No food seems to comfort a person like a steaming bowl of soup. Soup saves money and helps to stretch the food dollar by using perfectly good leftover foods such as green beans, corn and peas in a new tasty dish.
Soups can provide high quality protein, fiber and vitamins needed for good health. Homemade soups can be lower in salt than canned soups if herbs are used for flavoring instead of salt.
Have you ever thrown out the bone from a pork or beef roast even though it had a little meat left on it? Well, you can put those leftovers or "planned overs" to good use in soup or broth.
Plan ahead for a batch of soup by freezing any leftover cooked vegetables and their cooking liquid, as well as leftover cooked meat. When you're ready to make the soup, add the leftover frozen cooked meat and seasonings to cooked vegetables and liquid.
You can make broth from beef, pork, ham, chicken or turkey bones. To prepare broth, place bones and meat pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for three hours.
Dicard the bones and refrigerate the broth and meat. Once the broth is cold, skim the fat and discard. If you won't be using the broth within three days, store it in the freezer.
For convenience, broth may be poured into ice-cube trays, then moved to a plastic bag once frozen. Use in recipes which call for meat broth, and sauté vegetables in broth instead of oil.
For quick and flavorful soup seasoning, prepare an "herb shaker" to replace salt. Simply combine 1 teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme, 2 teaspoons each of sage and sweet basil, and 11/2 teaspoons of marjoram.
Follow these tips to keep your soup safe:
* If you won't be eating the soup right after you have prepared it or if you have leftover soup, chill by setting a pan of hot soup in a sink filled with ice and water. Stir often until soup stops steaming.
* Put soup in smaller containers and store in refrigerator right away. Use within three to four days.
* For longer storage, freeze the soup, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top of the container.
* Thaw frozen soups in the refrigerator or microwave, not on the kitchen counter.
* To reheat soup, heat over low to bring to a boil, making sure to reach 165 degrees. Add water if the soup is too thick.
LENTIL SOUP
* What you'll need:
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 chicken bouillon cube
21/2 cups water
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes)
Dash black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 or 2 slices lean turkey bacon, if desired
1/3 can (16 ounce) or 2/3 cup diced or chopped whole tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon vinegar
Chopped parsley to garnish
* How to do it:
Combine first nine ingredients.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the lentils are softened.
Add the turkey bacon, tomatoes and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.
Makes four 1-cup servings.
* Alma Fonseca is family and consumer sciences agent in the Brazos County office of Texas AgriLife Extension Service. E-mail her at a-fonseca@tamu.edu.
RSS
Mobile
Daily Emails
Twitter
Facebook
