Hamburger Soup

This is one of my Mom's favorite recipes which I have now stolen and made my own.  So if anyone asks this is MY recipe.  MINE.

What makes it even more MINE is that after listening to my Mom recite the ingredients over the phone I promptly forgot all the measurements and kind of made it up as I went along.

This soup is surprisingly tasty.  It's like sneak attack tasty.  Not that anything I make isn't tasty, but after seeing all the ingredients in this soup you might think "meehhhh.  I don't know . . ."  But that's ok because you don't need to know.  You just need to believe.

Start by cooking up about 1lb of hamburger.  And please season it.  The world will be a better place if you do.  1/2 tsp salt and pepper should be plenty.  Drain this and set it aside.  Or cook it while getting everything else ready pretend you're Martha Stewart.

Also, cook up 1 C of macaroni, drain it and set it aside.  Teeny noodles are really great but if you recall we currently have an abundance of macaroni, so that's what we're using.

See that in the background?  That's celery.

Isn't it pretty?  Since I didn't have exact measurements I chopped up about 3/4 C celery.  Also, the recipe calls for carrots but we didn't have any so whatever.  After we ate dinner I thought "this would have been really good with some corn in it!"  Too bad.  It would have been good.*

*see note above re: everything I make is tasty, with or without said corn.

Now comes the fun part.  Get a big pot and add 4C of water.  Then add 1 packet of onion soup mix,

1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano (or to taste) 

1 Tbs soy sauce (remember the trust!), 1 8oz can of tomato sauce, and 1/2 tsp of seasoning salt.

Let this simmer for just a minute while you gather your wits and prepare for the final assembly!

This is also a good time to practice simultaneously blowing the steam out of the way while quickly snapping a picture so that you can get a decent photo of the steamy goodness.

Try not to pass out.

Then add in your hamburger and your macaroni.  If you're making this ahead of time (how proactive!) then don't add the macaroni until the last minute.  This will keep it from absorbing more water and turning to macaroni-mush.

Time for the last, tasty ingredient.  Parmesan.  About 1/2 C will do.  For once it's not worth adding more because it all kind of congeals at the bottom if you add too much.  But don't be fooled!  This really ties everything together and is essential for achieving maximum tastiness.

And if you really want to take it up a notch, add a notch of sour cream to your bowl!

That doesn't really work does it?

I was really hoping it would catch on and soon everyone would be saying "yes please, just a notch of sour cream for me." 

Is that really asking too much?

Miyagi's Meal:Lime and Cilantro Flank Steak

I originally had dinner plans on Friday, but when they fell through I said to Miyagi "pick ANYTHING you want for dinner and I'll make it!"  He interpreted this as "I get to make anything I want!"  Fine by me.  So he pulled out an old favorite that his dad makes on the grill.  Unfortunately for us we have no grill.  Not even one of those mini charcoal ones.  But what we DID have is this amazing thing called a broiler pan!  Did you know these existed?  I didn't!  And ours came with our oven!  In fact.  The first night we stayed at our apartment together we had just gotten home from our honey moon and had no dishes AT ALL.  So we made nachos in the bottom of the broiler pan.  It was clean. . . .


See the way the pan is conveniently vented on the top to create a similar grilling experience?  And then the pan underneath catches all the drippings which prevents your oven from coughing smoke every time you open the door.  Which is nice.

Anyway. Miyagi went to our local butcher and bought the smallest flank steak they had, which was 2 pounds, then drenched it in lime juice and cilantro and let it marinate for a couple of hours.  (I say our local butcher . . . I've never been there but I imagine that it was like meatopia for Miyagi and might have been the whole incentive around making this meal.  Again.  Fine by me.)

Then, while this is marinating it's important to make sure to clear the kitchen of any pesky bugs flying around.  You can probably see the tiny bug . . . but can you spot the wet hand print?  This just adds to the manly, brutish feeling of grilling (broiling) up a big hunk of meat.  Beware all flying creatures!  When Miyagi is in the kitchen . . . nothing survives.

So here we have the steak all slathered in limey/cilantroy goodness.  And next to it we grilled up some sliced sweet potato, also enjoying the lime/cilantro bath.  These cooked a bit quicker than the steak but all in all they turned out quite good.  I'm still undecided as to where I stand on the sweet potato issue.  I only started eating regular potatoes a couple of years ago.  I hesitantly tried a few bites and was pleased by the line flavor, however after a few more bites I decided that we had learned enough about each other on this date and I focused all my attention on the steak.

Miyagi was a little disappointed that the steak didn't turn out as well done as it does on an actual grill, but I yummed it right up with no hesitation.  It was a little lime-heavy at first, but after the initial pucker the zing was a nice compliment to meat.  Miyagi even managed to slice it oh-so-thinly for a very professional presentation.  The fact that he used a bread knife to do so only enhances the achievement.

In celebration we ate huge ice cream cones from Theno's Dairy.  Here is Miyagi eating his in a sly manor as he tries to stay invisible to his high school classmates in the background, who he he doesn't want to have to talk to.