Hamburger-Vegetable Soup

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Soups and Stews.

My family downed a huge pot of this soup. Feel free to add other/additional vegetables as desired. The original recipe asked for succotash, but I used more carrots and yellow squash instead.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped med. onion

1 chopped green pepper

2 cloves garlic

4-6 cups beef broth (I used 6)

2 tomatoes, diced (or 1-15oz can)

1 yellow squash, diced

5 red potatoes, peeled and diced small

2 chopped carrots

Spices to taste – basil, oregano, parsley

Dash or two of black pepper

A drizzle or two of Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Cook ground beef

2. Saute onions, peppers, and garlic until soft

3. Dump all ingredients into large pot

4. Boil

5. Simmer for 15-40 minutes (I prefer longer)

6. ENJOY!

Spinach - Beef Bake

This recipe came about by accident and is a mix of a few different ideas. I had ground beef and a box of thawed spinach that I needed to use. My small family devoured almost the entire pan in one meal.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 cloved garlic - chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 box frozen chopped spinach - thawed
2 cups cooked rice
1 head of broccoli cut into small pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 cup shredded mozzerella

Directions
Saute onion and garlic in a pan with a little bit of oil. Add ground beef and oregano (and other spices to taste) and cook thoroughly.

Put cooked meat into 9x13 pan. Add the spinach, rice, broccoli, soup, and parmesan. Mix together. Top with mozzerella cheese.

Cook for 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted.

Note: If you would rather used uncooked rice (as I did), use 1 cup on the bottom of the panand add at least one cup of water to casserole. Top with foil and cook for an hour (or until rice is tender). You may need to add more water partway through cooking. Remove foil for last 10 minutes.

Polenta Beef Stew

I found the original version of this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Soups and Stews. The BHG recipe called for a few other ingredients
(like 1/4 c. tomato paste), and did not include the potatoes or green beans, nor was it done in a slow cooker. Therefore, this is my rendition of the recipe, and it was a hit with my family.

Ingredients for Stew
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder (or more)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
2 pounds beef for cut for stew
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp rosemary
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 14 ounce can beef broth
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (I used the cooking wine and would reduce the amount next time)
5 med. carrots cut into 1" pieces
4-6 red potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can cut green beans

Directions:
Combine flour, garlic powder, thyme, basil, a little salt, and a little black pepper in a ziploc bag. Add beef cubes a few at a time to coat. Heat oil in a skillet and brown the floured cubes. Set aside. Drain fat.

Saute onion, rosemary, and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add beef broth and wine. Bring to boiling and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or so,

Put ingredients into the crockpot in this order:
Carrots, potatoes, meat, broth mixture, and anything else (extra spices) that sounds good. Wait until 1 hour before serving to add green beans.

Cook on low 4-6 hours and high 7-10 (depends on crockpot), until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Serve over polenta.

Recipe for Polenta
In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups milk just to a simmer over medium heat. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup cornmeal (white or yellow), and 1 tsp salt. Stir cornmeal mixture into hot milk. Cook and stir until just boiling; reduce heat to low and let cook for 10-15 minutes or until mixture is very think, stirring occasionally (it only took 5 minutes for mine). Stir in 2 tbsp. butter until melted.