Recipes

[Carol1229]

Sometimes I amaze myself at the things I think of.....and not always in a good way. Take for instance buying a roast. I scored a great deal on a top round roast a few months ago-got a nice big one-and froze it thinking BOY that will make a great pot roast dinner someday OR I can cut it up and make beef stew or something on that idea.

Apparently I haven't come to grips with the fact that there are only 2 of us living under this roof.....plus the fact that since Bob has started this weight loss thing, we're eating a LOT less food.

Which brings me to this dilemma-the roast needs used and there's a LOT of it-even after trimming all the excess fat away. Ohhhhhhhhh boy....now what?

To the cookbooks I go to find some new dishes using beef cubes or strips.

We're big soup eaters ANY time of year, so when I saw this recipe-and noticed a not-so-ordinary soup ingredient in it, I knew I had to try it.

I used whole wheat noodles that I had here to use up rather than the wide noodles. They're a little different in consistency than the egg free noodles I usually use but they worked out fine. I also added more carrot and onion than the recipe called for-I didn't measure the onion, just cut up enough until it looked like a good amount for what we like. The carrots I had were big ones-I sliced up 3 of them. I also eyeballed the cabbage amount.

What really caught my eye was that little addition of unsweetened cocoa party to the mix. I've used cocoa or chocolate in chili before but never in a soup. It added a slight background warmth to the broth-you didn't taste chocolate but you knew there was a little something not so ordinary there.

The addition of a little low fat sour cream stirred in just before serving gave the broth a smooth velvety feel.

This has the look of an every day ordinary beef noodle soup, but it has a touch of extraordinary flavor. It made a wonderful dinner with a salad on the side, and gave us a nice treat for lunch for a few days.

Now I'm off to find a couple more recipes to use this beef up........good grief........


Carol


BEEF GOULASH SOUP
(Source: adapted from Favorite Family Dinners From Sam's Club cookbook)

1/2 lb. beef for stew, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half, then into 1/2" wide slices
2 c. water
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 oz.) can low sodium, fat free beef broth
2-3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. thinly sliced cabbage
3/4 c. dried wide egg noodles
2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Salt to taste, optional (I don't add any)
1/4 c. low fat or fat-free sour cream
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Sauté the beef cubes over medium high heat until browned. Stir in the onion; cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.

Add the water, undrained tomatoes, beef broth, carrots, cocoa powder and garlic. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until meat is tender.

Stir in the cabbage, noodles, paprika, pepper and salt (if using); simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes more or until noodles are tender and cabbage is cooked.

Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired. Makes 4 servings.