White Bean, Cabbage, Carrot & Potato Soup

It's been a rainy weekend, so there was lots of opportunity to put my apron on and make a big batch of soup for my weekly "Sunday Stew Special".  I had a few potatoes left that were starting to go soft so I figured I'd better use them up.  This soup is a great budget friendly, good ol' classic recipe.  I've also been cooking with dried beans and lentils more and more and cutting back on our dependence upon meat for protein.  Plus, they're cheap, fill you up, have tons of fibre, and are SO GOOD for you!  I cooked up a big crockpot full of white beans earlier this week, so I had some ready to go for this soup.  I've learned it's better to cook the beans ahead of time, store them in the fridge or freezer, and then toss them into recipes as needed.

Anyway, here is what was on today's menu!

White Bean, Cabbage, Carrot and Potato Soup

2 T olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 head medium cabbage, cored and shredded
5 medium potatoes peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups slow cooked (or 1 14 ounce can) cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups veggie or chicken stock (you can learn how to make them from scratch here and here.)
3/4 t. thyme
salt and pepper to taste
20 fennel seeds

Saute the onions, carrot and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until softened -  about 5 minutes.

Toss all the veggies into the slow cooker except for the beans.
Pour the stock over all.
Season with salt and pepper, mix in the fennel seeds, cover and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.
Add beans and stir.
Serve with thick slices of whole grain bread.  This is a great bread dipping soup!

The fennel seeds are apparently supposed to help with the gassiness that can come with high fibre foods such as beans and cabbage.  I'll let you know how it goes.....

Results from the Brownlee Test Kitchen

10 year old - (when she came into the kitchen)  Mmmmm....something smells delicious!  (That was a positive sign!)  It's very potatoey.  I'd say it's a keeper.
13 year old - Does this have cabbage?  (When she was convinced by her 10 yr old sister that you couldn't even taste the cabbage she gave it a try).  It's not bad.  It's a typical potato soup.  Eh.  I guess it's a keeper.  (I was just happy to get some cabbage into my cabbage despising daughter.)
4 year old - More carrots please!  (Soup is one of the few foods I can get her eat more than a couple spoonfuls.)  I managed to convince her to try the white beans too.  She only ate a couple before stating,  I don't like those beans!  I'm accepting this one as a thumbs up from her though.
The Cook - This is tasty, filling, simple soup.  Good thing I enjoy it...I made so much that I've got a ton stored in the freezer.

As with all soups...use what you have!  Be creative with your herbs and spices.  Make a big batch, store it in small freezer containers and pull it out when you need a quick, healthy lunch or supper.  It's better than a box of instant Mac & Cheese!

"Kids Are Gone" Cabbage & Kielbasa Dinner

My oldest daughter hates cabbage.  It's really too bad, 'cause it's such a misunderstood veggie.  Plus, it's cheap!  And it lasts such a LONG time in the fridge!  Plus we're part Ukrainian.

But since she and her sister were invited out to a movie today with their friends, I decided to make something that they wouldn't mind missing.

Slow Cooker Cabbage/Potato/Sausage Dinner

Ingredients

1 small head cabbage, diced into large chunks 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Kielbasa turkey sausage cut in 1 to 2-inch pieces 4-6 potatoes, cubed 1 cup apple juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar pepper, to taste

Directions

Layer the potatoes, onion, cabbage, and sausage in slow cooker. Whisk together the juice, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar; pour over slow cooker ingredients.

Sprinkle with pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low for  6-8 hours.

Note to self:  When you leave the house make sure you don't accidentally unplug the the slow cooker or else when you come home hungry at 1:30 PM you won't find the food cold and uncooked and you don't have to wait another half hour while you fry the food up in the electric skillet.

At any rate, here's what the Brownlee Test Kitchen had to say:

Husband:  It's Ukrain-i-lish-ous - I like it.
Starving College Student:  I was a little worried at first about the cabbage, but the flavour of the sausage makes up for it - that's definitely the best part of the stew.
The Cook:  I like it - the cabbage isn't too soggy and it's flavour gets milder when it's cooked.  (I liked it so much that I had the leftovers later in the evening.)
Four Year Old: - ate nothing.  Her kidney disease leaves her with no appetite, which is made up for with a super high calorie formula mix she drinks....if I can get a few bites of food into her it's more just for the fun of it.

Super cheap, super easy, and I love it....but then again, that's probably the Ukrainian in me showing up!

Sunday Stew Special - Burritos 911!

For some reason, on Saturday night I completely forgot that I needed to pull together something to put in the crock pot for Sunday's lunch.  It was probably because I was just plain old tuckered out from our scary shed clean out from that afternoon or because my oldest girl was having a friend sleep over so we were enjoying a late night movie & candy fest.

I actually slept in later than I normally do on Sundays, and it wasn't until half an hour before I needed to leave for church that I remembered, "Ack!  Lunch!  I have nothing in the crockpot!"  It was tempting for a second to think, "Well, we'll just do fast food lunch out today", but I quickly shoved that thought aside and rose to the challenge of a last minute crock pot meal.

It also happened to be one of those days where you seem to be out of everything in the fridge, all at once, but I did see that we had ground beef and sour cream.  I thought perhaps I could do some sort of easy beef stroganoff, but that thought didn't really appeal to me.  Then I noticed the container of salsa, and so the idea of something sort of Mexican came to mind.  So here is my thrown-together-completely-last-minute-Sunday-Stew-Special which we decided to call...

"Burritos 911"

Brown 2 lbs ground beef with a couple teaspoons garlic powder
Dump into crock pot and stir in a tub of sour cream and about 2 cups chunky salsa.
Heat on low a few hours.
Have husband pick up some tortillas on the way home.
Serve with grated cheese (we had mozza).

OK, so maybe my burritos weren't as perfectly folded and garnished with cilantro....or is that parsley?

Anyway, here are the results from the BROWNLEE TEST KITCHEN...

4 year  old - I like the cheese.  Can I have more fishy crackers?  Moommmmmmmy....I want more fishy crackers!
Husband - it's good.  A little too juicy though.
12 yr old - I'm not really sure.  A little messy.
Donny (starving college student #1 who had polished off his first burrito before I even had a chance to glance at mine) - It's nice and juicy.  And it's cool 'cause all the food is already all mixed together.  You don't need to make other dishes dirty. (which I heartily agreed with - oh, the wonders of a crockpot!).
10 yr old - I like it.  It's very juicy and a little spicy.  You should forget to make stew more often.
James - ( starving college student #2)  I like it.  It's even better with cheese. Everything is better with cheese!
The Cook - I'm just glad I was able to throw something together last minute.  And I like it better than the Irish Stew we had last week!

So there you have it, not quite a stew, but the Crock Pot still saves the day.

Sunday Stew Special #6 - Irish Beef & Potato Stew

In honour of St Patty's Day just a few days ago, I decided to make an Irish Stew.  Here's the recipe I used.

Irish Beef and Potato Stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 white onion, cut into large chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Irish stout beer (e.g. Guinness®)
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss beef cubes with flour to coat, then fry in the hot oil until browned. Place the carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic in a large slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the vegetables. Mix together the beef broth and tomato paste and pour into the slow cooker along with the beer.
2. Cover and cook on High for 6 hours or Low for 8 hours. During the last hour before serving, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water and then stir into the broth. Simmer on the High setting for a few minutes to thicken. 
3. Season with salt and pepper.

My husband was off to get his haircut yesterday morning and I asked him, "Oh, by the way, can you go to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of Guiness while you're out?"  "Uhhhhh...OK."  An unusual request from me, since neither of us drink, but he managed to find what the recipe called for.

It was late Saturday night that I realized I was out of carrots, so it became just a beef & potato stew.  Carrots for colour would have been nice, but it wasn't a deal breaker.

Here are the reviews from the Brownlee Test Kitchen!
12 yr old - The meat is sooo tender - I really like it.  Can I have some more?  You barely gave me any.
10 yr old -  It's alright, but I've never really had the desire to try ale.
4 yr old - Making a great shoulder shudder.  I don't like it.  It's too sour.
Husband - It's good.  The meat is tender, but the gravy is a bit sour.  Salt and pepper helps.
Guest (starving student intern from the college we had over for lunch) - It's better than what I would be eating at the cafeteria.  I'm not picky.  I don't have a very refined palate.  (Ummmm......I think that's a compliment?.....)
The Cook -The meat is amazingly tender, but I agree.  The sauce has a sour tang that I'm not keen on.  I guess I wouldn't make a good very good irish beer drinker.

Final vote - Three thumbs up, three down.  Maybe I'll make it again next St Patrick's Day.  Unless there are better irish stew recipes out there.  I'd love to hear if you have any!

P.S  One of my favourite parts of this meal though was the sourdough bread we enjoyed with our stew.  Have you ever seen flour stencilling?  Love it!

101 Bean Soup - It's Just Plain Hard to Cook With Beans

I'm sure it was almost a month ago, as I was perusing the bulk section that I decided to buy a bag of 15 Bean Soup Mix.  I finally used them for today's Sunday Stew Special.  Here's what I did.


Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced 2 carrots, diced 3 carrots, diced 3 tablespoons chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced 8 ounce package 15 bean  mixture, soaked overnight, drained & rinsed 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 cups vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon for a few minutes, then add carrots. Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and garlic; cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, and add beans & tomatoes in juice.  Pour Veggie stock over all and stir.  (I learned how to make Veggie Stock from my friend, Lisa.
2.	Cover, and cook 6 hours on low or until beans are tender. (6 hours wasn't long enough for my beans!) Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

We came home from church to the smell of a delicious bean soup waiting for us.  But when I took the lid off and sampled it, I discovered they were still hard.  Arrrgh!  I hurriedly put the beans in a pot to simmer on the stove, but it was almost an hour till they were tender enough to serve.  I'm sure by that point my family would have eaten rocks so they were just happy when they were called to the table.

It was served piping hot with whole wheat buns.  Here were the reviews from the Brownlee Test Kitchen!

Husband:  I like it.  It's good.  Really.  But yeah.... the beans are a little underdone.
Homestay Student:  I didn't even know they weren't done enough.  It's so good.  I love the spice.  I'm glad it has no meat; I was craving something not very heavy.
Grandma:  It's good.  The flavour is very nice.
10 Yr Old:  It's a little spicy.
12 Yr Old:  I haven't tried it yet, it's too hot.  The bun is good dipped in it.  (I never did get her opinion on the soup.  Actually, I'm not even sure if she actually ate any.)
4 Yr Old:  She didn't even make it till lunch was ready; she ate a bun and then had a nap.
The Cook:  I really like the mild spicy flavour, but how long do I need to cook these beans???  Maybe I should have done them in the slow cooker all night long.

To get to the bottom of my underdone lentils, I found a helpful article with great tips for cooking with dried beans.   I figured out what I did wrong -  cooking them in the acidic tomato juice actually means they will take longer.  The tomatoes should get added at the very end.  I'm not going to give up learning how to cook with dried beans yet!  I will conquer those stubborn little legumes!

P.S.  The reason I called this 101 Bean Soup is because when my youngest asked me what I was making, and I answered, "15 Bean Soup", she said, "You mean 101 Bean Soup.  Because there's 101 Puppies in the doggie movie."  Gotta love 4 yr old logic.

Sunday Stew Special #4 - Candy Cane Goulash

In my bag of produce from our community's Harvest Box program, I was introduced to a new veggie, Candy Cane Beets.  When you slice them open they are so pretty - bright pink & white swirls, just like a peppermint.

I decided to use them for my Sunday Stew Special, with potatoes, ground beef, and sour cream.  Since I couldn't find any slow cooker recipe for this, I had to invent my own.

CANDY CANE GOULASH

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium candy cane beets, chopped
5 medium potatoes, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp thyme

Directions:
Scramble fry the ground beef, adding onion and garlic at end to brown.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, & thyme.
Pour 3/4 cup water in bottom of crock pot, adding beets, potatoes, & ground beef mixture.  Stir together.

I cooked it on low for 7 hours, but I found the beets a little undercooked, so 8-10 hours would have been better.  Stir a cup of sour cream into stew before serving.  Garnish with sour cream & sauerkraut if desired.

This was totally experimental, so I was sad to see that the nice, stripey pattern on the beet disappeared after being in the slow cooker.  The colours all leached and blended together, leaving the beet an odd grayish, purple shade.  Ah well.  Cover them with enough sour cream, and no one will notice.

We had some of our daughters' friends over for lunch, so they got to be part of the
Brownlee Test Kitchen Reviews:

Most of the kids had never tried a beet before.  They were pleasantly surprised!  I think they expected them to taste like turnips or brussel sprouts.

Husband:  I'm disappointed in the colour.  It's a good flavour combo, but I'd like it a little saucier.  He likes it saucy!
Homestay Student:  Speaking through her stuffed up nose, I'm not a really good person to ask right now.  I can't taste anything!    I like the texture though - nice and creamy.
10 Year old Daughter - It's really good, especially the sour cream.  It's a little undercooked though.
11 Year old Friend - I was giving her a second helping before I had even tasted mine, I love the beets! I'm sooooo hungry.  She ate three helpings.
12 Yr old Daughter - It's alright.  I like the beets.
13 Yr Old Friend - Holding up a potato, Is this a beet?  When told what the beets looked like she replied, Oh, I already ate one.  I liked it!  I thought it was a potato.  The flavours are really good together and I like the sour cream.
4 Year Old - While we were encouraging her to take a bite, one of the big girls said, It's so good - it taste like candy!  So she replied, It tastes like candy!  I pressed her to come up with her own answer.  It tastes like chocolate.  Ummmmm...sure.
The Cook - I'm sad the swirls didn't show up on the beets;  roasting would probably work better.  If I made it again , I would make a sour cream sauce and mix it right in with the ground beef.  I'd slow cook it longer too.

The Verdict:
4 Thumbs Up
2 Thumbs Down
2 Sideways Thumbs to try again.

Sunday Stew Special #3 - Pineapple Chicken over Rice

Don't you love it when chicken meat just falls off the bones after 6 hours in a slow cooker?  I had some chicken drumsticks, (one of the most affordable chicken cuts generally), in the freezer so I decided to make use of those for our Sunday Stew Special.

Pineapple Chicken over Rice
2 lbs chicken legs, skin removed
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, cut into coins
2 celery sticks, cut into 1/2 inch diagonally slices
1 can pineapple tidbits, reserve the juice
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp grounder ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Place drumsticks on bottom of crockpot.
Add sliced veggies & pineapple tidbits.
Mix in remaining ingredients in small saucepan with reserved pineapple juice.  Heat on medium and stir till well blended and hot.  Pour into crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

I thickened the sauce when I returned home by straining out the liquid into the saucepan & thickening with some flour.

I cooked the brown rice before leaving for church in the morning.  I didn't need to reheat the rice, since pouring the saucy stew over top made it nice & hot.

I didn't have red peppers in mine, but that would be a nice addition.

Here's what the Brownlee Test Kitchen had to say!
4 yr old - still sick with no appetite.  Laid on couch & watched Tinkerbell.
10 yr old - I don't think pineapples go good with stew.  She was also sick and had very little appetite.
12 yr old - It's great!  The chicken is so good and tender.  Could use more flavour though.
Husband - I'm enjoying this stew.  I'm going to have some more.  Darling.  (Now he knows that I will write down what he says, he's trying to sound like the perfect husband!)  It could use more soya sauce.
Homestay Student - It's okay. When pressed for more details she added,  Maybe some spice would help?  I like you, just not your stew.  I assured her I wouldn't take it personally.
The Cook - I'm glad the pineapples aren't overpoweringly sweet like some pineapple sauce.  It is a little too bland though.  Next time I would add chicken stock to flavour it up.

Votes:  3 Thumbs up (with more flavour added), 2 Thumbs Down, One Littlest Thumb playing on Daddy's iPhone.

Sunday Stew Special #2 - Columbian Beef & Sweet Potato Stew

To get myself out of the regular, old, Slow Cooker Beef Stew rut, I'll be trying out a new stew every Sunday.  I'll post the recipe and also the results from the Brownlee Test Kitchen.  This week I had a sweet potato in the fridge that needed using up, so here is what a google search came up with from the Betty Crocker website.

Columbian Beef & Sweet Potato Stew

1 lb boneless beef chuck ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1 ½ teaspoons olive or vegetable oil 3 cups 1-inch pieces peeled sweet potatoes 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic 2 whole cloves 1 dried bay leaf 1 stick cinnamon 1 large onion, cut into eighths 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained 8 dried apricots, cut in half Chopped fresh parsley, if desired Remove excess fat from beef. Cut beef into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook beef in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix beef and remaining ingredients except apricots and parsley. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours or until beef is tender. Stir in apricots. Cover; cook on Low heat setting about 15 minutes or until apricots are softened. Discard cloves, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Sprinkle stew with parsley. Serve over rice or couscous.   Reviews from the Brownlee Test Kitchen: 4 yr old:  "I wanted soup.  Are these carrots?"   Daddy:  "They are carrot-ish." 10 yr old:  "I'm sure it would be good if you liked sweet potatoes.  But you know that I don't like sweet potatoes." 12 yr old:  "Oh, it's great.  Except for the apricots.  Here, do you want mine that I found?"  (Should be noted that she only ate half her bowl.) Husband:  "I like it.  It has an interesting taste.  It would also be good with chicken." (It should also be noted that my husband is the least picky person I have know.  He likes everything.) The Cook:  "It's too heavy on the sweet potatoes.  And I like sweet potatoes!  I think I would half it next time with regular potatoes.  But I do like the cinnamon flavour." The Verdict:  No thumbs up, 3 sideways thumbs to try it again with some changes, one four year old ignoring us to go play with her playdough.

Sunday Stew Special #1 - MoROCKcan Butternut Squash Stew

Sunday is Stew Day around here.  We don't get home from church till usually around 1:30 PM and by then we are all starving.  To avoid the trap of, "We'll just stop at McRaunchy's" on the way home, I make a stew in the slow cooker on Saturday evening, and then plug it in Sunday morning before we head out the door.  It becomes our main meal of the day and keeps me from having to prepare another meal a few hours later.  We usually have popcorn for supper Sunday nights.  Mom's should get a day of rest from the kitchen too, right?

But I've been making pretty much the same version of a beef stew every week, and as much as my family appreciates it, the time has come to branch out.  So to give me a little nudge out of my stew rut, I decided I'll be trying out a different recipe every week and posting the new Sunday Stew recipe here, along with the my family's reactions. 

Of course, I didn't think this all through ahead of time, so at 9:30 PM Saturday night when I thought, "Oh, I need to make the stew!"; I looked in the fridge and saw that I had a Butternut Squash.  A quick google search bought up this one from Epicurious.  I had to make a few changes, especially since I used dried chick peas instead of canned, so here's what I ended up with.

 MoROCKcan Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Carrot Stew

1 spray(s) cooking spray
half a small onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes*
1 cup sliced carrot coins
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chickpeas, soaked in 4 cups water overnight, drained & rinsed.

Preparation

Coat a small skillet with cooking spray.
Add onion and garlic; sauté for 5 minutes.
Place squash in a 3-quart or larger slow cooker (crockpot).
Add sauteed onion and garlic, carrots, broth, cinnamon, cumin and red pepper flakes.
Cover and turn on low heat 6-8 hours.
Serve with cooked Couscous

Scroll down for the family's reviews!

Not my MoROCKcan Stew, but isn't that a lovely plate?

 Brownlee Test Kitchen Reviews:
4 yr old daughter - I don't like the crust on the bread.  (She never gave any opinion on the stew - the bread was her main concern.)
10 yr old daughter - It's too spicy.
12 yr old daughter - It's too plain.
Husband - It MoROCKS!
Homestay Student - It could use more veggies, like peppers or something.
The Cook - The chick peas aren't quite as tender as I'd like.  I've got to learn how to cook with dried beans.

Overall, we gave it 3 thumbs up (from the adults) and 2 thumbs down (from the big kids - the four yr old just ate more bread.)  Let me know if you tried it and how you like it.  Or if you've got some great recipes to suggest for the Sunday Stew Special, please pass them along to the Brownlee Test Kitchen!

P.S.  Turned the leftovers into a soup for Monday's lunch:  Added some onion soup mix, water, pureed with a hand blender, heated, and served with pepper & parmesan cheese on top.  Thumbs up!