A Shivery Sunday Calls for Soup!!!

Whew! What a weekend it's been - weather wise, anyway! Yesterday (Sat.) morning I woke up to sleet, but within 30 minutes or so it was snowing. We had snow for about 2 hours and then it stopped. By 11 am the sky was almost cleared and a watery sun was shining through. Then this morning we got up to a chilly 25 degrees, and it barely made it out of the 3o's all day.

Here are a couple of pics of my frost bitten knockout roses . . .





The poor things were icy! So that's the last of the bloomers until my camellia blooms, and it won't be long, because it's already showing bits of pink in the buds. Maybe we can have a bouquet on the table for Christmas dinner???

Anyway, we stayed inside and I made a batch of cranberry orange muffins - yummy! And then this afternoon I made another one of our favorite soups - Corned Beef Soup. My mother 'invented' this recipe many years ago, probably from desperation. We didn't have much, and I imagine she had a can of corned beef and some potatoes and carrots, and she turned it into soup. Little did she know it would be an immediate hit and that we both would still be making it probably 45 years or so later! Here is the recipe:

~Peel and dice a large onion - about 2 to 2 1/2 cups diced.



~To a large soup pot (at least 6 quarts) add 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons canola oil, heat to medium high heat and add the onions. Stir and allow to cook until almost tender.



~Now add your vegetables:

• 5 - 6 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced. Enough to make about 4-5 cups diced. (I used russet because that's what I had!)
• 8 - 10 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Enough to make about 3 - 4 cups.
• 3 - 4 stalks of celery diced. Enough to make about 1 to 1 1/2 cup diced.
• 4-5 cups water
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I start with less and add more if needed later).
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 nice large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes - about 1/2 teaspoon. You can add more or use less, depending on your tolerance for heat. This was not very warm, so I ended up adding a couple of dashes of Texas Pete for a little more spice.
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

~Bring to a boil. Add more water if you think it needs it to cover the veggies. I used about 5 cups total plus the broth.

~Stir well and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

~Add the can of corned beef. You will find this in the canned meats area of your grocery, near the chili and good old Spam! Most of the canned corned beef is from Brazil. As you cook it, the corned beef will cook down, so there's no need to chop it up unless you want to.

~Return to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer for about one to two hours or until the veggies are tender.

And there you have a delicious, warm, good for you and filling bowl of soup. Doesn't it look pretty in my Christmas dishes???

As I said before, this is one of our very favorite soups, and tonight hubby ate about 3 bowls full, followed by a couple of fresh cranberry orange muffins. Both are very good winter comfort foods!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please let me know! Have a great week, Becky