6 Can Soup

A few years back, my friend Gretchen told me how to make 6 can soup. Really simple. Tastes great.

• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can corn
• 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 can Ranch style beans
• 1 can chicken breast
• 1 can chicken with rice soup

Mix all ingredients and heat through. We've made it in the crock pot, and on the stove top. Tonight I made a variation of it that was delicious! 

We like to make salsa chicken for burritos (another easy one - chicken breasts, packet of taco seasoning, jar of salsa. Crockpot on low 4-6 hours, shred chicken and stir together). I had chicken left over from earlier this week, so I used about a cup and half of that in place of the canned chicken breast. I also had made a big pot of black beans yesterday for a Christmas party we went to last night so I put about a cup or so of those in with the soup. We fried some corn tortillas, crumbled them on the top of soup, and shredded some cheddar to finish it off. Dinner in less than ten minutes. Yum!

New recipe!

Beef and Barley Soup

Putting down the recipe for the soup I made tonight, so that I can make it again later!

2 lbs stew meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion
4 celery stalks
3 large carrots
1 cup frozen southern style hash browns
1 cup pearl barley
1 bottle Guinness
3 cans beef broth
1 can tomato paste
1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon beef base
2 cups water
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 bay leaves
2 springs rosemary
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil (garnish)

Cut stew meat into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown meat in batches, removing cooked meat to plate between batches. Deglaze pan with Guinness, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom. Add 2 cans of beef broth. Add the meat back in (I used an arm roast from my mom's beef, so I had a bone after cutting all the meat off. I put the bone in the pot while I simmered the meat.) and any juices on the plate. Add the rosemary and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for an hour and a half on low. While meat simmers, finely dice onion, celery, and carrots. In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add veggies and saute for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add thyme. Add can of tomato paste to veggies and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add veggies to meat (remove bone) and add frozen potatoes. Also add barley, 2 cups water, and beef base. Simmer 45-50 minutes on low until barley is cooked al dente. Add additional can of beef broth if needed to ensure enough broth. Garnish with freshly chopped basil for serving. 

We also had freshly baked Texas dinner rolls for dunking in the broth. Was a great dinner for a chilly day!