SOUP'S ON......GO FOR IT..

MARLA'S SOUTHWESTERN CORN CHOWDER

MARLA'S BROCCOLI SOUP

Ingredients:
1 medium chopped onion
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 Tbsp. chicken base (boullion) or consumme'
2 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 # Velveeta
2 to 3 tsp. flour
Milk, as needed

Clean chicken throughly and remove all gizzards, heart, etc. and put into an 8 quart stock pot filled 3/4 full of cold water. Cook chicken until tender. Remove from broth, cool, and bone it into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to pot. Add all vegetables (fresh, frozen, and canned). Start with approximately 2 Tbsp. of garlic salt and l Tblsp. coarse black pepper. As it cooks, taste occasionally, and add garlic salt and pepper as needed.

Cook on medium high until all the vegetables are tender. Keep the pot uncovered until they are tender and skim the foam off the top and discard. Put lid on and let cook at medium low heat for an additional hour. (This would be a good time to taste and use additional salt and pepper..As the soup cooks, the salt will absorb into the vegetables). The key to good-tasting soup is.......to let it cook slow and long and allow the flavors of chicken, veggies, and seasoning to blend. Your broth will look rich and have some fat on top. If there is too much fat, skim and discard. It has a somewhat yellowish color when it's rich.

The dumplings should be added no more than an hour before you serve it. In a medium bowl, put flour in and make a well in the middle. Add to this, the salt and pepper and all four eggs. With a fork, begin breaking up the eggs and mixing it into the flour. Start with 1/2 cup of water and slowly add and stir into flour mixture. The consistency will be somewhat lumpy, thick, and gooey. So add more water until it looks this way. If it's too thin, add a little more flour.

Remove lid from soup, and turn heat to medium high ( so it comes to a low boil). With a teaspoon, dip into the hot broth and then get a spoonful of batter and drop it into the soup. Continue process until all the batter is gone. DO NOT mix the dumplings....because they will break up. Put lid back on and let boil slowly for about 5 - 10 minutes. Remove the lid. Turn down the heat to simmer and then mix the dumplings carefully. Put lid back on and let simmer for an hour or so before serving.

8 slices bacon, fried crisp
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups cubed, peeled potatoes
1 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 3/4 cup milk
4 ounce container of sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

In bacon fat saute onions 2 to 3 minutes. Drain. In a pot with sauteed onions, add potatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in soup, sour cream and crumbled bacon. Add milk, salt, pepper and 1/2 of shredded cheese. Heat to serving temperature. Do NOT boil.

Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of each bowl of soup...

In a 6 to 8 quart dutch oven, put just enough oil to lightly cover the bottom..Brown the round steak on both sides and continue to cook this way until the meat is tender. This will take at least one hour. You must closely watch the meat and turn it as needed, also adding water to it and as it cooks down...so the meat doesn't stick and burn (this will be done many, many times while it is tenderizing). Just add enough water ...not totally covering the meat. When the meat is completely tender and you can cut it with a fork, it can be taken out of the pan and cut into bite-sized pieces.

While this is being done, add enough water into the pot so that it is half full. To this you will add the entire can of tomato juice, diced tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes. DO NOT ADD the canned or frozen vegetables until the fresh ones are tender. Return the cut up meat to the pot also. At this time, you may add at least 1 Tablespoon of garlic salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Allow the vegetables to tenderize and the flavors come together for at least an hour over medium high heat, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

After the hour, taste the broth to see how the flavor is and add more salt or pepper as desired. Also add the remaining canned or frozen vegetables, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium so that there is barely a mild rolling boil. This do for an additional hour.

Now it's time to taste the broth again. How is it?? Need a little more of pepper?? Well, now comes a little taste treat I add for our soup. Remember the hot sauce?? Yes....that's it.. Shake the bottle at least 4 times and then stir. MMMMMMMMM.. A little zing and wonderful flavor. This, of course, is optional. Just a little twist that I use. Now....the longer this cooks, the better it tastes...So I do suggest you start at least mid morning and let it simmer when you've gone through all the above stages.....reducing your heat to simmer..cover......and let it all come together.

Great for these cold winter days ahead.......ENJOY!!!

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds boneless chicken breast (cooked and cubed)
2 - 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
1 large onion, chopped
2 packages Durkee Red Hot chili mix
Garlic salt (to taste)
Chili powder - 2 tablespoons
Hot sauce (to taste)

In a large pot, brown the ground beef and then drain.. add the chicken cubes to this and continue to cook til the chicken is done. Add the tomato sauce, chili mix, chili powder, garlic salt, and hot sauce and mix well.

Add a couple of cans of water to it, stir, and heat on medium high heat with the lid off for about an hour.. Stirring occasionally. Turn heat down to medium low and cover and cook for another 1 to 2 hours.. Stir during this time.. Take lid off and let cook for another hour.. stirring.. and the chili will thicken..

Serve with chopped onions and shredded cheddar on top.. and you're in store for another wonderful taste treat.. (quickly becoming another Sawhook favorite.. never can make enough)..

Ingredients:
5# ground chuck or round (thawed)
2 to 2 and 1/2 ounces chili powder (about half a container)
Garlic Salt
Black ground coarse pepper
Cinnamon
3 - 6 oz. cans tomato paste
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1# spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 large onion, chopped
Kidney beans are optional (I don't use them)

In an 8 quart stock pot, place ground beef that has been broken up and fill with enough water to cover the meat entirely..(very important in tenderizing the beef). Wash hands..and smoosh up the meat even more between fingers. It will give the meat a very fine texture as it cooks as opposed to chunks.

Put on medium high heat and cook til it has a mild rolling boil..Continue to stir and break up the meat and skim off the fat. That's why I choose a leaner ground beef..there's less fat and skimming. Cook for at least an hour, turning down the heat to medium low. Add tomato paste, chili powder, 3 good shakes of cinnamon and 4 shakes of black pepper, plus add at least 1 tablespoon of garlic salt at first. Stir well and let simmer. This is where the flavors really come together. Keep on medium low or low and cover. Let simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. The longer this is cooked the better.

At this point, taste and see what the flavor is like. If you want more garlic salt, shake it a little more until you are satisfied with the taste. Keep the lid off and let simmer another 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Sometimes I even like to make this overnight and simmer on low or warm until we eat after church...Hmmmm...it's really yummy.

To serve, you can eat this in a bowl as chili served with oyster crackers.........Or you can put spaghetti in the bowl or on a plate and top with the chili, hence Chili Spaghetti. Either way, you finally top it with chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese.......and if you're really daring....shake that hot pepper sauce on top and enjoy....enjoy....enjoy...!!!!

Copyright, February 2006, "Potty Training To Puberty---THE PITS!! (with hugs along the way)"