We are hosting our monthly young families group tonight and it is COLD in Winnipeg this morning so I immediately thought about putting on a big ole pot of soup and some cheese biscuits to warm everybody up when the walk in the door.  I went and did a Food Musings search to pull up my tried and true Hamburger Soup recipe to see, in astonishment, that I have never posted it before.

When our family was young and D was in the restaurant business and I was the marketing director of a restaurant too, we had to be make decisions on the go for healthy, often “one bowl” meals that our kids would enjoy.  So our first idea was that we had designated “food” nights: Friday was pizza, Thursday was pasta, and so on.  That way our decisions were less complicated depending upon the day of the week.  The kids loved this too.

Monday was always soup night so I could whip up a batch on Sunday afternoon while I was making Sunday dinner and serve half the next day (and put the other half in the freezer for a real time emergency).

This meal freezes very well and actually becomes more and more tasty with the passing of time.  The recipe originally came from the old Best of Bridge cookbooks but I’ve modified it over and over again with the years.

Hamburger Soup

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes

25 c of water

1 heaping T of Knorr dehydrated beef consume

1 c tomato soup

4 finely chopped carrots

3 sticks of finely chopped celery

1 c of frozen corn

1 bay leaf

a handful of chopped parsley

1 t thyme

8 T barley

Brown ground beef and then give it a quick rinse under hot water to remove any unwanted fat.  Brown onions and veggies until they start to “sweat”.  Add ground beef and all other ingredients back to the pot.  Simmer, uncovered at least one hour.

See more easy and nutritous meals for your gang on www.beefinfo.org.  I’m hoping to win a scholarship to www.eatwriterestreat.com.

Kath’s quote: “A soup like this is not the work of one man. It is the result of a constantly refined tradition. There are nearly a thousand years of history in this soup.”-Willa Cather

One might think that when you are requested to “bring something along to share during the game”, you would pick up a bag of chips or whip up some nachos.  But oh no, the guys at our house spent the afternoon making kabobs and beef sliders (more on that dish tomorrow). 

I could hear D rustling around in the freezer downstairs but was still suprized when I saw six gorgeous New York steaks thawing in the sink.  At one time D was the Food Manager at the Garry St. Keg Steakhouse and Bar, so the recipe for teriyaki sauce which was made from scratch, once a week, was firmly ingrained in his brain.  So too was the memory of the aroma of garlic, ginger and soya sauce which greeted me at the door when I returned from brunch out with my Mom and sisters.

The sauce was put together early in the afternoon so that the steaks could marinate for a couple of hours.  This ensures not only great flavour but that desired tenderness.  In truth, when you are using a steak cut like a New York, the tenderness is pretty much guaranteed.

In D’s Keg days, the meat morsels would have been skewed with white onion and green pepper but D added red and orange peppers, purple onion and huge cubes of fresh pineapple for good measure.

D fired up the barbie and got out his “good” tongs to turn them over the flame before they left for the game.  I enjoyed mine with a quiet glass of Merlot as I watched the Superbowl solo and got caught up on some writing.  The sweetness of the pineapple and the brown sugar of the marinade was the perfect offset to the saltiness of the soya sauce and the tartness of the veggies.  The beef itself was perfectly cooked-medium rare inside with a crispness on the surface where the natural sugars had met the flame.

I don’t know if it was these skewers that boosted our son’s energy and enthusiasm, when he ran down the middle of his quiet street in celebration when his Giants won!

For less expensive beef cuts that are perfect for marinating, check out www.beefinfo.org.  I am dreaming of a food bloggers scholarship to Eat, Write, Retreat www.eatwriteretreat.com as I write this…

Kath’s quote: “Beef is the soul of cooking.”Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833)

I have  connected with an old business acquaintance recently.  She and I have emailed and chatted on the phone for years and known of each each other for eons before that, but only met in person for the first time last week.  Isn’t life strange/wonderful that way?  We are now FB friends and I am getting to know another side of her life a bit better.  She recently sent me this recipe and although I have not yet made it, I know that it will be a hit.  The inclusion of salted cashews and beer, is why I am convinced.  Thank you Carolyn.

“Here’s a receipe that I love, and don’t pull out as often as I should.  Just made it tonight to take into the teacher’s tomorrow for Student Lead Conferences, and am glad that I made a little extra for myself!!

 2 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chooped green pepper

1 cup chopped onoin

3 cloves garlic, minced

Two 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (can use fresh)

One 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

One 19 oz can mixed beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

One 12 oz can of beer

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon tabasco

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup cashews (unsalted)

1 cup shredded swiss, mozzarella, or cheddar cheese

Heat oil. Add celery, green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Cook until tender.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, beans, raisins, vinegar, chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, cumin, allspice, pepper, tabaco, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil.  Simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours.

Stir in beer and cashews.  Return to boil.  Simmer uncovered 30 miutes or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaf.  Sprinkle cheese on top of each serving. Enjoy!”

Kath’s quote: “You can’t possibly ask me to go without having some dinner. It’s absurd. I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that.”-Oscar Wilde

I was searching for recipes to fix for Sunday’s Grey Cup Game and my own blog entry came up!  I wrote this when the Olympics were on and we were all eating suppers in front of the TV.  I recommend making some crunchy bread from scratch for the dipping.

Pizza Fondu

This is a very simple and delicious comfort food to enjoy while watching a movie.  Serve with a side salad and a nice bottle of red wine.  Totally to die for.

 1 lb. Lean ground beef and/or Italian sausage

1 small onion

10 oz cheddar cheese (shredded/cubed)

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 ½ tsp fennel seed or Italian seasoning

Fresh cracked pepper

20 oz can of Meat or Spaghetti sauce

10 oz. mozzarella cheese (shredded/grated)

1 French baguette cut into 1” bite-size pieces.

Sauté the beef/sausage and onion until cooked and drain.  Now transfer to an electric fondue pot.  Add all seasonings, cheddar and sauce and stir well.  Turn onto medium to heat everything up and melt the cheddar cheese.  Once it’s all nicely warm and blended, add the mozza cheese and continue stirring occasionally until all bubbly and melty.  Stick your bread cubes onto fondue fork, dip, twirl and enjoy.

Kath’s quote:  “Do not move back and forth on your chair. Doing so gives the impression of constantly breaking, or trying to break, wind.”-Desiderius Erasmus (1466? – 1536)

Thanks again Wal.

Food Musings is approaching its second anniversary and I am still inspired by comments that I get from readers.  Recently, I learned that a mother/daughter who I know are avid vegetarians, love this blog.  That was touching but a bit startling to me because I am the daughter of a livestock man and love my meat.  So I have been on the look out for vegetarian recipes that I could include here to acknowledge their reading loyalty.

We recently were asked to spend the evening with dear friends of ours and their children whom we adore.  It was the best of both worlds-we got to play with the kids and our friends got to put the finishing touches on this delicious dinner without interuption.

There is much love shared between our families and in keeping with the notion that you can demonstrate how much you love someone by cooking for them-this is a demonstration of how much they love us.

Buns were freshly baked for our burgers and mine was this special shape.

We also savoured tortilla chips with mango salsa, baked pumpkin and a delicious salad.  But the hit of the evening were these Black Bean Burgers with Chipolte Chile Mayonaise.

Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients:
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into large pieces
2 large eggs
3 T olive oil
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper
2 (16-ounce) cans black beans
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 shallot, minced

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350.  Process bread in food processor to coarse crumbs.  Spread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and dry, 10 to 12 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  Whisk eggs, 1 T oil, cumin, salt, and cayenne together in bowl.
Mash 2 1/2 cups beans in bowl with potato masher until mostly smooth.  Stir in bread crumbs, egg mixture, remaining beans, bell pepper, cilantro, and shallot until just combined.  Form bean mixture into six 1-inch patties.
Heat additional 1 T oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Cook half of patties until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to plate and tent loosely with foil.  Repeat with remaining oil and patties.  Serve.

Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise
Whisk together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup sour cream (I actually substituted 1 cup plain yogurt instead), 4 t minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro, 2 t lime juice, and 1/2 t salt.  Cover and refrigerate until flavors meld, about 30 minutes.

Kath’s quote: “Beans are highly nutritious and satisfying, they can also be delicious if and when properly prepared, and they posses over all vegetables the great advantage of being just as good, if not better, when kept waiting, an advantage in the case of people whose disposition or occupation makes it difficult for them to be punctual at mealtime.”-Andre Simon

Love you Iflands.

Dedicated to Sawah (and her Mom).