Grandpa's Homemade Tomato Soup

SMALL BATCH

2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 c low sodium V-8 juice 

2-3 meaty pork hocks (Fresh –not smoked) or beef short ribs

1 qt water

Tone’s Pickling spice (remove cloves) (~ one ounce)

1 med onion, diced

½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt or Lawry's seasoned salt

2 pkg cooked wide egg noodles (dried noodles, not frozen)

*Needed: two tea balls – found at most kitchen stores

Wash meat and put in large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Fill half of each tea ball with pickling spice (make sure you’ve removed the whole cloves or soup will end up being too sweet). Add tea balls to the meat & water. Use blender or food processor to puree tomatoes. Add to the pot along with diced onion. Add salt and pepper to taste, but start with measurements above. Bring to a rolling boil, skimming off foam as it appears. (Foam is actually the acid from the tomatoes and can cause your soup to be bitter if you don’t take it off.) Reduce heat and let simmer at least two hours, skimming foam as needed. Serve with egg noodles.

Meat can be removed from bones and eaten in the soup or by itself with some prepared yellow mustard.

And never, ever, ever, ever serve this soup with crackers! It’s a sacrilege to even think about eating this soup with nasty soggy crackers!! Same goes for grilled cheese.

This is one of those recipes that may take some getting used to, but it’s been served in our family for four generations and one that many have come to love over the years.

LARGE BATCH

4 - 28oz cans WHOLE peeled tomatoes

2 - 28oz cans diced or petite diced tomatoes

1 qt LOW SODIUM V-8 (vegetable) juice

3-4 meaty beef short ribs

2 qts water

4 small containers (2oz total) Tone's pickling spice (REMOVE CLOVES!!)

2 med diced onions

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Lawry's seasoned or regular salt

2-4 pkgs cooked egg noodles (dried, not frozen)

**Need 4 small or two large tea balls (make sure they're the screw-shut kind - can be found here on Amazon: small ones or big one

Prepare tea ball(s) with pickling spice: remove the cloves from the pickling spice, otherwise it will give the soup a weird, sweet taste). 

 

Fill half of the tea ball(s) with pickling spice. After the cloves are removed, each small tea ball should hold a half-ounce of pickling spice. The large will hold 2 oz. Close the top on the tea ball(s) securely, but not overly tight or they'll be hard to get open when it comes time to clean them out.

Wash and put the meat in a large stockpot - at least 14qt. Add the diced onions. Carefully drop in the tea ball(s) and put heat on high. 

In a blender, food processor or using an immersion blender, liquefy the whole peeled tomatoes before adding to the pot. Add the diced tomatoes along with other spices. Bring to a boil uncovered, then lower heat to a light simmer. Skim off foam as it appears. (Foam is actually the acid from the tomatoes and can cause your soup to be bitter if you don’t take it off.) Simmer covered, stirring occasionally, for at least 2 hours, skimming off foam as needed.

Cook your egg noodles SEPARATELY and rinse in cool water. 

When you're ready to serve, put in bowls, then add a handful or two of cooked noodles, and salt & pepper to taste. 

And never, ever, ever, ever serve this soup with crackers! It’s a sacrilege to even think about eating this soup with nasty soggy crackers!! Same goes for grilled cheese. My mother and grandfather would roll in their graves at the thought!!

If preferred, you can remove the meat (it will likely have fallen off the bone by now) and serve it with a little prepared mustard or by itself. Throw away the bones (they won't be good for any kind of stock because the pickling spice flavor will be cooked into them). 

When the soup has cooled completely, carefully scoop out the tea ball(s) and empty used spices into the trash, rinsing out the tea ball(s). You don't want to leave them in the soup after it's done cooking because the acid in the tomatoes will eat at them and ruin them. DO NOT ADD NOODLES TO THE SOUP to store or they will absorb the liquid and ruin your soup.

This is one of those recipes that may take some getting used to, but it’s been served in our family for four generations and one that many have come to love over the years.

ENJOY!!!

Beef Stew

At the request of a friend, I'm sharing my recipe for beef stew. She said she loved beef stew, but just couldn't get the gravy right and the flavor seemed dull. This is the recipe I've used for more than ten years and our family loves it.

Some of the steps can seem confusing if you're not watching someone make it, so I'm posting more pictures than I normally would. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'd be happy to clarify! :)

2-3lb round roast, fat trimmed, cut in cubes

1½ c flour

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1 tsp garlic pepper

 

½ c vegetable oil

½ c beef soup base (I use L.B. Jamison)

2 qt cold water

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp celery seed

1 tsp garlic pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

2 T parsley flakes

1 onion, diced

1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes

3T Kitchen Bouquet (optional for coloring & flavor)

1-16oz bag frozen carrots

1-16oz bag frozen corn

6-8 red potatoes, peeled & cubed (Red potatoes hold up better in the stew without falling apart like russet or other types of potatoes)

(**The soup base will have plenty of sodium in it, so you should be careful if you choose to add more salt to the recipe. If you do decide to add it, I would do it sparingly and only when serving.)

 

You'll want to trim the excess fat off the roast and then cube the meat into big chunks. Anything smaller than a 1" cube will fall apart in the stewing process.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour & spices listed above in the first section of ingredients.

Toss the cubed meat in the flour mixture until well coated, while heating up the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When a pinch of flour sizzles in the oil, you'll know it's hot enough.

Add the meat to the oil. Don't bother shaking off the excess flour. That's what's going to make the gravy thick later as it's cooking. The oil won't cover all the meat, but once you stir it, it'll be fine. You'll want to brown the meat, not cook it thoroughly over a medium-high heat. Some of the meat will still be pink when you add the water. Make sure the water is cold. It'll mix better with the roux to make a good gravy. Mix it thoroughly, then add the spices. Kitchen Bouquet, onion & tomatoes.

Bring to a low boil, then turn to medium-low heat and let simmer for an hour. Stir several times so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. After an hour or so, add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat up to medium-high so it'll come to a boil again. (The frozen ingredients will bring the temp down too far to keep it at low). Once it boils, turn the heat back down to a medium-low again and cook until potatoes are tender, 60-90 minutes. It can be served at this point, but it can be turned down to low and left to simmer for another hour or two.

Almost Campbell's Tomato Soup

Yes, I realize that many of my recipes are soups. I actually *DO* cook more than just soup, but when it gets cool outside, soups are my favorite way to warm up. Which brings me to today's recipe:

1 6oz can tomato paste
3 c milk
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp italian seasoning
dash pepper

Mix together and heat thoroughly, but don't boil. Serve with Oyster crackers or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Cheeseburger Soup

Always a family favorite. It does *NOT* freeze well, so prepare to serve a large group. It's great for large families or potlucks.

Cheeseburger Soup
3lbs hamburger
1 diced yellow onion
2lb box Velveeta, cubed
2 cans beef broth
1qt cream or Half-n-Half (Milk will curdle)
¼c flour
1 16oz jar dill pickle slices
1½c ketchup
½c mustard

Brown onions and hamburger and strain from drippings, putting the meat in a crock pot. Put cubed cheese in and stir together. Mix flour with a bit of beef broth and add to drippings and whisk together until thick and bubbly. Add the remaining beef broth & cream. Bring to a slow boil and pour over meat and cheese in the crock pot. Once the cheese has melted, add ketchup and mustard and simmer in crock pot on low for two hours. Add pickles (juice and all) to the soup and simmer for another 30 minutes.

**Can be made on the stove. Cook on LOW for 30 minutes before adding pickles. Once pickles are added, simmer for 10-15 minutes until soup is heated thoroughly.

**A can of diced tomatoes can be added for variety.
**You can also serve with Shoestring potato chips.

Apricot Chicken

1 bottle French dressing (I use Western, but you can use Russian or Catalina, too)
2/3 c apricot preserves
2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
8-10 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
cooked white rice or egg noodles

In a bowl, combine dressing, preserves and soup mix. Place chicken in a large ungreased baking pan. Top with dressing mixture. Cover and bake at 350° oven for 20 mins, baste, bake for an additional 20 mins or until chicken juices run clear. Serve with noodles or rice.

CROCK POT adaptation:
Trim fat off chicken breasts and place in Crock Pot with dressing mixture. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with noodles/rice.

Simple Lasagna Soup

(I used Farfalle pasta for this batch.)

Makes 10-12 servings

2lbs ground beef
½ tsp garlic powder
7 c Beef broth (w/onion if available)
2 cans (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (6oz) tomato paste
1½ tsp dried Italian seasoning
3c uncooked mafalda or rotini pasta
½ c grated Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef with garlic powder and drain off fat. Stir in broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Heat to a boil. Stir in the pasta. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for 10 minutes until pasta is tender but firm (al dente). Stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

(Can use ground turkey and skip the cheese for a low-fat version.)

Pesto Dip (aka Malia dip)

*disclaimer: This is addictive. If you're watching your weight, do NOT make this without having an event to take it to. Trust me.

8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2T butter or margarine, softened
2-3T milk
½ c Classico Pesto Sauce
4-6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, chopped finely
Wheat Thins or Melba Toast

Combine the cream cheese and butter and mix until well mixed, add milk until the mixture is easily spreadable. Spread on a plate or platter evenly and cover with pesto sauce. Sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes over the top and chill for thirty minutes. Serve with crackers or bagel chips. So much yum!!

Mexicorn Dip

8 oz sour cream

1c mayonnaise
3 cans mexi-corn, drained
1 onion, diced finely

1 can Rotel, drained

1 finely diced jalapeño
2c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix sour cream and mayo together, then add the rest of the ingredients. Chill for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Can-Opener Chicken Enchiladas

FYI, you *will* want to double (if not triple or quadruple) this recipe. It technically serves four people, but trust me when I tell you, you'll want to have more than three enchiladas!

1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can cream-style corn
½ C chopped green onion
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
2 cans chunk chicken
½ C sour cream
¼ C milk
2 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided

½c ripe olives, sliced (optional)
12 flour tortillas – 6 inch

Mix first 8 ingredients together using only about half of the cheese. Spread about ½ C of the chicken mixture on each tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in a baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are filled. Pour remaining mixture on top of tortillas and top with remaining cheese and olives. You can also garnish with diced green onions if you want. Microwave on high for 10-12 mins or bake at 350° for 15-20 mins or until heated through.

Baked Potato Soup

10-12 lg Baking potatoes
1 med onion – finely chopped
3 C chicken stock
6 T bacon drippings
2 T minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 c heavy cream
2 c sour cream

Garnishes:
    Sour cream
    Cheddar cheese
    Crumbled bacon
    Chopped green onions

Scrub and peel potatoes. Cube and put in large pot with onions. Cover with water (I add a little bit of chicken bouillon). Cook covered over medium heat until done.

While potatoes are cooking, fry bacon and drain off drippings. Crumble bacon into small pieces.

When potatoes are fork-tender, drain off water and smash carefully (leaving it somewhat chunky).

To potatoes and onions, add chicken stock, bacon drippings, garlic, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on med-low 10-15 mins.

Add cream and bring to a low boil for about five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Return to stove and heat only until thoroughly warmed.

Ladle into bowls and serve with garnishes.