Kale Soup

This soup is phenomenal!  I have been making it for about 2 years now and everytime I make it, I think to myself....why don't I make this more often!!!

Even my 12 year old nephew, who I would consider a non-adventurous eater, LOVES this stuff.  He ate 3 bowls and the only reason he didn't eat more is because we ran out! haha

This past time I made it, I used sweet potatoes because that's all I had on hand and I wanted to use them up since they were from this past year's harvest.

I don't think I'll ever make it with white potatoes again....the sweet potatoes added another little something extra that just put it over the top!

I have also made this with all types of sausage - usually just whatever I have on hand.  Andouille, chorizo, kielbasa, and most recently a Venison Kielbasa with cheese.  All have been FANTASTIC!  I'm telling you, this soup will not let you down.

So...make it with white potatoes or make it with sweet potatoes, make it with kielbasa, heck - make it with chicken sausage....just make it!

Honey Bee Hive's Kale Soup

Original Recipe Here

What's In It:
2 T olive oil
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
3/4 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 bunch Kale, de-ribbed and chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
1 15oz can chick peas, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 lb cooked sausage
1 qt chicken broth

What To Do With It:
Saute potatoes and onions in olive oil over medium high heat for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and spices and cook 2-3 more minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer just until potatoes are tender 20-30 minutes.  

We served ours with some warm crusty Roasted Garlic Potato Bread. :)

Turkey Noodle Dumpling Soup

It was 80....80!!! this past weekend and then the past three days it has been raining and about 50 degrees.  I'm not complaining, other than the blizzard in Southern Illinois over Christmas, this is about as close to winter weather as we've seen this season.

What better food to celebrate the chill in the air (if you can call 50 chilly) than soup.  I brought home some left over turkey from Christmas and I've been saving it for just this occasion.

Why is it called Noodle Dumpling soup?  Well, I have these dumpling noodles from the Mennonite market and I've been wanting to try them for probably over a year.  You know what that tells me?  I do not make chicken/turkey and dumplings nearly enough.  Now that I think about it, I think I only made it once when I was a sophomore in college and it was a colossal disaster.  I need to step up to the plate and give homemade dumplings another go.  But in the mean time, these noodle dumplings were fantastic!  I had noodle dumplings once in high school and these were even better!

Let's just get to it shall we - I already had 2 humongous bowls, but I might want another one after I'm finished typing this. Just kidding, I'm stuffed, but if I had room, I'd eat some more for sure! ;)

Turkey Noodle Dumpling Soup

What's In It:
1 1/2 c Carrots, sliced about 1/4-1/2"
1 c Celery, sliced about 1/4-1/2"
1 medium Onion, diced
2 heads garlic, roasted and smashed
3/4 t poultry seasoning*
1 t salt*
1/2 t mustard powder
1/2 t onion powder
1 t pepper
8 Small Red Potatoes, about 1 - 1 1/2 lb
1 1/2 c Turkey or Chicken, cooked and diced or shredded
2 T Butter
6 c Water*
8 oz Noodle Dumplings
1 1/2 c Milk

What To Do With It:
Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in butter over medium heat for a few minutes or until fragrant.
Add spices and cook a few minutes longer.
Add potatoes and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer approximately 20 minutes or until potatoes are just less than tender.
Add noodle dumplings and cook according to package directions (I stopped about 2 minutes short just so the noodles didn't fall apart when I stirred the soup).
Add milk and meat - heat through.  Adjust seasonings if necessary.

*I didn't have any broth on hand, so I had to improvise.  If you have broth, omit the poultry seasoning and salt.

Mel's Potato Soup

What is better after a long day than a steamy bowl of soup that with every bite you ask yourself why you don't make it more often!?  This is that soup.  I only make it two or three times a year, but when I do, I eat it non-stop until it's gone.

I LOVE this soup!

Mel's Potato Soup

What's In It:
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 T butter
2 c broth
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 t sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t pepper
1/3 c flour
2 1/2 c milk
1 c cubed ham or bacon (optional)

What To Do With It:
Saute onion and celery in butter.  Add broth, potatoes, sugar, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Combine flour with 1/2 c milk until smooth in consistency - I shake mine in a small plastic container.  Add flour/milk mixture to soup.  Return to a boil and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add remaining milk and meat if using, heat through.

I usually serve this with a nice artisan bread and a salad.  I've also eaten it with a little shredded cheddar on top - it's not required, but it sure is pretty. ;)

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Can I just say that I LOVE making my own Cream of ____ Soups?  It might not be as easy as just opening a can that is already in my cupboard, but it really only takes about 20 minutes and how can I complain about taking an extra 20 minutes to make something for my family that is of course chemical free but also, really darn good?

I can tell you this, I would never open a can of Cream of Anything and just happily eat it with a spoon, but this soup almost didn't make it into the Broccoli and Cheese Quinoa Casserole it was intended for.  It almost made a detour into my tummy. :)

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Original Recipe Here

What's In It:
2 T butter
1/4 c flour (I have used whole wheat and white)
1/2 c stock*
1/2 c milk
1/2 t salt**
1/2 t pepper
1/2 c finely chopped broccoli 

What To Do With It:
Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat, add broccoli and saute until tender - this won't take long.  Reduce heat slightly, add flour, and stir until thick paste formed.  Add stock and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in milk and seasonings.  Continue to simmer gently until desired thickness.  

This will replace one 14oz can of condensed soup.  

*I have used vegetable and chicken stock for this recipe.  I have also used just water flavored with approximately 1/4 t garlic powder, 1/4 t onion powder, heaping 1/4 t poultry seasoning, and any other seasonings that catch my eye that day.
**If you are using a high sodium stock, be sure to taste it before you add the salt.  I might not need the full 1/2 t.

Cream of Celery

Not your most coveted soup I'm sure, but when you grew up with my family and you have the amazing Sandy's Casserole on the menu - living life without Cream of Celery soup is not an option.

Just as with the Cream of Mushroom Soup....I can not believe I waited so long to make this!  YUM!

Cream of Celery Soup

What's In It:
1/2 c onion
2 2/3 c celery (I just used an entire bunch, but measured it in case you wanted to be exact)
1/2 c flour
3 c milk
2 c water*
1 t poultry seasoning*
1/4 t garlic powder*
1/2 t onion powder*
2 t salt
1 1/2 t pepper
1/2 c parmesan cheese
4 T butter
2 T cornstarch (optional)**

What To Do With It:
Saute onions and celery in the butter in a large pot over medium heat with all of the seasonings.  Blend with an immersion blender, or a regular one.  You might need to add a bit of your water at this point to help your blender.  That's no problem, just add the smallest possible amount from your already measured water.  Return blended vegetables to your pot.  Add flour, cornstarch (if using), and parmesan cheese and stir into a paste.  Add water and boil for 10 minutes.  Add milk and heat through.
  
*I made three types of soups in one day and ran out of chicken broth, so I had to make some quick and dirty "broth".  If you have chicken broth, I'd use that and then adjust the salt as necessary
**Adding the cornstarch makes it more of a condensed soup thickness instead of an eating soup.  

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I haven't purchased a can of "cream of something" soup in probably 8 or 9 years.  The stuff in there skeeves me out...and if I don't want to eat it, I can't justify feeding it to my kids.  But, how can I justify denying them delicious soups and casseroles?!  I can't do that either.  So...I gotta figure it out on my own.  Inspired by Erin over at Table For 7, I set off on a cream of mushroom quest.

Please, please, please do not make your decision on if you are going to try this soup on my terrible photo.  The lighting in here is horrendous and I am a farmer, not a photographer. :)  You have to try this soup! WHOA! It is SO good!  I can't believe I didn't do this sooner.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

What's In It:

16oz mushrooms, any variety*

4 1/2 c chicken broth

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 c chopped green onions

1/2 c onion, chopped

1/2 c flour

2 1/2 c milk

2 T dried parsley

1/2 t thyme
3/4 t garlic powder
3/4 t poultry seasoning
1 1/2 t salt
1 t onion powder
1 t black pepper

What To Do With It:

Clean mushrooms using a dry paper towel.  Finely dice.  

Melt butter in a large pot. Add green and regular onions.  Saute over medium heat until translucent and the butter begins to brown a bit.  Add the mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes or until they are tender.  Add the flour and stir for 1 minute.  Add a small amount of broth and be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the tasty goodness there.  Add remaining broth, parsley, and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add milk and season with salt and pepper.  Heat through but be careful not to boil.

*I was extremely displeased with the mushroom quality at my grocery store, so I went with a  2.6oz package of dried oyster mushrooms.  I boiled them for about 3 minutes in the broth, then chopped them finely.  After boiling the mushrooms, I used water to bring the volume of my broth back up to 4 1/2 c.  The texture of these mushrooms was definitely a bit chewier than I would have liked, in the future, I will practice a little more patience and wait until I can find fresh. 

Too many free Veggies?

NEVER!

I might have a freezer stocked full of nicely prepared and bagged vegetables and I might have an entire cart full of beautiful home canned goods, and I might have a friend down the street that is learning to love green beans  but I also have extra cash in my pocket, a feeling of happiness and gratitude that I am preventing perfectly good food from going to waste, and I have the ability to feed my family nutritious and delicious food!

Like this stew I made on Sunday.  The only items in the stew I paid for were the meat, peas, and the ingredients to make the bread. NICE!

Beef Stew

What's In It:

1 lb beef (I used kabob meat, but it's your choice)

2 c corn 

2 c green beans

1 1/2 c peas

1 c carrots, diced

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 qt tomato soup*

1 1/2 c chicken broth

1 t poultry seasoning

1 t garlic salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t onion powder

Diced green onions to garnish

What To Do With It:

Sear the meat.

Cut meat into bite size (or whatever size you want) chunks.

If using canned vegetables, drain them.  

Pour everything, except the green onions, into the crockpot and stir to combine. 

Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours.  

Serve with a warm and crusty loaf of bread - like this one that we can't get enough of.

*Be sure to use a good quality soup here.  I use homemade from Super Mom, but a really nice store bought would be good to.  It's the main base of the soup so it's kind of like choosing a wine to cook with, if you don't like the wine, you won't like the sauce...same deal here. 

For the LOVE of FALL!

Have I mentioned how much I love fall, specifically the month of October? Not only is it the month that my amazing husband and I celebrate our anniversary, it is just such a gorgeous time of year!  Scarves, hoodies, boots, sweaters, and jackets - like this one I grabbed from Zulily yesterday.

But I can't leave out the amazing flavors of autumn.  Last night I whipped up this apple spice cake from Mavis over at One Hundred Dollars a Month.  I used some applesauce I made and canned a few weeks ago and I added about 2 cups of shredded carrots.  I also made a modified version of her cream cheese icing listed with the carrot cake.  It was the best "carrot" cake I've ever had.  We patiently (ok, not so patiently) waited for it to chill completely in the fridge and then that's what we had for dinner.   WOW!  

Today is terribly rainy and chilly outside - but never fear, I see a nice pot of Kale Soup in our future!

Let's hope it dries up a bit soon so I can get my garlic planted! :)