Russell's Favorite Hamburger Vegetable Soup

I saw this on Facebook this morning and asked Gloria for permission to put in on the blog ..... lucky for us, she agreed! This is perfect for chilly fall or cold winter ..... comfort food in a bowl.

"Good Beautiful Morning! Now that it has gotten cooler, it is time for Hamburger Vegetable Soup. This was my late husband Russell's favorite! Here is my very own made up recipe." (from Gloria B.)

Russell's Favorite Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of ground chuck or whole chuck roast cut into pieces
• 1 large onion chopped
• Small amount of olive oil and 1 tbsp butter mixed - enough to brown meat
• 4 fresh tomatoes diced with juice
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup of frozen green beans
• 1 cup of frozen lima beans
• 1/2 head of cabbage chopped
• 1 cup of fresh baby carrots cut in two or small package already sliced
• 3 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon whole dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 large cans (32 oz) of Swanson's chicken broth with no additives or the equivalent with no additives. Should be enough to cover.

To make soup:

1. In a large pan, or dutch oven with a lid, brown onion and ground chuck in olive oil and butter, stirring more then once until browned.
2. When meat is browned, add chicken broth first and then all the other ingredients. Stir to mix making sure there is enough broth to cover vegetables and meat.
3. Bring to boil and let boil for about 5 minutes.
4. Then lower temperature to low or simmer, COVER and cook for 1 hour, stirring once every 15 minutes and checking to make sure broth has not evaporated out.
5. The nice part about this recipe is that it can be refrigerated and actually as good the second day. It can also be frozen.

 Thanks, Gloria .... and Happy Fall!

(Photos: Merlot)

Hearty Venison Pot Roast

"Are you looking for a crowd pleasing wild game dish that'll be even better when served as leftovers as it was the first time it was ladled from the pot? Look no further. Dig out those venison roasts some consider marginal in terms of table fare and get rolling on this recipe.

This is an easy, all-in-one dish - actually more of a cross between a pot roast and a stew. Add hot yeast rolls for a complete meal.

This recipe can be doubled or halved. Exact measurements aren't necessary. Add more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste. Other favored vegetables may be substituted. Cook the stew for a long time - until the meat is fork tender. We bone out the entire deer we take and this is a meat tailor-made for those cuts of venison that aren't the best on the grill. The sirloins in the hind quarters and the front shoulder roasts are excellent for this dish.

This is an excellent meal to prepare in advance. It often benefits from a day in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave. It also freezes well." (Virginia Wildlife: Ken & Maria Perrotte)

Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings):

• 3 or 4 pounds of boneless venison (sirloin or shoulder roasts are ideal for this)
• Garlic pepper seasoning
• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) whole, sliced, or diced tomatoes (if using fresh, add one 5.5 oz. can of tomato juice or V8)
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup red wine (use a cheap Cabernet/drink the good ones)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups beef broth (reduced salt is good)
• 3 or 4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-1/2 to 2 inch cubes
• 1-1/2 cups sliced or baby carrots
• 1 bag frozen green beans (canned is ok)
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

Directions:

1. Cut roast into two or three-inch cubes, season lightly with garlic pepper, and place in a large roasting pan.** (see note below) Cooking spray makes cleanup easier.
2. Slice onion and add to pan.
3. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, seasonings, wine, Worcestershire and broth.
4. Cover pan with top or aluminum foil.
5. Roast at 325 degrees for about 3 hours.
6. Add potatoes and carrots, re-cover and continue cooking for about 45 minutes.
7. By now, the meat should be tender. Add green beans, re-cover and cook another half hour.
8. Remove from oven and discard bay leaves.
9. In a small glass, mix cornstarch with about 2 tablespoons cold water.
10. While juices are still piping hot, move meat and vegetables to one side, tilting if necessary to expose liquids in pan. Stir cornstarch into hot liquids to thicken.

**Note (from 'Merlot') - if this recipe was halved, I can easily see how it could be adapted to a crock pot ..... something worth trying. Cooking times would probably have to be a little longer, but you could leave the crock pot to do its work for a couple of hours rather than staying home because the stove is on!

Hearty Venison Soup

"This soup always "hits the spot" when served after spending time in the outdoors on a brisk Virginia winter day (or Kentucky!!).  It can be made ahead of time to the point of adding the pasta. This also helps concentrate the flavors. This recipe is easily doubled. Heck, quadruple it and cook it in the cauldron to serve at a late season tailgate party. You can also add it to a thermos for great duck bling or similar "brown bag" lunch." (Virginia Wildlife: Ken & Maria Perrotte)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds venison stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 5 cups beef broth or stock
• 1/2 pound frozen soup vegetables mix (about 2 cups)
• Other vegetables (green beans are nice), optional
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 of a 15-ounce can diced tomatoes w/juice
• Salt & pepper
• 2 cups rotini, macaroni or other pasta, uncooked

Directions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the meat, seasoned with Montreal steak seasoning, in oil over medium-high heat until liquids have evaporated. Stir meat until browned on most sides.
2. Gradually add 3 cups of broth, frozen vegetables, seasonings, and 3 or 4 tablespoons of juice from the tomatoes.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered, for at least an hour until meat is tender.
4. Add tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Add last 2 cups of broth and season to taste.
6. Add pasta and bring back to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is soft.
8. Adjust seasonings if needed.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Oyster Rockefeller Soup

Will B. brought this to the AT Maintainer Meeting & Potluck in January (2012) and the word was that this soup was "to die for". Well, no one is going to have to die to get the recipe as Will has graciously shared it .........

Oyster Rockefeller Soup

(Source: Frank Brigsten, Brigsten's Restaurant)

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1-1/2 cups diced celery
• 2 cups diced yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon minced anchovy
• 4 cups sliced green onion (green & white parts)
• 1-1/4 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 cup large pitted green olives (13 olives)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried whole-leaf thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried whole-leaf oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose white flour
• 1 can chicken stock, e.g. Campbell's
• 3/4 cup Herbsaint liqueur Herbsaint Liqueur
• 1 cup oyster liquor (the liquid that comes from freshly shucked oysters)
• 6 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 cups shopped fresh spinach
• 5 dozen freshly shucked oysters

Directions:

1. Heat the butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery and onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions become soft and clear, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the anchovies and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add the green onions and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, olives, thyme, oregano, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and white pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot with a spoon.
5. Carefully add the Herbsaint and the chicken stock. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the Herbsaint reduces by about half, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the oyster liquor and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oyster liquor reduces by about half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a boil. PUree the mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. Note: Steps 1-6 can be done well ahead of time, even the day before. To finish the soup, add the following steps:
7. Cook chopped spinach in the microwave, just enough so it is still bright green, about 3 minutes.
8. Bring the soup to a boil. Add the oysters and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the oysters curl and are just heated through, 8-10 minutes. Add the spinach. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings

Granny's North Carolina Brunswick Stew

This is how Stew Batch #1 turned out - looking good!!

My mom's parents made their living and raised their 5 kids on a farm in North Carolina. They grew cantaloupes, cotton, tobacco, and corn. They also ran a dairy, had chickens, hogs, a very large German Shepherd guard dog and lots of kitties running around the barn. Granny had a large “kitchen” garden for the family and she spent many hours in a hot kitchen on summer days, canning vegetables and fruit for the winter months. She was an outstanding cook – plain and simple fare, but we all loved visiting and eating at her house.

Once a year, Granny and Granddad would make a Brunswick Stew. It was made in a large black kettle, over a real wood fire, in the back yard. The women prepared the ingredients and the men did the stirring. Mom remembers peeling & cutting up buckets of potatoes. I can still remember standing around the fire while the men stirred and talked, the large wooden paddle swirling the contents of the kettle around and around. It was a magical time for a little kid … the making of the stew.

And then, there was the eating. Nothing has ever come close to tasting like the Brunswick Stew out of that big black kettle. Back in those times, a store-bought white bread, with its soft texture, was a treat ….. and so was a Pepsi …. and that is what accompanied a bowl of Granny's Brunswick Stew. (Note – since you will not be bound by the constraints of childhood memories and traditions, you may want to have corn bread with this stew – it's wonderful).

Mom has always been on the lookout for Brunswick Stew that comes close to the stew made on the farm. There is a well-known brand that comes in a can and it used to be, that doctored heavily with added spice and veggies, it would barely pass muster in an emergency 'gotta-have-some-stew' attack – recently, the quality has decreased to the point that it's not even worth doctoring up. The small town fire departments in the area of the old farm also make stew in black kettles to sell as fund raisers, but now they use a gas fire ….. and the 'recipe' just isn't the same as Granny's …. similar, but not the same. Lately, the quality of these stews has become a disappointment as well.

Recently, in the quest for a passable Brunswick Stew, we took Granny's recipe and using a spreadsheet, broke the ingredients down to proportions that would fit in crock pots (you need two). We made the first batch (later made a 2nd) and let it cook in the crock pots for 20 hours. It smelled like stew, it looked like stew, and finally .... it tasted really, really close to Granny's black kettle Brunswick Stew. Nothing will ever match her stew, but this is pretty darn close. Mom is happy and she is the official taste tester and quality control inspector. We broke out the white (wheat) bread and the Diet-Rite Colas (no Pepsi) .... dished up the bowls of stew .... and took a memory trip back to the farm!

So … here's the recipe ….. made (almost) the way Granny made it, in smaller proportions and in crock pots:

Granny's N.C. Brunswick Stew

Crock pots: two, 6-7 quarts each (each will be about 3/4 full of stew)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs of chicken (we used chicken breasts)

1-1/2 lbs of stew beef (bought it already cut up for stew)

1 onion (medium to large), diced

2-1/2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and diced fairly small (red potatoes are what we used)

60 ounces of canned tomatoes (we used 2 (28 oz) cans of diced tomatoes & ½ cup of crushed tomatoes (you could leave this ½ cup out or just use more diced tomatoes & probably be ok)

2 (15 oz) cans of (small) lima beans (drained)

2 (15 oz) cans of corn (drained)

32 oz. chicken stock

2 Tablespoons + 1 Tablespoon of sugar (or to taste)

2 Teaspoons of ground black pepper (or to taste)

2 Teaspoons of salt (or to taste)

¼ cup of butter (4 Tablespoons)

Optional: 4-6 shakes of Tabasco sauce, Texas Pete or whatever you like (or to taste)

Directions:

The beef/chicken can be fresh or frozen. Put the stew beef and chicken breasts in a large pot, add two cups of water and boil it all until the chicken is very tender. The stew beef will still be tough at this point, although it will be totally cooked through. Dice up the chicken meat and split the chicken meat and stew beef between the two crock pots . Take the juice left over in the pot and split that between the crock pots as well.

Peel and dice the potatoes & put half in each crock pot.

Peel & dice the onion and put half in each crock pot.

Drain and put 1 can of corn and 1 can of lima beans in each crock pots.

Put a can of diced tomatoes (undrained) in each crock pot.

Put 1/4 cup of crushed tomatoes in each crock pot.

Add two cups of chicken stock to each crock pot.

Put 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon black pepper in each crock pot.

Add 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine (1/4 stick) to each crock pot. (Note: don't leave this out – I skimped on it in batch #1 & mom immediately said 'something is not right'. Just as butter 'finishes' a sauce & gives it a rich, good 'mouth feel', the butter has the same effect on the stew, plus I think it helps keep the stew from sticking/burning to the sides of the crock pot)

Stir all to combine.

Turn crock pots on high for 1-2 hours until stew is really cooking, then turn crock pots down to the next setting (medium or low - however your crock pot works).

Let the stew cook for at least 12 hours total - we went 20, but mom, in retrospect, thinks that's too long & the stew would taste better if cooked a few hours less. Stir occasionally and add chicken broth if the stew gets too thick and looks like it needs more liquid to avoid burning (it might get a dark ring around the edges). Of course, you can cook it for a much shorter time, but you won't have anything near a real Brunswick Stew. This long, slow cooking is critical to the taste and texture of the stew.

After 12 hours, take a potato masher and mash the stew until the meat is broken up and at least half or more of the potatoes are mashed. The stew will be somewhat thick yet still have some chunky vegetables.

To do the final seasoning adjustment, we combined the stew from both crock pots in the bottom half of a roasting pan and adjusted the seasoning for the batch as a whole.

Taste test the stew - add the 3rd tablespoon of sugar if you think you need it and the Tabasco or hot sauce (if you like some heat). Thin the stew with some chicken stock if it is too thick for your liking. Note: my mom is going for a particular taste remembered from childhood .... to stew batch #2, in addition to the seasonings mentioned in the ingredients, she added another teaspoon of black pepper, another teaspoon of sugar and we used a salt shaker to lightly sprinkle on a little salt (maybe an 1/8th of a teaspoon?) before she liked the final product. Since you are not trying to get to a "memory taste", just season (or not) until you like the result.

COOL the stew within two hours & refrigerate or freeze. We set the roasting pan in a large cooler on top of 5lbs. of ice that was dumped in it. We stirred the stew every 1/2 hour. After one hour (two stirrings), the stew was cool – we let it go one more half hour & it was a bit 'chilled' and ready to put into smaller containers for eating over the next couple of days and/or freezing (it freezes well & is great to have on hand when unexpected company stops in!).

This makes about 5-6 quarts of stew.