Tag: bone broth benefits

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HUNGRY FOR HEALTHY VEGGIE SOUP

Christmas was kind of a bummer.   A lot of us got sick.  Even Princess Anne had to skip the royal dinner at Sandringham because she had a cold.  I spent the day in jammies, thankful that my husband didn’t catch whatever  was wrong with me.  Allergic rhinitis? Flu? Cold?  I don’t know and don’t care now, because I’m feeling normal today. Thankfully, I had the fixin’s for a fancy dinner of filet mignon and twice baked potatoes on hand, so we weren’t cheated of a special holiday meal.  But now, I’m hungry  for Healthy Veggie Soup.

hungry for healthy veggie soup. Make it with bone broth for extra nutritional value.
HUNGRY FOR HEALTH VEGGIE SOUP. Make it with v8 and beef bone broth for extra nutrition.

Growing up in the forties, my mom always made  a kettle  of  vegetable soup on cold winter days. She started  with a beef soup bone.   They don’t sell those in supermarkets anymore, and that’s a shame.  Because by simmering  it all day, you were guaranteed some super nutritious bone broth to cure whatever ailed you. Next,  she added  a jar of tomatoes canned last summer,  and sliced some carrots.  Maybe some  celery and onions.

That kettle might sit on the stove and simmer all day. Later, she would add other canned veggies like green beans, corn, and fresh  potatoes.  Just before serving, she removed the bone and scraped the beef into the soup.  There was always  home baked bread to go along with the soup.  And  plenty left for seconds.  That’s just one of the economical, filling, delicious  meals that warmed our tummies and kept us healthy.

In this week  after Christmas, I’m hungry for healthy beef veggie soup like my mother made.  However, I’m forced to come up with my own recipe, since I don’t can in the summer, and I’m unable to  buy a soup bone anywhere close by.

I’ll start with stew meat,  bottled v8 juice. a box of beef bone broth, and water.  You can add more water during the cooking process if you think the soup  is getting cooked down too much. .   Later, when it’s about an hour from dinner time, I’ll add  carrots,  potato chunks,  and perhaps some  cut up cabbage.  Green beans and corn are also  optional, so I haven’t put them in the recipe .  Some store bought French bread will round out the meal.

I don’t strictly follow  a recipe, but this may  give you some guidelines.

Vegetable Beef Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 T olive oi

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

½ pound  beef stew meat

3 cups v8Juice

2  cups beef bone broth

1 cup water

1 bay leaf

1 carrot, scrapped and chopped

2 potatoes peeled and diced

1 cup of chopped Cabbage leaves(optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Saute the celery and onions in olive oil  until translucent.  Add the beef stew meat and  sear a few minutes until brown. Stir in the V 8 juice, bone broth,  water and bay leaf. .  Simmer for 2 hours.  Add the carrots and potatoes;  simmer another half an hour until all are tender.  About 10 minutes before you turn off the heat, , add the cabbage leaves. Remove the bay leaf.  Makes 2 or 3 servings, depending on your appetite.

Store any left over in the frig.  By now, the flavors have blended overnight and the soup tastes even better the next day.

Have a happy, healthy new year!

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STOP! SAVE THE TURKEY BONES

By the time Thanksgiving dinner is over, everyone is in a hurry to clean the mess in the kitchen.  There are so many pots, pans, and serving dishes piled up in the sink, that it’s almost overwhelming. First thing most of us  do is get rid of the turkey carcass–clean off any remaining meat, then dump it in the trash.  Stop! Save the turkey bones and simmer them for a  delicious soup broth or nutritious bone broth.  Both are great for your health.

STOP! SAVE THE TURKEY BONES TO MAKE NUTRITIOUS BONE BROTH.
STOP SAVE THE TURKEY BONES. Don’t throw out the carcass. Use it to make turkey broth.

First break up the carcass into a big pot and cover with about a  gallon of water. Add a hunk of carrot, stalk of celery, some onion slices.    Throw in a couple of bay leaves and maybe some thyme. Cover,  Turn on the heat, and simmer for about an hour.  Now  you have the beginnings of turkey noodle soup.  Strain everything through a colander and save the broth.  Pick the meat off the turkey bones to put in  the soup. At this point, you can discard the bones—unless you want to take it one step further and make turkey bone broth.  In which case, you will keep  simmering the turkey bones on low heat for at least four hours.  Some recipes call for an eight hour cooking time, but others say four is enough.

After awhile, the  broth will begin to turn a pale gold color, and the bones will break up, along with the shredded meat.  You don’t have to do anything while this is going on.  Just smell the delicious fragrance of turkey broth filling the kitchen.   When you’re ready, strain everything through a colander.  The meat and bones can be discarded, because now,  you’ve extracted all the vitamins and minerals from the carcass.

If you’re tired from hosting  Thanksgiving dinner, treat yourself to a cup of miraculous bone broth while it’s still hot. .   The simmering  helps the bones to release healing compounds like proline, glycine, glutamine and collagen.  Suddenly, you’re feeling stronger.     A study at the University pf Nebraska Medical Center  found that the amino acids produced when making chicken stock reduced inflammation in the respiratory system and improved digestion.

Let the bone broth cool in the refrigerator, and skim off the top layer of fat. Store the broth however you like.  I prefer Tupperware containers.   You can keep it in the frig for a day or so, but it’s best to store most in the freezer.  One day this winter, when you’re feeling kind of puny, warm some bone broth  in a saucepan, add some noodles, carrots and celery, and you’ve got yourself a super soup  that will help relieve the misery.

Stop! Save the turkey bones.