- It’s cold and snowy. My kids love it. They love snow angels, snow ball fights, snow sledding, and they want to try skiing.
On the other hand, my body wants to curl up on the couch with a pile of books, an endless supply of hot coffee, and a blanket, and hibernate all winter. Instead, yesterday we all bundled up in snow pants, snow boots, coats, hats, mittens, and scarves (it’s quite a production for anyone who has never done this before) and went to a little “hill” near our house. The kids played for two whole hours, though the youngest got cold after about an hour. I took him home and started soup for the rest of the crew. It was beautiful being out there as the snow sprinkled, the lights from the houses sparkled, and the kids’ laughter rolled across the hill.
- Snow mean my entire house is a drying rack. All that snow gear from five bodies is hanging up everywhere drying off so it’s ready for the next sledding adventure. Which will NOT be this weekend, when we’re expecting single-digit temps and no amount of layering can keep a body warm.
- I found out yesterday that the appointment I thought we had for my son next Tuesday is actually not until February. Boy am I glad I found out before I made him fast for 8 hours and then showed up. So those of you who have been praying for that appointment, we have another month to pray things resolve on their own. We’re hoping to avoid a procedure requiring general anesthesia and a hospital stay.
- Hibernating is easier with comfort food! We enjoy steaming bowls of soup to warm up our insides last night. This morning I whipped up a big batch of homemade waffles for the crew. It wasn’t enough to bribe my husband to stay home from work, but oh well!
- If you were on Facebook yesterday, you saw a lot of random colors in people’s statuses. I never got the misguided message to show my support of breast cancer research by sharing my bra color. I’m really not sure how that did any good for breast cancer, but it sure gave the men an interesting day. Here’s a tip, ladies. When you tell men your bra color, the one thing they are NOT thinking about is cancer.
- I love cooking soup when it’s snowy out. Last night we had Nordic Potato Soup with Ham, a recipe from a church cookbook I got many years ago. It’s super-scrumptious and my kids all had seconds. That’s unusual at our house. A friend asked me on Twitter if we could do a soup exchange, which I think is a fantabulous idea! I’ll post my recipe below. Please either share your favorite soup recipe in the comments or post yours to your blog (if you have one) and put the link in the Mr. Linky below. This will be fun!
- Nordic Potato Soup with Ham
1 1/2 lbs or 3-4 med-sized potatoes, skinned and sliced
1 lg onion, finely chopped
1 lb smoked ham hock (or leftover ham from the holidays!)
1 T dry dill weed
2 tsp grated lemon peel (I’ve substituted 2 tsp lemon juice before)
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 c chicken broth (I double broth and add more potatoes for larger pot of soup)
1 T cornstarch
1/2 c whipping cream (I’ve substituted 2 T sour cream and 1/3 c milk)In 3-qt or larger crockpot, combine potatoes, onion, ham, dill, lemon, pepper, and broth. Cover and cook at low setting until ham and potatoes are tender (usually takes 7-8 hours). (If doing on stove, bring broth to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.) Lift out ham hock and let stand til cool. Meanwhile, remove about 1 cup potatoes with a little broth. Puree in blender or food processor with cornstarch and whipping cream. Blend back into soup. Remove fat and bone from ham, dice and return to soup. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes (or for about 5 minutes on stove top), stirring occasionally. Yields 4-6 servings.
Add your recipe to your blog and link up below, or add it to the comments!
Available for RSS readers and email
My current favorite soup is the chicken tortilla recipe that you sent me a few months ago. Love how it uses up all kinds of veggies and feeds an army for very little $. I'll come back and post one of my own current recipes this evening………gotta dash off to do a funeral dinner at church!
Italian Wedding Soup at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Wedding-Soup-I/Detail.aspx. I also add a chopped up chicken breast to the pot, and I use spinach for the greens because I'm more likely to have some. You can substitute lean ground turkey for the lean ground beef. I've always liked this soup at restaurants, and it was served once at a wedding reception I attended.
This is a great one to throw together for a weeknight dinner, or make a double batch to take to a friend. Quick and easy and delish!
Tortellini Soup
1- 10oz package frozen chopped spinach
a few slices of pancetta (italian bacon, can get from the deli, usually)
2 cans (14.5oz) fat free chicken broth
2 cans (14.5oz) Italian stewed tomatoes (some like to cut up the bigger pieces)
1 large can Marinara sauce with basil
1 package fresh tortellini pasta (try with different fillings to change it up a bit)
In a 5 qt saucepan, brown pancetta (tear in pieces). Combine the spinach, chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil while breking up the frozen spinach. Add tortellini and simmer for 7 minutes. Serve with Italian bread and salad for a light meal.
Makes 6 1-cup servings (we often double so we have leftovers for lunch!)
White Bean Soup with Pasta & Rosemary
Ridiculously good.
http://recipe.aol.com/recipe/white-bean-soup-with-pasta-and-rosemary/137329
BROILED CHEESE, BREAD, and BEAN SOUP
Prep: 5 minutes, Cook: about 15 minutes, Serves 4
2 teaspoons EVOO
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced Italian Style tomatoes
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 (15.5 oz) cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces Italian bread, cut into chunks
1/2 cup shredded Manchego/Monterrey Jack cheese
1. Heat the oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and
garlic, cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the broth,
tomatoes, spinach and pepper; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the flavors are blended, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the beans and cook until hot, about 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Stir the bread chunks into the soup; sprinkle with
the cheese. Stand the Dutch oven on the oven rack and broil 4 inches from the heat
(middle rack) until the cheese and bread are lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.
PER SERVING (1.5 cups): 401 calories, 8 g Fat (3 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat), 12 mg
Cholesterol, 1114 mg Sodium, 62 g Carb (14 g Fiber), 23 g Protein, 332 mg Calcium
Manchego cheese, the most popular sheep's milk cheese in Spain, is full of flavor and
melts beautifully. If you can't find it in your market (or can't pay their price,
$10.99/8oz), substitute Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese.
Mmm, Grandma's Nebraska Noodles
Boiling broth… we prefer chicken or beef, especially when we've made it fresh by simmering it all day. Grandma uses fresh chicken… and I mean FRESH chicken! The flavor is unbelievable that way, but we still love these noodles in any broth.
To make the noodles:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
flour to thicken
You can thicken it enough with flour to make drop noodles by dropping spoonfuls of the dough into the boiling broth, or you can add additional flour, roll out the dough, cut into strips with a knife, let dry for a little while in the air, and then drop into the boiling broth.
Very much a comfort food.
Ohhh this is so great! I almost forgot to do er'.
Ham and Potato Soup
* 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
* 1/3 cup diced celery
* 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
* 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
* 3 1/4 cups water
* 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground pepper
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk
Directions
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour {I usually add more than called for} with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.
Enjoy! Can't wait to try the other soups!
Joy, you inspired me. People from church brought us meals for the past couple of weeks and we have a fridge full of leftovers. So I started throwing things together and came up with a pretty good soup. Unfortunately, it can never be duplicated.
I love bean soups and this one is so ridiculously easy. I quite often make extra taco meat on taco night and then make this later in the week. It's a crock pot recipe because I'd make everything in the crock pot if I could.
Taco Soup
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 small onion, chopped
28 oz can crushed tomatoes or 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can corn, undrained
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with chips, cheese, and sour cream.