The Soup Kitchen: Kentucky Burgoo

 I know most people make soup mostly during the fall and winter when its warmer. But I have found that soup is a great way to make lunch in bulk. I can make one batch of soup and eat on it all week. So, I am starting a new series called the Soup Kitchen. This will feature soups that I am making. Today's soup is one I have wanted to make for a while. Kentucky Burgoo is sort of like an Irish stew or a thick vegetable meat stew. They key for it to be a burgoo is that you must use three different types of meat. Usually it is beef, pork, and chicken but you can use any combination you like. 

First you will need to choose your cuts of meat and sear them to start the cooking process and brown a bit. For my burgoo I used bacon, pork shoulder, and boneless skinless chicken thighs. Now if you have the ninja multicooker you can sear the meat right in the pot but if not, you will need to use a skillet or Dutch oven. Once the meat is seared you can add it to your slow cooker. You will want 8 slices of bacon crumbled, 3-3.5 lbs. of pork shoulder cubed and trimmed, and 3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs. Salt and pepper the meat prior to searing. 

The ingredients:

8 slices bacon

olive oil

3-3.5lb of pork shoulder trimmed and cubed

3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

salt and pepper

1 small to medium onion diced

1 green bell pepper diced

24 oz. small gold potatoes quartered.

1 TBSP poultry seasoning (I used a Rivierra seasoning blend)

10-12 oz frozen sliced okra

10-12 oz frozen corn

10-12 oz frozen lima beans

6 garlic cloves minced or grated

2 heaping tsp of better than bouillon (any kind, I used chicken)

28 oz crushed tomatoes

32 oz chicken broth

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp cayenne

pinch of bay seasoning or bay leaf

2 TBSP masa harina

The recipe:

Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker except the masa harina. 

Set slow cooker on Hi and cook for 4 hours. (Or low for 8 hours)

After 3 hours add the masa harina to thicken the stew. If you don't have masa harina you can use a cornstarch flurry. 

Burgoo is traditionally served with bread, biscuits, or cornbread.

This can be made a bit healthier by sticking to leaner meats like chicken and turkey. It can be more budget friendly by using pork instead of beef. The vegetables used are not strict you can change them up a bit. It would be really good with peas and green beans as well. 

The Soup Kitchen: An Apey's Kitchen original Coq Au Vin Blanc Soup

 Sometimes a recipe can inspire you to try something slightly different. For me it was a Coq Au Vin Blanc recipe from Half Baked Harvest. It was amazing and I loved the flavors. I thought it could make a pretty good soup and I was right! Building a soup recipe has 5 main components: fat, base, meat, veggies, and seasonings. 

The ingredients:

1 TBSP oil

1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove

1 onion diced

1/2 C of crumbled bacon

Meatballs (see below for recipe)

3 C of veggies (mushrooms, potatoes, peas, carrots) or mushroom better than bouillon (2TBSP)

1 tsp shallot powder

1 TBSP of Herbes de Provence

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

4 C chicken broth

1.5 to 2 C of dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)

3/4 C milk

The recipe:

First cook bacon and crumble and set aside.

Sauté oil with garlic and onion. 

Add bacon and garlic and onion to slow cooker. 

Add veggies and spices. 

Add the broth and wine.

Add the meatballs.

Simmer on Low for 2 hours 

Add the milk/cream. 

Increase to Hi and cook another hour. 

Baked Chicken Meatballs

1lb ground chicken

1 medium onion diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 egg

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 C panko breadcrumbs

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

olive spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl combine all ingredients except the olive oil.

Mix together until combined do not over work the meat. 

Using small spoon or scoop portion out meatballs.

Spray olive oil on hands and roll the meatballs and place on baking sheet 1 in apart. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes until start to brown. 

Cool and store in fridge or freezer or add to meal. 

An Apey's Kitchen Original: Southwest Loaded Potato Soup in the slow cooker

 When you have a bunch of potatoes that need used before they go bad, what do you do with them? Soup of course! I really wanted a southwestern type of potato soup and could not find anything I liked so I decided to be adventurous and create my own recipe. In this case it was a hit in my opinion. I found a loaded potato soup recipe to get my base started then added my own additions. 

The base:

2lb of russet potatoes cut up, I left the skin on, but you can peel

3 C chicken broth

3 tsp garlic powder

1.5 tsp salt

Combine all in the slow cooker and cook on Hi for 4 hours. Once done, use an immersion blender to blend up the potatoes leaving some chunky parts. This also thickens the soup.

The additions:

1 can of Rotel

1 roll of chorizo or more if desired

1 tsp of taco blend seasoning from Burlap and Barrel (or regular)

1 tsp of black lime seasoning from Burlap and Barrel

1/2 C of spicy cheese pepperjack or I used smoke spicy gouda

Mix all together well and cook for an additional 30 minutes or so until all combined and heated. 

Finish by adding in 2 C of milk or half and half and stirring until combined. I used half and half. Cook for an additional 30 minutes until warmed through.

Add toppings when serving. My favorite are blue corn tortilla chips and fresh cilantro. This really gives the soup some bright color too. You could also add salsa, more shredded cheese, or guacamole. 

This really turned out well. It has the texture of the potato soup but has a spicy kick like a tortilla soup. Good thing since I have leftovers for my lunches this week! I really think it made for a pretty soup too. The taco seasoning gives it a bit of a different color that I like. I also used chicken bone broth which is darker so if you use regular bone broth the color will probably be different. Rotel has really become a favorite ingredient that I use a lot, so I loved being able to use it in this recipe.