Pork Chop Soup

It is finally snowing here in Cleveland...
So, you know that means...SOUP!!!
I searched my fridge and pantry, to get an inventory of what I had. Then I bopped over to allrecipes.com to search for something that matched close to what I had. And I found a pork chop soup recipe (click HERE for the original). But, like grandma always said, "recipes are a guideline, use what you have, and make it taste the way you want." So, of course, I modified the guideline according to what I had. What appears below is what I am making.

Pork Chop Soup

Ingredients

• 3 (8 ounce) boneless pork chops
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic & pepper powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 4-1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 2 cans of mixed vegetables (drained)

Directions

1. Place pork chops, Old Bay, oregano, garlic & pepper powder, pepper, bay leaves, vegetable broth, and water in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove the pork chops and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid with the flour; set aside. When the pork chops are cool remove and discard any bones or fat. Chop the meat into bite size pieces.
3. Add the potato, mixed vegetables, and cooked pork back to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir in the flour mixture. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve with some bread for dipping...

It makes about 4 quarts of soup. I used my 5 quart Dutch oven to make it (see pic above).

Well, it will be done in a few hours... But while it is simmering, I think I might be able to cut down the preparation time a bit, from 2 hours to 1 hour. Well, if I am successful in doing that, I'm sure I'll post another blog entry...