Welcome to my Cooking Blog!

Goulash Soup

2 Tbl. Margarine

Enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot

1 onion chopped

2 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika (3 if you like it hotter)

1 tsp. sweet paprika

2 lbs. beef – bottom round cut unto 1 ½ inch chunks or good stew beef cut the same

flour to coat

3 cans of beef broth

1 pepper cut into strips

1 can diced tomatoes

salt and pepper

1 ½ to 2 cups of dices potatoes (I used 5 small)

Pour oil into the bottom of a Dutch oven.  Add margarine and heat until melted.  Add the onion and cook until soft on medium heat.  Add the paprika and cook slowly for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.  Roll the beef in the flour and add to the pot, browning (don’t worry if you can’t get them all to brown, they will cook long enough).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add beef broth, diced tomatoes, and sliced pepper.  Cook for 2 – 2 ½ hours on low flame (covered with the cover cracked open slightly) stirring occasionally.  Add potatoes and continue cooking for 1 ½ hours.  The sauce will thicken and condense and the meat is the tenderest I’ve had in a LONG time!  Enjoy!

Monday night I needed a quick supper – my two year old had decided not to nap, and we were all tired and he needed to go to bed soon after supper.  I had taken out some chicken and wanted something quicker than making chicken  fingers (always a good seller in our house) so I marinated chicken strips in Italian dressing and then pan fried them.  I served them with steamed potatoes with dill and some frozen mixed vegetables.  We were all full, and bed was not as late as it might have been!

Tonight I used the leftover roast beef from Sunday night and made beef in gravy and served it over mashed potatoes with corn.  Another easy but delicious meal.  My gravy was made with gluten-free flour so the meal was gluten-free.  When I was a child, we often had a fricassee of chicken, turkey, or beef and it was served in the same way – first the mashed potatoes were put in the center of the plate, corn was dished on top of the potatoes, and the whole thing was topped with the meat and gravy.   Fot my son, I usually put each part of the meal separately on the plate.  Tonight I dished his as I dished ours – in a lovely pile!  He loved it and ate almost every bite.  Not a bad recommendation from the little guy!

Tomorrow – a pasta day!

See the recipe at Best Chicken Fingers – Even Gluten Free

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Layer the following ingredients in a 1 ½ pint jar in the order listed:

½ cup dry split peas (yellow or green)

1/3 cup beef bullion granules

¼ cup pearl barley

½ cup dry lentils

¼ cup dry minced onion

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ cup uncooked long grain rice

½ cup small macaroni

Seal jar tightly.

To prepare soup:

Remove macaroni from the top of the jar and set aside.

In Dutch oven brown one pound of ground beef and drain.

Add 3 quarts of water.

Add one can (28oz.) diced tomatoes

Add soup ingredients.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat – cover and simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add macaroni – cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Yields 16 servings – about 4 quarts.

If you like it, pass it along!

To make this gluten-free, omit the barley and add extra lentils or split peas, use gluten-free broth or bullion, and add any small gluten-free pasta.  Our local grocery store carries a small pasta called “Veggie Curls” that work really well in this soup.

4 potatoes

4 carrots

4 Tbs. margarine

3 cans beef stock

1 –2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ tsp. thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup milk

5 oz. shredded cheddar

Clean, peel, and dice vegetables.  Melt margarine in a soup pot and sauté the vegetables lightly for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add stock, garlic, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup, either in a blender and return to the pot, or use a hand blender. Add milk and cheese and reheat the soup but do not allow it to boil.  Serve hot.

St. Patrick Irish Cheddar Soup

• 4 potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 4 Tbs. margarine
• 3 cans beef stock
• 1 –2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp. thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk
• 5 oz. shredded cheddar

Clean, peel, and dice vegetables.  Melt margarine in a soup pot and sauté the vegetables lightly for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add stock, garlic, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup, either in a blender and return to the pot, or use a hand blender. Add milk and cheese and reheat the soup but do not allow it to boil.  Serve hot.