PIONEER WOMAN'S BEAN WITH BACON SOUP

I love, love, love, loveeeeeeeee soup.  You know those snobby soup people who only make it from scratch, and gag at the thought of (shudder) canned soup?  Those people are the worst!  Just kidding.  Because those people include ME!  I only became a soup snob in the past five years or so, and there is one canned darling that still has my heart: Campbell's Condensed Bean with Bacon.  It is just something else; it is SPECIAL.  But I do feel snobby soup person guilt when I purchase it.  So when I saw that the Pioneer Woman herself had figured out how to make it, and make it deeeeeelicious, I figured I could kick the canned version to the curb for good.  And I did.  And I have.  Come over and check out my pantry, there are no canned soups!

I followed her recipe except for two tiny things: I did not save any bacon for garnish, I threw it all in the soup.  And I added a dash of Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning for a kick.  This soup was good the first day, but great the next day!

LENTIL SOUP WITH BEEF

 
Do you ever rip recipe pages from magazines that don't belong to you?  I do it all the time, especially with my mom's magazines.  She knows this and forbids me from tearing out any of her pages.  "Because, Katie, what if I want to make that recipe some day?!"  How dare she!  So I have to take tiny little pictures with my phone of the recipes I like.  Poor me.

Anyway, I saw this recipe in her Family Circle magazine and it sounded scrumptious!  I've always wanted to cook with dry beans, and this sounded like an easy introduction.  The recipe calls for sirloin steak, which is fairly affordable.  I couldn't find any at the store, so I ended up purchasing some other Angus boneless steak.  It's going to be cooked for 8 hours in a crockpot, so whichever cut you choose, it'll be cooked to tender perfection.

Cut your meat into equal sized pieces to ensure even cooking.  Brown in a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper.  This will give your soup a richer flavor.  If you're short on time you can just throw raw meat in the crockpot.  The only change I made to the recipe was to add a can of petite diced tomatoes, dried oregano and salt.  I also upped the amount of all the veggies to boost the nutrition!  You can serve as a soup, or make it a filling meal and serve over cooked egg noodles.  I am addicted to pasta, so I chose the latter.

Ingredients

1 lb boneless sirloin steak
4 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 cup lentils, rinsed and drained (1/2 a lb)
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Trim fat from meat and cut into equal sized pieces, about 3/4 an inch.  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in nonstick skillet.  Add meat, season with salt and pepper then cook until browned.  Add meat to crockpot.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.  Taste and add additional salt as needed.  Serve over egg noodles or as a soup.  *Note: you may notice fresh parsley in the pictures and the original recipe, but I don't think it belonged in this soup.  It was an unwelcome surprise to bite into, and I will omit it next time.

LASAGNA SOUP

Another amazingly easy one pot dish!  Lasagna is a classic, but full of heavy ricotta and very labor intensive.  This soup is a lot healthier and is ready in about 45 minutes.  It's filling, comforting and uses affordable ingredients.  I adapted this recipe from here.  My version has more broth and pasta, and includes the addictive Texas Toast brand croutons.  They give the soup more flavor and a satisfying crunch.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey
48 ounces chicken broth
15 ounces tomato sauce
15 ounces petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 heaping cups rotini pasta
grated parmesan, shredded mozzarella and croutons for topping

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, then add onions.  Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add ground turkey, cook and crumble.  When meat is fully cooked, pour in broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt and cayenne pepper.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, then add pasta.   Bring back to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until pasta is done.  Top each bowl with parmesan, mozzarella and croutons.

RED POSOLE

Posole is a hearty soup consisting of chickpeas, shredded pork (sometimes beef) and a rich, red broth.  My grandma has been making this traditional soup for our family since before I was born.  She usually only makes it for us once a year, so I had to find a way to keep my belly happy those other 364 days.  I finally found the perfect combination of ingredients, and came up with this.  Of course I developed the recipe for the slow cooker, because there's nothing better than meat that's been cooked all day.  See???

You put all the ingredients in the slow cooker, go to work, come home and have meat that just FALLS APART. I am partial to Old El Paso brand enchilada sauce and I do believe it makes a difference in this recipe.  I've had it with other brands, and it just doesn't taste the same.  Also, since slow cooker meals are usually made in the morning while running out the door to work, I use two of my favorite cooking shortcuts:

No chopping and most importantly: no garlic and onion scented fingers to ruin your day!

Another favorite shortcut of mine are these magical things but with this recipe, they steal too much of the flavor.  Please promise me you will go without them just this once!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 (2 or 2.5 pound) boneless pork loin roast
1 (14.5 ounce) can MEDIUM enchilada sauce
1 (28 ounce) can MILD enchilada sauce
4 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped (or dried chopped onion)
1 (4.25 ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 (32 ounce) carton beef broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more if you can handle it!
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Cut the pork loin into large chunks, about 6-8 big pieces.  Heat the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Place pork in skillet and sear all sides. You don't want to fully cook the pork, just sear the sides to seal in all the juices.
2. Place the meat in a large crock pot. Pour the enchilada sauce over the meat. Top with the chickpeas, onion, chiles, garlic, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Pour in enough beef broth to fill the slow cooker (you might not need the entire carton).
   
3. Cover and cook on High for 6 to 7 hours.  Remove the chunks of pork spoonfuls at a time to shred.  At this point, you should only have to smash them with a large wooden spoon and they fall apart.  Find and discard any bits of fat.  Stir in can of tomato paste to crock pot until blended.  Carefully put shredded pork back in crock pot.  Add salt.  Cook for about another hour on low.  Taste broth and add additional salt or cayenne pepper as necessary.  Serve with fresh tortillas, chips or corn bread.