Yellow Curry and Ground beef Soup

I modified a recipe I found today in order to use the ingredients I had on hand.  I modified it  A LOT!  I think I would refer to it as more of an inspiration than a guide at this point.

I'll try to add a pic or two when I heat it up tomorrow.  Although, come to think of it, curry soup isn't usually all that pretty!  But, it's always nice to have a picture of what you're about to cook.

Ingredients:

1 Med or Large Yellow Onion, Diced (I used a Mayan sweet)
1 stick of butter
1 Bell pepper diced (whichever color you like, we used orange)
1/3 c. flour
1 can of coconut milk
1 can (from the coconut milk) full of half and half or whole milk
1 - 1 1/2 lbs. of browned ground beef ( i was using leftovers here)
2 T. Yellow Curry
1 qt of beef broth

Jasmine Rice
Cooked according to instructions.  We doubled the recipe and had enough for dinner.

*Optional stir-ins:  cilantro, crushed red pepper, and coconut milk

Instructions:

Heat 1/2 the stick of butter over med-high heat in a 6 qt or larger pan.  (I used my dutch oven.)
Add the diced onion and cook until onions are translucent,
Add the rest of the butter and then the diced pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until pepper begins to soften.

Add the curry and the  flour, stirring quickly to mix throughout.

Reduce heat to medium and add the beef broth.
Cover and let cook for 5 minutes to thicken.

Uncover and add the ground beef, coconut milk, half and half and season with salt and pepper.  Taste it and make sure your salt is right.  I had to add salt once we had it in bowls to get it right.  Cover again and let simmer for about 10 minutes and thicken. 

Optional add-ins: Crushed red pepper (we just serve on the side), cilantro (adds a nice fresh flavor) and I hear coconut milk drizzled on top is good too. 

We served this by scooping a small mound of rice in the middle of our bowls and topped it with the soup.  The rice definitely stretches the soup.

*You could easily make this vegetarian by switching to a vegetable broth, and adding more veggies.  The original recipe had a granny smith apple in it!

*Vegan - make above changes plus use coconut oil or olive oil instead of butter and substitute all coconut milk in place of the half and half.

I can't wait to have this again for lunch tomorrow.

Enjoy!