Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy)

   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #111  
They call sweet potatoes "Yams" in East Texas, in fact they have a "Yamboree" every year.
Can't speak for Texas, but what most people call sweet potatoes (orange flesh) are really yams. Actual sweet potatoes have a white flesh.
Worked p/t in the produce dept. of a supermarket about 30 years ago when I was between jobs.
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #113  
Just got back from visiting with our daughter's family and am just now catching up.

I will add this one thing; I have known folks who moved to a isolated, rural area and the culture shock was too much for them. The residents considered anyone who was even from the next town as being foreigners. The area is near a lake, and a lot of city folks have settled there now, but their culture is separate.
This is also true. The pastor at a local church commented on this a while back. He's from the next town over and said he'd never been across the river until he took the job here. (Towns are about 20 miles apart with the river halfway between them.)

You are a popular guy. People are drawn to you naturally. This is a gift from God. It is a blessing and your way cannot be aped. Texans are friendly people. It's their self-confidence, I think. One time, a couple of rangy guys in blue jeans, cowboy hats and boots came into a restaurant in Paris where I was dining at. I cringed because the French are not particularly receptive to Americans. To my surprise, everyone smiled spontaneously at the sight of the "Texans" in their midst and applauded.

What made you go "rural"? From software engineer to a farmer with 49 acres is a big leap. What are you growing on your land? Where did your wife get her recipe for her pot roast? Is it a Texan version handed down to her or something she created herself? Please share it with us.

Thank you and, yes, God has blessed me many times over and we try to spread that around to others. I've been in Texas before, when my dad was stationed in Texas, then I joined the Air Force and was sent to Texas, then when my kids graduated, they got jobs in Texas so we moved to be closer to them and the rest of the family. I've always enjoyed Texas and the people there. I think they are some of the friendliest people in the US.

What made me go rural? I've always wanted to be involved in agriculture, I loved being on my uncle's farms. I looked into what it would take to buy a farm and farm full time when I was a senior in high school. It cost to much to start from scratch. We dabbled in gardens and experimented with different plants most of our lives while working full time and were part of the Rare Fruit & Nut society. Now that we're retired we can devote more time to our hobbies. We're talking about building a green house. I really like some of the tropical plants, especially Plumeria, Lipstick Palm, and orchids. All those need lots of light and warm temperatures year round. +56 degrees could kill some of those plants and we need several flats of annuals for our flower beds. As for what we grow on our 49 acres - it's pine trees. It's not lucrative, but it pays the taxes.

We don't have any true Texas recipes, we've appropriated some of our neighbor's cooking techniques and applied our own modifications to techniques and flavors. I like to experiment with cooking. (A secret to share: It's always best to have someone to cook for, other than your spouse. This is where the church comes in, they don't know it but they are the guinea pigs for new recipies. I do taste it first and have had a few failures, but those that pass at home, then get tried out at the Wednesday nite church dinner.) There is a bread baker in the neighborhood and she and I compare notes on baking bread from scratch.

Here's the recipe my wife created, and she informed me it's not post roast, it's beef stew.

In a large slow cooker place:
1 bayleaf
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried celery flakes (to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika

Combine in a large measuring cup:
1-1/2 cups beef broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup red wine (do not use cooking wine, use one you would drink. We use a blended sweet red wine)
2 tbs Worstershire Sauce
2 beef bullion cubes crushed
Heat in microwave on high for 2 minutes, add to slow cooker

Add to slow cooker:
1 pound baby carrots, rinsed
1-1/2 pounds baby dutch potatoes, rinsed, large ones cut to bite size
1 medium onion cut into long slivers

Mix together in a plastic bag and combine by shaking:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika

Trim excess fat from a 2-1/2# chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes, drop into flour mix as cut.
Shake to coat when all meat in is the bag. Then add all bag contents to slow cooker, mix well.
Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Enjoy, freezes well if there are any leftovers.
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #114  
Here's the recipe my wife created, and she informed me it's not post roast, it's beef stew.
I can tell from the recipe that this stew is a keeper. Thanks for making the effort to share your wife's creation with us.
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #115  
Not soup or stew.... chili.

Pound of browned ground meat.
Can of chili-ready diced tomatoes.
Can of Brooks chili hot beans.
Pack of Chili-O seasoning, follow directions.

Fast, simple, tasty. Add some cheese, sour cream and goldfish or oyster crackers. 😛
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #116  
Not soup or stew.... chili.

Pound of browned ground meat.
Can of chili-ready diced tomatoes.
Can of Brooks chili hot beans.
Pack of Chili-O seasoning, follow directions.

Fast, simple, tasty. Add some cheese, sour cream and goldfish or oyster crackers.
Lol, I think the guys from Texas may take offense to the beans, but I agree, it looks like a nice quick and easy Chili recipe. I like to make Chili too (and also use beans), but mine is never the same twice, and is not nearly as simple.
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #117  
Lol, I think the guys from Texas may take offense to the beans, but I agree, it looks like a nice quick and easy Chili recipe. I like to make Chili too (and also use beans), but mine is never the same twice, and is not nearly as simple.
It's even better if you cook it, then put it in the fridge overnight, then warm it up again the next day. Also tastes great on an open face hot dog bun with a split dog and some onions.

But, that's no longer soup or stew or chili. Sorry for the thread drift. 😛

If I can, I'll post my recipe for oxtail soup again later.
 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #118  
Here's a preview...

Oxtail soup with ham and cheese sliders on Hawaiian buns.

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   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #119  
Here's my beef stew recipe; I know I've posted it elsewhere, but couldn't find it, so I didn't think it would hurt to post it again. It's not real quick, but it's really awesome!

“He Man Beef Stew”
This recipe has evolved over a period of 40 years of making stew to my liking. It has a very beefy flavor, and that is what I like. I have tried lots of different combinations of veggies, and most are good, but it is easy to get too much of one thing if you aren't careful. Such veggies as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are good, but I would never add over a cup of so of any of these combined.
Leeks are good, give good color, but have such a subtle taste that it is overpowered. Corn has such a powerful flavor that I never use any more that comes in a package of frozen mixed vegetables. It is very easy to get too much corn, and that ruins it for me.

INGREDIENTS

1 beef Chuck roast, 3-4 pounds, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
NOTE: (chuck roast is, in my opinion the best meat for stew; it has enough fat for flavor, and cooks up tender. You can often find a bone-in chuck roast, which is ideal. The soup bone adds that little bit of extra flavor that makes the stew great).

1 beef soup bone
4 or 5 medium white potatoes, sliced into 1 inch cubes
1 small stalk of celery, sliced into 3/4 inch lengths
1 small package of fresh carrots, sliced into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices
3 or 4 large mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup of pearl barley
1 small package of mixed vegetables
2 cups sliced okra

1 can diced tomatoes (You can add two cans if you really like tomatoes, but one is plenty if you intend
to add the Rotel. And DO NOT USED STEWED TOMATOES unless you like your stew to have a
sweet flavor, which I don't)

2 -11.5 oz. cans of V8 vegetable juice
1 can of Rotel tomatoes with diced chili peppers (optional, omit if you don't like a bit of hot peppers)
1 tbsp dry parsley flakes
1 tbsp sweet Basil (dry is what I use)
4 cloves fresh garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 medium YELLOW onion, diced​
1 tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stew pot, add oil and onion. Turn heat on high, and stir occasionally until onions begin to clarify. I usually start cutting up the chuck roast at this time.

Add cubed beef, sweet basil, garlic, salt and pepper (I usually don't have the meat all cut up before the onions are ready, so I end up adding it a little bit at a time as I get it cut). Stir occasionally until meat is well browned.

You can start slicing the celery, carrots and potatoes. (Man, smells good, doesn't it?) Add V8 juice, pearl barley, parsley flakes, soup bone and enough water to cover if necessary.

Lower heat to medium and simmer until meat starts to show some tenderness, usually about 1/2 hour or so.
Add carrots and celery, cook on low heat for approximately 30 minutes, or until carrots begin to show tender.

Add the frozen veggie mix, and cook for approximately another 1/2 hour (it's good to check the cooking times on the label, and adjust the cooking time accordingly). Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat until potatoes are done, approximately another 1/2 hour or so.
ENJOY
NOTE: I often add SMALL amounts of other frozen veggies, such as black eyed peas, lima beans, bell peppers, stir fry, etc., for color, if they are available. Be careful, though, you may have to get a bigger pot, and end up with too many veggies and not enough meat.
And remember, some veggies, especially fresh veggies, may take a bit longer to cook, so you may have to add them earlier in the process.​


 
   / Post your favorite winter time stew or soup (Bonus points if it's easy) #120  
Here's a country boy's equivalent of stir fry...and it's good!

COUNTRY BOY’S STIR FRY


Ingredients:



2 patties (equivalent) of Jimmy Dean’s Sage Sausage, crumbled

½ tsp. powdered garlic

1 tsp butter

2 rib of celery, thinly sliced

6 to 8 green onions, chopped

4 to 6 large button mushrooms, sliced

½ tsp. of dill weed



Brown and crumble the sausage in a frying pan; stirring often. Drain any grease.

Add the butter, garlic, dill weed and mushrooms; stir constantly for about 5 minutes or so, or until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the celery and green onions; stir until they are heated through. Serves two, or one if you’re really hungry.
 

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