Easy Vegetable Soup with Kale

I have officially become a soup snob. I didn't know this would happen when I started making all of my soups from scratch, but it did. And I'm glad.

I'm the kid that was raised on canned soup. Every day when I came home from kindergarten, my mother would have tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for me. Sometimes it was chicken noodle, or maybe bean with bacon, but the soup always came out of that familiar red and white can.

This was many decades ago, and I raised my own children on canned soup. I never had the time or the interest to make my own from scratch, and why bother when it was so easy to open up a can?

But then I started making my own soup. It might sound immodest, but I don't care when I say my soup tastes so much better than anything I ever ate that came out of a can.

I think it starts with the intention of making something delicious in my soup pot, with the olive oil, and the onions that seem to be the basis of most soups. It's homey, and it's comforting to know that with all the uncertainties out there in the world, I have made something that feels safe, feels reassuring.

That might be a lot to say about a pot of soup, but for me, it's true. And this easy vegetable soup with kale is just the soup I needed to make during the cols spell we have had the last few days.

Feel free to change the veggies up if you don't have all of them on hand. I do love adding kale to as many soups as I can because I like it and it's so good for you. Vegetable soup is one of my favorite soups to make, and this recipe is easy.

On a cold day, for me, there's nothing better than a hot bowl of soup. It's one of the small pleasures in  life that are important. And small pleasures make for a happy life.


Recipe for Easy Vegetable Soup with Kale

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups chicken stock
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 bundle kale, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery, carrots, garlic and salt. Stir occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, and bring back to a boil for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, kale, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Makes 6 servings.

Apple Pancake Breakfast Recipe

As we get deeper into fall, I want to start making more recipes that call for apples. I love apple desserts, and my apple galette has become a family favorite. But apples are so versatile that they can be used for breakfast, dinner, and other kinds of recipes.

This Apple Pancake is easy to make, even on a weekday morning when time is usually short. And with all the cold weather we've been having here in Washington State, it was so nice to have something warm and delicious to eat before going out for the day.

Feel free to use any kind of apples you have on hand. Be sure to slice them fairly thin so that they soften up while baking on top of the pancake.

Toss the apples in cinnamon, brown sugar, and a little melted butter. They smell wonderful already.

After you make the batter, pour it into a ceramic or glass pie dish. Then arrange the apples on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe for Apple Pancake

Ingredients:

To make the pancake:

3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the topping:

2 apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the pancake ingredients in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, toss together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Pour the batter into a well-greased ceramic or glass pie plate. Arrange apples on top of batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until pancake is spongy but not wet.

Serves 5-6

*Recipe slightly modified from BBB blog.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

 

 

I don't know about you, but I always have the hardest time deciding what desserts we should have for Thanksgiving. I know that pumpkin pie is always a favorite, but sometimes it can be a little too predicable.

Last year my daughter Samantha made this delicious pumpkin cheesecake and shared it here it on the blog. It's well worth re-sharing, and I'm going to be making it for Thanksgiving this year. The recipe is pretty easy and the results are amazing. It went quickly and our family loved it.

It serves about 10, depending on how you slice it. And your kitchen will smell delicious as it bakes!

Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Since I am such a mushroom lover, Cream of Mushroom Soup is one of my favorites. There is just something so earthy and wholesome about this soup that makes it perfect for dinner on a cold fall evening.

The base of the soup is sautéed onions, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves, and chopped button mushrooms. This smells so wonderful as the mushrooms cook.

I served this for dinner, along with a simple green salad, and warm garlic bread sticks. It was so good, and I was hoping there would be leftovers for lunch the next day, but no such luck. But I'm always happy when my family loves what I make them.

I topped the soup with roasted tomatoes that have been packed in olive oil. They are so delicious this way, and are really one of my favorite soup garnishes for creamed soups. You can find them at the grocery store in bottles, or like I did, at your store's salad bar. I just put a few in a container, and they are less expensive this way.

Recipe for Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons rosemary
1-1/2 pound button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 14 ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in olive oil

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt butter. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary; cook over medium heat 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 5 minutes.
Add broth, bring to boiling. Reduce heat: simmer uncovered 5 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Remove bay leaves. Cool slightly.
In a blender, or using a hand-held blender, blend soup until almost smooth. Return to pot (if using a regular blender) and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to boiling. Whisk in cream, heat through.
Ladle into soup bowls, and top with roasted tomatoes.

Makes 6 servings.

Corn Pudding Recipe For Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. It's all about delicious food, gathering with family and friends, and giving thanks for all that we have in our lives. It's a day to remember that though things might not be perfect, there are still many blessings that me must not take for granted.

 

Thanksgiving used to be mine, where for decades I was the one roasting a turkey, cooking like mad, and making sure I had enough plates, wine glasses and clean tablecloths to accommodate everyone.

 

 It was crazy, expensive, and stressful. And it was some of the happiest times of my life. But after thirty five years of marriage, my husband and I split up, and it was the end of all those lovely Thanksgiving dinners.

 

The end of a marriage sometimes fills like the end of everything you know that is familiar, and you can end up feeling lost, alone, and asking yourself how did you get into this particular kind of hell. It takes time, a long time to come out of that tunnel and begin to feel like there is hope for a new life.

 

I'm getting there. And this Thanksgiving we will gather at my daughter's table to give thanks for all that we are blessed to have. I still have my five fabulous kids, four sweet grandchildren, and hopes for a much happier future.

 

I'm not cooking the turkey, my son-in-law does that, but I will be making this delicious corn pudding. It's creamy and tastes great, and is much fancier than serving plain corn. It's one of my favorite recipes to make for Thanksgiving.

 

I did publish this last year, and it was quite popular, so I thought I would share it again. I know many people have the very same menu year after year, but I think changing things up a bit can be fun. So give this recipe a try if you are a corn lover.

 

Recipe for Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

Olive Oil for greasing baking dish
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2-quart baking dish with olive oil and set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss together corn, bell pepper, onion, cheese, flour, mustard, salt, and pepper.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Stir egg mixture into corn mixture and pour into prepared baking dish. Bake until set, about 40 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.