my favorite way to eat chili...a bed of greens, a thin layer of Frito corn chips, a cup of slow simmered chili (nice and thick), a little cheddar, sliced grape tomatoes (they are the sweetest), cubed avocado, green onions and a little low fat sour cream...oh yum!

TURKEY & BLACK BEAN CHILI
1 & 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small sweet onion diced & 1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon salt
(2) 15 ounce cans of black beans (drained and rinsed)
12 ounce can of tomato paste
4 cups water
4 ounce can of Ortega mild green chilies
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon white sugar

In a pan, large enough to cook the chili, saute onions until transparent; add the turkey and cook (chop it up with your spatula) until you see little brown bits on the meat. Drain the meat well and return to the pan; add everything else, stir well and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for two hours (it will get nice and thick).

NOTE: We do not like spicy food, so this chili is very mild. If you like heat, just add some diced jalapeno peppers to the meat.

NOTE: After you bring the chili to the initial boil, you can transfer it to a crock-pot and let it cook all afternoon (just leave the lid open a tiny bit so the chili will thicken up).