Beef and Tortellini Crock Pot Soup

Beef and Tortellini Crock Pot Soup  

Cook's notes: This recipe comes from Kathy's Kitchen. She wrote that the recipe DOUBLES easily and freezes well. I can attest to the great robust flavors in the dish as I enjoyed it at  recent dinner. It is a perfect autumn meal with a slice of  cornbread. Using a crock pot makes it a no fuss meal and gives you that extra time needed to rake some leaves.

I will admit I had to do a little research on one of the ingredients.

Sriracha is a type of hot sauce named after the coastal city of Si Racha in the Chonburi Province of Eastern Thailand where it was possibly first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants. It is a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. The American version has a heat rating of around 2,000 scoville units jalapeno peppers.

In Thailand, Sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particularly for seafood. In Vietnamese cuisine, Sriracha appears as a condiment for fried noddles, a topping for spring rolls and in sauces. Within the United States, Sriracha sauce is most commonly associated with the version produced by Huy Fong Foods, colloquially known as "rooster sauce"or "cock sauce".

If you want to know more there just happens to be a timely article on America's Obsession with Sriracha in the Huffington Post written Oct, 22, 2013.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/sriracha-obsession_n_2741422.html

Ingredients:

•  1 # beef stew meat cut in small pieces
• 1 large carrot - diced
• 1 medium sized onion diced
• 1 med. stalk celery sliced
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp. sugar
• 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, liquid included
• 2 cans 10.5 oz beef boullion or granules ( 2.5 cups )
• 1 tsp. dried basil or lots of  fresh basil, torn apart
• 2 cups frozen or refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
• 1/2 can navy beans or other small white beans (drained)
• Optional: Add a drop or small squirt of Sriracha (aka Rooster Sauce) or serrano pepper( seeded and finely chopped) or sprinkle some smoked paprika on top of each soup serving. Sriracha is a bit potent but adds the perfect zing to your meal!

 Directions:

• Put meat in a large zip lock bag and drench in flour. Brown evenly and set aside
• Spray crock pot with Pam
• Put onion, celery, carrot, serrano pepper in bottom of pot
• Add meat and top with tomatoes, beef broth, sugar, basil, garlic
•  Add beans 1 hr. before soup is done. Cook tortellini separately according to directions and add when soup is done.  Add just enough so that soup does not get too thick.  If it does get too thick, add some beef broth.
•  Cook on low 7-8 hrs or high 5-6 hrs.  Serves 6.

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“Skinner’s Skillet Corn Bread”

Cook's notes: recipe was adapted by Skinners from the “Lumberjack Restaurant”, Canon Beach, Oregon. This recipe is great served at a cabin brunch or for dinner with Beef and Tortellini Crock Pot Soup or chili!

Cooking tip: Preheat oven to 400 degrees/preheat iron skillet 5 or so minutes before baking bread

Ingredients and Directions:

•  Mix 3 eggs, ¾ c vegetable oil, 1.5 cups milk
•  Mix 1 c sugar, 2 TB. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 2.5 cups flour, 1 cup corn meal
•  Combine wet and dry ingredients with a whisk well or use small submersible beater
• Pour into preheated greased (Pam) iron skillet or other 10-12 inch oven proof skillet
•  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until done center comes clean with a toothpick. Lightly spread butter on top. Let rest and serve from skillet or transfer to platter. Great with maple syrup or preserves. When the skillet cornbread was served at the restaurant a pat of butter was added on top. Yummy :)

Thought for the day :)