Is It Soup Yet?

About the only thing I love about cold/cool days is soup!! Soup is delicious, practical and sooo easy to make.  So this guinea pig date was all about recipes that were my own.  I tried to provide some variety such as cream, broth, meat, no meat - you get the idea. 

So first up we had very simple vegetable soup.  Vegetable is so so simple.  I used beef broth for this soup but you can use chicken or if you're into the total veggie thing use veggie stock.  Whatever floats your boat I say!!  I sauteed some onions, celery and carrots to start, then add corn (frozen), green beans (frozen), fresh squash and lastly some kale.  A little cracked pepper and we are good to go!!

Lots of veggies!!

As for me, I'm not a big vegetable soup lover but this wasn't bad.  I would really have liked some sausage in it!!!

Next we had clam chowda!! No living here in New England I have always loved seafood and chowda!! However my dad always made a brothy chowda - its not your typical thick chowda.  I started with bacon, dice it up and brown it in a stock pot.  Once browned remove the bacon from the pan but leave the drippings in the pan.  Now add some chopped onions (celery if you like).  I saute the onions till they are soft and translucent.  Next I add the clam stock (I had some in the freezer)!  You can make stock by just steaming a few quahogs (5-6 in a pot of salted water).  Or you could buy it but why would you do that!!! Next I add diced potatoes.  Pick good potatoes you don't want to end up with mush in your chowda!! I love love love golden yukons.  They hold up so well in chowda.  I simmer the potatoes till fork tender.  Next I add in heavy cream - the whole container!!  And thyme (fresh if you have it but dried is fine as well).  Lastly I add my chopped clams (yup they were in the freezer too) and the cooked bacon from earlier.  You can buy chopped clams at the local fish market, use the quahogs you boiled earlier for the stock or buy canned.  Why you buy canned I couldn't tell ya!! Moving on!! Allow it to heat through and serve!!

Delish!!!

This was my sister, Sharon's bowl.  I had to grab a pic before it was all gone - everyone loved the chowda!!!

Lastly soup choice we had was the Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup.  With this one I simply sauteed some onions, celery, peppers and garlic in olive oil.  Once soft I added a small can of chopped green chilis.  The kitchen smelled amazing while I was cooking this.  While the veggies were bathing in the olive oil I cooked up some boneless chicken breasts in olive oil.  I had sprinkled the chicken breasts with Cactus Jack (courtesy of Russ & Jackie) - secret family recipe!!  Once the chicken was cooked I cut it up in cubes and set it aside.  To the sauteed veggies I added two (2) bottles of Hot & Spicy V8 Juice.  Lastly I added corn (frozen), some rice I had cooked earlier and the cubed chicken.  It was delicious.  I did sprinkle a little more Cactus Jack into the soup while it was simmering but that was it.  We ate it topped with shredded cheese, fried corn tortillas and sour cream.

It'll warm you right up!!

It's another brisk day here in New England but I'm happy to say that I have NO leftovers!!  All the soup was eaten up!  So why don't you try your hand at soup today.  Clean out the fridge - add some broth and spice and snuggle up to a nice warm bowl of deliciousness!!!

My Little Protégée!!!

I was at the bank recently opening a new checking account (new year, new bank, new stuff.....) and as one of the security measures the bank takes you must pick a "keysite" for the access to your online account.  It's just a picture and they are large variety to choose from.  I pick a photo of a bunch of tomatoes! I told the woman at the bank that I picked this because I like to cook.  She then asked me if I was "a good cook".  My response was that "I've been told that I am."  To which she said "then you are a good cook."  I do know this I enjoy cooking and especially cooking for others.  I gives me such great satisfaction to prepare meals for others and watch them as the devour it and hopefully are satisfied by it. 

That being said let me introduce you to someone who proudly professes to be a "good cook!"  This is Julia and she reminds me of what a great cook she is every time we are in the kitchen creating some sort of fantastic dish.  Even yesterday when we were working together to create a wonderful tuna salad for grampa for his sandwiches she reminded me as she sprinkled in the thyme "I'm a good cook." 

More on WHAT we are creating here later!!

I will say this for her - she is not afraid to get her hands dirty.  She is willing to get right in there and work at making a wonderful meal.  Now if I could just get her to try eating them!!

Do you have someone who watches and mimics you?  One of the best ways to keep ourselves in check is to remind ourselves that little eyes are watching!! And this one has eagle eyes when it comes to watching me!!

New Beginnings!!

2012 is here and I wish I knew where all the time went!! Do you ever feel like that?  So at the ripe ole age of ?? I'm trying to become more organized and a better planner!! Ok stop laughing at me!!Things can get out of hand so quickly when you work full time and are trying to run a household, do couponing, plan meals for the family, plan meals for the guinea piggers and blogging!! Not that I'm complaining - my life is full and rich with joy.  I am thankful for every wonderful day I have here on this earth.  That being said I really need some focus in my life.

In the first week of 2012 I did manage to organize my coupon binder and schedule meal plans for the guinea pig club and I did lay a menu out for the first week of January for the family.  I did NO laundry all week (Amber did all the laundry for me - my wonderful daughter-in-law who lives with me)! I did only the bare essentials as far as house cleaning goes too - dishes, scrub the toilet, etc.

So I guess I'm not off to a bad start.  I do want to be faithful to this blog too.  My goal is to post a couple times a week!! Wish me luck and I truly need your support!! I've been doing quite a bit of blog reading and trying to understand the blogging world and wrap my head around this wonderful world of blogging.  Hopefully I will post things/ideas/features that you will enjoy as well.  Keep me in check and if it's crap, let me know!!

Gratitude Not Attitude

I decided that I wanted to continue the Thanksgiving Day theme for my dinner with my guinea piggers.  We didn't have more turkey - I think everyone is pretty much turkeyed out after Thanksgiving but I did want to continue the thankfulness idea.  Hence the name of the dinner - Gratitude Not Attitude.  Well let's face it, us girls can have a LOT of attitude at times!!

Anyway on with the dinner.  First was the table setting.  These are branches I picked up from the back yard - always good if you can decorate from free!!

I know, it looks a bit bare and rustic but go with me on this - wait till the end! You'll see my vision!!

The meal was centered around sour cream.  I know - you're asking yourself what does sour cream have to do with Thanksgiving?  It doesn't - they just had a really good sale at Shaw's and I had coupons!! Had to use the sour cream up!!

So dinner we had Beef Stroganoff and Vegetables with Sour Cream Sauce.

This was not just my serving!!

Hard to see the veggies but they were broccoli, cauliflower & carrots

For dessert I made chocolate cake with sour cream and no it was not from a box!! It was covered with chocolate fudge frosting (also not from a can!) and I topped it with a squirt or two of whipped cream (yes from a can). 

Very rich tasting!!!

Before we started eating I told the girls about the theme and that I needed them to express their thankfulness for their fellow guinea piggers.  We each took leaves from the table and wrote one of the guinea piggers name on the front and what we were thankful for about them on the back.  Then we took raffia and hung them on the tree!! Now see our centerpiece.

Thankfulness!!

 

Although there were only 4 of us at the dinner (Danielle, Sharon, Colleen and me) we did manage to fill the "tree" with lots of gratitude!! P.S. Keep your eyes open and you will see how thankful we were!!

So I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and I hope that you are able to continue the attitude of gratitude all year long!

Candied Jalapenos!!!

Sorry about the delay in posting anything - I was away on vaca in AZ!!!  Arizona is so beautiful this time of year especially since at home on the east coast they had snow while I was enjoying 80 and 90 degree weather!!  Every time I go to AZ now I always bring home fresh tortillas - we pick them up while they are still warm from the store.  They are fantastic and make for a great meal each time.  This time I not only brought home fresh tortillas but also jalapenos - 3 lbs. that is!!!  I had read on The Pioneer Woman's blog about Candied Jalapenos (Cowboy Candy) and knew I had to try it. You start with 3 lbs. of fresh jalapenos.  I should have taken a pic of the peppers before I sliced them.  They were bright green, firm and large - nothing like what we get around here!  I sliced them all and put them in a bowl to begin the canning.

Yup - seeds and all!!

Next you cook them with sugar, vinegar, turmeric, garlic, celery seed and cayenne pepper.  Only 4 minutes!!!

The smell was incredible

Next they go into the lovely little canning jars.  I must admit that I did sneak a lick off the spoon when it was all said and done.  The syrup is sweet and hot - very weird but deliciousness!!!

 After they are in the jars you boil the syrup a little longer then pour the syrup in the jars and process the jars in boiling water for about 10 minutes.  I ended up with 14 jars of peppers and 1 jar of syrup.  The syrup I'll use on some mexican chicken or maybe add to a mexican tortilla soup!!!

A pyramid of sweet and hot!!

I think next time I will probably cram a few more peppers into each jar but all in all there are plenty of peppers in each jar.  Some of you can look forward to getting these little babies in your Christmas baskets this year!! Here's the recipe just in case you would like to give them a shot yourself.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/

And There's More Bread!!!

The bread just doesn't seem to end.  I'm using up the bread as best I can and as quickly as I can.  I made wonderful French Toast on Sunday morning.  Bryan was thrilled.  I made a few extras for him to eat while I'm away (oh yea - I'm headed to AZ on Wednesday)!!  Not that I'm thrilled or anything - tee hee!  Sunday afternoon I took the ciabatta loaf and made one HUGE sub and cut it up for us to eat while watching football.  Here are couple pics for you to enjoy!!

Although I will admit that I should have probably made this the very day I got the bread it was still delicious.  It was loaded with black forest ham, capicola, salami, bologna and provolone and american cheeses with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.  It made for a wonderful meal while watching the games Sunday afternoon. 

Bread and Butter

I recently purchased another deal on Groupon.  If you're not getting in on these deals you really should join (this is not a paid advertisement). I've found some really incredible things on there and this little gem was a wonderful find.  I live in Plymouth, MA which is a pretty big town, area-wise that is.  One of the cool things about living here is that just when you think you know the area you find something new!  A few weeks ago Groupon was offering a deal for 6 loaves of bread from a local bakery a $30 value for $15.  I was hooked because lets face it I love bread!!! You do don't ya?

We have plenty of bakeries in Plymouth but this one was in a location that I would have never guessed.  It's in the industrial park!  The bakery is called Hearth Wood Fire Bakery - here's a link www.hearthwfb.com.  Apparently they do baking for some local and area restaurants and stores.  If you're in this area you must check it out.

So back to my point here!  I walked in with my little Groupon printout and the gentleman baker showed me the wonderful loaves I could choose from.  I got 3 french, 1 rye raisin (this one's for the hubby), 1 ciabatta and one rosemary.  The loaves are enormous and I can't wait to dig into them.  Here's a pic so you can see for yourself.  There is no skimping in this place!!

Last night we had Roast Beef Sandwiches with Au Jus on the french loaves!! Sounds so fancy but it's really not - the beef cooked all day in the crockpot getting all those flavors married into it and becoming tender and juicy.........focus! focus!

Here's the recipe for this little gem too!  http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-roast-beef-au-jus-sandwiches-332615  I toasted the bread too.  It helps to keep the bread from getting to soaky!! Yum! O and next time I will definitely add a slice of provolone!

Oooo and the other things I have planned for this bread - I'm thinking French Toast, Onion Soup, maybe some croutons or maybe just a late night snack with some homemade jam!!! If any one needs some bread just give me a call - I have plenty!!