Soup Sunday: Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup with Meatballs & Parmesan Rinds

Vegetable Beef soup is one of my absolute favorite soups that my mom made us when I was growing up. I'm kind of a veggie junkie, so I love that fact that this soup has so many different components to it, which makes you feel like you're eating a huge meal. I decided to add ground beed and mini meatballs to make it extra-hearty. But the very best part of this soup, are the cubes of parmesan rind that are cooked until slightly soft & chewy. We always had this in our recipe, and people always think we are crazy for eating it, but it really is delicious! My family and I would fight over these little nuggets, no lie. So, so just give it a try, it gives it a nice salty flavor. Enjoy :)

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup with Meatballs & Parmesan Rinds

Yummy Vegetables & Meatballs :)

For the Soup:

Olive Oil

1C Onion, Chopped

½C Celery, Chopped

½C Green Bell Pepper, Chopped

1 ½lbs Ground Beef

1T Garlic, Minced

1 14.5oz Can of Beef Stock

1 14.5oz Can of Vegetable Stock

1Q Water

1-2T Chicken Base

28oz Can of Diced or Crushed Tomatoes

1lb Frozen Peas & Carrots

2C Corn, Okra, Roasted Mushrooms, & Chopped Haricot Verts

1-2C Parmesan Rinds, Cut into Small Cubes

16oz Mini Pasta, Cooked

15-20 Mini Meatballs, Cooked

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Hot Sauce & Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste

Fresh Parsley, Chopped

Directions: 

1. In a large pot, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and pepper and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and brown the meat until cooked through. Add in the garlic and cook another minute. Stir in the beef stock, vegetable stock, water, chicken base, and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, and reduce the heat, so that the liquid simmers. Add in the peas & carrots, corn okra, mushrooms, haricot verts, and Parmesan rinds. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked, but still have some bite, and the Parmesan rinds are slightly soft and chewy. Lastly, stir in the cooked mini pasta and meatballs. Cook on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes. Just before serving season with salt, pepper, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and parsley to taste.

Date Night : Coffee-Rubbed Rib Eyes with Beer Battered-Chipotle Onion Rings, Potato Puree, & Balsamic-Red Wine Reduction

Here's another romantic date night with the boyfriend, and we decided to go with the classic steak & potatoes combination, but with a little twist :) We purchased some beautiful thick-cut rib eyes and rubbed them with a chili-coffee seasoning mix. The rub is surprisingly sweet, but so smoky & delicious, which perfectly compliments the fatty rib eye. The seared steak is served on top of a bed of the creamiest potato puree that will surely bust your jeans open... it is just that unbelievably smooth. We topped the sliced rib eyes with huge beer battered-chipotle onion rings that have a nice kick, but aren't too spicy. I mean what is better than some red meat & crispy onions? Nothing, I'm pretty sure. Finally we drizzled the plate with a balsamic-red wine reduction, just for a touch of sweetness, which really brings out the great natural flavor of the steak. I also served our dinner with some easy sauteed garlic haricot verts because you just have to have some kind of greens to make you feel a little bit better about yourself. This is the perfect meal to serve up to a hungry man (especially anyone who can eat like my Mountain Man), he was stuffed to the brim!! Enjoy :)

Coffee-Rubbed Rib Eyes with Beer Battered-Chipotle Onion Rings, Potato Puree, & Balsamic-Red Wine Reduction

If you look very closely, you can see the potato puree peeking out just a bit!

For the Coffee-Rubbed Ribeyes:

¼C Chili Powder

¼C Ground Espresso

2T Paprika

2T Dark Brown Sugar

1T Dry Mustard

1T Salt

1T Pepper

1T Dried Oregano

2t Ground Ginger

2 Ribeyes (2 inches thick & 1 ½lbs each)

Canola Oil & Butter, For Frying

For the Balsamic-Red Wine Reduction:

½C Balsamic Vinegar

½C Red Wine

2-4T Brown Sugar (to taste)

 

For the Tequila Battered Chipotle Onion Rings:

1 Large Vidalia Onion, Cut into ½inch Thick Rings

1C Buttermilk

1C AP Flour

1C Cake Flour

½t Salt

¼t Baking Powder

½C Mexican Beer

2T Tequila

2T Chipotle Adobo Sauce

Cajun Seasoning & Parsley, For Garnishing

    

For the Potato Puree:

2 Large Baking Potatoes, Peeled & Cubed

1 Stick of Butter

4oz Cream Cheese

¼C Sour Cream

¼C Whole Milk

Salt & Pepper, To Taste 

Directions:

1. To Make the Coffee-Rubbed Ribeyes: Combine all of the spices in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Preheat a cast iron pan over high heat with canola oil and butter. Brush each side of the steak with oil and season each side liberally with salt and pepper. Rub 2T of the coffee rub onto each side. Cook the steaks on the first side for about 3-4 minutes. Flip the steak over and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the steaks to a baking sheet and cook in the oven to medium-rare doneness, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
2. For the Balsamic-Red Wine Reduction: In a small sauce pot over medium-high heat, bring the vinegar and wine to a boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes, and then add the brown sugar. Reduce to a simmer and continue reducing the mixture until it thickens to a syrup, about 5-10 minutes. Set it aside until ready to garnish. 
3. For the Beer Battered-Chipotle Onion Rings: Marinate the onion rings in buttermilk for an hour. Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Once marinated, drain them from the milk and dredge in flour. Shake of excess flour. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add the beer, tequila, and adobo sauce. Whisk until just blended. Dip the dredged onion rings into the batter, shake off the excess, and gently drop them into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer the onion rings to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. Keep the fried onion rings warm in the oven while you cook your remaining meal. Garnish with chopped parsley.
4. For the Potato Puree: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the whole potatoes and cook over moderate heat until tender, 20 minutes. Drain and wipe out the saucepan. Working with 1 potato at a time, pass the potatoes through a ricer into the saucepan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream in the milk over moderate heat. Gradually whisk the hot milk-cheese mixture into the potatoes and season generously with salt. Cook over moderate heat, whisking, until hot. Serve with the steak.
5. Serving the Steak: Spoon some of the potato puree onto the plate. Place a cooked steak on top of the potatoes. Top with the crispy onion rings and drizzle the reduction around the plate. Serve with sautéed green beans.

Fried JCT Salad

This is by far one of my favorite salads ever... well, meals ever. I have surprisingly always been a salad lover. It's my go-to meal. I know it doesn't make much sense, and I've always gotten so much shit for eating salads every where we go, but that is what I like, so anyone who has a problem... deal with it :) Anyway, back to the salad that I made, before I got side-tracked. Besides this being one of my favorite salads, it also comes from one of my favorite restaurants (probably ever) in Atlanta. If any of y'all ever make a trip to ATL, definitely go to JCT Kitchen. It is like upscale Southern cuisine, and it is just simply the best. They are famous for their fried chicken & mac n' cheese (you gotta get there early because they run out fast!), but our favorite things to order are their Angry Mussels, Truffle-Parmesan Fries, and the JCT Salad with Fried Chicken. The Angry Mussels are spicy & smokey, and they come with the best broth & bread ever, like we take the broth home with us. It's that good. So definitely get those if you ever go. The french fries are thin, crispy and buttery... and just amazing (get them with the mussels like the classic moules-frites). But, I absolutely love the JCT Salad with Fried Chicken. It is romaine lettuce tossed with sugared pecans, green string beans, green apple slices, and homemade creamy buttermilk dressing. It is then topped with their famous fried chicken. Oh my god, this salad is just the best ever. I know I keep talking about it, but it's just that good. I finally had to remake it, so I could enjoy it in Savannah, as well as Atlanta. Well, it turned out great, we ate it all! I didn't have any chicken breast cutlets to fry, but pork cutlets and those worked fine. Gosh, I just love this salad! Enjoy :)

Fried JCT Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Dressing

For the Chicken Fried Pork Cutlets:

4 Boneless Pork Chop Cutlets, Pounded Thin

½C Buttermilk

2T Hot Sauce

1C AP Flour

2T Cornstarch

1T Cajun Seasoning

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Canola Oil, For Frying

For the Buttermilk Dressing:

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

¼C Mayo

4T Cider Vinegar

1 Large Shallot, Minced

1T Garlic, Minced

1T Sugar

4T Chives, Finely Chopped

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Sugar & Spice Pecans:

1 Egg White

1T Water

¼t Vanilla

2C Pecans

½C Sugar

1t Cinnamon

¾t Salt

¼t Ground Cloves

¼t Ground Nutmeg

For the Fried JCT Salad:

Chicken Fried Pork Cutlets

Prepared Buttermilk Dressing

Sugar & Spice Pecans

Romaine Lettuce, Roughly Chopped

1 Granny Smith Apple, Cut into Thin Slices

Haricot Verts, Blanched

Fresh Chives, Thinly Sliced

Directions:

1. For the Chicken Fried Pork Cutlets: Heat a sauté pan to medium-high heat and heat about 1-2 inches of oil. While the oil heats, set up a battering station. I used two pie tins. For the first station, I mix the flour, cornstarch, & the seasonings. For the second station, I whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce. Now, place the pounded pork cutlets into the flour mixture, then into the buttermilk, and finally back into the flour mixture (making sure they are completely covered, but removing any excess flour). Put the breaded cutlets into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown & crunchy.
2. To Make the Buttermilk Dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved, and then add in the chives. Whisk until smooth and refrigerate until ready to toss with the lettuce.
3. To Make the Sugar & Spice Pecans: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam, set it aside. Put the sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg into a plastic bag and shake to mix. Put the egg, water, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until slightly foamy and add in the pecans and coat well. Lift the pecans out of the bowl with a slotted spoon and add them into the bag of spices. Shake the pecans around making sure they are well coated. Bake for 15 minutes, stir up the pecans, and bake another 15 minutes. Let them cool completely before adding them into the salad.
4. To Assemble the Salad: Toss the romaine with the buttermilk dressing, sugar & spice pecans, sliced apples, blanched haricot vert, chives, salt, and pepper until it is completely coated. Place the tossed salad into your serving bowl and top with some more of the pecans and chives. Next lay your chicken fried pork cutlet on top of the salad. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Source: Buttermilk Dressing. Sugared Pecans.