How this happened tonight is.... I became sucked into the moment all day, on another blog entry and various things with the house and kiddos. It was 4:30pm when I had my OH SHIT moment....I had nothing thawed for dinner, and no plan. Ground beef is easiest to thaw in a hurry. I actually cook it from frozen. I have cabbage I need to use and a plentiful supply of carrots. Hmmmm. Google: Ground beef, cabbage, carrots. Select recipe that I have all of the ingredients for. (You really have to work on your spice collection to be able to do this and do it well...) Wave the magic wand and make all of the ingredients from the original recipe natural and organic.
1 pound of grass fed ground beef
1 cup of minced organic onion
1 box of Edward & Sons Organic Mashed Potatoes ~ Roasted Garlic Flavored (the original recipe calls for cubed potatoes, but as God as My Witness, I will never peel another potato again, as long as Edward & Sons Organic Mashed Potatoes are attainable...)
1 cup of minced organic carrots
1 cup of minced organic celery
1 cup of minced organic green cabbage
1 Can of Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup uncooked organic white rice
1 organic bay leaf, crushed
1/2 teaspoon organic thyme
1/4 teaspoon organic basil
4 teaspoons of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 quarts of water
2 Edward & Sons Natural Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes
*Note: Minced in my house means nearly pureed by my mini-chopper. Kiddos eat good stuff when the texture is more appealing to them...in our case...pureed.
I minced enough organic yellow onion in my mini chopper to make a cup. I brown my grass fed beef in olive oil and drain it, put it back in the pan and add the onions, stirring over medium low heat for about five minutes to get the onion flavor going. Remove from heat and set aside.
Back to the mini-chopper: Enough organic carrots to make a cupped of minced (I use the mini-ready-to-eat carrots and remember to give the guinea pig four or five while I have the bag out), enough organic celery to make a cup of minced, enough organic cabbage to make a cup of minced. I put all of these minced-to-pureed veggies into one big mixing bowl. Then I add the can of organic tomatoes, the crushed organic bay leaf, the thyme, basil, salt, and pepper...(I also minced some cooked bacon I had leftover from brunchfast and threw it in) and stir it all up really well. Set aside.
In my tall soup pot, I prepare the 1/4 to 1/2 cup of organic rice according to the instructions on the bag of rice. When the rice is done, I prepare the organic mashed potatoes in with the rice but according to the instructions on the box of mashed potatoes. To the cooked rice and mashed potato mixture, I add the two quarts of water and the bouillon cubes. Stir, stir, stir over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the cooked grass fed beef and onions, the minced veggie & spices mixture, and stir, stir, stir. I let it all get happy together for about an hour over medium low heat, stirring frequently.
When your soup is halfway happy, pop a dish of Immaculate Baking Company All-Natural Buttermilk Biscuits in the oven and they will be hot and ready to serve up with your all-the-way-happy soup.
The Wise Turtle Husband LOVED IT, had seconds, gave it FIVE STARS.
Boy 8 - FIVE STARS, had seconds, but picked tomatoes out. He is my most sensitive to texture kiddo. Note to self: puree tomatoes next time.
Boy 6 - FIVE STARS. Did not have seconds, but probably because he came through the kitchen had multiple "taste tests" in the hour that the soup was getting happy.
Much left over in the tall soup pot, so I am freezing several containers for lazy, no-cook nights.
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