Smoky Tri Tip & Vegetable Soup & a Story

Last weekend, I had a Tri Tip roast that I had to cook. I had planned to BBQ but it rained (poured actually) all day, so that wasn't happening. I was going to put it in the crockpot, but forgot. At 4:00 I figured I'd better decide what to do with it and started to search my pantry and fridge and came up with beef broth, onion soup mix, carrots and potatoes.

One of my favorite restaurants is Wood Ranch Grill in Yorba Linda, CA. They have amazing tri-tip soup. I searched for the recipe and couldn't find one, so I made one up. (Sorry, I totally forgot to take a photo of this one!)

Tri Tip Soup
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 lbs trimmed Tri Tip, cut into small chunks
2 cans beef broth
1 package Onion Soup Mix
3 cups water
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 cup raw vegetable (carrots, green beans, mushrooms, etc)
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Liquid Smoke

1. Heat olive oil in a 5-6 quart pot; add Tri Tip and brown on all sides. Drain.
2. To the meat, add beef broth, water and onion soup mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour, covered.
3. Add vegetables, garlic, and Liquid Smoke. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
4. Serve and enjoy!


Sorry for the lack of photos. To make up for it though, I thought I would share a little story about the soup...

We (Rick & I) are attempting to eat healthier. In fact, Rick's son, who is studying to become a personal trainer, has him on a nutritional plan.

(I called it a diet and I was corrected: "It's not a diet. Diet's DIE. It's a nutritional plan." My bad).

So anyway, I made soup this delicious soup the other night, and I put lots of carrots in it, despite the fact the Rick hates vegetables. In fact, whenever I have made soup, and I have to remove the carrots/vegetables from his bowl. Otherwise, I get "the look."

As we were eating, Rick looked over at me, and very deliberately stabbed a carrot with a fork (yup, he ate the soup with a fork) and slowly put it in his mouth. I almost fell off my chair. Literally. And, ok, maybe a little bit dramatically.

The next night he ate some mixed vegetables. It was dark, and raining, but I'm pretty sure I saw a pig fly by our window.