Beef chowder – a hearty OAMC dish

Buy your beef in bulk and you can make quite a few OAMC meals from it, or at least get a few meals ready to go during your once a week food prep time. Here’s one really tasty and hearty soup that’s easy and fast to make. It uses ground beef, which you can also use for your make-ahead meatballs. Having your shopping and cooking time do double duty is a good thing!

Beef Chowder

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 stalks of celery, chopped
Medium onion, chopped
Green pepper, chopped

2 cans of crushed tomatoes, 16 oz each
16 oz whole kernel corn, fresh, canned or frozen
3 c White sauce, medium thickness (2 T butter, 2 T flour, 1 c milk for each cup of sauce)

Brown the beef, add the veggies and cook until soft. Drain off extra fat. Add the tomatoes and corn, and heat while preparing white sauce. Slowly stir into the beef mixture. Pour into containers and freeze.

To serve, heat the soup slowly, stirring often. Add water or beef stock if needed. You can also add cooked rice or pasta, and spices that suit your family. We like to add whatever fresh herbs are available, particularly basil, or sometimes dried bay leaf.

Image: MorgueFile