Soup Time

It is chilly outside, a beautiful sunshiny day, but oh so chilly. Cold weather always has me looking through my folders for soup recipes.
As much as I like to eat out, I love to come home from work on a cold night and know that I am in for the night. Change into my play clothes and relax for the very first time that day.
S0, Friday I planned soup for supper with the cold weather in mind. French Onion is Ronnie's favorite soup but time did not allow so I made the next best thing, Creamy Onion Soup. Roast beef, avocado and provolone on Everything Thins rounded out this early November supper.

Creamy Onion Soup

3 medium sweet onions
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

4 cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics)
1 cup vegetable stock

2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold milk
1 packet Lipton Cream of Chicken Soup mix

11/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
4 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan
1 tsp. season salt (I like Morton's Natures Seasoning)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Slice onions very thin. Melt butter in a 4 quart stock pot. Add onions and cook over medium heat until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Add chicken stock and vegetable stock. Simmer 15 minutes. Mix cornstarch and milk until smooth. Add to onions and stock. Sprinkle in cream of chicken soup mix. Stir until smooth. Return to boil and cook 2 minutes or until soup begins to thicken.
Add heavy cream and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses until they are melted and the soup is smooth. Add season salt, nutmeg and cayenne. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve with Parmesan crisps or Better Cheddar crackers.

So, Until Tomorrow............,
S~~~

Warm Winter Soup

I was looking through my soup file to find a recipe to take into my office next week and this is what I decided on. I made this a couple of times last year and it is perfect on a cold winter night.
You could serve it over macaroni or noodles, garnish with bacon, add tomatoes, bell pepper and celery, or use a more exciting cheese, but I like it just as it is.

Cheeseburger Soup

2 medium garlic cloves - minced
1 medium onion - diced
1/2 lb. ground chuck
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
1-1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 tsp.celery seed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 cup evaporated milk or Half and Half
4 oz. Velveeta cheese - cubed
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine onion, garlic and ground chuck in saucepan. Cook until beef is browned. Drain.
Add chicken stock and bring to a slow boil. Cover and reduce heat to low until onion is tender, stirring occasionally and adding additional broth as necessary - about 10-15 minutes.
Once onion is tender, add vegetable stock and heat until just boiling. Add celery seed, thyme and parsley.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add milk and cubed Velveeta cheese stirring continuously until milk is heated through and Velveeta is melted.
Stir is paprika and black pepper.

Serve hot with bread for dipping and a pickle.

So, until tomorrow..........
S~~~

The Winter Blues

The winter blues is coming on with a vengeance.........................., I'm cold through and through. I could stay indoors until spring without a complaint, except that I thankfully have a job.
Our office got all the way up to a balmy 60 degrees today, burrrrrrrr.

This weather makes me want hot bathes, warm pajamas, good books, soup, hot tea and cocoa. Atlanta Bread Company has a Butternut Squash Soup on their menu right now that is beyond TDF. I have never made anything with butternut squash, but I am thinking it is in my future this weekend.
I found this recipe on Allrecipes that sounds wonderful. Perhaps I will need to use at least low fat cream cheese, use butter in place of margarine (no margarine to be found here) and maybe sub chicken stock for the water and bouillon cubes, but other than that I will keep it as written.

Butternut Squash Soup

6 Tbsp. chopped onion
4 Tbsp. margarine
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese


In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

If soup is in your future maybe give this one a try and we will compare notes.

So, Until Tomorrow............
S~~~

Happy Birthday Karen

Top 'o the day to you on this St. Patrick's Day 2009.
No corned beef, cabbage or potatoes on the menu here tonight. In fact, there was no menu, the guys practiced tonight so I just fixed snacks for them.

Chips and Queso and Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks

Now on to the real news of the day. Today is my sweet sister in law, Karen's birthday. That is her pretty picture I posted up top.
I remember my mother in law, Barbara, saying they brought Karen to her after she was born with a little green bow in her hair.

We gave her one of my favorite new gadgets, a quesadilla maker. We loved having Karen, Tommy and Ryan for supper on Sunday to celebrate. The menu looked like this:

Mixed Green Salad w/ Cranberries, Pecans and Goat Cheese
Caramelized French Onion Soup Au Gratin*
Stuffed Cheesy Chicken
Mushroom and Rice Casserole
Butter Beans
Parker House Rolls (we really didn't have these, I forgot them in the oven)
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc

Caramelized French Onion Soup Au Gratin

3 large sweet onions - sliced thin
1 stick butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. sugar

Melt butter in olive oil and add onions, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook over medium low heat until onions are browned and caramelized, stirring occassionally. This will take about 30 minutes.
Add:
4 cans beef consomme
1/4 cup good red wine
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
dash of cayenne pepper

Simmer an additional 30 minutes. Ladle into oven proof bowls and top each bowl with:
sliced French bread
Swiss cheese
1 tsp. Parmesan cheese

Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil until golden on top. Watch closely.


We Love You, Karen, Enjoy Your Day!!!!!!

So, Until Tomorrow.........
S~~~

It is SNOWING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick, let's all run to the Ingles.............Have you got your milk, bread, eggs and (if you live in McDowell or surrounding counties) your Hunter's livermush? It is coming a snow!!!! Knee deep for sure.

I am so excited to see the snow. I am standing in my front door with my nose pressed against the glass just like a kid. Please, please, please let it accumulate enough to blanket this gray winter landscape.
If it does, tomorrow I will post a "front my front deck" photo.

No supper exactly tonight in the Taylor household. The guys (SideStreet) are practicing tonight and I am still playing with my new quesadilla maker. I will take them a quesadilla snack down to the studio in a few minutes. Ok, enough about the quesadilla maker. I know I am boring you to tears with my new toy. Just go buy one and you will understand. We may need to start a 12 step program, or at least exchange recipes.

I was thinking yesterday about the items that I couldn't cook without. (Can you tell I love lists?)
Not counting the staples like milk, eggs, flour, sugar, salt and pepper, etc., what are the products in your kitchen that you consistently use? You know, those things that you use to add your own special touch. Share your list, inquiring minds want to know!!.

Here are mine - in no particular order:

Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup
Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
McCormick California Style Bottled Minced Garlic (the only jarred garlic I will use)
Onions
Rosemary (fresh and dried)
Mayonnaise
Whole Grain Mustard
Prepared Horseradish
Celery Seed
Cayenne
Limes and Lemons
Chicken Stock

Since we are all going to be snowed in tomorrow. I am posting the perfect snow day recipe.


Navy Bean Soup

1- lb. Navy Beans or White Beans
Parboil beans in water approximately 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well.
3 Cups Chicken Stock
3 Tablespoons Ham or Chicken Base (Better Than Bouillon)
1 Medium Onion (Chopped)
1 Tsp. Black Pepper
1 Tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 Tsp. Sugar
½ Tsp. Celery Seed
1 Clove Garlic – Crushed (or 1 tsp. McCormicks California Style Garlic)

Cook beans w/ above ingredients until very done. If not using a pressure cooker, you may need to add water.
Once beans are cooked and almost falling apart add:

1-2 Cups Additional Chicken Stock
1-2 Cups Half and Half, Milk or Cream
2-3 Packets of Lipton Cream of Chicken Soup Mix (dry)

Heat through until velvety and smooth.


Until Snowy Tomorrow.............
S~~~

Saturday January 3, 2009

Quiet Saturday here on the Taylor home front. Another beautiful winter day.
Ronnie played Paul Bunyun, clearing a space for our new fence. A fence was not something we wanted but necessity comes into play here.
Gibson, our beautiful Yellow Lab wandered into either a pack of coyotes or dogs. After being gone for almost 48 hours he somehow managed to drag himself home the Monday before Christmas. We had been sick with worry and had exhausted every imaginable resource in finding him. He was covered in blood and was missing his all of his front teeth and part of an ear.
We carefully slid him onto a blanket and rushed to the Animal Clinic of Marion.
Dr. John and the entire staff were wonderful. They immediately stabilized Gibson and were incredibly kind to us. After having surgery on Tuesday, Gibson was home with us on Christmas Eve. His life will be a bit different now, no more running free as he was accustomed. For now, he is living inside, but once the fence is up he will have a place to run and play and still time inside as he chooses.

While Ronnie lumber jacked I just caught up on laundry and read.

Supper tonight was once again super easy.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Homemade Potato Soup *

3-4 medium potatoes - peeled and diced
1 - small onion - diced
3 cups chicken stock or enough to completely cover potatoes
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper

Combine in a 4 qt. pan and cook until potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add:
4 cups milk ( reduced fat, half and half , evaporated or whole milk - depending on the richness you prefer)
3 packets Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1 Tbsp. butter

(You might add more milk to adjust the consistency)

Top with your choice of paprika, parsley or shredded cheese

Cook over low heat until heated through.



Something that you might like to look for........
Ala Julia Child I did have a couple of glasses of Montenovo Valdorras Godello while I made the soup. A very good white that had not been on my radar. It was recommended by the good folks at the Wine Guy when I was considering bringing a white wine to our October wine party. A light crisp wine. Check it out, very reasonably priced and very good, I do like that combination!!

Until tomorrow