Chocolate Castles as wel

I cooked lunch for a meeting today. Thinking that maybe, just maybe it might be cooler weather, I planned on making a pot of soup. But as the day dawned, it became apparent that it was going to be in the 90’s. Was too late to change the menu, so soup it was. We were just going to have to turn down the air conditioning and pretend that we lived up north and because it was Oct, it should be cool. The soup ended up really so good and all of the ladies absolutely loved it. It is just a little different than most veggie soups because of the added green chile enchilada sauce that is added.

1 package of thinly sliced round steak, cut into tiny cubes

1 large can (about 20 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 small can of mild green chile enchilada sauce

1 small can mild green chiles

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with chiles, mild

1 onion, chopped

1 cup of chopped celery

2 green bell peppers

1 bag of cubed butternut squash

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup of chopped carrots

1 can cut green beans, drained (not French style)

2 cups cabbage, chopped small

1 small zucchini, cubed

1 small yellow squash, cubed

1 regular size can of navy beans, drained

2 teas chopped garlic

1 regular size can of beef broth

1 to 2 cups water

In 2 table olive oil, brown chopped beef with onion until all meat is browned. Add the celery and bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste along with the garlic. Saute the mixture until the onions, celery and pepper is softened. Add all of the tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chiles and broth. Add all the rest of the ingredients, except water.  You can add more water if needed if it cooks down more than you would want. I used about 1 cup of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook in crock pot on low all night or in a heavy pot in oven for about 3 hours at 325, or until all the veggies are tender and sauce is a little thick.

Served this with green chile cornbread and fresh apple cake. Was a great lunch!

for the cornbread, I used a package of Martha White yellow corn bread mix and just added a small can of mild green chiles,1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and made them into muffins. The fresh apple cake is on the blog!