Lamb Shanks & Broccoli Soup

I had to work my weekend Warrior duties today, ie. Navy stuff, and was planning on coming home to roast a chicken.  Well I didn't exactly calculate the thawing time out correctly nor did I give my husband any direction on what to do so we looked at each other and both said, "what's plan B?"  Wish I had one.  You feed the kids and let me think... Luckily the lamb shanks that I pulled out of the freezer yesterday already thawed and I could make my old trusty favorite.  Only problem with that... it was already after 5pm and this recipe has to cook for 2 1/5 hours after all the prep.  It wouldn't be big deal but we were both starving so we munched on some celery and almond butter as dinner preps began.  The prep is quite simple and once it is all in the pot I had time to get the kids ready for bed, read books and say goodnight.  The best part about this is that I get to have a nice quiet delicious dinner and evening with my husband.   So worth the wait.  Ahhhhh!

Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shanks
• olive oil for braising (about 1 cm deep in pot)
• 1 leek, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks chopped
• 2 onions chopped
• 4 garlic cloves peeled
• 1 bay leave
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock

Instructions

1. Heat a dutch oven (or just a deep pot) on high heat.  
2. Pour in the olive oil and when hot add the lamb shanks, turning until all sides are browned.
3. Remove lamb from pot and set aside.
4. Saute the leeks, celery, onions and garlic.
5. Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary.
6. Once the veggies are slightly browned place the lamb on top.
7. Add the red wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
8. Cover the pot with lid or foil lower heat to medium and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or longer.  The meat should just fall off the bones.
9. Serve the lamb shanks with the sauce poured over the top.

To go with the Lamb I made Elana's Pantry Broccoli Soup with some frozen broccoli I had.  Her recipe calls for fresh broccoli but once again that did not stop me.  The only thing I changed was serving it with a few pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top and a little hot sauce for my husband.  Another simple quick and easy dish to make that I highly recommend it!!