Cooking

When all else fails I can always talk about food.

I have been on a soup kick lately. I've made two new recipes that will definitely be repeated throughout the winter. What's even more exciting is that Bri, the not a big soup fan, likes them both!

The first is called Sweet Russian Cabbage soup. I researched this out as a way to use the head of cabbage sitting in the refrigerator plus a plethora of vegetables. It is sooo good! For the beef,I used leftover Swedish meatballs from the night before, ground up in my mini food processor. I also upped the vinegar to 1/4 cup and lowered the sugar to 1/4 cup and used brown instead of white.


Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds ground lean beef
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 4 cubes beef bouillon
* 2 medium carrots, shredded
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 quarts water, divided
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

Directions

1. Crumble the ground beef into a large pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef bouillon cubes, carrots, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil. Stir to break up the beef while heating. Once the soup comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.
2. Pour in another quart of water, and return to a slow boil. Add garlic and cabbage. Simmer for 25 minutes, until cabbage is tender. Ladle into soup bowls to serve.

The other soup is Panera Broccoli Cheese soup. I have just been craving it. The only changes I made to this was to up the broth to 3 cups and add a 1/2 head of cauliflower. I also just used milk instead of the cream, still turned out great!


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon melted butter
* 1/2 medium chopped onion
* 1/4 cup melted butter
* 1/4 cup flour
* 2 cups half-and-half cream
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
* 1 cup carrot, julienned
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions

1.

Sauté onion in butter. Set aside.
2.

Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.
3.

Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.
5.

Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

I hope you can try both of these soups soon! You won't be sorry!

Have a great day!

Leat