Warm up new year with soup

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 31, 2003 by Capital-Journal

A new year around here means the worst of winter is yet to come.

So I thought we should have a way to warm up. I have been holding back the grand prize-winning recipe from the Kansas Department of Transportation's fall soup contest for just this occasion.

Bert Bowser, who works in KDOT's engineering and design division, constructed his winning soup with homemade stock.

Pork Verde Soup

3 pounds pork (butt roast or pork steak), trimmed and cubed 2 tablespoons oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

(remove seeds for mild taste) 8 ounces canned chili peppers, chopped) or 1 cup roasted chili peppers, seeded and skin removed) 3 cups soup stock (canned or homemade) 1 teaspoon oregano Salt and pepper to taste Brown pork in oil. Add onion and cook until onion is clear. Add peppers.

Put stock in soup pot, and add oregano, salt and pepper. Add pork mixture and cook until pork is tender.

Variation: Cut stock amount to 1 1/2 cups and cook until thickened to make a burrito filling. Bert fills a flour tortilla and smothers it in chili con queso.

Another way to add a little zip to your CrockPot comes from Gretchen Gleue Woody, who works in the KDOT office of management and budget.

Slow Cooker

Chicken Stew

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces 4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons gingerroot, chopped finely (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger) 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce 1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice, drained with juice reserved 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces Mix chicken, carrots, broth, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, allspice and red pepper sauce in slow cooker with at least 3 1/2 quart capacity.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours, or until vegetables are tender and chicken is no longer pink in center. (This takes 3 to 4 hours on the high setting.)

Mix reserved pineapple juice with cornstarch until smooth. Gradually stir into chicken mixture.

Stir in pineapple and bell pepper.

Cover and cook on high heat setting for about 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Make it faster: Gretchen says we can avoid all the chopping by buying frozen chopped carrots and peppers or hit the salad bar in the supermarket for cut veggies.

Send requests or recipes to be shared to: Lisa Sandmeyer, Recipe Exchange, The Topeka Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, Kan., 66607-1194 or lisa.sandmeyer@cjonline.com.