My Corner of the World

I made this stew and it smelled heavenly. It tasted divine 🙂 I also made dumplings which go very well with it.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of beef broth (I use the reduced sodium beef broth)
• 1 c. red wine (optional but it does add a nice flavour)
• 9 c. water
• 1 large package of stewing beef
• 10 stalks of celery (in 1/2 inch slices)
• 1 bag of baby carrots (time-saver)
• 1 bag Europe’s Best potatoes (time-saver)
• 3 yellow onions (cut in 1/8’s)
• 1 medium leeks (in 1/4 inch slices)
• 2 220 g. container of sliced mushrooms (time-saver)
• 1 can chick peas (rinsed and drained)
• 1 can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 tsp No Salt (you can use salt but since I don’t use it, you’ll have to add a little and do a taste test until it’s just right – remember there’s still salt in the broth)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

In a large pot, add olive oil and beef. Brown the beef over medium-high heat then add wine. Bring to a boil and add remainder of ingredients starting with the broth. Boil for 1 hour or until all vegetables are fully cooked. Remove bay leaves and serve hot.

One of the things I love making is soup. I can control the sodium levels (to a certain degree), what exactly is going into it (no preservatives or strange ingredients) and it’s generally more healthy than store-bought soups since you can also control the fat content, etc. This soup is also packed with vitamins. You can try variations of this soup (adding or subtracting ingredients) and I’m sure it will turn out great.

Ingredients:

• 6 c. Campbell’s chicken broth (reduced sodium)
• 9 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. chopped skinless chicken breast (cooked)
• 4 stalks of celery (in 1/2 inch slices)
• 1 284 g. bag of shredded carrot (time-saver)
• 2 yellow onions (in 1/4 inch slices)
• 2 medium leeks (or 1 large one, in 1/4 inch slices)
• 1 220 g. container of sliced mushrooms (time-saver)
• 2 c. pasta (shells work well)
• 2 tsp No Salt (you can use salt but since I don’t use it, you’ll have to add a little and do a taste test until it’s
  just right – remember there’s still salt in the chicken broth)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation:

In a large pot, add all ingredients. Bring to a mild boil for 1 hour or until all vegetables are fully cooked. The whole pot of soup is about 1400 calories.

Tips:

• You might want to add only 6 cups of water at first depending how large your pot is and as it cooks, since it will reduce, add the
  remaining 3 cups a little later on so there’s no overflow
• Since I’m a garlic lover, I add 3 tsp. garlic powder. This is especially good if you have a cold.
• If you find it’s too thick, add 1 c. broth and 3 more c. water to thin it out. Don’t forget to season to taste.

Here’s a good chicken stock recipe that I got from a magazine and will modify it just to perfect it 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 stewing hen (or 3lbs/1.5kg chicken pieces)
• 3 carrots, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 onions, peeled and halved
• 3 ribs of celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 plastic container of fresh sliced mushrooms
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp (2ml) dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp (2ml) peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 cups (2 L) water
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, place olive oil in and onions flat side down at medium to high heat. Let them brown. Place chicken a large stockpot. Add add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 2 hours. Remove bay leaves and discard. Remove all vegetables and strain liquid to have a clean broth.

Tip:

• Remaining vegetables and chicken can be eaten with some of the broth as a stew