Two birds with one stone... or Moussaka and Soup!

I made these two dishes last week. I have been really busy at work lately and wanted to cook something that was going to be easy and would yield enough food so that I can take with me to work. Also i did not have time to do any shopping so i decided to use up all the ingredients that we had accumulated in the refrigerator. I had leftover ground beef and pork (~1lb) and used 3/4 lb for the moussaka and 1/4 for the soup. The ingredients that went in both dishes were onions, carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes, bell peppers, muchrooms and the ground beef. Despite the fact that these were made of almost exactly the same starting materials, to difference in texture was sufficient to make me think that I was eating completely different items so I managed to eat these for a week without getting burned out:)

For the Moussaka:

• 7 good sized potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• one stick of celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 lb of baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
• ~3/4 ground beef and pork seasoned with salt, black and cayenne pepper, cumin, savory

Sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Then add the meat and cook for ~10 min over medium heat with occasional stirring. Once the meat is ready, add the carrots, celery and the bell pepper and cook ~ 5 min. Then add the mushrooms and the frozen peas and cook additional 10 min. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, savory and cumin. Lastly, add the tomatoes and the chopped potatoes and ~1 cup of water, and transfer the whole mixture to an oven-safe dish and bake at 375F for ~30 min (or until the potatoes are completely cooked). Voila!


Now for the soup:

• 1 onion, 3 carrots, 1 bell pepper, 2 sticks of celery, 4 potatoes, 1 yam - all finely chopped in the food processor
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb of baby bella mushroom - cut into larger pieces so that the soup will have some texture
• 1/4 lb of ground beef/pork mixed meat.
• Spices: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, savory and fresh parsley for garnish

In a large pot, saute the garlic with the ground meet until the meet is well cooked. Then add the mushrooms and cook for additional 10 min. Add spices to taste (salt, pepper, cumin, savory etc...) and finally add the potatoes and the yam. Add water and bring to boil and cook for ~20 min. Serve and garnish with parsley...Yum!