Easy One Pot Soups and Stews

by Elise Griffith

Were you able to get your FREE five pound bags of Russet potatoes from Cookie Crock at the end of September and mid-October? A $20 additional grocery purchase was required for those coupons, yet Cookie Crock also was selling jumbo yellow onions at three pounds for $1 and boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.97 per pound. Add coffee, laundry detergent or a big bag of dry pet food and you’re at $20 quickly.

Meanwhile, Spencer’s Fresh Markets advertised large bunches of celery at 99 cents each, loose carrots and butternut squash for 79 cents per pound, and Crystal brand stick butter in 1 pound boxes at two for $5. Each week, every store has advertised and unadvertised sales. Some deals are sweet, while some are merely acceptable. It literally pays to compare prices.

Those free potatoes will keep for several weeks in cool, dark storage  . . .  as will onions and squash. Celery and carrots can be washed, sliced, and frozen in recipe ready, zip top bags. Properly wrapped in air tight packaging, uncooked meats can be frozen 4-12 months. Slow thaw any frozen meats in your refrigerator before cooking them. Go to USDA.gov for more information.

Time Saving Tip: A food processor or mandolin slicer makes fast work out of chopping or slicing vegetables to use immediately or freeze!
With a small stockpile of fresh or frozen basics, soul-satisfying, one pot meals are easy to whip up with minimal fuss. If you have a crock pot, the following recipe is a snap to prepare!

California Crock Pot Chicken, Veggies and Dumplings

• ¼ cup (half stick) cold butter or margarine, cut into slices
• 2 (uncooked) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped onion - fresh or frozen
• 2 cups each unpeeled, sliced carrots and sliced celery – fresh or frozen
• 4 medium unpeeled, scrubbed and chopped Russet potatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon each, salt, freshly ground pepper and rosemary or thyme leaves
• 1 cup frozen baby lima beans or peas
• ½ cup each water and milk
• 1 tablespoon corn starch or flour
• Canned biscuits or biscuit dough (boxed or homemade)

Arrange butter or margarine slices in the bottom of your crock pot; add cubed chicken, onion, carrots and celery. Spread diced potatoes on top, pour chicken broth over potatoes and sprinkle seasonings into the crock pot. Cover and cook on high, undisturbed, for 3 hours, or on low for 6 hours. Add frozen baby lima beans or peas, stir, cover and cook on low for another 10-15 minutes.

Whisk together water, milk and corn starch or flour until smooth; slowly stir into crock pot contents. Add canned biscuits (or biscuit dough dropped by the spoon full) evenly on top of the chicken, vegetables and broth, cover and cook undisturbed on low for 25-30 minutes.

Serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve. Recipe makes up to eight deliciously hearty servings.

For those concerned about the starch in potatoes, the National Potato Council reports this nutritional information at their website, National Potato Council:

Fat free, cholesterol free and low in calories
[One] medium-sized potato has no fat, no cholesterol and contains only 110 calories!

Sodium Free
Low sodium diets help to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

Vitamin C — don't just think of oranges anymore
By eating one medium sized potato, you will receive 45% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C — a great antioxidant.

More potassium than bananas!
Potatoes contain 18% of the recommended daily value of potassium — a great way to build stronger bones.

Good Source of Fiber
The 3g of fiber in one medium-sized potato is 8% of the recommended daily value. Diets high in fiber are beneficial for a healthy digestive system and may reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Consuming adequate fiber also makes you feel fuller, helping to reduce snacking between meals.

Less than 10% of the daily value of carbohydrates
Potatoes contain 26g of carbohydrates, only 9% of the recommended daily value. Complex carbohydrates are a great source of energy for the body.

A Great Antioxidant
Potatoes have one of the highest overall antioxidant activity among vegetables. Antioxidants protect key cell components by neutralizing the damaging effects of ‘free radicals.’ Potatoes also contain glutathione, an antioxidant that may help protect against some cancers.

No one has to know the following recipe was simple to make and vegan! Its flavor and chunky texture are perfect for "game day" gatherings of friends, plus it’s easy on the budget. You’ll need to peel potatoes for this recipe; don’t forget to save those potato peels for your garden compost.

Hearty Potato-Leek Soup with White Beans

• 1 large, unpeeled Russet potato
• 6 small to medium Russet potatoes, peeled, halved and sliced
• 2 tablespoons canola or corn oil
• 1 large leek, washed and sliced
• 2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
• ½ cup white wine (such as Tisdale Chardonnay)
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 6 cups water
  
• 1 teaspoon iodized salt
• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

Bake the large, unpeeled potato in your oven or microwave while peeling and slicing the other potatoes, and allow the baked potato to cool. As you peel, halve and slice, put your potato slices in a large bowl. Cover the potatoes with very cold, salted water and refrigerate.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; add sliced leek and sauté; add sliced garlic and continue to sauté until leeks have softened. Pour wine over the leeks and garlic, reduce heat to low, add diced jalapeño pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Drain the sliced potatoes, reserving one cup of the liquid. Add drained potatoes to the pot, along with 6 cups of water and salt. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a low boil. Stir, reduce heat again to low and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender (20-25 minutes). Stir in beans.

Remove all white potato pulp from the baked, cooled potato and place into a blender with reserved cup of potato liquid; puree or liquefy. Stir this liquid into your soup, and bring to a low boil again over low heat, stirring occasionally. The chunky soup is now ready to serve or store for next-day reheating. Recipe makes 6-8 tasty bowls of soup.

Tip: If you (or your guests) require more of a protein punch in your soup, consider adding canned, drained crab meat, shelled, cooked and tail off shrimp, or pan cooked fish fillets; crumbled real bacon bits also compliment the flavors.

Easy Curried Lentil & Autumn Vegetable Stew

• ½ pound bacon (half package), cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced
• 2 cups chopped celery (including leafy tops)
• 1 teaspoon minced, fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup white wine [or water]
• 1 winter squash baked, cooled, seeded, peeled and cubed (just over 2 cups)
• 3 small to medium yams, microwave "baked", cooled and cubed
• salt to taste
• ½ pound package fresh or frozen, thawed spinach – optional

In a large (5-6 quart) nonstick pot, sauté bacon pieces, onion and celery over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic and curry powder; stir and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add dry lentils and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes.

When lentils have softened, add white wine or additional water, along with diced, cooked squash and yams. Stir, cover and simmer for another 8-10 minutes. Add salt and, if desired, stir in spinach; continue to stir occasionally until spinach is soft, about 3 minutes. Turn burner off and spoon into bowls or transfer to sterilized jars for preservation. Recipe makes 4 quarts (8 bowls) of stew.

Vegan alternative: omit bacon and substitute 2 tablespoons olive oil for onion, celery & garlic sauté.

Tip: a little extra water can be added to a jar of stew, making it a soup to enjoy with fresh bread or rolls, or served with homemade croutons.

 

From Where I Cook  . . .  Thanksgiving is fast approaching. You’ll never need to spend on pale, canned yams again if you start with small or thin, red-skinned yams and half-bake them in their skins. Trim the pointed ends off, place them in a foil lined baking dish and pop them into a preheated 350 degree oven. When the yams have baked for 15 minutes, using tongs, turn them over on the foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes before removing them from the oven. Once the yams are cool enough to handle, the skins come off easily (be sure to save those skins for your garden).

Slice or chunk the peeled yams and layer them in a casserole dish that’s been prepared with cooking oil spray. Drizzle each layer with a small amount of melted butter or margarine and sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours until ready to bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The color and flavor (as well as savings) are well worth the effort!

Kitchen Garden Tip: For faster garden compost, spread any potato peels on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and dry in your oven at 200 degrees for 30-45 minutes. When the peels have cooled, toss them into your garden beds and lightly work into the top inch or two of soil. Drying them first helps to prevent odors and speed the breakdown of natural potash.

Contact Elise
Image on Banner by Nathan Drew

        Journal Twitter