A Soup a Man would Like (as long as it is served with a Hamburger)

It seems to be a basic fact: woman like soups far more than men. Unless there are loads of beef, sausage, or ham in it. Does that sound pretty accurate?

Carrots and sweet potatoes make this a pretty orange soup.

This soup has our beef stock added to the it. Thus giving it a heartier taste, sure to please the men at the table. Though I would still serve a juicy hamburger with it too.

Beef stock is easy to make. Another good reason to purchase 1/4 or 1/2 of well-raised beef (like ours!) as bags of great beef bones are part of the order. This post though is for the soup recipe. So here it goes!

Our homemade beef broth from our beef makes excellent, hearty stock.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut in chunks

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks

2 medium onion thin sliced

1 T olive oil

2 T butter

1 tsp dried thyme

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

4 c water

2 c beef broth

1 T apple cider vinegar with ‘the mother’

4 T chopped fresh parsley (2 T for soup, 2 T for garnish)

In iron skillet heat oil and butter, sauté onions. When nicely caramelized add to soup pot. Add water and beef broth (they should both be room temperature). Add carrots and sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until potatoes and carrots are tender. If you have time after that, turn soup off and let it just ‘rest’ for awhile. Heat back up just before serving. If you prefer ‘lumpy’ soup, mash it with a potato masher. If you prefer a puréed soup, use your immersion blender. Season again with salt and pepper if needed. Garnish: Fresh chopped parsley and a big spoonful of yogurt or sour cream. Enjoy!

Tip Dry roasted pecans additionally make a nice garnish. Also, be overly generous with the chopped fresh parsley. It is full of Vitamin C, and is great for the tummy. 🙂

Chopped parsley, yogurt, and dry roasted pecans are a lovely garnish. ~Enjoy~

Cowboy Stew

Who would not enjoy a big, steamy bowl of this fun-sounding stew?

Most of the ingredients are canned. 



Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger

1  medium onion chopped (or 2 onions if you like lots of them!  They are great for fighting colds!)

4-6 medium potatoes

Can of:  green beans, corn, and beans  (your favorite type of bean, any type will work).

Large can of diced tomatoes (if all you have is tomatoe sauce, that is fine).

Slice onion, not too thin.
Chop potatoes in a good-size bite!
Brown onion and potatoes while browning hamburger.

It saves time, and makes for great taste to brown onion, potatoes, and hamburger together.  Should they get sticky in the bottom of your dutch oven, add a small amount of water to loosen the goodness.  Also, turn your burner temperature down.  We tend to cook too hot!  Do not know what a dutch oven is?  Check out blog:  https://bluerockhorses.com/2018/10/05/the-million-dollar-question/

You must know your tools and how to make them work for you!

After the meat is browned, add the tomatoes, corn, beans, and green beans.  Season with 1 tsp salt and pepper.  If more broth is needed, add 1-2 cups of tepid water.  For extra fullness in flavor, stir in a teaspoon of beef bouillon into the water.  Better Than Beef is the bouillon of choice for me.

Remember, this is a stew, not a soup.  Which means it should not have as much broth as a soup.

  

Mix everything gently. 

Please do not boil your stew! It only needs to simmer gently.  There will surely be left-overs, and the best part?  They will taste even better the second and third night (or in a lunchbox!).

  This recipe will serve 4-6 with leftovers, which we always strive for! It can easily be doubled as well.  Simply double everything.

Kitchen Tips

Keep your pantry in a good supply of canned green beans, corn, diced (or crushed) tomatoes.  There are usually 5-6 cans of each in my pantry. 

Onion and potatoes should also have a permanent place in your pantry.  Take them out of the plastic bags (this causes them to rot faster), put them in pretty baskets!  Should the potatoes start growing ‘eyes’, break them off and toss out in your flower bed.  This will extent their shelf life (if you do not, the ‘eyes’ will cause potatoes to shrivel up). 

Enjoy!  

Thoughts and ideas are always welcome!

Homemade is healthiest and best!