Sweet Potato Soup Recipe For Fall

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables during the fall and winter. I love their sweet flavor, and the fact that they are very healthy for you. I often roast up a batch as a side dish for dinner, and then will eat the leftovers for lunch during the week.

My local indoor farmer's market had them for a great price last weekend, so I ended up buying quite a few pounds of them. And as much as I love them, I can only eat so many roasted sweet potatoes.

Since I'm such a big fan of cooking Butternut Squash Soup, I thought that the sweet potatoes would make a great pot of soup, too.

The soup is quite delicious, and I even managed to get my grandson to have a small bowl. Nothing makes me happier than to see my grandchildren try new foods, especially ones that are good for them.

Since the weather is so cold and snowy in lots of the country still, this is a wonderful soup to make and enjoy for a cozy lunch or dinner.


Recipe for Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, saute celery and onion in oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Discard bay leaf. Using an emersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Or, using a regular blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return batches to pan and heat through. Use desired toppings.

Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!!

This is a repost from last year, a favorite that I'm happy to share again.

Eat The Foods You Love With Nexium 24HR And A Recipe For Kielbasa And Veggie Soup

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChooseNexium24HR #CollectiveBias

Now that the holidays are only weeks away, I'm trying to make sure that I have time for everything I need to do. That means finding simple ideas and solutions to make my life easier. Like most of us, I stress out over work, meals, and finding enough time to spend with my family.

Simple but hearty soups like this Kielbasa and Veggie Soup make getting dinner on the table pretty easy, and there's even leftovers for lunch the next day. But as much as I love these spicy kinds of soups and stews, I have to be very careful about what I do eat.

You see, I suffer from frequent heartburn. If you've ever had serious and painful heartburn like I have, you start figuring out what the triggers are and try to avoid them. Spicy foods, overeating, and stress can all bring on painful heartburn.

Luckily for me, I discovered Nexium 24HR. I simply take one pill each morning and it gives me all-day and all-night protection. Who knew that there was such a simple solution to my frequent heartburn problem?

When I talk about having heartburn, it's a very serious subject for me. Stress and eating the wrong kind of foods combined together, landed me in the emergency room a couple of years ago.

I had a lot of stressful things going on in my life, and one night I was upset, and made the mistake of having a spaghetti dinner with my family. The heartburn was excruciating and the next morning I went to the emergency room because I didn't know how else to make it stop.

Nexium 24HR lets me take control over my heartburn, and lets me stop worrying about it all the time. By taking the purple pill once a day, I can have 24 hour relief from my frequent heartburn and indigestion.

I'm happy to say I've never experienced the kind of heartburn that landed me in the emergency room again. But since I am so susceptible, Nexium 24HR is the simple and effective answer I was looking for.

Now that I have my heartburn under control, I can more easily enjoy cooking and eating some of my favorite meals.

You can make this soup with either Kielbasa or Polish sausage, but I do love the heartiness and spicy kick of Kielbasa.

You just brown the Kielbasa and onions in a little olive oil, and then remove them from the pot. Put in the tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, corn, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until the veggies are tender.
Add the Kielbasa and onions bake into the pot, along with the milk and cheese, and stir.

This really is a delicious fall or winter soup that the whole family will love. And now that I have Nexium 24 HR protection, I can enjoy my soup without worrying.

Recipe for Kielbasa and Veggie Soup

Ingredients:

 2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fully cooked Kielbasa or Polish sausage, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
4 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 16 ounce can whole-kernel corn
1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 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, carrots, tomatoes, garlic powder, salt and pepper to pot. 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.

For me, just one pill a day makes a huge difference in my life, and is a simple solution for my frequent heartburn.

Are you ready to find simple solutions like I did? Just go to Walgreens where you'll find Nexium 24HR in the antacid aisle.

If you suffer from heartburn, what foods would you eat if you didn't have to worry about it?
 I'd love it if you'd like to share.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies Recipe

I don't know anyone who doesn't like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, they are certainly one of my favorites. But sometimes I do get a little bored making the same recipes with the same results time after time.

I was craving some cookies today and I was out of chocolate chips, but I did find butterscotch chips in the pantry. Boy, am I glad I used the butterscotch because these are some of the best cookies I've ever made.

Moist and fragrant, these cookies are perfect with a cold glass of milk. My grandchildren loved them as an afterschool snack today.

This recipe makes about three dozens cookies. Keep them in an airtight container and they'll stay fresh for a few days.

Recipe for Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup, plus 6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups butterscotch chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix together well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with a large spoon until combined.
Add oats and butterscotch chips, mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 12 minutes, or until cookies are light golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen.

My Favorite Apple Cake Recipe From Smitten Kitchen

I'm truly in the midst of fall happiness, loving all things apple and pumpkin. The kitchen smells so good when I'm baking, and I made this fabulous apple cake again a few days ago for my family. They love the delicious taste of the apples and wonderful moistness.

 

I wanted to share this recipe again with you because it is just so great. And well worth the effort, because for me, nothing beats a cake made from scratch.

One of my very favorite food blogs is Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman is such an inspiration, and what I love about her recipes is that they are all completely doable, even for beginning cooks.

This recipe for an apple cake is from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Let me just say that I think this is the most delicious thing I have ever baked. This cake is so moist, so full of apple tasting goodness, and it will fill your whole house with the most wonderful scent.

It is now on my list of fall and winter favorite desserts to make. And it's certainly a dessert that would be welcome for a party or celebration of any kind.

Recipe for Smitten Kitchen Apple Cake

Ingredients:

Butter or nonstick spray for the pan
6 apples (2 1/2 - 3 pounds) McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups plus 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Confectioners' sugar, to finish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch tube pan, or coat it with nonstick spray. Peel, core, and chop the apples into 1/2 - 3/4 inch chunks. Toss them with all of the cinnamon and the 5 tablespoons  granulated sugar, and set them aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, orange juice, and remaining 2 cups of granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then scrape down the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Stir in the walnuts if you are using them.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half the apple chunks over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples, and arrange the remaining apples on top.
Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean, then transfer to a cake rack to cool.
Cool completely before taking cake out of pan and place onto a serving platter. Dust with Confectioners' sugar and serve.

Serves 12-16

Renaissance Festival in Folsom CA Oct.17-18th

For school my son has been learning about the past. We have learned about the clothing, the tools, transportation and the way of life for people that lived in the past. Being a huge history lover myself it has been a joy to teach him about different time periods of history. To make his history lesson come alive we decided to take him to the Renaissance Festival in Folsom CA. We have been a few times before he was born and my husband took him a few years ago. This was the first time we went as a family and with the idea to learn as we had a good time.

 I would have to say this was the best time we have had at the festival ever! The staff of actors, the vendors and the scenery made it really feel like we had stepped back in time. We saw women spinning wool, a butter churn, catapults that we were able to use, board games from the time era and we even saw a joust!

My son met characters galore! He chatted with a knight, some lords and ladies and even met Queen Elizabeth and learned how to remove his hat to bow.

It is a very interactive festival where kids and adults can see animals, dancing, story time and the food was amazing. You can still attend if you are in the Northern CA area since today Sunday Oct. 18th is the final day they are in town.