Our Romanian dinner on Friday was definitely good – and it was definitely too much food for four people!
We almost had it again for dinner last night, but we were heading out for a show and wanted something lighter… (We saw Million Dollar Quartet at Broadway Rose – it was freakin’ awesome!!!)
But I digress…
We’re finally into Soup Season and I do love soup for lunch. I can – very literally – have a bowl of soup every single day for lunch. – and the lunch soup always starts out as a Dinner Soup.
It was time to create.
Soup is put-it-in-a-pot-and-make-it-hot cooking. There are no real rules. There are recipes for when you want to make a very specific soup, but even those are more guideline than anything else. Soup is how you use up leftovers or stretch something out to feed a crowd or last a few days. And if you’re lucky enough to have a loaf of good bread – you’re set!
Tonight’s soup started in the slow-cooker. I resisted one of these things for years – and then found one that you could actually brown the meat and vegetables before adding the liquid and I never looked back.
Sautéed onion, then about a third of a bottle of red wine – it was also a leftover. Cooked it down a bit and then added the leftover meats – all cut up into smaller portions – along with all that yummy sauce. Next came some beef broth.
Then it was celery, carrots, a can of beans, some lentils, red rice, and some split peas. A can of marzano tomatoes, a can of diced green chiles, some frozen corn, some frozen peas, a can of green beans picked up for a bean salad I never made. A couple of handfuls of broken up mixed pasta.
The most difficult part of the meal was cutting up the leftover meats. It was really a no-brainer.
A really tasty no-brainer.
