#268 – Hearty Beef Noodle Soup & Plum Dumplings

Hearty Beef Noodle Soup

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups beef bouillon
• 2 cups V-8 vegetable juice
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups uncooked
• medium egg noodles

Brown hamburger with onion in Dutch oven; drain excess fat. Stir in soup peas, V-8 juice, bouillon, basil, marjoram, parsley, pepper, and by leaf. Heat to boiling point, add noodles; reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes; stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Plum Dumplings

Filling

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp. nutmeg

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oil
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 – 1 cup milk
• 10-12 prune plums, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with no-stick baking spray. Combine filling ingredients in a microwave safe bowl; heat until warm and ingredients blend together well; set aside. Add flour, egg, oil, salt, baking powder and 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk in a separate bowl; knead until a soft dough forms. Add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk as needed. Roll dough out thin enough to make 20-24 2-inch squares, approximately 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into squares and place a half of plum on each square. Pull dough up on edges and pinch shut; place in prepared pan, pinched side down. Pour sauce over squares and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown.