Well, today was a bit cold. I think the high here in Billings today was 5*. Some of my friends and I met for the first cross country ski of the season. I invited everyone over afterwards for some soup. Usually when its cold it seems that I always make chili but I really prefer a broth soup. That seems to warm me up more than anything. So, before I left the house I threw a bunch of things in the crock pot and let it cook. You can use whatever vegetables that you have on hand fresh /frozen or a combination. I don't recommend using beef burger because it is too fatty and has to be cooked before hand and drained.Therefore, I usually use game burger or stew meat. For today's soup I used elk burger(yes, Art got his elk) I like to use barley as it helps lower cholesterol. As always, all amounts are approximate and can be adjusted depending on how many you will feed.
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 lbs of burger or stew meat
1 c uncooked barley
4 c water or low sodium beef broth ( I use broth as it adds more flavor)
1 c each chopped onion, carrots, corn
1 or 2 cans stewed tomatoes
1-2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste.
Put all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with whole grain bread.
My friends told me it was perfect after the cold day of skiing.
Don't you just love the weather in Montana. I don't know about Billings, but here in Anaconda it is supposed to be 21 below zero on Wednesday. I went to the Bobcat-Griz game on Saturday and froze my butt off. I would have like to have had some of the soup you mentioned up above.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any good recipes for cooking with Elk meat? My husband, son and daughter all got their Elk this year and I usually don't like to eat it, for one I don't know how to cook it so it doesn't taste gamey and another I think it is just psychological. I usually give all the meat away but the way the economy is right now, I think it would be a good idea to start cooking with it. So, if you have any good suggestions, please let me know. Thanks Julie!!
That sounds like it hit the spot for you and your friends after your day of skiing. Do you think you could use beef stew meat instead of elk meat? I don't know where in the world I would be able to find that down here in Atlanta. : )
ReplyDeleteJulie, where did you learn to cook? Are you self-taught?
Hey Julie - I went to the store this evening and could not find barley! Where is it located. I thought it would be by the dried beans...no luck. Do I have to go to a specialty store. Anyways am trying this for tomorrow without the barley, just going to add some of my homemade egg noodles instead.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteWhat are you cooking for Thanksgiving? Do you have any good left-over recipes you could share for turkey, et al?
I love soup! I will have to try this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI've posted a few times in this class about missing Montana and the West, but I'm not so sure I envy you all right now with those crazy cold temperatures. While the skiing sounds fun, I hope you all are able to stay warm. Oh, and make sure not to send any of that weather to Kansas City! :)
ReplyDeleteArt was up the day after I made this soup and he got to have some of the leftovers. He added some red wine to it and that made it delicious.
ReplyDeleteTami-Barley can be found in the rice/pasta isle. The stuff I buy is in a box.