Steak Chili

I got this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook book, and I love it with either the steak, like in this picture, or with just hamburger as a more traditional chili!

1 1/2 pounds stew meat (or 1 1/2 pounds hamburger)
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-16-ounce cans kidney beans, pinto beans, and/or black beans, rinsed and drained
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspooon black pepper
Shredded chedder cheese (optional)
Dairy sour cream (optional)

Brown meat in a bigger pan (it will eventually hold all the chili), half at a time (I did it all at once) in 1 tablespoon hot cooking oil. Remove meat, reserving drippings in pan. Cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in drippings until tender; drain fat. Stir in kidney beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, basil, and black pepper. Bring to a boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 1 hour or until the meat is tender. If desired, top each serving with cheese and/or sour cream.

The only differences for hamburger is add 1 full cup of water instead of 1/2, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes instead of an hour.

Makes 8 servings

Carrot and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 TLBS butter
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
3 cups fat-free milk, divided
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
3 TLBS flour

Directions:
In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook the onion, carrots and celery in butter for 3 minutes. Add broccoli; cook 3 minutes longer. Stir in 2-3/4 cups milk, salt, thyme and pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine the flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes longer or until thickened. Yield 4 servings.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced -- I just use onion salt, or dried onion.
1 can kidney beans (or black beans) -- or both
1 can chili beans
1 can white corn -- yellow corn works too
1 can green chilies
1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes
½ pack taco seasoning
Fritos -- scoops are the best
Cheese-grated
Sour Cream

Brown beef & onions, when cooked, add beans, corn, chilies, tomatoes & seasoning. Simmer until desired consistency. Put Fritos in each bowl, and then pour beef mixture over Fritos. Top with cheese and sour cream. -- I prefer to dip my Fritos or put them ontop of the soup rather than the bottom.

**While the hamburger is browning, I generally throw everying into a pot to let it get started cooking. Once the hamburger is browned and mixed in, you should be ready to eat. However, the longer it simmers, the better it is.
**The recipe technically says to drain everything but the chili beans, but I never do. I like to have it a little more "soupy." However, it is totally my personal preference.

Chunky Beef Stew

A yummy, quick, healthy meal. The whole family enjoys it! :)

1 onion, chopped

4 Portions top round steak, cut into 1 inch chunks (About 1 lb)

2 1/2 cups Beef Broth (I use 2 1/2 cups water w/ 3 bullion cubes)

4 portions potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 lb. Baby carrots (I cut mine in half)

2 celery stalks, sliced

1/4 cup Tomato Paste

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup red wine (optional- I opt out.)

2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Lightly coat a large pot with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Add beef chunks and saute until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes

3. Add beef broth, potato chunks, carrots, celery, tomato paste, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf and wine. Bring to a boil over high heat.

4. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaf and discard.

5. Spoon beef stew into bowls, dividing it into 4 portions. Sprinkle with parsley, serve and enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup

This soup is quick and easy, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. It calls for velveeta, and I buy the 2lb size and use the other half to make another dish I'll post in the future. Great dish for a cold winter's day (we are still doing winter where we are at...sad I know). I also like to make bread bowls to serve this in, since it is a little thicker.


Melt 2 tbsp. butter and add:
1c celery chopped
1c onion chopped

Add:
3 1/2 cups water
4-5 diced potatoes
3-4 carrots (I use a couple handfuls of baby carrots chopped)
1 head broccoli (I use the frozen stuff...bag or box frozen)

Cook until broccoli is soft and add:
2 cans cream of chicken
1 lb. velveeta cheese cubed

This can be made in about 30 minutes, but don't let it sit too long or it can burn to the bottom.

Mexicali Soup

1 large can of tomato juice
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
1 small can tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 pound of ground beef, browned and drained of fat

Heat all ingredients together in a pot and simer for 20-30 minutes. This tastes great with melted cheese, sour cream and fritos chips on top.

Goulash Soup

Again, this is a Swedish recipe, and I have to say that I thought it looked good, but when I made it, it tasted even better than I thought! So, if you like tomato base food, you'll probably really like this!

2 yellow onions (I only used one)
2 peeled garlic cloves (I used garlic powder)
1 red bell pepper (I like peppers, but skipped it this time)
1/4 celeriac (I had never heard of this before and couldn't find it at the stores, so I used about 4 medium carrots in my soup instead)
4 peeled potatoes
1/2 pound ground beef (I browned mine first because it had been frozen, but when she made it, she just put it raw right into the soup and it cooked while it boiled)
1 1/2 teaspoons marjoram
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 quart water
2 cubes chicken stock
1 cup creme fraiche for garnish (I don't know what this is so I didn't use it)

Chop the onion finely and crush the garlic cloves with a knife. Cut the bell pepper, celeriac (for me, carrots) and potatoes in cubes. Fry on medium heat and add the mince meat and the spices. Add the tomatoes, water and the stock. Let it simmer for 20-25 minutes and season with salt and pepper (I cooked mine until the potatoes and carrots were the softness I wanted which was a little longer than the 25 minutes). Serve the soup with a small tablespoon of creme fraiche and bread. Serves 4