Asparagus-Rice Soup with Sirloin

It's been a soup kind of month for me. I've been craving different kinds of soup. I've tried a recipe similar to this in the past that I found on the internet, however it was so salty it wasn't very edible. However, I wasn't giving up. I was craving a beefy asparagus and rice soup. So, I had to modify a couple different recipes I found and created the following which turned out quite well. The bonus is that it is not that salty at all.

Asparagus-Rice Soup with Sirloin...the recipe

4 tablespoons of olive oil (a good flavored olive oil similar to what you'd use for bread dipping)
1 large white onion diced
1 1/2 stalks of celery diced
1 clove of garlic minced
4 cups of beef stock (I used 4 beef bouillon cubes with 4 cups of boiling water)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown rice
4 ounce sirloin steak cubed
8 ounces of thin asparagus spears
Salt and pepper
Fresh chopped parsley

Wash and dry all the produce and prep as follows to speed up the cooking process.

Mince the garlic.

Dice the onions and celery.

Cut off the hard ends of the asparagus (however don't throw them out, freeze them in a plastic baggie and use them to make vegetable broth). Then slice them diagonally. 

 

Cube the sirloin steak (mine came out more like rectangles and that's okay, it doesn't affect the flavor).

Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a 4 quart sauce pan and heat on medium to low heat.

Once the oil is heated, add the onions, celery and garlic. Salt to taste.

Saute for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are translucent. Be sure to stir regularly to prevent the vegetables from browning.

Add the beef stock.

Add the rice.

Stir well and bring to boil. Once it is boiling, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a skillet pan on medium to low heat.

Once melted, add the sirloin and brown on all sides for 4 minutes. It's okay if the meat is still a little pink at the end of the 4 minutes, the steak will be thoroughly cooked when the recipe is complete.

Once the steak is browned, add the asparagus. Do not drain the fat or butter. 

Stir the asparagus coating it with the butter and beef fat. Once the asparagus is coated, let it cook in the pan without stirring for 4 minutes.

After the first 4 minutes, cook for another 4 minutes stirring regularly so as to not let the asparagus get browned. Remove from heat and put to the side. Once the rice and soup mixture has simmered for 25 minutes, add the asparagus and beef mixture and stir well.

Add fresh ground black pepper to taste and salt if needed.

Simmer again for another 10-15 minutes until the asparagus is tender. Once the time is up, remove from heat, garnish with parsley and serve with saltine crackers. 

Enjoy...

Serves 4.

Simple Lasagna

I dipped back into my folder of recipes once again and pulled out another "oldie but goodie"...Simple Lasagna. I originally learned how to make this in my high school nutritional education class. Over the years, I've made some delicious upgrades such as using fresh herbs and better ingredients. It's not the same recipe I learned in high school. Cottage cheese in lasagna? No thanks. Let's upgrade that to ricotta please! It's really easy to make and tastes delicious. They say it feeds four. That would probably be true if you have salad and other sides. However, if you are serving only this, I would say it feeds two. Double this recipe and add the extra layers if you're trying to feed four.

Simple Lasagna...the recipe

1/2 pound ground sirloin (ground chuck or ground round could be used but I prefer leaner meat)

1 garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz. canned crushed tomatoes (They don't come in this size. I had to buy a 16 oz can and split it)
3 oz. canned tomato paste (Once again, they typically only come in 6 oz. cans, so you will have to split it)
1/3 cup red wine (Feel free to substitute with water if you don't like cooking with wine)

1 large egg
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 oz. grated muenster cheese
2 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

6 large lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat in the photos)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

I like to prep everything first in their own bowls to speed up the cooking process. So...

Mince the garlic.

Chop the basil (I used about 6 large leaves and a mezzaluna to make quick work of it).

Measure out 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.

Measure 1/3 cup red wine.

Measure 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese.

Chop 3 tablespoons fresh parsley (Once again, the mezzaluna comes in handy).

Grate the cheeses and combine together in a bowl.

With the prep done, now it is time to start cooking. Fill a 4 quart quart pot with water and set it on high heat. While you are waiting for the water to boil, heat a saucepan on medium and brown the meat crumbling it while it cooks.

Spoon off the fat and add in the garlic, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and wine, stirring as you add each ingredient.

 

Simmer meat mixture for 15 minutes stirring often.

Cook the 6 large noodles in boiling water until tender. I typically follow the instructions on the boxed noodles, usually 8 - 10 minutes depending on the brand. Drain when tender.

While the noodles cook, whisk 1 large egg in a bowl.

Add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and mix well.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking oil. I try to get the olive oil cooking spray to keep with the flavors.

Line the bottom of the pan with three noodles.

Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles.

Spread half of the meat mixture over this.

Cover this with half of the grated muenster/mozzarella cheese.

Repeat these steps again laying three noodles over the last layer, ricotta cheese and meat mixture topping with the remaining muenster/mozzarella cheese mix.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbling. 

Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut in four and serve.

Serves 2-4

Mangia!