So. I've been pretty down in the dumps about a lot recently. It's been a time of my life full of so much love and happiness-yet so much confusion, anger, sadness and anxiety I've had a hard time 'keeping up the happy'. So today I decided it was time to do something that makes me happy, just because. And although I'm not a good cook (ask my mother. Or ex-husband), there is one thing I cook-and cook well. If you know anything about me, you know that I'm an extremely picky eater. So as much as a soup with potatoes, pasta AND gnocchi is a total food faux-pas, this girl loves her carbs. (feel free to leave out one or even two of the three if its just too much. My family prefers it without gnocchi and it's perfectly fine that way.) I've made it for multiple parties, sick and pregnant friends and I even made it for my guests on my own wedding day. I've had multiple people ask for the recipe and I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like it. So I figured to start getting myself out of this slump, I'd do the two things that make me happy. Make my 'famous' soup and share it with the people I love. And if you read my blog, it means I love you. :) So without further a due, I present….my soup.
NOTE: I am NOT a cook. So bare with me through all the half-assed and guessed measurements. Good thing is, this soup is so easy to make you don't need it to be exact.
Ahem-lets begin.
(feeds 2 VERY comfortably….but should probably be served to 4.)
You will need:
A soup pot.
one box and one can of beef broth. Look how in focus that photo is. Man, I'm good.
One can sliced, stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce (note: you can use fresh tomatoes. I've never done it, but if you're one of those healthier, organic types I'm sure it works great. I just love the juices that come from the can. and its easier.)
One package au jus gravy mix.
One russet potato, two large carrots and two large stalks of celery.
And about a cup and a half of your favorite pasta. My personal favorite is this radiator. The soup gets stuck in the cracks and is oh so good.
Start by pouring the entire box of beef broth and can of stewed tomatoes together in the pot to start boiling.
Add your favorite seasonings to the broth. What I always use and prefer are salt, pepper, season salt and my very favorite-rosemary. Vary as much as you like…but trust me on the rosemary. season to taste throughout the soup. My advice is to start small and add throughout. The beef broth and au jus add quite a bit of salt so be careful.
This is the only technical part of the entire dish. While waiting for your broth to boil, peel and chop your carrots, potatoes and celery like such. Once your broth is at a good boil, first add your potatoes. (they take the longest to cook.) Give them about two minutes on their own then add your noodles and carrots. We don't add celery till later.
This is where my true talent as a chef comes into play…. lets get technical. see that packet of gravy mix? pour it into a mug about yay big, fill the mug with cold water while stirring till lumps are out-then dump in the pot with everything else. The au jus not only adds awesome flavor, but adds as a thicker as well instead of having to use corn starch. Add celery and bring back up to a boil.
Now, you wait. Like 7 more minutes. Over time, the soup will thicken quite a bit. This is what the extra can of beef broth is for. Add more broth till your desired thickness.
NOTE: The soup is done when your pasta is done! Is there anything worse that over-cooked pasta? No. Just keep taste testing. When your pasta is still just the slights bit al-dente, add your gnocchi.
(they're italian potato dumplings) I usually add a good handful. I absolutely love the texture they give to the soup, but if they're just not your thing or you're just carbed out, feel free to skip this step and let your soup continue to finish cooking without them.
Remove the pot from heat, put a lid on your pot and let it sit covered for a good ten minutes or so. Let all the beautiful tastes from this concoction absorb each other a little longer.
My absolute favorite bread to pair with this soup are the crescent rolls from the can. Throw them in the oven 5 minutes before your soup is done and consider it soup dipping heaven. in the 100+ times I've made this soup, I have yet to find a bread I like with it better.
For the meat lover in your life: sear a good piece of beef, chop it up and drop it in about 5 minutes before the soup is finished. Instant beef stew….soup? We'll call it Steup.
Forgive me in my lacking of food blogging skills. I've never had to write down a recipe before, so I hope it was easy enough to follow. A reason why I love this soup so much is just how absolutely easy it is to make. Anyone brave enough to make it following my amazing instructions-let me know how it turns out! I would love to hear from you.
Enjoy. :)
-Free Bird
