Beef and Quinoa-Vegetable soup:

In the last 24 hours I have seriously considered ordering a straight jacket. After publishing last nights blog post I was going to make my soup only to remember I never thawed my beef. So I woke up this morning and made it. I turn on the crock pot and let it do its thing. About 6 hours later at work, I couldn’t remember if I ever plugged in the crock pot. Thankfully I did and the soup turned out great!

I love my crockpot, I would love to see congress make a national holiday in honor of it. Last Monday I almost cried when I thought it was broken, thankfully David fixed it.

Now onto the Beef and Quinoa-Vegetable soup:


What I used:

• 3 cans of beef broth or 6 cups of Beef Stock
• 1/4 of a cup of Worchester sauce
• 1 pound of grass fed beef stew meat
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup of Black beans or a 1/2 can of black beans rinsed
• 1 Can or 2 cups of diced tomatoes
• Spinach
• 1/2 cup of quinoa
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• Chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
• Salt and fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1 tsp of oregano

Directions:
Put everything in the crock pot and cook for: low 7-9 hours on high for 5-6 hours. Yeah that simple!

ENJOY!!!!



Okay here’s some additional 411!

Why did I use Beef Broth – because that is what I had, if I had stock I would of used that or a mix of broth and stock.

I really do not know who much Worchester sauce I used. I just poured it in till it looked good to me.
Buying dry black beans are way cheaper. But you have to plan ahead and soak them, which I didn’t do. However since they were going to be in liquid in the crockpot from 530am till after 2pm I really wasn’t worried. To be save, I boiled about 1/2 cup in some water for a few minutes. I then rinsed them and added them to the soup.

Why did I use canned diced tomatoes. Every year we get a decent harvest of tomatoes from my garden, however I typically turn them in to salsa and sauce. I don’t have enough to can as diced or crushed tomatoes…Maybe this year.

Spinach – each week I eat a crap load of spinach. The problem I run into is that I will have a 1/2 bag left on shopping day, it will not last me till the next shopping day. So I buy a new bag and use that for this weeks meals. I take the old bag of spinach and steam it. Then I drain and squeeze out as much water as possible before freezing it. On the days when I am making soups, or a pasta dishes I can thaw my spinach in warm water! This works well on the weeks that its B1G1 free. If you will only eat one bag steam the other, no waste of food or cash.

Quinoa. - this is my new favorite thing! Its described as the following from this website:

Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa is available in your local health food stores throughout the year.
Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas.

I purchase mine at either the Amish place on route 5 in Kirkland or Tom’s in Clinton. I found some at Price chopper but it was quinoa flakes?? seemed kind of sketchy! I really like it, and my husband seems to like it too. I use it in place of noodles or potatoes in soups. Helps keep them lighter and its as Power food!!!

Seriously try this soup, if not try using your crock pot!! Just cook something!!!