Mom's Chili

It is cold, very cold. And nothing warms like a bowl of chili and a side of cornbread. This was our lunch today:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2  T. brown sugar
2 T. 5% vinegar
1 glass water (or more if you like it more watered down)
1 quart tomato juice (or tomatoes in juice, or crushed tomatoes which is what I used. )
1 onion- diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 cans kidney beans- drained.

Method:

• Brown meat, drain of fat if necessary. 
• Add onion and garlic and saute until tender. 
• Put this in pot, add remaining ingredients and simmer for some time so that flavors blend. 
• Serve with grated cheese and cornbread. YUMMY

Minestrone Soup- My version

I love soups when the weather starts growing more fallish. This is a favorite soup if you want to use some garden produce as I did today. This is a bit different from the minestrone soup you might know, but this is how I made it today and we enjoyed it with some fresh bread I made as well. YUM!

Ingredients:

1 quart/liter or more beef broth ( I made my own using some beef). 
1 1/2 teaspoons
1 can white beans- drained.
1/2 cup chopped salt pork (speķis) or bacon
2 onions- finely chopped.
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 tomatoes- peeled and coarsely chopped
2-3 carrots, diced.
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley- chopped
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Optional: (Ingredients in the recipe which I didn't use)
3 stalks celery chopped
2 cups chopped cabbage
4 Swiss chard leaves.

Method:

• Prepare broth. 
• Cook up bacon so that the pieces become clear. Add chopped onions and cook. 
• Add to broth, add carrots and boil until they are soft. 
• Add all ingredients except for tomatoes- add those when the zucchini is soft. 
• Allow to boil until tomatoes are soft and squishy. Turn off and allow to cool slightly. 
• Serve, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Spicy Leek and Ground Meat Soup

I love trying new soups, and this one is from my Ievas Virtuve magazine. I have translated it into English. My husband really liked it and gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it too.
Ingredients:

700 g. leeks ( I used onions for part of this- as I didn't have enough leeks at home.
1 small chili pepper ( I used canned ones)
1/2 kg. ground meat ( I used beef)
salt and pepper
1 T. flour
100 g. cream
1 liter of vegetable bouillon
200 g. soft cheese ( we have a cheese here intended for spreading on bread. )

oil

Method:

• Cook meat in oil until done. 
• Chop leeks and chili pepper, add to meat. Cook until leeks are done. 
• Add spices and flour, cook a bit. 
• Add bouillon and cream. 
• Cook apx. 15 min. 
• Add apx. 100 g. of soft cheese, stir well. 
• Serve garnished with drop of the remaining soft cheese in each bowl.

Houlihan's Baked Potato Soup

I love potato soup. But the best I have ever had was at the restaurant Houlihan's. When we were in college my roommate's Dad used to take us all out there. I have looked high and low on the interent for copycat recipes. I used this one as a base, and adjusted it as is seen below.

Borrowed from here

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
• 1/4 pound butter
• 2 cups yellow onion, diced
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup instant potato flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• salt and white pepper to taste
• Bacon, diced
• grated  cheese
• green onions

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree. Prick washed potatoes and bake until tender all the way through and allow to fully cool. Remove skin and cut into 1/2-1 inch cubes and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large pan and add onions. Saute for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add flour a cook for 4 minutes, stirring until well absorbed.
3. In a separate bowl, combine water, stock, potato flakes and seasonings. Whisk thoroughly to eliminate lumps. Slowly add to the onions while stirring constantly. Increase to medium heat and continue cooking until the soup begins to simmer. Add milk and cream and stir until slightly thickened.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes, but do not bring to a boil. Add potatoes and bacon and remove from heat. Top each serving with cheese and green onions.

Cold Soup

A summer favorite in Latvia is cold soup. It is fast and easy, with just a little planning ahead. No one here likes to eat anything heavy when it is really hot out. So this soup usually goes like hot cakes ;) There are other variations, without beets, but this is the version I usually make.

2-3 boiled potatoes (peel when cool) shredded or chopped
2 hard boiled eggs chopped
2-3 cucumbers, shredded or chopped.
1 -2 quarts kefirs (this is like buttermilk, but thicker)
1 pint marinated  (pickled) beets (shredded) You can chop them if you can't find them shredded.
1 bunch of dill, finely chopped.

When your boiled items are cool, shred them and mix with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. If you can't use it all the first day then it is just as good the second. I use only one quart of the buttermilk, I like a thicker soup.