Rustic Potato Stew (sounds gourmet, eh?)

Last night I came down with some kind of sinus infection and after a super rough night, all I wanted today was some warm soup and a cozy blanket. Sadly, my mom is 1100 miles away and her homemade soup is a little out of reach right now. After taking some pills I decided to "mom up" and make a pot of nutrition filled potato soup. Once again, this was a "made my own recipe" soup where I threw in everything I had in the fridge and luckily I had some good stuff in there.


Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
1 med onion
4 carrots, peeled & chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
7 red potatoes
2 cups cabbage, chopped
4 cups water
2 cups milk
4-6 tbsp flour
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp dill
2 tbsp chicken bouillon

Directions:

I started by warming up the butter in the pot and adding the onion, celery & carrots. Let it cook up for about 10 minutes before adding the water and potatoes. Bring to a boil and let it cook for about 10 minutes. In a separate dish whisk the milk and the flour together before adding it to the pot. Add cabbage, salt, pepper, dill & bouillon. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.

I think this soup was just what the doctor ordered because I am already feeling quite a bit better. This was the first time I had added cabbage and I really like the inclusion. The soup was chunky and full of veggies and putting the cabbage and potatoes together felt like an homage to my Irish heritage. ;)

What's For Dinner: Korroke Potatoes

On tonight's menu is Korroke Potatoes, which are Japanese potato croquettes. This is one of Zuke's favorite meals that his mom used to make while growing up. The recipe is really easy, but kind of time-consuming, so make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for prep. You can link to the original recipe here, but I've typed up the recipe below with our own little changes that we've made over time.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb potatoes
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp curry powder, to taste
• Salt & pepper
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups Panko or unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 3 cups peanut or vegetable oil (for deep frying)

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil the diced potatoes in salted water, until tender.

2 Meanwhile, crumble the ground beef into a heavy skillet and cook, stirring, until browning.

3 Add the chopped onion to the beef, and saute until tender.

4 Combine salt, pepper, and curry powder and add to the meat/onion mixture.

5 Cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat.

6 Drain cooked potatoes and mash until smooth.

7 Combine the meat mixture with the mashed potatoes.

8 Add a quarter of the beaten egg to the meat and potato mixture and blend together thoroughly.

9 Divide the mashed combination into 16 equal portions.

10 Form each portion into a small sausage shape.

11 Dredge each portion in flour, then dip each into the remainder of the beaten egg.

12 Coat each croquette with panko or unseasoned breadcrumbs.

13 Arrange the breaded croquettes on a waxed paper-covered tray or cookie sheet.

14 Refrigerate for at least 2 hours- this ensures a crunchier result when deep-fried.

15 Heat peanut oil in a wok on high, or until just smoking.

16 Deep-fry the croquettes a couple at time until lightly browned.

17 Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

18 Repeat with remaining croquettes until finished.

In Japanese tradition, these are usually served with Tonkatsu Sauce (or Bulldog Sauce), which you can either make at home or purchase at any oriental market. My kids and I prefer them with ketchup, so you have many options on how to serve them. Enjoy!