Soup, the cheating way

[BlackMudGarden]

I usually cook from scratch, but sometimes I run out of time and/or energy. I ran out of both this week, while my kitchen countertops and dining room table were covered with fresh garden produce. When that happens, I cheat. I'm making homemade garden soup today, the cheating way ...

Shameless Cheater's Garden Vegetable Soup

1 gallon juicy and chunky tomato puree, made by chopping in the blender a variety of scalded and peeled mix heirlooms
1 cup water
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 (or more) of a big onion , roughly chopped
1 potato, peeled and roughly chopped
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic (or more if you want) crushed
3 leaves kale, finely chopped
10 okra pods sliced about 1/3" thick
Kernels sliced from one ear of sweet corn, crumbled up so they don't stick together
Anything else you think sounds good (cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower don't go well with this unless you add them at the very end)

Dump it all into a pot with one package Knorr dried soup mix, any flavor, as long as it doesn't have noodles. If you're a vegetarian, try Spring Vegetable. Stir it up and then give it another stir every so often to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

After it's simmered a good long time -- at least an hour, but it can go all day -- add 1/3 cup raw rice and simmer for 20 minutes for white rice and 45 minutes for brown rice. Turn off heat and add chopped basil, parsley, sage, other herbs of your choice and red pepper flakes to your choice of hotness. Stir. Don't add salt. The soup mix has plenty. Let it cool 30 minutes in the pot before serving. That's when you'll know if you want to add more salt and pepper.

It's not a bad soup for having cheated. It's super easy and the flavors meld together. If you're on a low sodium diet, it's probably not the best idea to eat more than a small serving. If you can eat salt, go for it because this is very low calorie and has virtually no fat.

I peeled and chopped the tomatoes yesterday and put them in the fridge overnight. This morning, I spent maybe 7 minutes putting things in the big pot and turning it on simmer. The soup is done and it's splendid, even if I do say so myself.

I'm interested in any other short-cuts and cheats you may have for those times when you're out of time and/or energy. When it comes to cooking, I'll be out of both for the next few weeks and my garden will not slow down until October. I'm willing to cheat in order to make good use of my fresh garden produce.

Thanks,
Muddie

[Penny]

This sounds like a great soup to try in the Fall here, thanks.

[BlackMudGarden]

It is a good fall soup. We've had cooler weather here the last few days that makes soup inviting. This is a thick, hearty soup, very filling. It's best to skimp on the rice, so as not to thicken it too much.

There's bread dough rising in the kitchen, the air outside is cool and it's ... well, I'm enjoying myself much more than I did when it was 105+ degrees out there. Hey, I'm even wearing a jacket.

[Penny]

I will definetly be trying that soup this Fall, and thanks again for the recipe.

[lorna-organic]

One of my cheater meals is brown rice and pork chops with greens. I put brown rice in the bottom of a casserole dish, sprinkle a bit of salt, layer on some chopped greens (chard, mustard greens and/or kale), sprinkle with a bit more salt, cover with medium thick pork chops, pour on boiling water (as much as is needed for the quantity of rice, plus an extra half cup for insurance), sprinkle with cracked black pepper or red pepper flakes. I cover the casserole and bake at 350 for one hour, or an hour and fifteen minutes if I am using a large quantity of rice. It is comfort food, requiring very little fuss and bother. The rice and greens are flavored by the meat drippings--good stuff.

[florin]

This was a recipe to help use up the zucchini and cherry tomatoes and it is quick.
ITALIAN BEEF STIR-FRY (25 MINUTES)

1-LB beef round steak (I use London broil) sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes halves
1/4 cup reduced fat Italian salad dressing
2 cups hot cooked spaghetti
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

1. Cut beef lengthwise in half and then crosswise into 1-inch wide strips.
2. Cook and stir garlic in large skillet over medium-high heat 1 minute. Add beef and stir-fry 1 to 1/2 minutes or until outside surface is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Remove with slotted spoon and keep warm.
3. Add zucchini to same skillet; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Return beef to skillet with tomato halves and dressing; heat through. Serve Beef mixture over hot pasta; sprinkle with cheese. 4 servings.

[ovenbird]

I don't know about what's cheating in these recipes. They all sound great, healthy, tasty, and when you figure you've been working on the produce since planning time last November, that is effort, not cheating.

[puttgirl]

I agree! Sounds good.

[Colleen]

Hi, My favorite cheater meal as you put it. Is to make patties with the left overs from the day's harvest. I'll make a big pan of 'stir fry all the veggies that are ready. We eat what we want. Then I add some egg and flour to the rest and saute into patties and then freeze on a cookie sheet. After frozen I bag and label them. I have also dehydrated these.

they thaw out really fast and make good snack or meal. Or can be used as a 'burger'. The one we made tonight has bison burger in it as well as zucchini, onion, portabella mushroom, celery, green and yellow beans, okra, eggplant, herbs and spices. It was delish!

[Colleen]

Hi,

My favorite "cheater" meal as you put it. Is to make patties with the left overs from the day's harvest. I'll make a big pan of 'stir fry' for dinner with all the veggies that are ready. We eat what we want. Then I add some egg and flour to the rest and saute into patties and then freeze on a cookie sheet. After frozen I bag and label them. I have also dehydrated these.

They thaw out really fast and make good snack or meal. Or can be used as a 'burger'. The one we made tonight has bison burger in it as well as zucchini, onion, portabella mushroom, tomatoe, celery, green and yellow beans, okra, eggplant, herbs and spices. I cook it as little as possible to maintain the raw food emzymes. SO I cook the beans and saute the onions and bison and mushroom and then turn off the heat and add the rest to marinate together. It was delish!