Potato Soup

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
Melt butter in large saucepan.  Add onion.  Saute until translucent.

3 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups water or broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup celery with leaves, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped or shredded
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, dried marjoram, celery salt, dried dill weed, or paprika
Add, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.  For a creamier soup, remove some of the cooked potatoes, puree them and return to the saucepan.

2 cups milk
3 Tablespoons flour
Mix together until smooth.  Add to soup and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Optional additions: 1 cup cubed cooked ham ~ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ~ 1/2 lb. browned ground beef with 1/4 cup plain yogurt stirred in just before serving ~ substitute 2 cups corn for one of the cups of potatoes ~ dumplings: combine 1 large beaten egg, 1/2 cup flour and 2 Tablespoons milk, drop dough by teaspoons into simmering soup and simmer 5 more minutes.

Huevos Rancheros

Eggs poached in tomato sauce. 

Saute in skillet:
3 T. oil (I use lard)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 large onion, chopped (I use 1/2)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add:
2 large fresh tomatoes, finely chopped OR 2 c. stewed tomatoes, drained
1/2 c. tomato sauce (I use an 8 oz. can)
1/2 t. salt
1-2 T chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano

Cook over medium heat 20 minutes, occasionally mashing tomatoes. 

Break into hot sauce:
6 eggs

Cover eggs with:
6 slices mozzarella cheese

Cover skillet and poach eggs over low heat 3-5 minutes, or until as firm as desired. (I find it takes longer than that, and I'm not going for hard yolks either).

Serve with green salad and corn muffins.  I serve it over rice.

Recipe from More-with-Less cookbook, page 152

Borscht

½ head cabbage, cut up
4 beets, in strips
2 big carrots, in strips
4 potatoes (often I use less or no potatoes)
1 lb. stew beef, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 small can tomato sauce (optional, I leave out)
1 tsp. each dried dill and parsley, use more if fresh
salt to taste
pepper - I use 1/8 - 1/4 tsp.
sour cream

Boil meat, add salt when it starts to boil (I use beef stock when I have it). When it’s almost done, add the potatoes and cook midway. Meanwhile in a different pan put oil (I use lard) and the beets and carrots cut into strips. Add ½ cup water and simmer until softer, continue watching and stirring. When halfway cooked, add onions and tomatoe sauce/paste and cook until almost soft. Then dump it all into the other pot of meat and potatoes and add cabbage. Let it all cook together until the cabbage is cooked. At the very end add the dill and/or parsley and black pepper, then let it simmer 5 minutes to get the full flavor. Serve with sour cream stirred in.  It's delicious!

There are many, many ways to make Borscht.  The above are the instructions I got from Russian friends.  Other methods include:  Put it all in the crock pot. ~ Simmer all the veggies together, then add cooked meat.  ~ Simmer everything together except the beets, omit the carrots.  Steam the beets, then add (I guess that's quicker?  Beets do take a long time to soften).  ~ Use ground beef instead of stew meat, make small meatballs with salt & pepper added, put these in at the end as they cook quickly.  ~ Add diced tomatoes and garlic.  ~ Use browned ground pork sausage instead of beef.  ~

Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs

Tasty, easy to prepare ribs that cook up tender in the crock pot. Recipe serves 8.

3 to 4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits, undrained
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced green pepper
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place ribs in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender. Thicken the sauce if desired.

I added a little bit of tangerine-clementine juice when I made this, as the tangy sweetness nicely complements the overall character of the dish and I substituted some low sodium teriyaki sauce for half of the Worcestershire sauce (out of necessity, as I ran out of Worcestershire sauce). Also, I used a 15 oz can of tomato sauce and a whole 5 oz can of tomato paste (it's only 1 tablespoon more than the recipe calls for). I also used an orange bell pepper instead of green, which makes the finished product just as flavorful but a little bit less colorful. To save time, I made the sauce the night before, so my actual morning preparation took less than 5 minutes.

Recipe from Taste of Home Winning Recipes.

Curried Cauliflower-Ginger Soup

My 3 year old and 20 month old ate their big bowls full of this soup without stopping and without being asked a single time to "take a bite".  That says a lot!  :)  I wouldn't say this is absolutely delicious, but it is pretty good.  Definently do add a chunk of butter to each bowel - it calms the sharpness of flavor from the spices.  (It isn't "hot" spicey).

Curried Cauliflower-Ginger Soup


Serves 4 – 6 as a starter to a meal
Ingredients:
1 medium onion – chopped
1 small stalk celery – sliced
1 whole medium sized cauliflower – chopped in large chunks
1” piece ginger – peeled and minced
4 cups homemade chicken stock or water, or a combination
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
unrefined sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Good quality butter for serving
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
In a small dish, stir together the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala. Set aside. Place onion, celery, ginger, and liquid in a medium soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 7-8 minutes. Meanwhile heat a small skillet over a medium flame. Add the spice mix and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to keep it moving over the heat. When it becomes fragrant and barely darker in color remove from the heat and add to the soup, along with the cauliflower. Cover, raise the heat again to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the stove.
Puree soup until smooth, and ladle into serving bowls, accompanied with a dollop of fresh butter and some chopped cilantro if you like.

I served this with fried battered fish and steamed sweet potato chunks.  The kids cleaned their plates! 

Recipie from here: http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/homemade-vegetable-soup-recipes.html

Chicken a la King

So, I haven't made this one yet, but I'm planning to make it this weekend. If it do, I'll upload photos. It's one of the featured "5 in 30" recipes in my Giant Supermarket mailer this week (5 ingredients - not counting the oil - with 30 minute prep time).

Chicken a la King
serves: 4

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tube refrigerated biscuits (4.5 oz)
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of celery soup
1/4 C + 2Tbsp half-and-half
1 Tbsp oil

Preheat oven according to directions on biscuits. Cut chicken into small chunks. Brown in large skillet in 1 Tbsp oil, stirring frequently (about 5-6 minutes). Bake biscuits in oven as directed on package. Meanwhile, add frozen peas and carrots to skillet with chicken. Mix in soup and half-and-half. Simmer 5-10 minutes on medium-low heat, while biscuits bake. Serve chicken a la king over biscuit halves.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (with one whole biscuit) is:
350 calories, 15 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 25 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 29 g protein, 980 mg sodium

I'll let you know if I actually make it or not :)