It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Friday was so much fun! It was cold and windy and IT SNOWED right here in Houston, TX! It really felt like Christmas.

It was really hard to concentrate on work! So, we spent most of our time at the window watching the flurries!

Then, we ventured outside to get some pictures in the flurries!

Not long after this, it started coming down harder and so we decided we better head home since all of Houston would be a mad house of crazy drivers on the road!

I was stopped at a light, and looked over and this is what McDonald's looked like. Isn't it pretty?

Less than a mile past the McDonald's, stopped at another light - this is what everything looked like outside my window! Everything was covered in white!

I've never actually seen snow (other than this and a few flurries over the years) so this was really special. I passed a Christmas tree stand on my way home, and all of the trees were flocked. It was magical!

We spent 90% of the weekend inside, wrapped up in blankets, next to the Christmas tree and a roaring fire, eating soup. After all, we are used to wearing short sleeves and flip flops in December so this bit of cold was quite a change for us.

Friday night, I made Baked Potato Soup and Saturday I made Beef Stew. Both were delicious! I put the stew in my crockpot about 10am Saturday morning and we ate dinner about 7, so it had plenty of time for the flavors to blend and the meat to get really tender. You could cut it with a spoon! It made so much that my crock pot was full so we ate it again on Sunday! I just make it the way that my mom always did (except she just made it on the stove and let it cook all day).

Beef Stew

• Beef Stew Meat (I use 2 pounds)
• 4 or 5 Potatoes, chopped
• 5 Carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks of Celery, chopped
• ½ an Onion, chopped
• 2 cans of stewed tomatoes
• 3 cups of Beef broth
• garlic powder, salt and pepper

Turn your crockpot on and start warming it up. While its warming, clean your vegetables, wash and peel your potatoes and then chop everything up. Just a rough chop - its going to cook so long that if you dice everything, its just going to turn to mush. I season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then put it in the bottom of the crock pot. Then, I pour the beef broth over the top, pour in the tomatoes and then add all of the vegetables and potatoes. Season again and mix all together. I cook on low for 10 hours and just check on it every few hours. When the meat is cooked, you can check the broth and see if you need to add any more seasoning. About 30 minutes before its done, I make up some cornbread, which more times than not, consists of Jiffy Cornbread mix. It turns out wonderfully if you make it in a cast iron skillet, but the kids might like it if you make it in muffin pans.

All in all, its an easy and delicous meal for a cold night!

Show Us Your Life - Dinner Recipes

I was looking for a recipe to cook for dinner last night. Lately, I feel like I've been in a rut. I don't feel like cooking and if I do - its the same thing over and over. So, with the weather getting cooler this week (its starting to feel like fall). I asked Darren if he would mind soup for dinner and of course - he said go for it (he could eat soup every day of his life). So, I searched www.allrecipes.com and came up with the following soup.

Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups beef broth
• ½ cup red wine
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• ½ tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1½ cups sliced zucchini
• 8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage.
2. Remove sausage and drain.
3. Sauté onions and garlic in drippings.
4. Stir in beef broth, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage.
5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
7. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

I changed it just a tad. I ran by the store and got everything on my way home and was so hungry when I got there, that I started making this right away. I didn't exactly follow the directions - after I cooked the sausage, onions and garlic, I just kind of threw everything in the pot! I mean, isn't that how soup making goes? Oh, and it was delicious. I got a little carried away and I think I added way more than what the recipe called for because I had 5 QUARTS of piping hot soup on my stove last night. I topped it with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and it was wonderful. Next time, I will make sure I have a loaf of crusty bread to soak up some of that broth! Enjoy!

Favorite Ingredient Friday - In the Aftermath of Thanksgiving

I was out of town, for Overwhelmed with Joy’s Favorite Ingredient Friday, so I am posting mine now! After a few days, or more spent in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving the last thing that I want to do when it is over, is get back in there to cook again. I need a break, but my family needs to eat, so - we compromise - and have leftover turkey soup. Normally, it’s pretty cool around Thanksgiving so a pot of soup is nice and it gives me a way to use up all of the leftover turkey and veggies crowding my fridge. I don’t get fussy over it – I just throw everything in to one big pot – if you injected your turkey with something, no worries – it will give your soup flavor too, and when I wind up with leftover soup? I freeze it! Your Christmas baking and shopping is coming up, so your time in the kitchen is probably limited. Just pop this in the microwave to thaw out, and heat it back up on the stove and wah-lah – many meals off just that one turkey!

Not sure how to go about freezing soup - no worries - just visit The Gracious Bowl.

Leftover Turkey Soup

Ingredients:

• Leftover Stock from Thanksgiving
• Leftover Turkey, broken into pieces
• 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
• 2 Cans of Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 family size bag of boil-in-bag rice (this is approx. 3 cups of rice)
• 1 bunch of celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• Sliced carrots (canned, or fresh - whatever you have)
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions:

• In a medium skillet, sauté the diced celery and onions in the butter, until tender.
• In a small pot, boil water and cook boil in bag rice (according to directions on package).
• In a large stock pot, bring the stock to a low boil. Add all the cans of soup and stir to incorporate.
• Add shredded turkey, carrots, celery, onion and rice.
• Stir all together and serve hot.

If you don't have any stock leftover - shame on you. Kidding - just throw some water in your pot and a few chicken bouillon cubes, or chicken stock from the can or box.

You can add corn, or hominy or noodles - whatever you have in your pantry. Again, this is not something I get fussy about - if you don't have an ingredient - don't worry about it - use something else, or just leave it out.

Favorite Ingredient Friday - Soup Edition

Ok, so we all know - it doesn't get too cold in Houston. My husband and I went away for the weekend - last weekend, and it got down into the 30s and we both swore up and down that we would freeze to death. We don't "do" cold. Although, I love when it actually feels like fall and winter - I like to be inside enjoying it - in the warmth. Part of that enjoyment comes from a nice big fire, the other part is from a heaping bowl of steaming hot soup. I can't help you with the fire, but I have got a great soup recipe that I think you will just love. We sure do! Baked Potato Soup Ingredients: 4 bacon strips, diced 1 small white onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon dried basil ¼ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon pepper 3 cups chicken broth 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 cup half-and-half ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce Shredded Cheddar cheese Directions: 1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. 2. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. 3. Set bacon aside. 4. Sauté onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. 5. Stir in flour, salt, basil, thyme and pepper; mix well. 6. Gradually add broth. 7. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. 8. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. 9. Garnish with bacon and cheese.

Looks delicious, doesn't it?!?