“Use It Up” Soup

HOWDY friends!  Brrrrrrrr…it’s cold outside!  Temps are only in the mid 30’s here in South Texas...all day today!  This weather put me in the mood for some hearty soup, so I went looking in my refrigerator & pantry to see what I could throw together.  I decided to just experiment today, and this is what I came up with.  It turned out REALLY good, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you.  Feel free to adapt it to fit whatever you have in YOUR pantry or refrigerator.  LOL!  If you come up with something really yummy, please share your recipe with me too!

Can you smell this?  It smells heavenly!

“Use It Up” Soup

3/4 cup chopped celery (I had some celery & carrots left over from Thanksgiving, that needed to be used)

1/2 cup diced carrots

1 large sweet onion, diced

1/8 cup chopped jalapeño peppers (I had a few small ones left in my garden that had to be pulled before last night’s freeze)

3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped (because I put garlic in practically everything I cook!)

1 Tbsp. butter

1 (15.5 oz) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained

1 (15 oz.) can mayocoba beans, rinsed & drained (or any white bean you like)

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed & drained (I used some that had jalapeño & lime in them)

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced, fire-roasted tomatoes

1 (32 oz) carton low-sodium beef broth (you could also use chicken or vegetable broth)

1 small link smoked sausage, diced (I used a pork/beef sausage with hatch green chili - you could leave this out if you want, the soup is very hearty even without it)

6 cups water (I started out with 4 cups, and added more as the soup cooked…just use your own judgment on this and make it to the consistency YOU prefer)

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. dried thyme (fresh would be better if you have any - my thyme plant didn’t survive the past few weeks)

1/4 tsp. soul seasoning (or whatever seasonings you prefer)

1/3 of a 16 oz. bag frozen chopped collard greens (spinach - or some diced cabbage - would be good too)

1 large baking potato, diced

4 Tbsp That Green Sauce, mild (I got some of this stuff free with some other purchases at the grocery store.  I don't like it much on it's own, but it really added a nice flavor to the soup!  Glad I finally found a way to use it!)

Sauté celery, carrots, onion, jalapeños & garlic in butter until softened.  Add all remaining ingredients (except for That Green Sauce) and stir well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until reduced and thickened a bit.

All the veggies are in, and starting to cook!

Stir in That Green Sauce about 10 minutes before serving.

If you want a creamier, less chunky soup, you can use an immersion blender to emulsify some (but NOT all) of the veggies.

Serve with a nice loaf of crusty bread or some hot biscuits!

I found some Hatch Chili & Cheddar scones in the freezer that needed to be used...
that worked out well!

This stuff really hit the spot for me today.  Hope you like it too!

Stay warm out there!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Baby...it's cold outside! (Apple Pfannkuchen Revisited...)

HOWDY friends...

Just popping in to say hello and wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving.  I hope that you'll be able to spend it with the ones you love.  That's exactly what I plan to do!

We've had a blustery cold front blow in today, bringing our South Texas temps down from the mid 70's to the high 30's in just a few hours.  Aaaaahhhh...gotta love Texas weather!  This change has put me in the mood for one of my favorite cold weather suppers (Apple Pfannkuchen) tonight, so I thought I’d share a link for the recipe along with a few thought-provoking quotes on Thanksgiving!

I posted this recipe a while back, but I thought this would be a good time to share it again, in case you haven't had a chance to try it.  It's really easy, and a sure-fire hit.  My hubby loves it as much as I do, in fact, he's the one doing the cooking tonight!  He’s definitely a keeper!

 

Anyway, here's the link back to my original post with my recipe for Apple Pfannkuchen.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  I hope you like it as much as we do.

If you're traveling for the holidays, please travel safely, and enjoy the time with your family...it's precious and fleeting.  AND…if you come across any new and interesting recipes while you’re at it, please share!! 

Gotta run, but I'll leave you with these thoughts for thanksgiving…

As we pause to thank Him for the blessings of the past year,

we must not forget to thank Him for the lessons we have learned through our difficult times.

We are not to be thankful for just the pleasant, easy things, but ALL things.

-- Millie Stamm --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We tend to take all the gifts and pleasures and happiness and the joy

without saying much to God.

We take our health and strength, our food and clothing and our loved ones, all for granted;

but the moment anything goes wrong we start grumbling and complaining

and we say 'Why should God do this to me, why should this happen to me?'

How slow we are to thank and swift to grumble.

-- Martyn Lloyd-Jones --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In ordinary life we hardly realize

that we receive a great deal more than we give,

and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.'

You make a mistake.

If you are not content with what you have,

you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.

-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent

lifting of the heart to God

in honor and praise for His goodness.

-- Robert Casper Lintner --

Blessings,

--Faithy

Winter Favorites #4: Apple Pfannkuchen

Howdy friends!  I originally came across this recipe in a booklet that came with my Oster Kitchen Center more years ago than I can count!  My hubby and I first started making it not long after we first married, and we’ve adapted it over the years to make it our own.

I always start craving it the minute the weather starts turning cool each fall.  I guess it’s supposed to be a breakfast food, but we generally have it for supper.  For me it has become the definition of “comfort food.”

Sometimes, my sweet husband has it ready and waiting for me when I come in from a long day at the office.  Having that wonderful aroma and that sweet guy greet me at the front door reminds me how grateful I am for the blessings of home.

Do you have any recipes that bless you that way?  If so, please share them!!

Apple Pfannkuchen

Batter:

1 cup skim milk (or whatever type of milk you prefer)

1/2 cup HEB Real Eggs (or 2 actual eggs)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour (if you don’t have wheat flour, just use 2/3 cup all-purpose - that’s what the original recipe called for anyway)

3 Tablespoons Whey Low (you can also use regular sugar if you prefer)

1/4 teaspoon salt (the original recipe called for 1/2 tsp., but I cut that amount in half with no real flavor loss)

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel (you can use dried, but the fresh adds a much brighter flavor)

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Put milk eggs, flours, sugar, salt & lemon peel into blender container.  Cover and process at a medium speed until well blended.

Pour butter into a 9” pie plate (you can use a cast-iron skillet, if you prefer) and turn the plate until the butter is evenly distributed, making sure to butter the sides as well as the bottom.

Bake at 400°F for 30 to 35 minutes.  (It’s ready when it gets puffy and deep golden brown.)

Pour apple filling (or whatever filling you prefer) into center of Pfannkuchen and serve immediately.  The pancake will collapse soon after removal from the oven.

NOTE:  Pfannkuchen is also good served with a simple topping of fresh berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or whatever you have on hand) and a little powdered sugar.

Apple Filling:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cups diced Granny Smith apples (The original recipe called for peeled, sliced apples, but I prefer diced - it’s easier to eat that way - with the peels on.  The peels are yummy and add color along with a nutrition boost!)

2 Tablespoons Whey Low (again, you can also regular sugar if you prefer)

1 Tablespoon sugar (the original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp. sugar - I generally substitute Whey Low for the entire amount, but in this case adding some real sugar helps with the caramelization process)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Hillshire FarmTurkey Lit’l Smokies sliced, optional (I usually use about 10 or 12 of them - the original recipe didn’t include these, but my husband came up with the idea of adding them, and it was so good that we’ve made it part of our recipe!)

(I’ve also served regular smoked sausage links, on the side, in place of the Lit’l Smokies)

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add apples, sugars & cinnamon and cook over medium-low heat until the apples are tender.  (I usually have the apples already diced, so I can start cooking them when I put the Pfannkuchen into the oven.)  Stir in the sausage (it’s pre-cooked) and cook it just long enough to get hot.

PLEASE give this one a try…it’s soooooooooo good!!  Feel free to make it your own as well, but let me know what variations you try.  I’m always open to new ideas.

Have a GREAT weekend my friends!

Blessings,

--Faithy