(Left-overs from recipe below)
Some days dinner is unplanned and turns out unexpectedly wonderful, so I thought I’d share what I did.
10 or so cups cubed potatoes
2-3 cups carrots
12 cups water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
one large onion, finely diced, about 1 cup
3 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
3 lbs ground beef, preferably lean
2-3 cups grated cheese
4 cups grated zucchini
6-8 TBSP chicken base
1 TBSP dried basil
one head of fresh cabbage
12 TBSP butter
3/4 cup flour
6-7 cups milk
Peel and cube about 10 cups of potatoes. Place in large pot (6-8 quart?) with carrots (if using fresh, see note below in 4th paragraph) and add 12 cups of water. Add about 2 tsps salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer until a fork just goes into potatoes.
Meanwhile, finely dice one large onion. Saute’ in large pan in about 3 TBSPs butter and 2 TBSPs olive oil until tender and translucent. Then move onion to edges of pan and add 3 lbs of ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, until there is no pink left.
Prepare 2-3 cups of grated cheese. I used raw mild cheddar, but would recommend also trying some combination of sharp cheddar (probably need to use less), gruyere, or jack. It will be best if the cheese flavor is somewhat subtle.
To potato pot add: 4 cups of grated zucchini, about 2 cups sliced carrots (if using frozen), 6 -8 TBSPS chicken base (mine was designated lower sodium and people still added salt to their dish, so adjust as needed), about 1 TBSP dried basil. Stir regularly, as potatoes are breaking down and sticking and you don’t want them to burn on the bottom. Cook until carrots are tender.
Wash and cut up into large bite size pieces, one head of fresh, crisp cabbage. Add the cabbage to the potato pot and cook just until crisp tender.
Drain ground beef and onions (or spoon them out of the grease) and add to vegetable mix in large pot. Continue to let simmer on very low heat, stirring regularly.
In a 2 quart pot, on low heat, melt 12 TBSPs of butter. Add 3/4 cup white flour. Add 6-7 cups of milk all at once and stir until blended. Add to main pot and stir thoroughly, heating until somewhat thickened, a few minutes.
Sprinkle grated cheese in moderate handfuls while stirring it to melt. Serve and eat!
Makes about 20 cups?
