Hearty Beefy Onion Soup

I must be really attuned to my Inner Furry Woodland Creature Instincts. That's gotta be it.

Why else as soon as Fall hits do I have this incredible urge to gather & preserve food for the winter?

So yeah, that must be it.

Last week was the Gumbo this week it's Soup. Warning; there may be more posts to come.....:)

This recipe is yummy, smells great whilst cooking, and is unbelievably easy. And especially take advantage of your local farmer's markets as fall staples are SUPER cheap right now. Perfect for chopping and preserving/freezing.

You'll need.: Large stockpot with lid, sharp knife, cutting board.

4-5 large shallots

4-5 large onions

1-2 red onion

2 containers beef stock (I used Campbell's reduced Sodium)

4-5 big ol' carrots

5 celery branches

Black pepper, hot sauce, garlic (all to taste)

Burnt Caramel sauce

cooking sherry

1/4 cup butter

3 tsp brown sugar (if you want more of a savoury soup, omit the sugar, but I like the layer of flavour.)

Prep:

Have all onions chopped in 'rings' about 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch wide.

Shallots chopped in rings 1/4 inch.

Chunky cut your carrots & celery.

Over medium-high heat, melt your butter. Add your shallots & onions, stir, put on lid. Reduce heat to medium if it starts to burn.

After about 5 mins, stirring occasionally, add a few dashes of caramel sauce, a good sousing of the sherry, and the sugar. Stir well, add lid. Watch and stir occasionally.

After about ten minutes, add the celery and carrots, again stir well. Add in the pepper, garlic, and a dash or two of hotsauce, stir well. Replace lid. If you haven't yet, reduce heat to medium.

After veggies have turned 'bright' (after about ten mins) add the stock; stirring well.

Bring it to a boil, with the lid on, and then let it simmer for a few hours. 

Before serving, reheat to medium & stir; the butter may be separated but as you reheat and stir it will go back 'in' to the soup. Serve with crusty bread!

Yes, it's THAT good!

HappyThyroid Soup

...........Or, as I like to call it ""What was in the Cupboard and about to Expire Gumbo"


In any case; after my radiation thing to work on my Graves' Disease, I am now one of the millions of folks struggling to live day to day with an underactive thyroid gland; I'm now Hypothryoid.

And what fun, as the medications have to be adjusted so your mood swings are legend, your hands shake, your hair falls out, alternating sweating like a pig or freezing like an iceberg....oh and the weight gain, and don't forget the lethargy & depression.....oh yeah. It's got it all.

BUT there's hope and that's the main thing. Time. Proper care. Good diet. Right levels of Meds.


There's a lot of great books out there about hypo/hyper thyroidism , and  a few deal with the weight issues. This soup is by no means a doctor okayed thing or anythhing; but I went by the guidelines in Mary Shomon's book; "The Thyroid Diet" about foods to try, foods to avoid.

 And it's yummy. Like, really yummy. And good for you. So here's the basic recipe. I think you could add whatever you wanted really, and simmer it, and it'd be awesome. But this is my version. 


As per David's request; The HappyThyroid Soup.


 1. Diced Carrots, Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Celery, garlic - a lot, like 2-3 cups
Cut up Okra 1 Package
1 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 cup soy beans
2 containers (6-8 cups) sodium/salt reduced chicken stock
1 lg can chopped tomatoes
1 cup basmati rice (or more)
3 cups water (maybe)
3 handfuls fresh spinach
peppercorns - 15 or so
garlic powder - lots
turmeric - lots like 3 tsp
chili powder 3 tsp
ancho chili powder 2 tsp
dash or 5 of hot sauce >> I like it spicy so I add more
black pepper lots
bay leaves - 2

In a big ol' stock pot, and I do mean big - heat some olive oil and saute the items in row #1
Add in Okra, saute a bit longer, a minute or two, stir lots
Add beans, tomatoes and stock
Stir well. Let this cook for a minute on medium heat
Add everything else except for rice, bring heat up to med-high
stir often, bring to boil
add rice and water, stir
add all spices to taste, keep tasting, add more 
reduce to simmer, cover

You could add more veggies if you like, whatever you have on hand. Remove from heat. 

You'll probably want to add more water as you reheat and use . Serve and eat it with whole grain crusty bread. It's yummy.
Did I mention that yet? It's yummy.

I'm freezing well over half of it in ziploc baggies. Ejnoy!!!