Tomato soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 thick slice of good bread, diced
650 grams (23 ounces) fresh tomatoes, diced (if available, otherwise use canned)
400 grams (14 ounces) good canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Directions

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pot along with the shallots and garlic and sauté over medium-heat until the shallots just start to turn brown around the edges.
Add the bread, and then continue to sauté, stirring constantly, until the bread starts to turn brown around the edges and the shallots are fully caramelized.
Add the fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
Add the soup to a heat resistant blender (or use an immersion blender) along with the remaining olive oil. Puree the soup, strain if you prefer.*
    Taste the soup and adjust seasoning to taste.

Frozen mamas: Thaw & reheat.
 
*I didn't bother with straining so it's a bit of a thicker soup.

From (with a couple slight changes): http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/creamy-tomato-soup/

Beef Empanadas

Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen (I used canned diced tomatoes, I did not include raisins and I at least doubled the spices, per her suggestion & the comments on the Gourmet recipe):

Beef Empanadas
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2007

Makes a dozen 6-inch empanadas

2 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped into bits
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons juice, and chopped
1 package frozen empanada pastry disks, thawed (or homemade, recipe follows)

About 4 cups vegetable oil and a deep-fat thermometer (if deep-frying)
1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water (if baking)

Cook onion in olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Add raisins, olives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes with reserved juice, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. Stir in hard boiled egg and spread on a plate to cool.

Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. [You might see some different crimps in my pictures. The fork method really works best.] Make more empanadas in same manner.

If frying: Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in middle.

If baking: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.

Deep-frying instructions: Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat until it registers 360°F on thermometer. Fry empanadas, 2 or 3 at a time, turning once, until crisp and golden, 4 to 6 minutes per batch.

Transfer to a shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Return oil to 360°F between batches.

Baking instructions: Lightly brush empanadas with some of egg wash and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer empanadas to a rack to cool at least 5 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

From frozen: Follow the cooking directions in the recipe, no need to thaw if baking. I definitely advocate brushing them with an egg wash before baking, but it is not necessary.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Adapted from “I Know How to Cook” by Ginette Mathiot (published @ nytimes.com)

1 tablespoon oil

3 ounces onions or shallots, chopped

3 1/2 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced

1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2 -inch pieces, patted dry

Scant 1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cups any type of stock, hot

1 1/4 cups red wine

1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 sprigs parsley, tied together)

Black pepper

3 1/2 ounces mushrooms, diced

Salt

1. In a heavy pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and bacon and cook, stirring, until browned. Remove them and set aside; leave fat in pan.

2. Add beef and brown on all sides (work in two batches if needed to avoid crowding).

3. Sprinkle browned beef with flour, stir until browned and add stock. Stir, scraping bottom of pan, then add reserved bacon and onions, the wine and bouquet garni. Season with pepper.

4. Simmer very gently for 2 hours.

5. Add mushrooms and cook 30 minutes more. Season with salt and serve. Or, even better, reheat and serve the next day.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

From frozen: Thaw, heat in a crockpot at low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, or let it simmer on the stovetop until heated through. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Note: We found that this recipe makes a very rich & savory sauce, so you may want to add some water when reheating in order to keep it from reducing even more and becoming stronger. Totally up to you though. J

Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced1 green pepper, diced
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Hamburger buns

Brown the meat and the onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard*. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and red pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Place a half-cup scoop of the mixture onto each bun and serve.

From Elie Krieger (with a couple tweaks): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/sloppy-joes-recipe/index.html

From frozen: thaw & reheat however is convenient for you. There is enough sauce that it could probably handle being in the crockpot for a while without drying out.

(*I didn't do the best job of draining the juices in the second step, so this batch is a little bit on the soupier side. Consequently, it could also make a good chili. :) )