Winter Minestrone

I had a taste for soup over the weekend since the temps were due to be dropping below 30 degrees this week and today was the day to give this bad boy a try. I bounced between two recipes (both links can be found below the instructions) and added my own twist. I was going to add a nice cup of (gag) cooking wine,you know the really dry stuff that a few friends and family of ours like, but we weren't going to be seeing them soon enough to finish off the rest of the bottle, so we opted to leave it out this round. Next time I will add it and use the rest of the bottle for drain cleaner. So without further ado, here is the deliciousness we had this evening! Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 3 oz. thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopoped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups total of vegetable broth and turkey broth
• 1 quart crushed tomatoes or tomato purée, or 1 (28-ounce) can
• 3 cups sliced kale (remove and discard tough stems from kale)
• 1-1/2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, pea), or 1 (15-ounce) can, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup small pasta (rings, ditalini, alphabets, bowties)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery root, pancetta, carrot, and garlic, and sauté until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the broth, tomatoes, cabbage, beans, rosemary, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Return the soup to a boil. Add the pasta and boil gently until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Add parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Original recipe From http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/winter-minestrone-recipe.html and Recipes from the Root Cellar: 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables by Andrea Chesman (Storey Publishing, 2010). Copyright © 2010 by Andrea Chesman. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the publisher.

Hot & Sour Soup

I wanted soup, Hubby wanted spicy. So hot & sour soup is what it was going to be...

Hot & Sour soup base

Mushrooms - fresh & sliced

Tofu - cubed/diced

1 Egg lightly beaten

Green onions for garnish

Add first two ingredients, bring to boil then drop to medium heat, once mushrooms have shrunk a bit (5 min), add tofu cook for 3 minutes, gently stir and SLOWLY begin drizzling in egg as soup spins from previous stirring (Do not stir and add egg at same time) Cook additional 3 minutes, scoop into individual bowls and garnish with green onions. :) Enjoy! Remember you can always add more spice (I added a few dashes of saracha before scooping into bowls) 

Dill Pickle Soup

Dill Pickle Soup...

Sounds gross, right? Its actually more of a potato soup with a hint of dill pickle! Anyways, I made it to share with Sarah & Melissa. It was quite tasty. Had a bit of a bite to it, but it was good. Its definitely a make again. They aren't fibbing when they said not all pickles are created equal... DEFINITELY spend the cash for the good crunchy Vlasic ones!

 Here is the original recipe:

Dill Pickle Soup

Recipe from: Created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com | Serves: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 5-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1-3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups chopped carrots (smaller dice)
• 1 cup chopped dill pickles (smaller dice ~ about 3 large whole dills)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups dill pickle juice*
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Garnish (optional)

• sliced dill pickles
• fresh dill
• black pepper

Directions

• In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add pickles and continue to simmer.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sour cream and water, making a paste. Vigorously whisk sour cream mixture (2 Tablespoons at a time) into soup. (This will also break up some of your potatoes which is okay. You might see some initial little balls of flour form but between the whisking and boiling all will disappear. Don't panic.)
• Add pickle juice, Old Bay, salt (*see below), pepper and cayenne. Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately.
• *All pickle juice is not created equal. Some is saltier than others. Taste your soup after adding the pickle juice and final seasonings. It's possible you will not need any salt or would prefer more or less.

Pickle Dip

I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!!!! I will make it again soon so pictures can be added!

Not all pickles are created equal! Get the best you can and if you like a bit of twang... use the vllasic

Pickle Dip

Ingredients:

§  2-8oz packages cream cheese

§  16 oz sour cream

§  32 oz jar Vlassic dill pickles finely chopped 

§  ¼ to ½ c pickle juice

§  Garlic salt to taste

Directions:

§  Cream sour cream and cream cheese together.

§  Add pickles that have been finely chopped to creamed mixture.

§  Mix in 1/4 to 1/2 c of the pickle juice from the pickles (amount depends on how “soupy” you want your dip).

§  Add garlic salt to taste.

§  Sit down and enjoy with potato chips or chips of your choice.   (good on crackers too!)

Original recipe by https://homemadebyharper.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/potato-chips/

Reuben Dip with Peppredge Farm Party Toasts

So after working an early morning shift, we were off to the annual NOVA Christmas Party that is two hours away. Usually we camp it but my work schedule was not going to allow for it this year. So I knew whatever we made to take, would need to travel well and have a way to be reheated/warmed once there since the oven would be cooking the main course for dinner! Since we would be there in time for appetizers, I signed up to make one of those. Now, I am not a reuben freak, but my Mother in Law makes an AMAZING reuben sandwich and no other reuben sandwich will stack up to it. This dip, comes in close second!
If there is extra (The recipe doubles well) I will use the party toasts and dab some dip on them and stick them under the broiler till melty the next day. AMAZING again! So much for losing weight with this dip around folks, its worth the extra though! I promise!

Reuben Dip

16oz JAR of Sauerkraut- rinsed, drained, squeezed, and run a knife through it
8oz Cream Cheese - Softened
2 cups Cooked Corned Beef - sliced thin and chopped
1/4 cup Thousand Island Dressing (Double this if you like TI dressing!)
2 cups Shredded Swiss Cheese

Directions:
The bagged kraut is bitter, so don't use it unless you REALLY like bitter.
I chopped the sauerkraut once more to make bite sized pieces instead of having stringy bites and had the deli counter shave the corned beef, then ran my knife through it to make smaller pieces again.
Add all ingredients to the crockpot, stir until combined. Cook on high for 45 minutes stirring occasionally the entire cooking time, low for longer if you aren't in a hurry to have it ready. You are looking for it to be bubbly and the cheese melted. Serve with cocktail or party toast or crackers.

I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!!!! I will make it again soon so pictures can be added!

Zuppa Toscana

My Mother In Laws birthday was this week and our tradition in our family is to not cook on your birthday. So every year on one of our parents birthdays, I cook whatever meal (within reason) they request. My MIL requested anything I wanted so long as no cheese or mushrooms were used in its making. So after trying to figure out what I could make (alot of the things I make use one if not BOTH of those ingredients) I decided to give this a go. Besides, if it didn't work out, there was always a big pot of chili my mom had made in the crock pot! Score... we had a back up plan! So here it is:

Zuppa Toscana (better than Olive Garden!)

1 lb. Italian sausages (use spicy to get that signature Olive Garden flavor)
4-6 russet potatoes, chopped (not to small)
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. REAL bacon pieces (optional)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
32 oz. chicken broth
2 c. kale or Swiss chard, chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp flour

1. Brown sausage links in a sauté pan.
2. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut slices.
3. Place sausage, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat. (I had to add 3 cups)
4. Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

30 minutes before serving:
5. Mix flour into cream removing lumps.
6. Add cream, kale, and bacon to the crock pot, stir.
7. Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.
8. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake with a modern spark!

So my darling Daddy is always raving about how great Grandma Woodruff's strawberry shortcake was and he never finds a shortcake to rival hers. So in my free time (haha) I have been playing with a recipe and finally got brave enough to give Grandmas' a go but I tweaked it a bit for my "electric oven" since I don't have the good 'ol 1920's gas fire breathing oven like she had back in the day. Now, there are MANY shortcake recipes out their, but grandmas was fairly simple yet light and fluffy inside with a golden brown crunch on the outside. Without further ado, here is my version twisted off grandma's! And if I do say so myself, since the last time I had hers was when I was in 5th grade... A LONG time ago, I think I darn near nailed it!

Ingredients:

2 Quarts strawberries, slice/diced however bite sized you like it (Peaches can be used instead of strawberries if desired)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (add more if you feel the fruit you are using is very tart)

4 1/2 cups Original Bisquick mix (I used this instead of the flour and baking powder) 

1 cup milk (2%)

6 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup cool whip

 

Directions:

 

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, mix strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 6 tablespoons sugar and the melted butter until soft dough forms. 
3. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 10-12 spoonfuls (you can make more if you decide you want smaller biscuits but they reheat beautifully so I make more and store in a resealable bag)
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown (You dont want the bottoms to burn and the time to be in the oven depends on how your oven heats. so after 10 min start watching for them to brown up nicely and check every 2 minutes)
5. Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and a dollop of cool whip. I personally prefer to crumble my shortcake once in the bowl so it can soak up all the delicious juices from the fruit on top of them and then plop a glob of cool whip as the crowning award.

 

To reheat shortcakes, place back in oven for a few minutes on warm or in a pinch, microwave (IF YOU HAVE TO) for no longer than 15 seconds each. The microwave with dry them out and make them tough so don't over do it.

 

 

 TADA!

Behold the wonderful shortcakes!

 

Strawberry Shortcake on Left, Peach Shortcake on Right

 

  

Pan Seared Scallops with Herb & Butter Sauce and Petite Sirloin Steaks

So when I was looking around our local grocery store, I was trying to find some inspiration for dinner. Something different from our every day choices of meat or chicken. Most know I am not a seafood fan, short of shrimp or lobster so the scallops was an odd choice for me. Anyways, I figured heck with it, lets run with it! So after some discussion with the local fish monger, he selected a half a pound of scallops for me to work with and sent me on my way. Once home, that triggered a text message to my good friend Eleanor for some tricks, tips, and advice. Then it was scour the internet and see what I could use to sauce it up.

So to get started, I did all of the prep work for cooking the scallops, while the steaks were coming to room temperature. Then made a small aluminum foil dish with a pat of butter in it to place some chopped button cap mushrooms.  Now that the primary stuff was ready for the grill, I got the mushrooms and steaks rolling. After 6 minutes on medium high grill I flipped the steaks, dropped the temp down to low and began the scallops inside.

A few tricks up your sleeve:
perfectly dry scallops
simple seasoning
all prep done before starting to cook the scallops
hot oil

Ingredients: 

For the scallops:

• 1 lb. dry large sea scallops
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

Remove the tough abductor muscle from the side of each scallop (some scallops are sold with the muscle already removed). If you feel any grit on the scallops, rinse them under cold water. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels; surface moisture impedes browning.  

 Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot but not smoking, 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange scallops in skillet in a single layer and cook, without touching, until deep golden brown underneath, about 2 minutes. Using a small spatula, swiftly loosen and flip each scallop. Cook until deep golden brown on the second side and just firm and opaque, 1 to 2 minutes more. Take the pan off the heat, transfer the scallops to a plate, and set them in a warm spot. Let the pan cool for a minute before you make the sauce.

For the sauce:

• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into six  pieces
• 2 Tbs. finely diced shallot (1 medium shallot)
• 1/4 cup dry white vermouth or dry white wine
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley and chives
• 1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 3 lemon wedges for serving

 Return the pan to medium heat. Add a piece of the butter (1/2 Tbs.) and the shallots and sauté until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add the vermouth or wine and simmer until reduced by about half, another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the herbs and lemon zest. Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining butter, and whisk constantly until the butter melts into the sauce. Return the scallops and any accumulated juices to the pan. Gently roll the scallops in the sauce to warm them through. Taste for salt and pepper and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze over the scallops.

This recipe for pan seared scallops in butter herb sauce is by Molly Stevens from Fine Cooking Issue 72. To watch her Video: Watch the Video Recipe to see the Seared Scallops with Herb-Butter Sauce come together, step by step!

I put the lid on the skillet, then pulled the steaks and mushrooms and we headed to my rents to meet up with my in laws there and have dinner together. MIL brought some fresh green beans from their garden and some zucchini surprise to add in to the meal.

And as a non seafood lover.... it was all delicious! Its definitely a do again recipe!

A Baby Bash & Update!

So we have been a little busy with work, baby prep, work, camping, work, thank you notes, and yep, you guessed it work, to update the blog. I know, we have been bad with it. So let us get you caught up on what has been going on!

May 10^th a wonderful baby bash/shower was given for us. Our amazing friends, family, and supporters showed up to shower Baby St. Peter. Chelsea, Kimberly, Rita, and Toni hosted it and did an amazing job. 

 

Me with Baby Bash Hosts: Toni, Kimberly, Me, Chelsea, & Rita

We are so honored to have them as friends! 

We even had Kathy with us who hosted my Moms baby shower when I was on the way!

The ladies, had 13 tables set up with a picture of each of us (Mike & I) over the years and had them set up with "matching years."

There was sooooooo much good FOOD!

While the women were doing the games and gifts, the guys got together with Mike and kept him company with beverages and chit chat.

Mr. Jerod, Mike, Ron, and Don (somewhere were also DanA, Dan B, Al, Terry & Larry!)

We had games throughout and even had a men vs women relay race to diaper and dress the babies to close out the baby bash!

Everyone seemed to have a great time! 

And the stuff! 

Oh my goodness the stuff Baby St. Peter is going to start out with! Our people are AMAZING. The explorer was PACKED! 

Now in turn, our nursery is packed!  

Overflowing with love!

Just to make it perfectly clear, here is what the nursery looked like PRIOR to the shower...

clean and organized

We want to thank everyone for joining us who could make it and also to everyone who sent gifts, thoughts, love, and light to us on our journey. We couldn’t be doing it without the support of all of you!

If you couldn't join us for the shower, please make sure at some point you get together with us so you can sign our Baby Tree that will  be hanging in the nursery. Once we have a name and date, that will be added to the bottom of the truck. It so far looks like this:

So since the shower, we have been working to upgrade some safety things in the house, working extra hours to bring in more $$ for the adoption fund, and searching for our perfect miracle. Oh, and trying to not stress out entirely! We have put in our profile for a few babies, however they have fallen through for one reason or another. So we practice patience and do a lot of soul searching and discussion so we remain focused and on the same page. Trust us, one way or another when we are matched, the entire world will know as soon as our sponsors from our Go Fund Me account and family have been notified. You know it will be shouted from the rooftops!! For more information you can check out our adoption agency's website where you will find our E-profile!

So now that it is 2am here, I am finally getting sleepy so please keep your prayers coming and everything crossed for our match to be made soon and if you hear of anyone looking to make an adoption plan, point them in the direction of Building Blocks!