So last night was the last "soup day" of the season. sop Season is of course my way of saying soup is for cold weather only. As a child we hardly ever had home made soup, at that time it was mostly Campbell's or the store brand with may-be some leftovers added in, poor man's food.
UH, well that was then and this is now!!! Years later soup is a work of culinary art, or at least as close to it as i can get. For soup is not to be rushed, either in the making or in the enjoying. However it is still very closely related to clearing out the refrigerator.
Being influenced by Beverly Nye i try to use leftovers when possible , i have some large peanut butter jars in the freezer which contain leftovers that are usable in certain soups. One contains left over bits of cooked meat, please separate the red meat from the chicken, turkey etc...why?, may-be it's just me but i don't like they way they taste when they get blended. And one jar that contains homemade bread crumbs, no the bread was from the store, but i toasted it in the oven and ground it down with my mortar and pestle. But i do digress, often. And now have lost my train of thought. Oh yes, if you have leftover cookies at your house, they can be ground up to use in crusts, or in toppings. But really does anyone ever have left over cookies???? And don't forget the de-greased drippings and broth, uh i don't mix these either, but remember that bouillon comes in many flavors when you don't have enough broth saved up.
This years choice for the last "soup day" of the season was last night.
Since i "wing it" with most recipes, here goes!!
-brown some finely chopped onion{1 medium} in some light olive oil and butter
-add some finely chopped celery and carrots if you like, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, more or less as you like it,
also add a bout 1 1/4 pound of meat, we like beef cubes cut small, and dusted with Italian seasoning,pepper and garlic powder but you could use anything from burger to Canadian bacon after all it's your soup!!!! stirring until meat is nearly cooked,please don't precook the beef but stir until the meat is nicely browned
-add a couple o potatoes, trimmed and cut to bite sized cubes/pieces
-add any beef broth or sock you might have, or prepare some using your favorite bullion cubes or powders, you will need at least 1-2 quarts as it cooks down also add roughly half a cup or small can of tomato sauce, or diced tomatoes in tomato sauce.even a couple of chopped up tomatoes would work it you don't mind the seeds and skins
continue cooking until potatoes a nearly cooked
-turn down the heat add seasonings, Italian seasoning, more garlic if you want, pepper, dehydrated sweet pepper flakes, some beef flavoring {the powdered kind with NO SALT},
- once it reaches a nice simmer and sir in fresh or packaged tortellini, and simmer until they are done
Yup, i said "wing it" and but remember to watch for too much salt, don't add any, if it even needs any until shortly before serving. As the liquid cooks down it will strengthen/concentrate the flavoring of the seasoning.
