Pot Roast Soup

This happens to be a rare day in Texas. The temperature hasn't risen above freezing, and we've had a slight flurry of snow. A perfect time to make another of my family's favorite meals.   

Post Roast Soup!

When I have a bit of pot roast left over- a bit of meat, a couple of potatoes and carrots- certainly nothing worth saving on it's own. I do save it. I put it in a quart zipper top bag and freeze it. 

Once I have 2-3 of those built up, I make them into soup! 

It takes about an hour, from freezer to bowl, but is well worth it.

If you are a planner like I am, you could even take the bags out of the freezer and place them in the fridge overnight to cut down on prep time. 

Or, if you are in a bit of dinner hurry, you can defrost the bags in the microwave for 6-10 mins.

Here's a basic run down on what you will need, but certainly give or take a little on the meat/veggie portions. 

1/2-3/4 lb of pot roast- beef or venison

6 ish quarters of potatoes

12 ish baby carrots

5 cups of beef broth

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp black pepper 

Once the bags are somewhat defrosted, (I like them to be a tad on the frozen side as it makes the meat easier to cut up.) I coarsely cut up the meat and veggies, because they will fall apart a bit more while cooking the soup.

If you prefer a more finely diced soup, feel free to do so, but I don't recommend it.  

I put all the chunks into the pot,

  

Then, I add the broth and spices, and cook on high for 10 minutes. 

I use the spoon to break apart the larger pieces of meat.

After it is at a good boil, I reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10-20 mins more. 

Enjoy this with a good sized stack of saltine crackers! 

For the sickies

When I buy a whole chicken, I usually get three meal out of it. Here's how.

First time, I roast it in the oven or crock pot with veggies.
If it's a large chicken, I can cut some of the meat off the bones, and make casserole for a second dinner.
The third meal is probably my favorite.
 Chicken Noodle Soup.
I put the entire chicken, bones and veggies and any juices, in a regular sized dutch oven and fill it with water.
Sometimes, I try to get the majority of the skin off first.
I set the heat to low and simmer/boil it for a good two hrs if it was roasted in the oven. 30-60 mins if it was crock pot chicken.
I check it occasionally to see how easily the meat is to separate from the bones, it should fall right off with minimal effort.


Once it does, I get out a bowl, two forks, and a strainer. One of the bowls, i put the strainer in, and pour whatever is in the pot into it. this will allow you to save that amazing stock!


Now, I take two forks, and begin pulling meat from bone. I pull apart any of the larger chunks of meat. I take out any skin, and mash up any carrots/celery/potatoes that happened to be in there and are now too mushy to actually eat.
This is a bit tedious, but once you do it a few times, it goes rather quickly. Make sure you get all those little vertebra!


Once I have the meat on one side of the strainer and the bones on the other, I put all the meat back into the pot of broth, and throw the bones out.

I add
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 small onion, diced
2 TBS minced garlic
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tsp black pepper
1 TBS parsley
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp basil leaves
2 bay leaves
enough water/broth to fill the pot
I boil this until the vegetables are soft.
I then add 12 oz egg noodles
Once those are done...it's chow time!!!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole

This easy slow cooker recipe is perfect for freezer meals as well. It fed us for two family meals (one that night, and one frozen for later), plus 2 quart bags for the husband to take with him.

 Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless Chicken Breast                1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
2 cans cream of chicken soup                         1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 can of water                                                  3 cups rice
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
2 tbs celery salt
1 tbs black pepper

Before work, I put the chicken breast, 1 can of cream of chicken, water and spices in the slow cooker, cover, and set on low for 6-8 hrs.
After work, I shredded the chicken with two forks, stirred in the mixed veggies and the other can of cream of chicken soup. Then I topped it all in shredded cheddar. I covered it and let that cook while I made the rice.
You can make any rice of your choice, but I used brown minute rice because it only takes a few minutes, and my kids are HUNGRY!
Once the rice is done, stir that into the slow cooker mixture.
 Enjoy!