Soup, Again

I figured I needed to cook for dinner instead of having K2 pick something up at Burger King again (and for the record, when we leave here, I will never eat at another Burger King as long as I live). The other day, I picked up a Taste of Home magazine at the Commissary. It is the Dinner on a Dime edition.

Tonight I made the Dumpling Vegetable Soup.

You will need:
1/2 lb ground beef (I used a lb because not using the whole package just didn't make sense)
4 cups water (I used 6)
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes (I used one 14.5 oz of stewed tomatoes and 1 14.5 oz can of Mexican diced tomatoes)
1 package (10 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (I used 1 potato, 1 carrot and 1 onion)
1 envelope onion soup mix (I used beefy onion)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper

Rice Dumplings:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp shortening (I used butter)
1/3 cup cooked rice (I used Jasmine rice)
1 tbsp fresh parsley (I did not use this)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk




In a Dutch over, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add water, tomatoes, vegetables, soup mix, oregano and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

For the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add rice and parley, toss. In a small bowl, combine egg and milk. Stir into rice mixture until just moistened.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto simmer soup. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean. Do not lift the cover while simmering.

For this soup, I also added 2 tsp of red pepper flakes. I would give it the smiley face with the exception of the dumplings. If I make this again, I would leave out the rice. I don't think that it added anything to them except to make them dense.