Cheeseburger Soup

My Aunt Janet calls me several times a month, just to catch up and see what's going on with my life. Our conversations usually revolve around two things: our wacky cats and our favorite recipes.

I enjoy trying out my aunt's recipes because she's very much a penny pincher. Her recipes are incredibly cheap to make. When a recipe calls for one pound of ground beef, she usually only uses half a pound. And it works! Aunt Janet is very much in favor of replacing meat with beans or other proteins.

When she mentioned cheeseburger soup, I was immediately curious. I'd never heard of it before. And I do love cheeseburgers, so I had to know. She emailed me the recipe and a few days later I gave it a try.

It was delicious, although it did remind me more of a creamy, slightly cheesey potato soup with a hint of ground beef. When I make it again, I think I will add more cheese, or perhaps try a sharp cheddar, instead of just plain cheddar.

Cheeseburger Soup
(via Aunt Janet)

Ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parlsey
4 tbsp. butter
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 cup flour
2 cups cubed cheddar cheese
1.5 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions
1) In a large pot, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Cook and stir vegetables and beef until beef is brown.
2) Stir in basil and parlsye. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
3) Melt the remainder of the butter in a small pot. When melted, stir in the flour, then add the milk, stirring until smooth.
4) Gradually add the milk mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, add sour cream and heat through - do not boil.
5) Serve and enjoy!

I think chopping up some green onion and sprinkling that on top would be a lovely addition to the soup, as well as adding some fun color.

I have also been told that this soup freezes and reheats well, although I have yet to test this for myself.

Vegetable Power Soup

Let me just begin by saying that I love cook books with pictures. Odds are if the book has a piece of meat with pretty grill marks, really shallow depth of field, or a cute title, I'm going to pick it up and take a look.

And that's what happened a few days ago at Barnes and Noble. I ran across a book called Super Duper Soups by Michael van Straten. "Healing soups for the mind and body," it said, as well as the deal-maker: on sale for $3.99 (I'm a sucker for a good deal).

Super Duper Soups is all about how your diet affects your health, your appearance, and even your mood. Then it goes on to recommend different soups to help cure your various ailments, whether it's a bad mood, bad skin, or lack of, uh, libido, let's say.

Having had two colds in three weeks (yes, you read that correctly), I decided to check out the immunity boosting chapter. The soup that caught my eye is called Vegetable Power. It's features vegetables that have allinase which, according to the book, "help boost natural resistance, attack invading organisms, help lower cholestorol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent blood clots." (page 17 for those of you reading along with me)

Sounds good, right?

VEGETABLE POWER SOUP

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled, cut into small dice
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 leek, finely sliced
1 small parsnip, peeled and cut into small dice
6 cups vegetable stock
4 tbsp tomato paste

1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently sautee the onion. After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and sautee until soft.
2) Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well.
3) Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, tomato paste, and stir well.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

I could not for the life of me find a zucchini, so I omitted that, but I think everything is going to be okay. The soup is delicious. A little on the tomato-ey side, but that's okay. If you don't like tomato so much, cut back on it or even leave it out all together, if you're feeling especially bold.

And can I just say how much fun it is to chop veggies and watch them simmer? That might have sounded sarcastic, but it's really not. There's snow on the ground, it's three days until Christmas, and the whole process of making soup was incredibly cozy. Even though I was at work in the morning and did a lot, I feel even more accomplished now that I've made soup. Delicious and healthy soup, no less.

Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry

Ah, alliteration. Gotta love it.

So the other week I was watching Iron Chef American (it's a guilty pleasure) and the secret ingredient was coconut. The challenger is a master of Indian cuisine, and he was battling Morimoto (sp?), the Japanese master.

Frequently on the show they'll serve something that makes me go, "Ew!" But this time? All of their dishes looked fabulous, including the seafood, which I've never been able to bring myself to eat.

The dish that most caught my eye was coconut curry. Both challengers created their own versions, and they both looked so sweet-spicy-creamy-delicious that my mouth began to water. I knew immediately that I had to make some.

After hours of searching the internet, I was able to find a recipe that suited my needs. And so, I present you with Coconut Curry Chicken: Crockpot Edition. (I wish I could give someone credit for this recipe, but I lost track of whose it was and where I found it. If you are reading this and it is your recipe, thank you so much for posting it!)

Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, more if desired)
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
* 2-3 tablespoons toasted flaked coconut (optional)

Directions
1.Heat oil in a medium fry pan.
2.Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
3.Place potatoes and onion in crock pot.
4.Place chicken breasts on top.
5.Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6.Add to crock pot.
7.Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
8.One half hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture.
9.Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using.
10.Serve over rice or Asian noodles, if desired.

I decided not to serve it with the flaked coconut, and it was great. Hardest part was not eating the food before it was ready. The whole house smelled of creamy, coconutty curry. I almost had to leave.

One hint, however - shake your can of coconut milk before you open and pour it. Apparently coconut milk seperates if it sits too long, and trying to mix it once it's in the crockpot is awkward and frustrating. Save your time and your sanity and give the can a good shake before you pour it.