Yesterday I came in from the back yard with a hand full of four leaf clovers…

You know, some people think that four leaf clovers are hard to find but when I was a little girl my mother could always walk right up to a clover patch, look down for a few seconds, and pluck one right up.

It seemed she had a special gift for finding clovers, and as I grew older I came to realize she had a special gift for finding a lot of good things. In the middle of the worst storm, Mama could find a song to sing. When we came home with a bad hair cut, Mama could point out the one thing that made it just perfect and turn everyone’s opinion right around. When our school friends went away on trips we could never afford, Mama would invite all the neighborhood kids over to play in our back yard and fill our days with homemade popsicles and hosepipe tag.

She could find good in any situation as easily as looking down at a patch of hundreds of clovers and plucking out the one with four leaves on it.

I spent my childhood looking to her as my example and this morning, I got to thinking about those clovers and how much better I am at finding them now that I’m older. Now, when I walk outside and come back in with a handful of four leaf clovers my daughter exclaims with delight that I must be really good at finding them! I just smile and tell her that they’re there for anyone who looks. Like the special little moments in life, pockets of happiness, and reasons to be grateful.

Four leaf clovers aren’t rare. The people who take time to look for them are.

~takes a moment to look at the picture and let it sink in~

Alrighty, time to package my heart back up and get on to the cooking!

If you’ve never had this soup, you’re in for a treat and a half. It’s kind of like an Italian version of chili – and my family LOVES it!

There are all sorts of variations of Pasta Fagoli out there. Translated from Italian, it simply means “Pasta and Beans” and is traditionally an economical meatless dish. I like to add meat to mine but you can certainly leave it out.

I was originally inspired to make it due to my favorite soup, salad, and breadsticks treat at the local Olive Garden. This is not the exact recipe Olive Garden uses, of course, but it  is close. This is also not the exact recipe found around the web, but it’s close enough to those, too. My recipe is a little more streamlined and makes about half as much as the other recipes do. My recipe makes about 4 quarts, which is a reasonable amount for a family. Leftovers reheat and even freeze really well, too.

You’ll need: Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Beef Broth, Crushed Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Matchstick carrots (or carrots you cut yourself), diced onions, small ring pasta (or small pasta of your choice), and browned ground beef.

Note: I was tired the day I made this and decided to cook up some ground beef. As soon as I got it into the skillet I went and sat down to gift myself with a little time reading my latest Tamera Alexander novel…a while later I remembered my ground beef. Needless to say, it was a little overcooked but the beauty was that I was browning it for this recipe and since this is a slow cooked soup, that gives the overly cooked ground beef time to soften up a bit. Crisis averted. You know, really, most crises can be averted if we just refuse to let them become crisis in the first place, don’t you think?

You’re gonna need some seasonings, too. I’m using salt, dried parsley, and dried Italian seasoning.

Now if you’ve been with me a long time you may be thinking “Christy sure does use Italian seasoning a lot!”.

If you’re thinking that, you’re right.

I like it.

It’s good.

It’s cheap.

For me, it is the ketchup of dried herb blends! Having said that, if you would prefer to make it a little more complicated, feel free to come up with your own herb blend. I’m sure it will be great – or just give yourself a break and do it my way. It’s not like you don’t work hard enough as it is.

So basically, you dump everything in a slow cooker except for your pasta. I drained my beans but it’ll be just fine if you’d rather not.

Dump, dump, dump, dump, then….

Stir.

Now put the lid on it and let it cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

About half an hour before serving, stir in your pasta and put the lid back on so it can get done.

Top it with fresh grated parmesan if you want or just go my route and use some mozzarella. There is no rule that says you can’t use whatever cheese your heart desires – and if you find that rule written somewhere, just go ahead and break it.

C’mon, be a rebel with me. Speaking of rebels, we should start our own gang. We can wear yoga pants and ride Schwinn’s – the kind with the big comfy seats, not those factory puppies that give you a total of two square inches to balance your entire body weight on. We’ll get those little horns that honk like we had when were were kids and big tall flags to go on the back of our bikes so when we’re about to crest a hill, the kids will know we’re a coming! I used to have a battery operated loudspeaker on my bicycle with a little cb type handset that let me talk to people as I passed and that could come in real handy, too. “Hey Amy! What’s for supper?” as we drive by a friend’s house. Or the occasional “EHHH!” really loud if we see a kid, dog, or random person about to do something they should know better than to do. ~giggles~ That would be fun. Remind me to start a gang in my spare time. Y’all go ahead and pick out a name...

Oh look, our soup is done! If there are any leftovers, they refrigerate and even freeze well. I thought I’d have leftovers from this but after teenage son ate two bowls and husband ate three…then I myself came back for another bowl…it disappeared pretty fast.

There are four things you cannot recover: The Stone—after the throw, The Word–after it’s said, The Occasion–after the loss, The Time–after it’s gone.

~Anonymous, submitted Faye Hillard (thanks, Faye!). Click here to submit your own  

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Click here to Like The Southern Recipe Box on Facebook. 

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2013/04/slow-cooker-pasta-fagoli-small-batch-finding-clovers.html/feed 50 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/09/country-chowder.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/09/country-chowder.html#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:51:34 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=20613

If you use Facebook or Pinterest, I’d really appreciate it if you could use one of the buttons above! THANK YOU!

This is it! Today we have our first, honest to goodness chilly day. There is a glorious crisp wind blowing and I sent both of my kids off to school wearing jackets. I dug back in the far recesses of my closet and came out with a sweatshirt and a comfy pair of jeans that haven’t seen daylight for months. As soon as I put them on we all just sighed happily together. AHHH Fall 

So now we need a warm and soothing meal to go along with it. Today’s recipe is one I have named Country Chowder. I took some of my favorite flavors and cooked them up together in a rich and creamy broth filled with flavor. This is a hearty meal that just makes your stomach happy and it’s even better the next day!

For the chowder you’ll need: Heavy Cream, frozen pepper and onion blend*, Corn, potatoes, carrots, a roll of breakfast sausage*, chopped turnip greens*, and some form of chicken broth as a cooking base*.

Substitutions are a plenty on this recipe!

*Pepper and Onion Blend – I use frozen because a bag is just a dollar and I get three colors of bell pepper strips as well as onions so this saves money and gives me variety. If you’d rather use fresh, just chop up 1/2 an onion and 1 bell pepper (any color) as a substitute.

*Breakfast Sausage – if you want a slightly spicier soup, use hot breakfast pork sausage. I’m using mild. You could also use Italian sausage and substitute the dried Parsley with dried Italian seasoning for a different flavor direction.

*Turnip Greens – Spinach will work just as well or you can omit the greens entirely.

*Chicken Broth – I’m using a chicken base paste which makes 2 quarts of broth with just 1 1/2 tablespoons of base! I often use things like this or bouillon cubes to save money and storage space. I also like that I can make my broth more concentrated if I want for even more flavor. However, you can use actual chicken broth if you like, or any of the things I use. Exact quantities are in the recipe at the end of this post.

Don’t like carrots or corn? Leave ‘em out! Don’t have russet potatoes? use red! Don’t have heavy cream? Heavy cream is best but evaporated milk and even whole milk will work as a substitution.

Other things you’ll need:

Potato flakes, Garlic Powder, Dried Parsley, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, and Pepper.

My potato flakes aren’t pictured because I took these pictures early in the morning and as it turns out, potato flakes aren’t that into the morning Use your imagination. They are white and look like flakes. 

Potato flakes are the handiest things to use as thickeners in soups and stews. I love them in my mama’s chicken stew and they are even part of the crust in my Taco Casserole. I even use them to feed my sourdough starter! The only thing I don’t use potato flakes for is making mashed potatoes

Peel carrots and wash potatoes, then slice carrots and cut potatoes into cubes.

I like to leave the skin on my potatoes but you can peel it off if you prefer.

Another shortcut is to just use a bag of frozen cubed hash browns and even frozen carrots!

Okay this is my chicken broth all assembled. Add your potatoes, carrots, and onions.

See? Put this over medium high heat and bring it to a light boil, stirring every now and then, while you prepare sausage.

While that is cooking, chop up and brown sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat until it is fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.

When your sausage is cooked, push it to the side of the pan and add in frozen pepper and onion blend.

I love this frozen pepper and onion blend!

Let that cook for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, until completely thawed.

Once it’s thawed, stir it up good and continue cooking until tender, three or four more minutes.

Add that to your pot.

If your potatoes and carrots aren’t tender by this time, it’s okay, they’ll keep cooking.

Add in turnip greens ….

…and all seasonings and stir well.

Bring it to a light boil once again and let simmer for fifteen more minutes.

My salt is camouflaged in this photo but it is in the bottom right corner.

Y’all know the other day when I told you I was excited because we were getting new floors? Well guess what? This is them! I was looking for a place to take a photo of this plate and looked down and thought “Well the floor is awfully pretty!”. You’ll probably see a lot of photos of plates on my floor over the next few years

Pour in cream…

and add potato flakes.

Stir well and cook five to ten minutes more.

Serve hot with a good hearty bread.

Even better the next day!

“When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside.

It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.”

~Harold Kushner

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/09/country-chowder.html/feed 83 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/10/14-favorite-soup-and-stew-recipes.html#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:09:16 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17253 I returned from Houston last night just in time to sit down to supper with my family! It isn’t really fall there (yet!) but it sure is here in Bama, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite soup and stew recipes with you today.

If you’re on Facebook, I sure would appreciate it if you’d click that little “like” button above! If you’re an email subscriber and received this in your inbox, please forward it to any friends you think might enjoy Southern Plate! Have a wonderful Wednesday
Gratefully,
Christy

BBQ Joint Stew (Commonly Called Brunswick Stew)

At the first sign of chill in the air, BBQ joints around here start cranking out this delicious stew. It helps them use up any leftover shredded pork and chicken that they may have. By mixing in their signature bbq sauce (my No. 5 signature bbq sauce recipe is in my cookbook in case you need one) and whatever vegetables they have on hand they can turn out a flavorful and filling stew unlike any other.

My Favorite Potato Soup 

Includes lots of ideas to customize this classic and make it your own!

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Full of flavor thanks to the Enchilada sauce, this soup is a cinch to throw together!

Christy’s Slow Cooker Chili

Any southerner worth their salt has a great chili recipe, preferably a signature one. This is mine

Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!) 

Here is a  fuss free, economical, and delicious beef stew to warm you from the inside out. I just love stew weather! To me, this tastes a lot like Cracker Barrel’s Vegetable Beef Stew, but with more goodies inside! 

Our Family’s Chicken Stew Recipe

This stuff is good, you really need to make it!

Simple Tomato Soup 

With a few ingredients and a few minutes, you can have an outstanding tomato soup. Can you say Grilled Cheese?

Shortcut Senate Bean Soup

Oh my goodness is this ever good. Warm, soothing, filling, and with shortcuts to save time!

Tina’s Corn Chowder

This corn chowder is a great meal for vegetarians. Simply substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth and you’re off to the races!

Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is the absolute favorite of my son and all of my nephews!

“Free Soup” – Dieter’s Best Friend! 

This recipe is one my mother and I have used for over twenty years, and we still love it. Many diets have “free” vegetables, which are basically vegetables that are allowed without restriction. What this soup does is combine those vegetables in with a richly flavored broth and serves them up as the perfect anytime dish to fight off the munchies, serve as a quick and easy lunch, or a filling side dish with your evening meal.

Tomato-less Rustic Beef Stew

I worked up this recipe especially for my Aunt Sue, who makes the worlds best pound cake but can’t eat tomatoes. How are those two related? Well, beyond me just putting them in a sentence together I reckon that’s about it, but you can get her pound cake recipe in my cookbook ~winks~.

Spaghetti Lover’s Soup 

So if you love Spaghetti…

Taco Soup

World’s Easiest Supper – Nuff Said!

 If you’ve made any of these recipes I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

Which of these recipes is your family’s favorite?

(I’m trying to decide which one I want to make for supper!)

My Facebook Good Morning Post for the day (I hope you’ll join us on the Southern Plate Facebook Family Page soon!)

‎”We can always be a little nicer. We can smile a little bigger and more often, instead of passing by folks on the street quietly we can greet them with “Good Mornin”. We can be the bigger, nicer person to the persistent grump at work. In time, you’ll be amazed at the people you can soften through the simplest kindnesses but you’ll be even more amazed to find that each little act removes another brick over a huge fountain of joy within you. Eventually, you’ll have a geyser.”  ~Christy
P. S. Good Morning!

It’s the end of August, still one of the most sweltering times of year where I live. Summer is giving it’s last hoorah and showing off what it can do here in the South while most of us natives are flipping wistfully through fall clothing catalogs at pictures of folks walking atop hills in chilly breezes while snuggling up in their cozy sweaters.

I’m so ready for fall. I’m ready to wear the sweaters that are never quite appropriate where I live (it never really gets wool-sweater cold here but the models in that magazine make them look so comfy we can’t refuse). I’m ready to bake apples and rake up leaf piles and look for pumpkins. I’m ready to pull my jeans back out and lace up ye olde hiking boots on a crisp Saturday morning to head up to Monte Sano Mountain with the kids. I’m ready to drink my coffee without it making me sweat . (Apologies to my dear mother. You are right, Mama, ladies do not sweat, we glisten. But I wanted to make sure folks understood my point here so I had to be blunt).

…and I’m really ready for fall food. We have a completely different menu in the fall than we do in the summertime and I’m sooo ready for that.

So today, I’ve decided to break my own rule about keeping foods somewhat in season because, honestly, who makes the rules around here anyway? I keep forgetting that little technicality.

So turn down the a/c, put on a fuzzy sweater, grab a cup of coffee and come with me as we mentally fast forward to fall and make one of my very favorite versions of potato soup!

To make this soup you’ll need: 4-5 medium russet potatoes*, instant potato flakes, Heavy Cream*, 2 cans of Chicken Broth, a small yellow onion, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.

Now we need to talk substitutions because there are a ton you can easily make when it comes to this soup.

For the Potatoes - if you don’t want to peel and dice the potatoes, just grab a 32 ounce bag of frozen cubed hash browns. You know what, the shredded ones will work just fine, too!

For the Whipping Cream - the cream gives this a rich and delicious flavor so it is my favorite to use. As a substitute though, I suggest canned evaporated milk, because it also has a very rich flavor that you just won’t find in regular milk.

For the chicken broth - I usually don’t use chicken broth but I bought it special just for this tutorial – because I love you that much! Normally, I’d toss in a few chicken bouillon cubes with some water. The package usually says one cube per cup of water but I usually add an extra cube or two for more richness. I buy them in bulk at Sam’s and they save a lot of money over buying chicken broth. You can also use homemade broth, vegetable stock, whatever cranks your tractor.

These ingredients create a great base for your soup but feel free to add the flavors that you enjoy as well. Garlic powder or a little minced garlic would be great. Some fresh or dried parsley would be a good addition, too. You might even want to add additional vegetables and just change it to a creamy veggie soup at this point.

Today I’m making more of a pure potato soup but with a few key ingredients to really up the flavor.

You’ll also need: Some smoked ham. I’m using smoked pork chops.

This is another thing I’m using to really add some body to my soup. Any type of smoked ham will do, though. I like these smoked pork chops because I use them in my freezer friendly twice baked potatoes and since I’m about to make some of those to freeze (they make such a quick side dish or easy lunch) I needed them anyway.

This will add a really nice smokey ham flavor in with our potatoes.

To begin with, pour your broth into your soup pot and put it over medium heat.

Peel and dice your potatoes…

Oh look, I did one of those tight shots of the diced potatoes. I think this is supposed to make them more appetizing or something. Maybe it is just supposed to show that I know how to zoom…

Dice your onion

 And your smoked chops or ham…

Add all of that to your broth and season to taste with salt and pepper, but stay on the light side because we’ll season it again right before serving.

I’d add about 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt now and maybe 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper.

Bring that just to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender.

This will take anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how big your chunks of potato are.

Now add in your instant potato flakes and stir that up.

I love instant potato flakes as thickeners for soups and stews and making the crust to my Mama’s Taco Casserole. I don’t use them other than that, though. My Grandmother’s mashed potatoes were just too good.

Now add in your cheese and pour in your heavy cream.

Stir that up and cook for just a few minutes until heated through.

Like so.

Top with your favorite toppings, such as:

• Chopped Green Onions
• Fresh Herbs you like
• Bacon
• Cheese
• Sour Cream, etc

A note about Serving Amounts

I sometimes get questions from folks asking me how many servings a recipe has and I usually respond with a smile that “It depends on how hungry you are!”.

In general, I feed a family of four and if I have leftovers I freeze them or use them for lunches throughout the week. If you are new to cooking for a family, in time you’ll get used to how much food certain things will make, for example, a 9×13 casserole.

In my cookbook there are servings listed for most of the recipes but on SouthernPlate.com I just cook like my mother did and make sure I have enough for everyone, making good use of leftovers if any exist. However, I figure this makes four generous servings. That is all relative, though. Your version of generous may be different from mine, you may be hungrier than you realize or not as hungry as you thought you were, so the relative state of servings sizes has about as much value as one of those cardboard sleeves they slip onto coffee cups. Goodness, reckon how much they spend on those things each year?

As always, serve to someone you love.

What are you most looking forward to this fall?
Tell me about it in the comments below!

Excellent advice from a teacher!

This is from Sherri, who was kind enough to submit it on our Give A Penny Page:

This isn’t original, but it is so very true. I am a school teacher, and I try my best to remember this when teaching my students:

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

I love recipes that spring from practicality and this stew is a shining example of that. Most folks call this Brunswick Stew, some call it ….well I don’t know what all everyone calls it because it is around five o’clock in the morning and my coffee is still brewing so I’ll tell you the rest of my story and you can call it whatever cranks yer tractor because you got naming rights on anything you make in your own kitchen ~grins~.

At the first sign of chill in the air, BBQ joints around here start cranking out this delicious stew. It helps them use up any leftover shredded pork and chicken that they may have. By mixing in their signature bbq sauce (my No. 5 signature bbq sauce recipe is in my cookbook in case you need one) and whatever vegetables they have on hand they can turn out a flavorful and filling stew unlike any other.

So today I’m going to show you how simple this is to make in your own home. I’ll show you how I did it using what I had on hand but feel free to make this stew in the spirit it was created by modifying it to use whatever you have on hand at your house.

You’ll need: Bottle of BBQ Sauce (your preference), 2 cans whole kernel corn, onion, whole fryer, potatoes, and about two cups of vegetable or bean of your choice (I’m using frozen baby limas).

I’m just using chicken but you can use chicken, pork, whatever you have. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken if you like and just use canned broth. See how easy this is to modify?

Cover your chicken with water and add your onion. Cook it til it cries uncle, or at least stops putting up a fight.

My chicken looks funny because I stuck a wooden spoon right in the center of it to see if it was cooked so much that it would break apart. It did.

~grins~

Then remove chicken from broth. Let cool while you continue making the stew.

Here is our broth, all rich and wonderful. You don’t have to make your own, though. You are welcome to just stew some chicken breasts until done in canned broth if you like. If you go that route, I’d say you need about 32 ounces (four to five cups or so). Don’t stress over exact quantities, just eyeball it and trust your gut.

Trusting my gut has served me better than I could ever tell you. I’ll write about that one of these days.

Jedis would be jealous if they knew of my force!

To that broth that is left add two cans of drained whole kernel corn.

Whatever was on sale last time you got groceries would be fine because corn can’t read so it has no idea if it is a generic or name brand.

It all acts the same.

Peel and chop up your potatoes.

I did this to all of my potatoes but am just showing one here

I don’t even own a cutting board, I just use plates to chop on. If I had a cutting board, I’d lose it anyway.

I’m just all organized like that.

Add in your beans and/or other vegetables. I’m using frozen baby lima beans.

Awww, baby limas. Ever so much cuter than adult limas, doncha think?

God love ‘em.

Now add in a whole bottle of bbq sauce.

I am using this kind because Dollar General had it when I sent my husband to buy some.

My favorite bbq sauce is the one I developed myself, Old No. 5, and the recipe for it is in my cookbook if you’d like the recipe and kind of funny story behind it.

I make it every few months in a big old batch and then can it. The thing is, I usually end up giving half of it away as gifts and the rest we eat right away on pork chops, chicken, etc, so I don’t have any on hand to show you today.

Oh, if you like your stew on the spicier side, use spicier bbq sauce.

Remove your chicken from the bone and shred it well. Add it back to the pot.

Find a cute kid to stir it up for ya.

In that fancy new pot that your Mama gave you for Christmas

Season with salt and pepper and simmer, stirring often, for about half an hour, or until veggies are done all the way

(I used those frozen limas so they need a full thirty minutes).

Enjoy! I love this stuff.

BBQ Joint Stew

Ingredients

• 1 bottle bbq sauce
• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 1-2 cups baby lima beans (or whatever beans you want to use)
• 1 whole fryer
• 3-4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped (use more potatoes if you need stew to go further)
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste (I start with a teaspoon of each but always end up adding twice that!)

Instructions

1. Place fryer in stock pot and cover with water. Add chopped onion. Cook over medium heat for about an hour, or until fully done and fall apart tender. Remove chicken from stock and set aside to cool. Add all other ingredients to stock and stir well. Debone and shred chicken and add back to pot. Add in Salt and Pepper. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer, stirring often, for about half an hour or until vegetables are fully cooked. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed (I like a LOT of pepper in mine).
2. *This is excellent with a bit of hot sauce.

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A rich person is not one who has the most,

but one who needs the least.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/bbq-joint-stew.html/feed 158 http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:50:49 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=6275

I worked up this recipe especially for my Aunt Sue, who makes the worlds best pound cake but can’t eat tomatoes. How are those two related? Well, beyond me just putting them in a sentence together I reckon that’s about it, but you can get her pound cake recipe in my cookbook ~winks~.

Doesn't he look blissfully unaware?

Y’all, I’m nesting. As we get ready for the book tour, I’m having little minor moments of panic. The good news is that they are minor moments of panic as opposed to significant episodes. While I should be focused on the book and the tour, I’m a mother and so with that, you know full well what I’m thinking about. My poor husband is gonna have his work cut out for him. Y’all might wanna pray for this man, he has no idea what he is getting himself into…

His mother (that sainted woman) is going to be over some to help but there will be times in which he is completely on his own- so I’ve set to fretting at warp speed.

Since I can’t run the house and take care of the kids long distance, I’ve taken to worrying about the little things that I can manage ahead of time. Last night I got to thinking about juice boxes. Sometimes we use as many as four a day, one for each lunch and one for each snack (I think it is cool that my kid’s school has snack time).

So I got to fretting over what would happen if Ricky ran out of juice boxes in the morning. With getting two kids ready, he’d hardly have time to go out and buy any and still get the kids to school on time. Even if he did, he might get the ones with sugar in them and then the kids might end up getting in trouble because they were too hyper. Next thing you know my kids are spending time in prison as opposed to college and the shrink eventually traces it all back to their mother going on a book tour and their father introducing additional sugar into their lives to compensate for her absence..this is how my thought process works.

No worries though, I put that fear to rest right away. Bought fifteen cases of juice boxes.

~exhales~

Then, I passed the paper aisle and got to thinking of all of the possible scenarios of us running out of bathroom tissue while I was away – I’ll spare you those, but let me now put your mind at ease by letting you know that we are the proud owners of 100 double rolls of bathroom tissue.

We also have a fully stocked medicine cabinet, each child has new socks, and enough ground beef is cooked and in the freezer to feed an army. Since nothing I send for snacks has to be refrigerated, this afternoon I’m going to go ahead and make sixty snack bags and put them in a laundry basket so they’ll just have to grab and go while I’m away. I’ve even made up treat bags for their Halloween parties at school. Of course, I am supposed to be home then and I’m not sure if they will even have Halloween parties this year but hey - just in case.

These little things are making me feel a little better about leaving them, something that I could never truly feel good about. Still, I’m making headway, getting a few trivial things done to help me rest a bit easier at night and know that I’ve done what I could to look after my babies when I’m not here. I know it will be a lot easier than I expect it to be and once I get on the road time will pass quickly and everyone will be alright. I also know that in the end we’ll even have more appreciation for one another. This is just part of the journey.

I can’t tell you how much it helps to know that I’ll be spending time with some of you, in person, each day that I am gone.

But now the real challenge awaits me: To teach an engineer how to fix ponytails for a five year old….

To make this stew you’re gonna need: Stew meat,  carrots, potatoes, pearl onions (you can use regular), Dale’s Sauce* (substitution below), and beef broth.

You’re also gonna need a little flour, some black pepper, Thyme, and salt if you use my substitution for Dale’s Sauce.

If you don’t have thyme, don’t sweat it. Just use Italian Seasoning in it’s place and your stew will have a bit different flavor but still be wonderful. If you are new here you may not realize that I pretty much think you could save the world with a $1 bottle of dry Italian seasoning. I love that stuff. Oh, also, if you are new here, welcome! We sure are glad to have  you as part of our family!

~watches as everyone scoots down to make room for another place~

Dale’s Sauce is a marinade available in my neck of the woods but a lot of y’all may not have it near you. If you can get Moore’s Marinade, that’ll work, too. I use the two interchangeably depending on which one is cheapest and I’ve never been able to tell the difference (although I’m sure the Dale’s and Moore’s folks will disagree with that). However, if you can’t get either of them, you can easily whip up my homemade version by using the recipe here.

If you use my recipe, you’ll need to salt your stew a little to taste,because my homemade version isn’t nearly as salty as Dale’s and Moore’s. They give new meaning to the term “salty” so most folks think that is a good thing.

Place your stew meat in a bowl and pour about a cup of flour over it.

Stir it well to coat.

Now place this in a large skillet with a tablespoon or two of oil and cook over medium heat until lightly browned a bit.

We’re not trying to get the meat completely cooked here, just browned. The flour will act as a thickener to our stew as well.

If you decide you want your stew to be even thicker, you can add a few tablespoons of instant potato flakes, one of my favorite thickeners.

There ya go! all ready.

Wash your potatoes and chop them up in whatever way you’re in the mood to.

Cooking is very often about what I’m in the mood for at my house.

Here is where the stew gets it’s “rustic” name. I wasn’t in the mood to peel my potatoes when I did up this recipe so we just leave the skins on, call it rustic, and if we were serving this in a fancy restaurant we could charge double for it just by doing that alone!

This is proof that the world is crazy. Except for Southern Plate folks that is. We just got good horse sense.

Pour your pearl onions over that.

The bag I used had about a cup and a half of them. If you don’t have pearl onions don’t worry about going out and buying them. I make this a lot using just a chopped up vidalia. Whatever you have on hand is fine.

Peel and chop up your carrots a bit and add those.

Add your stew meat and pour in your beef broth.

Pour in your marinade (Dale’s, Moore’s, Christy’s

and thyme.

Bless it’s heart, this is an ugly little herb. As my grandmother would say “God love it”.

and your pepper.

Now cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Every time I see the end shot of a good meal I go all Doctor Seuss..

Yum diddy dum dum yum yum YUM!

I like this best with Jordan Rolls but it goes great with cornbread, too!

Tomato-less Rustic Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup Dales (or my recipe, plus salt to taste if you use mine)
• 1 tablespoon thyme (can use Italian seasoning instead)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 32 ounces beef broth
• 1-2 pounds stew meat
• 5-6 medium potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
• 4 large carrots
• 1-1/2 cups frozen pearl onions or 1 large onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Place stew meat in a bowl, pouring flour over. Stir to coat. Please a tablespoon of oil in large skillet and heat on medium heat. Add coated meat and cook, stirring often, just until browned. Place meat and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4.

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]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/tomato-less-rustic-beef-stew.html/feed 91 http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/chicken-tortilla-soup.html http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/chicken-tortilla-soup.html#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:53:08 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=9971

You know, some people are really organized. They plan, they plot, they write things down and take notes. They prepare ahead of time and they know exactly what they are going to be doing on any given day at any given moment. I know this because I am the daughter of one of them and married to another.

As for me, though, I couldn’t be further from that whole “organization” scenario. I wake up and I think “Hmm, what am I in the mood to write about today?” Posts are never planned or written ahead of time, even though I really should. Sometimes I photograph them ahead of time and then just let the photos sit there until I’m in the mood to write about it. Sometimes I forget I photographed something and end up photographing the entire recipe twice before I actually bring it to you – which just gives me a chance to laugh at myself. You know, you just can’t go wrong having a good laugh at yourself from time to time.

Occasionally I have folks who want to know my blogging schedule or when I plan on running a particular recipe and such, and I guess they just have to live with the same thing my husband has to live with. Eventually people I work with “get” me and come to see that I’ve figured out how to make who I am work.  I do feel for them though! The great thing is that it takes all kinds of people to keep the world spinning and just as folks like me would be lost without the organized folks, I think we just might keep things lively for the more structured among us. It is what is and you are who you are. Give yourself a break and enjoy being you!

So today, in my “What do I feel like writing about today” moment, I found myself wanting wanting chicken tortilla soup something fierce. Thankfully, I already had it photographed so I can bring it to you and then head on up to the grocery store and get what I need to make it for supper tonight.

I hope your day is sunny and bright. If not in weather terms, at least in terms of your disposition. Have a great day and if you have a minute, let me know what you’re cooking for supper tonight in the comments section! That’s always a fun conversation that inspires everyone!

Now don’t go running away at how many ingredients this has,

I promise it is going to be VERY easy to make!

You’ll need: Water, Chopped green chilies, enchilada sauce, crushed (or diced) tomatoes, chicken broth, corn, onions, chili powder, minced garlic, ground cumin, and some cilantro.

Whew, that really  is a long list but seriously, it’s easy. I’m using frozen corn because it is what I had but canned is just fine. I use crushed tomatoes often because my husband is not so much a fan of tomato pieces in his soups and stews. Just work with this and make it fit your pantry and whatever you have on hand. The one thing you really are gonna need is the seasonings and the enchilada sauce to give it that flavor.

You’ll also need some cooked, shredded chicken and some corn tortillas.

A lot of times when I’m here by myself during the day I’ll run to the grocery store and grab a rotisserie chicken to eat a bit of for lunch. I cut off a little for me and then shred the rest to use in making a recipe like this for supper. A cooked rotisserie cost about the same as an uncooked fryer so it works out to be a pretty good deal!

Now comes the easy part.

We’re gonna dump everything in a pot.

Corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chilies…

Cumin

chili powder

cilantro

garlic

also toss in your chicken and your onion and..yeah so you get the idea.

Basically we are throwing everything in but the toppings.

Everything.

Dump it.

In a pot.

See? Easy!

and stir it up.

Place this on medium or  medium high heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes.

Now we need to have our tortillas cut into strips and I’ve found the easiest way to do this for me is to just stack a few of them up and have at them with my pizza cutter.

We’re using corn tortillas here which some of y’all may remember I don’t particularly care for, but they are very good in this! This and the King Ranch casserole are the only times I go near the things, bless their little vegetable hearts.

Toss those in

and stir again

Now cook for about another ten minutes and it’s ready to serve!

Top with sour cream and cheese if you like (and I like!).

Serve in a pretty Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf bowl (okay, that isn’t a requirement but still..)

Enjoy !

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 14 ounce can chicken broth (or 1 1/2 c water and two bouillon cubes)
• 29 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 11 ounce can enchilada sauce
• 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
• 2-3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (can use more if you like)
• 2 cups frozen corn (or 2 cans corn, drained)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4-5 six inch corn tortillas
• Toppings: cheese, sour cream, etc for toppings

Instructions

1. Dump everything except toppings and corn tortillas in a large pot. Place over medium to medium high heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer thirty minutes.
2. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut each tortilla into thin strips. Place in soup and cook ten minutes more before serving.
3. Serve soup with desired toppings. Great if made a day or two ahead of time to make get togethers easier!

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I like bean soup. Here is my personal recipe. Begin post now…

~giggles~ Just kidding. Y’all know I can’t bring you a recipe without talking your ear off first! Senate Bean soup is a big old tradition in D.C. that has been served in the Senate restaurant every day. By the way, where IS the Senate restaurant and how do I get to eat there on my next trip to D.C.?

So anyway, the recipe is all over the place and several restaurants proudly serve Senate bean soup on their menu. It’ s a famous soup that is flavorful, filling, and comforting. But in my mind, it needed to be made a bit more accessible for folks who don’t have all day to cook their beans or forget to soak them the night before (my most common problem). So I developed my own shortcut recipe and sent it to the ultimate judge: Mama.

Mama loved it. Grandmama loved it. Daddy loved it, and I Loved it. That about sums it up so here we go… (my tangent appears on down in this post)

Normally the recipe calls for dried beans, cooked from scratch. While I’m a huge fan of dried beans, I wanted to re-do this soup so that someone could work all day and then come home and be able to whip it up for supper, so I used canned beans.

You’ll need: 4 cans Navy beans, minced garlic, one onion, stick of butter or margarine, four chicken bullion cubes, 3 stalks celery, and some ham hocks*.

You can use any leftover ham you have, though. I like the smoky flavor the ham hocks give this soup but if I’d had leftover ham I would have used it instead. I love using up leftovers!

*Ham Hocks may be purchased near the hams. They are usually two or three dollars for a couple of them.

You’re also going to need instant mashed potatoes.

Now y’all know my take on these. I didn’t even know such a thing existed until I was sixteen. I was invited to dinner at a friend’s house and her mom sent me into the pantry to get the potatoes. I went in there and looked all over the place trying to find the bag of potatoes and came out empty handed. She walked right in there and came out with a box. A box? I had to have that one explained to me and then went home and explained it to Mama! I love pretty much anything that makes life easier but reserve instant potatoes for use as soup thickeners.

Don’t get me wrong, if instant potatoes are your thing then fly your flag high and I’ll salute it.

Long as no one tries to get me to eat seafood I can easily live in peace with instant potatoes and folks who put sugar in their cornbread.

Whatever cranks yer tractor.

Okie dokie so here’s what I did. I put my ham hocks (which are already smoked) in some water, added my bullion cubes, and turned the eye on to let them simmer and soften up a bit so I can cut the meat off of them.

The ham hocks are also going to add that yummy smoky flavor to the water which will make it richer along with the bullion cubes.

I tend to use bullion cubes a lot because they are so much cheaper than broth. I buy a big old thang of ‘em at Sam’s Club when I have a membership (which I do right now) and when I don’t I just go and stand outside the door of Sam’s in a trench coat and fedora and wait until some young and trusting college student comes by and give ‘em a whistle “Psst. Hey kid…” ~pulls out a crisp ten dollar bill and waves it enticingly~ “look kid, I need somethin’…reckon you could help a gal out?” This is the part where I either smile sweetly or squint my eyes in a threatening fashion … depending on their response thus far.

I have a bit too vivid of an imagination, I know. So if I need bullion cubes and don’t have a membership at the time, I just ask Mama to get them for me. Sometimes I even break down and pay double at the grocery store. Still cheaper than broth.

So my point is the first thing you need to do is cook your hamhocks.

Put a lid on that pot and let them simmer while you do do everything else, preferably about thirty minutes or so.

Then melt a stick of butter or margarine in a skillet. I’m using real butter, shocking I know.

It was leftover from one of the photo shoots for the cookbook. Y’all aren’t going to believe this but..

~leans in and widens her eyes to tell a story she still can’t believe~

When I signed on for this cookbook deal, I thought I’d have to make every one of the dishes to be photographed. I talked to the photographer and she set shoot dates and such I was thinking “How am I going to make sixty or seventy things in two days and NOT look like death warmed over in these photographs taken on the same days?”. Me and Mama had a time trying to turn that one over and come up with a way because lets face it, at the end of the day when I put supper on the table, I’m not exactly looking my best.

Well guess what? I was introduced to the wonderful world of “food stylists”. ~blinks and nods~

Seriously, I had no idea what that was, either. I pictured my food wearing feather boas and sashaying down some runway amid camera flashes and reporters feverishly scribbling notes about how the gravy glistened but didn’t quite form itself to the biscuits like it did last year…

Okay so if y’all ever write a cookbook here’s what you need to know. A food stylist shows up at your house with boxes and boxes and boxes. Boxes of wonderful things. Plates, ingredients, and…food. Already cooked. Already prepared. It’s kind of like Mary Poppins (which is what we’ll call her as I’m unable to give her real name for fear she will be kidnapped once folks know about her magical powers). Remember when Mary put that bag on the table and then started pulling out lamps and furniture and all of these things out of it?

POOF there’s a cake! Poof! There’s caramel corn. POOF! There’s my grandmother’s chocolate pie! (Wait til I tell you what a Prop Stylist does!)

My eyes just about bugged right out of my head and I was trying to be all nonchalant – like people walked in my house everyday and produced perfectly presented pies and cakes and such right there in the middle of my kitchen.

Meanwhile my husband and kids kept coming in and whispering “Are we gonna get to eat that? Do you think they’ll let us have some?” Their eyes were every bit as big as mine but they hadn’t gotten the memo on how we were going to try to pretend we weren’t the Beverly Hillbillies and Mary Poppins hadn’t just unveiled our new cement pond.

And let me tell ya (by the way, on Southern Plate, it is perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with “and”), when I say they were whispering, I want you to know that I have failed miserably in teaching a single person in my household the correct volume of a whisper. My husband has one of those voices that sounds to me like he is yelling all of the time and so as a result my kids inside voices SOUND LIKE THIS EVERY TIME THEY TALK.

~blinks~

I had a point here…

Oh yeah, Mary Poppins also brought all sorts of yummy ingredients in case she needed them during the course of the shoot. You know, sometimes you just wanna whip up a meringue or make a custard on a whim and while I truly believe (after what I’ve seen) that she could do so with just a snap of her fingers, she needed to have the proper ingredients to put on the counter so she could wiggle her nose and make them poof into whatever it was she desired at the moment.

Sidenote: Yes, my family did get to eat all of that food.

So…when she left, everything hopped back into her magic bag EXCEPT…

FOUR BOXES OF REAL BUTTER.

When I opened my fridge I was kind of surprised.  You see, butter is expensive. It’s like…$3.00 a box! I almost turned tail and ran out into the road to call for her on the off chance that she wasn’t already halfway to Birmingham. But they had left long ago (by the way, on Southern Plate, it is perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with “but” as well) and I knew it was too late.

So I closed the fridge. I left the kitchen. I thought about all of that butter.

I lasted all of one hour before pulling out two sticks and baking something.

I baked and baked and baked and baked. I even softened a stick and smeared some on Saltine crackers for me and the kids. My husband turned up his nose at the saltine but I explained to him “it’s real butter…you’ve got to try it.” and he ate it, not quite getting the significance but knowing it would shut me up – one of his primary motivations for doing most things, I think.

We ate butter, y’all. ~sighs~ and it was sublime.

And after a while, I only had one stick left.

And so I put it in this soup. For y’all. Because I love you and I want you to eat butter, too.

But you know..the thing that gets me is that…~sighs heavily and hangs her head~ Margarine is currently .60 a box and butter is about $3.00.

I know, I know, I know.

How about I compromise and buy butter on occasion? I just can’t bring myself to do it every day.

So chop your celery and onions and add that to your melted butter (or margarine) along with the minced garlic.

and cook it until it is browned a bit.

Then take your ham hocks out of the pot and let them cool a bit before cutting off the ham and chopping it into little bits.

This ham is gonna be a little tough still so you’ll have to use a sharp knife to cut it into bits with.

Now we’re gonna use those instant taters…

Add a cup of instant potatoes to the broth you cooked the ham hocks in.

Stir that up. This is going to give your soup lots of body.

Add your cans of beans, liquid included.

Stir that up, too.

Add your veggies, butter and all.

~lip quivers as she thinks on her last stick of butter~

Stirry stirry.

Add your ham.

(pretend you see a picture of me adding ham)

Add your salt.

Add your pepper.

Stir all of that up and simmer for about half an hour or so.

BUT if you want, you can just cook it until its heated all the way and then serve it.

Ain’t no food police here.

Serve with Jordan rolls.

This freezes VERY well. I took my leftovers and put them in a mason jar, leaving plenty of head space, and froze it to eat later.

“Later” ended up being the very next day but still…

Southern Plate Shortcut Senate Bean Soup

• 4 cans Navy Beans, undrained
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 4 bullion cubes
• 2-4 ham hocks (or leftover ham)
• 1 C instant mashed potato flakes
• Stick margarine or butter (1/2 C)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
  

Place bullion cubes in pot with six cups water. Add ham hocks or ham. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer thirty minutes.

Place butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Saute until lightly browned.

Remove ham hocks from broth and dice up when cool. Add instant potatoes to broth and stir. Add onion mixture, beans, and diced ham. Stir in salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to simmer for thirty minutes before serving.Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Write your sorrows in sand and your your blessings in stone.

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There is a peace here that I’ve not found anywhere else. I think the town realizes the value of that peace in how they preserve the natural landscape, burrowing structures among the trees and hills rather than mowing them down to make more room. Even though the famous University of the South is located there, folks have still found a way to keep their heads on straight when it comes to tradition and values.

My first visit to Sewanee was over fifteen years ago. Mama and I try to go there once a year for a quilting retreat at St Mary’s, (although I’ve regretfully missed the last few years and will miss this one as well). We sit and sew, talking and chatting with friends and looking out the windows at what appears almost be too beautiful to be real.

There is also a labyrinth at St. Mary’s that I enjoy walking. The last time I walked it was when I was trying to decide if I should have a second child (Katy Rose is the outcome of that). Mama and I always take time to walk along the trails, often times ending up at the entrance to the convent or the Templeton Library (which has a fascinating history to it, ask any native when you visit for the somewhat tragic inside scoop).

We take time to visit our favorite gift shop in nearby Cowan, The Sampler, to pick up something pretty to bring back with us, and the little white tea room called The Corner House just across the street provides a perfect lunch. As we drive back up the mountain with its twists and turns we have to watch for the little turn off to go to a salt glazed pottery studio. I’m not sure if it’s still around but I think the name is Hallelujah Pottery. Mama has a beautiful vase she got from there and I hope to make it back soon to pick out a mixing bowl. From there we head on over to the township of Assembly once more to drive down the roads cut for carriages and visit the small community virtually untouched by time.

Our days in Sewanee are long, relaxing, and reflective. In Sewanee, we haven’t a care in the world. With no thoughts even for dinner. As each meal time draws close all we do is simply wait for a smiling lady to step outside the kitchen door and ring the dinner bell. It’s amazing how spoiled you can become in just a few days. St Mary’s cooks are known for their simple and delicious food. This is where Mama first had this tomato soup and brought the recipe back to me. I’ve tweaked it a bit but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the outcome.

I hope you try it soon and if you get a chance, do pay a visit to Sewanee.

(Surprisingly, this post wasn’t sponsored by them but just writing about my last visit has left me with a smile on my face and a calmer state of mind.)

You’ll need: A can of petite diced tomatoes, a little pesto sauce, and a can of tomato soup.

You’ll also need some milk. I’m using whole but you can use whatever is in your fridge.

Pour soup into a sauce pot.

Fill up the soup can with milk and add that.

Pour in can of tomatoes, juice and all.

Add a tablespoon of pesto sauce

Stir that up and heat over medium until heated through.

Serve warm. Make it a complete meal by adding a buttery toasted grilled cheese.

Take a deep breath and walk a mountain trail, if only in your mind.

~smiles~

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

~Confucius . Submit your quote here.

My Grandaddy loved stews and soups. He had a special bowl that he liked to eat stew out of and Grandmama always served him in that bowl.

I do much the same thing with my coffee, even though I know it may seem a bit silly. One of my favorite things to do is get up a little earlier than everyone else and creep into the kitchen to make the first cup of coffee in my special cup, then go sit down in the sun room and look out to the trees in the back yard. It is a little ritual that helps to center me, kind of like taking a deep calming breath before the day begins.

I don’t get to do that very often though because my Katy (who has informed us that from here on out she is to be called by her first and middle name of “Katy Rose”) - excuse me, my Katy Rose is an even earlier riser than her Mama. Some mornings I get my coffee made and get ready to head out into the sun room and a little curly headed pixie pops into the kitchen, so I turn around and head to the recliner instead where she will curl up in my lap and let me stroke her hair while we talk about her dreams.

And that’s a pretty good way to start the day, too.

Grandaddy's Favorite Stew Bowl. The pattern is called "Friendship" and is made by Pyrex.

I have one rule in my house about mornings, I don’t care how early you get up as long as you wake up happy. I don’t think this is very difficult to do, either, so I’m pretty serious about enforcing it. I have made my kids go back into their rooms when they emerge with sour faces and turn around and come back out again with a smile (surprisingly, it works!).

A positive attitude will bring you happiness every time, so why not start your day off with one? Even if you find yourself having to go back in your own bedroom and come out again! ~grins~

And to make your day a little brighter, here is a fuss free, economical, and delicious beef stew to warm you from the inside out. I just love stew weather!

I decided to bring this stew to you using ground beef because it is so economical and most of us have it on hand. This stew is incredibly flavorful and easily adapted to what you have in your pantry and freezer.

I have one special ingredient that I do hope you’ll try though, and that is Spicy Hot V-8 juice. It is what gives my stew such a full bodied flavor without me having to cook it all day and add a gazillion different spices. Don’t worry though, it doesn’t make it hot at all - I promise!

Have you ever had the beef stew from Cracker Barrel? To me, beef stew made with this spicy V-8 tastes a lot like that. I used to have to buy a big old bottle of this juice whenever I needed some but this time I found a six pack of cans, which makes a lot more sense if you are going to put it in your pantry to cook with. If you see a generic spicy hot vegetable juice, that will work just fine (y’all know I love generics).

You’ll need: Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Diced tomatoes, Green Beans, Beef Bouillon Cubes,Ground Beef, and 1-2 cans of Spicy Hot V-8 juice.

You can use beef broth in place of the bouillon cubes but I prefer them because they are less expensive and take up less space  when storing them (a small container makes about as much broth as twenty five cans of beef broth). You can also substitute some other bean of your preference for the green beans or add any number of other vegetables.

Stews are great to tweak and really make them your own. Play! have fun!

When you’re done, you’ll still have supper.

Peel and dice your carrots, potatoes, and onion. Place in a large pot.

As a shortcut you can use a bag of frozen cubed hash browns for the potatoes.

Add can of tomatoes and bag of frozen green beans.

Add four bouillon cubes and two cups of water.

Add in your Spicy Hot V-8 juice.

I am using two cans in mine but you can use one and taste it to see if you want to use the second.

I used two and it still wasn’t hot, just very flavorful.

Bring this to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and simmer for an hour or so, until vegetables are tender.

Add ground beef.

My beef is already browned and waiting happily for me in the freezer to save making another mess.

To see how I process large quantities of ground beef with ease, click here.

Stir in a teaspoon of salt.

You won’t need any pepper because of the V-8 juice but you should salt it to your personal taste. I like to salt it shortly before serving because that gives me a chance to taste the finished product and see about how much it needs.

Serve with crackers or cornbread. I’m using little pieces of Dixie Cornbread. Oh my goodness, this was a good supper!

These dishes are called “Flamingo Pink” by Pyrex. They were made in three different colors and some of them had a gold band around the outer edge. They are milk glass with a painted on pink. ~sighs contentedly~ I just love them.

Ground Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
• Carrots, diced
• Onion, peeled and chopped
• 5-6 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2-3 Cups frozen green beans
• 29 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 Cans Spicy Hot V-8 juice (I use two)
• 2 C water
• 4 Beef Boullion Cubes
• 1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

Instructions

1. Place everything in a pot except for ground beef. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmering. Cover and cook for an hour until vegetables are tender. Add ground beef, cook for another thirty minutes.

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*This can be assembled in the morning and put in your slow cooker all day on low. If doing it this way, just go ahead and add the ground beef in at the start. I add it in last to keep it a little firmer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BE the change you want to see in the World.

Submitted by Judy. To submit your quote, click here.

Yesterday I had an amazing opportunity that I never thought I’d have and of course, I have you to thank for it. I had a chance to go back to the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama (where I graduated) and speak to the freshmen in my department. I also got to tour the new culinary school and their kitchen was the most impressive one I’ve ever seen.

I was so honored to be able to have this bit of time with them and am so grateful that they were kind enough to give an hour of their attention to me and what I had to say.

I told them the story of Southern Plate, how I got started and where it has led with all of the incredible opportunities that have come my way as a result. I told them all about you, my Southern Plate Family. How wonderful you are to me every day and how much all of you have given me.

But most importantly, while I had their ear, I told them what I feel are the three things in life that will guarantee success and happiness to anyone, no matter what you do or where you go. I don’t think this is any secret, but just three things that many of us take for granted from one time to another that really do determine our future.

Good Manners – Good Education- Positive attitude

So thanks to all of the students who listened to me yesterday. I’ve heard from many of you and am going to reply to your emails after I finish this post. I truly appreciate the time you gave me and can hardly wait to see how you are going to make the world a better place!

Gratefully,

Christy