Soup/Casserole Recipes for Intro and Beyond

I wrote these out for a friend and thought I would post them here as they may be helpful for others. My kids LOVE these recipes now that they are not addicted to sugar and refined carbohydrates.

We like Hamburger Soup:  I never measure or write things down.  I am learning to just throw things together, so here goes... Let's take 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of carrots peeled and cut into chunks, one onion chopped, 1 pound of frozen green beans, beef broth or filtered water to cover, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté (made from the marrow and soft tissues blended up), 1-2 Tbs of Celtic sea salt.  You can also season with fresh whole peppercorns, garlic, or any other fresh herb you like.  Only use fresh herbs in the beginning.  Bring to a boil and cook until carrots are soft.  If you like a thick soup, you can blend some of the soup and add back to thicken (no flour needed).  Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions and brown the meat in your favorite fat before putting them in the pot.  Yum!

Chicken Soup is a weekly soup at our house:  I boil chicken almost daily to make meat broth.  We eat some and use the rest to add to soups or make pancakes/panpuffs, or whatever we can think of to make.  We blend the skins to make a chicken pâté to add back to soups for flavor and thickening.  We save the bones in the freezer and use them to make bone broth.  Now that all of that is out of the way...let's take 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of yellow squash and/or zucchini, 1 pound frozen green beans, 1 onion, 8-12 oz of sliced mushrooms, 1-3Tbs chicken pâté, 1 Tbs Celtic sea salt (or more to taste), chicken broth or filtered water to cover.  Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the veggies are done.  Add cold cooked chicken to cool and serve.  You can cook chicken in the soup, too.  I like to add it at the end.  You can also season with peppercorns from the beginning and/or parsley added near the end.  Further along in full GAPS you can sauté onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat.  Serve with sauerkraut and/or mashed avocado.  Yum!

Ground Turkey Soup:  My older daughter and I thought this one up together... Take 2 pounds of ground turkey thigh meat, 1 onion chopped, 2-3 celery sticks for flavor (too fibrous to eat early on), Celtic sea salt to taste.  Cover with chicken broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until all meat is done and celery is tender.  Season with fresh parsley.  Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat.  You can also brown the meat first.  Later, skip the soup and just eat the sautéed onions and browned turkey as is and served with sauerkraut and avocado, and lettuce, too.  Be sure to drink sauerkraut juice and broth with meals.  It is delicious this way.

Beef Soup is pretty easy, too:  I cook a large roast in the crockpot with several soup bones to make meat broth.  We eat the meat with veggies on the side for one meal and use the rest of the meat to make casserole or soup.  Reserve whatever meat is left over to add to the soup once the veggies are cooked, 2 pounds carrots and 1 pound zucchini peeled and cut into large chunks, 1 pound frozen green beans, 8-12 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 onion chopped, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté made from the marrow and soft tissues/fat from the bones and roast, Celtic sea salt to taste.  Cover with beef broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, simmer until veggies are cooked.  Add meat back to the soup and serve.  You can add some garlic, pepper corns or other fresh herbs for more flavor.  Further along on full GAPS you can sauté the onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat.  To thicken, remove some of the veggies, before adding the meat back in, blend, and return to the soup.

You can turn any of the soups into casseroles by separating the broth from the meat and veggies with a strainer or a slotted spoon.  If you use a strainer, you can drink the soup broth as a beverage.  It is warm, delicious, soothing and healing.  Put the meat and veggies in a casserole dish.  Blend some of the veggies to pour over the top, drizzle with any fat, sprinkle with course sea salt, and bake for 30 minutes.  You can cook cauliflower for your blended top layer.  Later, you can drizzle with ghee and/or coconut oil.  Use any veggies you like.  We are rather limited in our choice of veggies, but you get the idea.