Kielbasa Vegetable Soup

I'm really not quite sure what's up with the weather here in Seattle. Normally by this time of year, we have cooled down with cloudy skies and drizzles of rain. Instead, we have been having 80-plus degree weather. And because I like those gray skies, I am more than ready to welcome in fall.

To at least make me feel a little bit like fall is coming, last night I made some great tasting soup. This hearty Kielbasa Vegetable Soup is packed with sausage and veggies, including potatoes, corn, onion, carrots, and celery.

 One of the things I love about making soup is the fact that you can be free to substitute other ingredients if you don't quite have everything on hand. Whatever veggies you choose to put in this soup, they will go beautifully with the rich broth. And the Kielbasa sausage lends a delicious flavor, and makes this meal very filling.

Recipe for Kielbasa Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fully cooked Kielbasa or Polish sausage, diced
1 small onion, diced
6 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cups frozen, whole-kernel corn
2 cups chicken stock
1 celery stock, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra cheese for on top of soup

Directions:

In a large soup pot, cook kielbasa and onions in olive oil until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and wipe fat from pan.
Add potatoes, corn, chicken stock, celery, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to pan.Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, cover, 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Add milk, cheese, onions, and sausage. Cook, stirring over low heat until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Makes 6 servings.

White Chocolate Fudge & M&M’s® Captain America Superheroes Shield Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Superheroes have fully taken over my house! My son is all about the superheroes in movies we watch. He has toys, towels, clothing, shoes, the list goes on of all the hero themed items we own. I must admit that I love every moment of it! I am a super hero fan Mom. My favorite is to sit down and watch a movie with him while eating movie snacks.  I have let him watch a few of the older marvel movies and now all the cool ones coming out those as well. We love Captain America with his cool outfit and save the day hero attitude. We are looking forward to watching on DVD Captain America: The Winter Soldier while we eat one of our top favorite movie snack M&M’s®.

My son has been asking for a Captain America shield to go with his other Captain America toys so we decided to head to Walmart to check out the toys while we shopped for dessert. I have been waiting all summer for September to arrive so I can make my favorite dessert ever, fudge! I am making a "winter" theme fudge to celebrate Captain America 2 The Winter Soldier available now on Blu-ray and DVD. To keep in theme with my son getting a shield toy to complete his hero look I plan to make the white chocolate fudge shaped into mini shields and decorated with M&M’s® to look like the Captain America pattern. Of course the Mom in me wanted to add a bit of a healthy kick to a sweet treat so I bought dried blueberries and dried cranberries to add to the red and blue theme of our dessert. We found so many M&M’s®  it was hard to decide which ones to get. There are so many varieties they have their own shelf!

I had to get myself a Captain America shirt to match my son of course!

I am excited to be making the first official batch of fudge for the season. I enjoy making themed fudge to celebrate fun things in life. Fudge is a tradition in my family that my Mom started. Anytime I make fudge I always try to make it just like hers in the flavors and texture. Good fudge is amazingly delicious and you only need a small amount to enjoy it. The perfect indulgence for a movie night at home.

Add dried blueberries and dried cranberries to white chocolate fudge recipe

White Chocolate Fudge & M&M’s® Captain America Shields

1 Party Size bag of M&M’s®
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup  butter or margarine
5 oz. can evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
12 oz bag of white chocolate chips
1 jar  (7 oz.) Marshmallow Creme
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp.  vanilla

Line rectangular pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 4 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add white chocolate chips and marshmallow creme, stir until melted. Add dried cranberries, dried blueberries  and vanilla; mix well. Pour mixture into pan evenly coating the bottom of pan. Let fudge cool completely before cutting into circles with cookie cutter. Organize the party size M&M’s® to separate the red and blue M&M’s®  from the other colors. Arrange red and blue M&M’s®  in circle pattern. Cut red M&M’s®  in half to make star shape in middle of shield.

You can use a coupon to save $5 when you buy Captain America: The Winter Soldier on DVD and 2 bags of M&M’s®  Candies.

Check out what other families are creating with M&M’s®  and Captain America: The Winter Soldier at the Heroes Eat M&M's site. Take the Quiz there to see which M&M’s®  you are. I was Yellow, what are you?
#HeroesEatMMs #CollectiveBias

Enter to win one of ten $100 Walmart Gift Cards from Heroes Eat M&M’s® Contest

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Making Some Of My Favorite Fall Recipes, Spiced Apple Pie Smoothies and Apple Sauce Spice Cake

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FlavorofFall #CollectiveBias

Living in Washington State pretty much feels like living in the heart of apple country, and gives me lots of inspiration to create delicious apple recipes, especially when the weather starts cooling down.

Fall is my favorite season of the year, and I'm ready to pull out my cozy sweaters, make sure we have plenty of firewood, and of course, start making some yummy apple treats in the kitchen.

My Spiced Apple Pie Smoothie is made with Mott's Apple Juice, milk, banana, and yogurt. I love it's creamy apple flavor, and it's super easy to make as a quick breakfast drink, or anytime you feel like having a refreshing beverage.

I went shopping at Walmart and picked up some of my fall favorites for the kitchen. Mott's Apple Juice, Mott's Applesauce, and the new Candy Apple flavored M&M's, made exclusive for Walmart.

When I opened the package of M&M's, they smelled just like a candy apple. So good, and of course, I had to pop a few in my mouth right away. Yes, really good!!

Nothing says fall better than an apple cake. Mott's Applesauce is the key ingredient to making my Applesauce Spice Cake moist and delicious.

My grandchildren Liam and Ashley, couldn't wait to taste this cake. They were my little helpers when we put the Candy Apple M&M's on top of the cake. I also used my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe for this cake. Cream cheese frosting is really very easy to make, just three ingredients, and makes a rich, delicious all-purpose frosting.

This cake will fill your kitchen with the best apple and cinnamon aroma ever while it's baking. My family and I had this for dessert, and we loved it. I've tried different applesauce cake recipes through the years, but this really is my favorite. And it's easy, too.

I'm happy to share my recipe with you, so that you can make this easy and delicious apple cake. I do recommend using Mott's Applesauce for this cake, it's the brand I have always bought for decades, and I can always depend on it's great taste and quality.

Recipe for Applesauce Spice Cake

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cups Mott's Applesauce
2 eggs
package of Candy Apple M&M's

For Frosting:

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each) at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 8-9 inch round cake pans. Put all ingredients into a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until well combined. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until done. Let cake cool out of pans before frosting.
To make frosting, combine ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
Frost and assemble cake layers, top with Candy Apple M&M's

 

You can find the new M&M's Candy Apple flavor and other fall flavors at Walmart. I found them in the seasonal aisle, but you can also check the candy aisle at your local store.

You can also find Mott's products at your local Walmart. I like buying a few bottles of applesauce to keep in the pantry for eating and fall baking.

I have some great money saving coupons to share with you. $1.00 off any two (2) Mott's sauces or Mott's juice drink and $1.50 off any two (2) M&M's brand candies.

It's great to save money on great products that I use all the time. It's so handy and convenient to just print the coupons out and take them to the store.

Here's my recipe for my Spiced Apple Pie Smoothie. I made some for my grandchildren for breakfast this morning and they loved it. And it has some healthy ingredients in it, so it makes me feel good giving it to them. And it's yummy.


Recipe for Spiced Apple Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups Mott's Apple Juice
1/2 banana
1/4 cup milk
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Just put all the ingredients into a blender, and blend until combined. Pour in to a glass and sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon.

So have you started your fall baking yet? Do you have a favorite apple recipe? I'd really love to know. Happy Baking!!

Melt In Your Mouth Chocolate Chip Scones

When I say these scones are melt in your mouth delicious, I'm not kidding. I've never made scones before because they seemed like a lot of trouble, and some of the ones I have eaten in bakeries have tended to be dry.

But my family and I love baked goods in the mornings, especially on the weekends when we have more time to enjoy them. So I decided to give these Chocolate Chip Scones a try, and I'm so glad I did.

I don't know if it made any difference, but I made the dough and then let it set overnight in the refrigerator, instead of just an hour. It's simple to roll it out into a narrow rectangle, and then cut it free-hand into triangles. The dough could also be used to make other kinds of scones, and I'm thinking that cranberries and walnuts would be delicious together, too.

I can see myself bringing these to a friends' house to enjoy with coffee soon. And wouldn't it be nice to bring them to your child's teacher as a thank you for all their hard work? These are just so yummy, and so worth the time it takes to make them. They are also wonderful when they are reheated in the microwave the next day, with a little butter.

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat 3 minutes on high until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Slowly add the flour and baking powder mixture into the egg mixture, blending well.

Then add yogurt, again mixing until blended. Fold in chocolate chips until blended throughout the dough.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (This recipe may be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.)

When ready to bake, on a floured surface, roll dough out in a rectangle shape, 1/2 inch thick and 4 inches wide. With a knife, cut the dough into triangles. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

 

 

 

Join me for the #IAmProtective Twitter Party 9/19

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Do you love a good Twitter Party?  You know we do and we’re excited to host a party about how we protect the things we cherish!  On FRIDAY, September 19th at 11:00 am ET, please join us for the #IAmProtective Twitter Party where we’ll be sharing tips and resources to help you protect the things that are important to you, and giving you a chance to win prizes! We’ll also be sharing information about a great contest and opportunity to help others during the party.

My children are all adults now, but when they were young, we had plenty of Protective Insurance in case of unforeseen circumstances. I felt comfortable knowing they would be financially provided for if that need ever happened. Now I'm concerned about my own financial future as I am older now, and trying to plan for my later years. Join me for the #IAmProtective Twitter Party and share what you are protective of.

Join me and RSVP for the #IAmProtective Twitter Party on SoFabChats!

DATE: Friday, September 19th

TIME:  11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET

PRIZES: 5 - $100 Visa Gift Cards

EARLY BIRD PRIZE: 1 – $50 Visa Gift Card

HOSTS: @AleaMilham, @DentistMel, @Mammamoiselle, @FrugalFamTree, @tsue1136

SPECIAL GUEST: @ProtectiveLife

RULES: #IAmProtective Twitter Party Official Rules

RSVP PARTY GRID: #IAmProtective Twitter Party Page

Join #IAmProtective Twitter Party 9/19 11 am ET. Prizes $550 http://t.co/4DtAbfHG7m #shop
— Frugal Family Tree (@FrugalFamTree) September 10, 2014

How To Participate In A Twitter Party on SoFabChats!

TIP:  How to join a Twitter Party – sign in! Before party starts, click on the green “Sign In On Twitter” bar at the top of the page!

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TIP: Want to win Twitter Party prizes? RSVP by clicking on RSVP button before you join the party, follow everyone on the Party Team, and tweet with the party hashtag during the party to be eligible!

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