Beef & Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pound leftover roast (Today I used tri-tip.)

drippings from the roast or 2 cans beef stock

1 large onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

6 carrots, sliced

1 pound bag of frozen cut green beans

2 -12 oz. cans of V-8 juice

3/4 cup pearl barley

boiling water to fill crock

Here’s the easy part.  Throw all the chopped, sliced and cubed ingredients in the crock pot.  Add the barley, stock or drippings and the V-8.  Fill the crock pot with boiling water.  Turn the crock on to high heat and cook for 6 hours.

Serve this soup with some fresh bread and a green salad!  Simple, delicious and nutritious.

You have to plan ahead for this meal. The meat needs to marinate for at least 24 hours, so I started yesterday on this dinner. I also bought an inexpensive pork shoulder roast that will require a very long, slow cooking time, so I had to plan to have it ready to go into the oven before I left for work. The black beans also take a fairly long time to cook, so I put them in the crock pot this morning. A little planning will go a long way, because this is a delicious dinner. Here are the recipes:

Cuban Style Pork

Ingredients:
pork roast (I have used pork loin, pork shoulder and pork butt roasts for this meal)
lemons – at least one lemon per pound of pork
garlic – 3 or 4 cloves per pound, depending on how garlicky you want it to be
salt and pepper to taste

At least 24 hours before you need to put your roast in the oven, zest your lemons and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Peel and finely mince the garlic and mix with the juice and zest. Place the roast in a large bowl and pour the garlic and juice over the roast. I rub in the marinade before I cover and place in the refrigerator. Turn the roast in the marinade several time over the next 24 hours.

I cook this recipe on low heat for a long time. Heat your oven at 325°F. Place the roast in a heavy roasting pan with a lid or a cast-iron skillet and cover well with foil. Save the marinade in the refrigerator and every hour or so, baste the roast. Cook for about one hour per pound of meat. You will know when the roast is done, because it will be browned and falling apart. Slice or pull apart with a fork and serve with the following side dish.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
1 pound dry black beans
1 large onion
1 large green bell pepper
2 stalks celery
4 – 6 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 – 16 oz. can of crushed or diced tomatoes
4 cups of water for beans
2 cups of white rice
4 cups of water to cook rice

Chop the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Place the dry beans, vegetables, salt, pepper and canned tomatoes to the crock pot. Add the 4 cups of water and turn on high for approximately 5 hours. Check after a few hours and add more water if necessary to cook the beans until tender.

About half an hour before you are ready to serve dinner, boil the four cups of water. Add the rice to the boiling water. Turn down and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve the black beans over the white rice with your delicious Cuban style pork!

SAUSAGE LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic finely minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

16 oz. turkey or pork sweet Italian sausage

8 cups vegetable or beef broth

1 pound carrots chopped

3 stalks celery diced

2 large bell peppers chopped

1/2 pound dry lentils

1 – 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Parmesan cheese for topping

Cut the sausages into 1/2 inch slices.  The slicing is easier if the sausages are slightly frozen.  In a large heavy bottomed pan, brown the sausages in the olive oil.  Add the onion and sauté until tender.  Add the garlic and sauté until softened and fragrant.  To this mixture add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Allow soup to simmer until the lentils are tender.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

You can also make this soup in the crock pot.  Just brown the sausage and then put everything into the crock pot for about 10 hours on low or 6 hours on high.

This soup is so tasty and filling.  Serve it with some nice fresh bread and maybe a salad and you will definitely be satisfied.  Hope you enjoy this one!

Veggie Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts

4 cans chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

4 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 pound carrots (sliced or chopped)

4 stalks celery (sliced)

1/2 head of cabbage (chopped finely)

1 teaspoon salt

enough water to cover vegetables

parsley (fresh or dried)

1 pound frozen petite peas

In a large soup pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until softened.  Add in the chicken breasts and cook until slightly browned.  Pour in the chicken broth, carrots, celery, salt and cabbage.  Add water, if necessary, to make sure all vegetables are covered.  Adjust according to how much broth you like in your soup.  Bring the soup almost to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the chicken and let it cool on a plate.  When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and bones, shred the chicken and return to the pot.  Cook another 15 minutes.  Add the frozen peas and the parsley and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve.

If you like noodles in your soup, you can add dry egg noodles, homemade noodles (my mom’s are amazing) or cheese tortellini.  I like to top this soup with parmesan cheese!  Serve with some warm bread or biscuits and enjoy!