Making Hamburg Soup For A Cold Winter's Day

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Man we have had some pretty cold weather here on the east coast of Canada this winter and it tends to make me want to stay inside close to the fire, with a nice hot bowl of soup. And I have the easiest soup to make for those days. Hamburg & Tomato Soup. First I don't use a can of tomato soup, I use real tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes, it's much better. My wife buys hamburg patties, very lean, she takes care of my heart. They are about a half inch thick. I cut the patties into one inch cubes. I do this when they are still mostly frozen, it's so much easier. I have big skillet, about a foot across. It's the best one I have ever had, thanks for the great Christmas present dear. I start with Olive oil in my skillet. When it's hot enough, you will see the oil shimmer a bit. At that point I put in the onion I chopped. It doesn't matter how fine you chop the onions, I prefer them in about quarter inch pieces. They cook up faster but they don't disappear. Once the onions have been browning a bit for 4 or 5 minutes I put in some chili-peppers, I like it hot, you decide how much you can take. I also put in the Chili-Power, really no heat here, just great flavor. I put both the chili-pepper flakes and chili-pepper powder in to help release their oils before I continue. Next I add a little tomato paste. I like to add it now before any liquid so that the bitter or unpleasant flavor of raw tomato paste cooks off. After a few minutes you can add the hamburg cubes and give them a few minutes to get a little browning on them. Doesn't take long but makes a big difference in the flavor. Next I will add my tomatoes or a small can of chopped or stewed tomatoes. I will also add water or broth so that everything in the pan is just covered. Of course you would salt to taste. I don't use salt because I watch my heart health. That's just about it. I cook rice to go with it or I cook macaroni noodles. If I know we are going to eat all of it in one sitting I will add the rice to the pan and let it continue cooking for about 40 minutes adding more liquid as needed. The same thing goes for macaroni noodles. Just keep adding liquid until the noodles are cooked to your liking. I am asked to cook this almost daily, even when it's not that cold. We love it. Note: I also will add kidney beans to it if I want it thicker, then it goes really well with nachos.