Monday, January 4, 2010

Mmmm...Soup. Or Is It?

Shane is officially laid off as of this morning. Our forecast is awful for the week, and he decided to call in to ask for a voluntary lay-off. When he did, he found out they were getting ready to lay-off across the board anyway, at least for this week. What this does is allow anyone who wants to go ahead and file for unemployment and get their "waiting week" out of the way. I'm not sure if all states have a waiting week, but Shane will be drawing from Kansas, and they require it (I think Missouri does, too).

Since I have no other news to report, good or bad, I'll post this recipe for a tasty soup for cold weather. I've posted it before, but have made a few new comments about it. I hope you give it a try...it's really good!


I've posted this recipe before. I've changed just a few things this time: 1) I used about a teaspoon of dill paste from a tube instead of dry dill weed, 2) I used fresh cauliflower and broccoli (instead of frozen), but no carrots, and 3) I've added the picture. This is a really tasty soup and is wonderful with cornbread.

Let me just pick up that old post verbatim...



I've been making this recipe for a dozen years or more, but I never know if it's a soup or a stew. To me, it's a little too chunky for soup, but the broth is a little too thin and clear for stew.

Either way, it's very versatile. I've posted it here as it was written (although I've long since forgotten the source), but feel free to make any changes you like. Don't like pork? Use chicken, or even tofu. Don't care for the broccoli-cauliflower-carrot combination? Try using potatoes, green beans and onions. Make it any way you like. It goes great with warm buttered cornbread or over rice.



Dilled Pork Stew/Soup

1 pound pork roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons oil
8 cups of chicken broth (or 8 cups water with chicken bouillon added)
1 teaspoon dill weed
a 1-pound bag frozen broccoli-cauliflower-carrot mix
salt and pepper to taste

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Brown pork cubes on all sides.

Add chicken broth and dill. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until pork is tender.

Increase heat and add frozen vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer just until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

6 comments:

McVal said...

I'm so sorry! I'll be praying for you guys!
Thanks for the soup recipe! It looks yummy.

Sonya Ann said...

It looks yummy!
I'm so sorry about your hubs. So does this mean that he will be off for a while? Will he go back eventually? Or should he start looking elsewhere? I'll say a prayer and send some good vibes your way!

Frances said...

I'll keep you guys in my prayers. You will be fine!

Annie Jones said...

McVal: Thanks. Prayers and positive thoughts are always appreciated.

SonyaAnn: It's hard to say how long he'll be off; a lot depends on the weather. There is a little work that could be done now if the weather would cooperate, and also a few large jobs on the books waiting to start up. Those big jobs may not be going until March or April. We're confident he'll be called back; his company had already laid off men they didn't find as valuable, keeping just a core group. The core group have been assured they will be called back as soon as there is work. But yes, if it goes on too long, he'll start looking elsewhere. Unfortunately a lot of the other construction firms are in the same boat.

Frances: Thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

So sorry about Shane's work - hopefully it will turn around soon.

And what a wonderfully versatile soup this looks to be! I've never tried dill paste - I'll have to look out for it in the spice aisle.

Annie Jones said...

SB: I discovered the dill paste over the summer when I was making dill pickles. They have it at HyVee, if you have those in your part of the world.

BTW, I just became a fan of yours on FB...under my real name. :)