Soup...fresh from our garden!

Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Potatoes and Onions...

all from our garden, 

all in one pot of soup...

the taste...absolutely delicious!!

SOUP...
it is truly one of our family's favorite things to eat.

I love the thrift of soup!
I love taking random things, putting them in a pot, simmering so all of the flavors combine together and serving up bowls of comfort and nourishment for my family. 

2011

I decided to try my hand at making "Borscht" soup after picking our garden veggies.  I found a few recipes, but some had ingredients that I didn't have on hand and so I decided to create my own recipe, by using things I had and definitely did something I always do with soups, that of sauteing the onions, garlic and celery together before adding in the rest of the ingredients. It turned out WONDERFULLY  

Harvest Time 2012

we made another batch of this yummy soup and my 10 year-old Ethan begged us to make more, so we did! 

This is my FAVORITE soup!

Red Beet Borscht Soup
8 oz. pork sausage
1 large onion (or 2 or 3 small onions) finely chopped
2-3 cups cooked beets (I shredded part of them and diced the rest)
4 stalks chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
3 carrots peeled and finely chopped
3 baking potatoes peeled and finely diced
1/2 medium head of cabbage, finely chopped
(1) 8 oz. can tomato paste
(1) 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
4-5 cups water

(steps for soup)
Saute together, sausage, onions, garlic and celery until onions are tender.   
Drain
Put this mixture in a  large stock pot and then add in the water, chicken broth, cabbage, carrots beets and potatoes, bring to boil and cook until veggies are tender (about 20-30 minutes).
Then add in tomato paste and diced tomatoes, bring to a boil and simmer another 15-20 minutes.(salt and pepper to taste)

Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.  

Perfect served with some kind of a crusty Artisan or French Bread.  

LOVE the beautiful red/purple color of this soup!

Enjoy, a very hearty, filling soup that is nourishing and absolutely delicious and the best part of all...made with veggies you grew in your garden!

Green Split Pea Soup...Frugal Deliciousness!

 St. Patrick's Day... 

such a fun time of the year where everyone wears green 

and makes sure to add green things to eat to their menu plan!

I'm not someone who likes to dye things green 

and so I like to make things up to eat that incorporates green using natural things.

Green Smoothie and eggs for breakfast,

Mint Chocolate Cookies for a treat

and for dinner a bowl of Green Split Pea Soup 

with either French Bread, or Cornbread!!

If I were to think of my very favorite soup, 

it would be a tie between 

Green Split Pea, OR, Ham & Bean Chowder (here)

 I love the thrift of taking a handful of dried beans, peas, or, legumes and making a big pot of healthy soup for my family!  

It's amazing how just a few simple things added to a pot of soup and left to simmer for awhile, can be so flavorful and keep you coming back for more! 

Such is the case for Split Pea Soup!

Green Split Pea Soup

1-1/4 cups green split peas
Ham hock (OR 1/2 cup chopped ham...I usually pull a bag of ham out of my freezer that I freeze from the ham we cook up at Christmas or Easter)
8 cups water
2 large onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 large potatoes diced
2 more cups water
(salt and pepper to taste) 
Combine 8 cups water, peas and hamhock in a large pot and bring to a boil and gently simmer for 1 hour.
Add in onions, garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes 2 more cups water and salt and pepper to taste. 
Simmer gently for 1 more hour until veggies are tender and soup is really thick.

YUMMY! 

Great with a dollop of cottage cheese, 

a sprinkle of hot pepper sauce 

and not to forget homemade bread of some kind!

Enjoy a frugal, yummy pot of soup today 

and if it happens to be a holiday that has 

GREEN as part of it, you can be festive as well!

Spinach... Smoothies, Eggs & Soup!

 Spinach...

I'm always amazed when I read that it is
difficult to overestimate the  
nutritional powerhouse that is in spinach!

This is a wonderful article of the amazing things that are in spinach...

 it is one of those foods that is 

at the TOP of most Super Food lists!

We are definitely a spinach loving family,

we enjoy it freshly steamed and served with salmon,

 it is a staple in our salads, we enjoy it in soups, 

 we love topping homemade tortillas  

with cream cheese, veggies and SPINACH leaves for a great lunch...

 our favorite way is blending it up into a GREEN Smoothie  

a few times a week. 

I LOVE that spinach is so easy to grow 

in the spring/summer time.   

We usually have more spinach than we know what to do with and so I will wash the Spinach and freeze it in 2 cup bags in our freezer to pull out in the winter months.

 During the winter months 
(when we have run out of our garden spinach)
 when we go on our weekly dates, 
we purchase a large one pound container of spinach from Sam's Club for $3.97

so that we can still make up our weekly GREEN Smoothies and have it to add to soups, salads and sandwiches.  

I also purchase one or two FRESH pineapples 

each week to cut up and add to our smoothies as well.

While we are a frugal family, 

we do believe in buying quality appliances  

and so each week whether it be grinding wheat, making bread or homemade treats, or blending up smoothies, making almond milk or bean puree, they all get used LOTS!  
  

If you don't have a good quality blender, 

I strongly suggest you save your pennies to invest in one...

 it is worth the money spent and makes it EASY to get your family eating more fruits and veggies in SMOOTHIE form.

There are SO many ways to get your kids and family eating more of this wonderful SUPER food of Spinach 

and I'm going to share with you our favorites that are tried, true, delicious and 

ALWAYS a hit each time they are served!

 GREEN SMOOTHIE

Here is the basic recipe...(it varies depending upon the season)

but it ALWAYS has the same ingredients

fresh pineapple (1-2 cups)

one stalk of celery

one slice of lime (with rind)

2-3 cups spinach

water/ice

the variable is this...

in winter time we add in one or two oranges

in the summer time we add in one or two large handfuls of grapes
(here for other smoothie options) 

In the summertime when the kids are out of school,  
we make some variation of a green smoothie almost every day for lunch.  

During the school year, we enjoy our green smoothies on the weekends and also once or twice during the week for either breakfast or to add to a light dinner.

******************************

EGGS

(when I'm in charge of breakfast and the kids are asking for eggs) 

I always make up a yummy batch of eggs that has LOTS of veggies in them. 

I recently read about a lady that adds in spinach with her eggs in the blender and WOW is it ever good.  We are hooked and I'm going to add spinach to my veggie eggs from here on out.

Veggies and Eggs

2-3 large slices of onion finely chopped

1/2 bell pepper finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp butter

(diced ham if you like)

Melt butter in frying pan and add in veggies (ham if you have it) and saute together until tender/crisp

(eggs)

8 eggs

2 Tbsp milk

1 large slice of onion

1 packed cup of fresh spinach

(mix altogether in the blender until spinach is finely chopped)

Pour egg mixture over sauteed veggies and let cook 2-3 minutes before you start stirring the eggs.    

Stir together and cook until eggs are done.  

Top with freshly grated cheese and tomatoes!   

Perfect served with homemade pancakes for a hearty, 

get you going weekend breakfast! 

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Minestrone Soup

SOUPS...truly one of our family's staples.

I love this Minestrone Soup because it seriously 

tastes like something you would get at a really nice restaurant 

AND I love all of the yummy veggies it has in it. 

Toasted Artisan Bread is the perfect accompaniment for this soup!

 It is a GREAT way to use  

cabbage and spinach/kale 

and is something that actually tastes better the next day.  

(great to take for lunches)

 Minestrone Soup
(pretty much a "vegetarian meal")
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large diced onions
4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup sliced carrots
1 tsp basil
1 can Italian tomatoes (undrained)
3 beef bouillon cubes with 8 cups water (OR, pull a bag of leftover "roast drippings" from the freezer and add in enough water to make 8 cups)
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 can Great Northern Beans (undrained)
1-2 cups Spinach, OR, Kale (OR add in 1 cup chopped zucchini instead)

Cook onions, carrots, garlic and basil in olive oil for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, beef bouillon and cabbage.
Bring soup to boil and cook for 1 hour.
Add beans with liquid and spinach and cook another 20 minutes. 
Garnish bowls with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, OR, serve with a dollop of cottage cheese.  This tastes even better the 2nd day.

This is soup is definitely 
a favorite with my kids!

and it’s SO easy and healthy!!
Great served with homemade bread, breadsticks, 

or our favorite... (Artisan Bread)

I hope you enjoy the wonderful health benefits 

of Spinach in your family as well!
Yummy, delicious and most of all

economic and nutritious!

Healthy, Frugal New Year!

I can't believe "Twenty-twelve" is here.  

 It seems like just yesterday that we were decking the house with Christmas decor!
While I love all of the yummy, decadent food that comes with the holidays, there comes a point where you are finally craving to be back to normal life and eating simple, nourishing meals.

Although I didn't plan it this way, our New Year started out not only being frugal, but healthy.

 As I was cleaning out our pantry I came across some random bags of black beans and white beans and so I soaked them overnight and cooked them until tender.

 I also pulled out the UGLY, gross looking ham bone from my freezer that was leftover from my mom's Christmas party dinner and made up a delicious pot of Ham and Bean Chowder. 

 WOW, such a delicious pot of bean soup, that left my hubby and kids begging
to dish up some of the leftovers
so they could take a bowl of these in their lunch for the first day back to work/school after the holidays.

We also enjoyed a simple treat 

of homemade Gingersnaps.  

I decided to post the recipes again...(original posts here and here)

Ginger Snaps (one of Jade's favorite cookies)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup REAL butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1-1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons soda
3-1/2 cups flour

Cream together sugar and butter.  
Add eggs.
Next add molasses, salt and soda and mix well.
Then add flour, and spices.
Refrigerate at least one hour.

Roll into balls and then roll balls in sugar.
Bake 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until crackly on the top.
Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire baking rack.

Enjoy!

Ham and Bean Chowder

2 cups dried Great Northern beans (OR, whatever dried beans you have)
1 meaty ham bone (OR, 1 cup chopped ham)
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (OR 2 bouillon cubes in 2 cups water)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
salt/pepper

Soak 2 cups of beans overnight—
drain off water and add fresh water and cook until tender. Drain off water.

Then melt 2 Tbsp. butter in sauce pan and add:
Onion, celery and garlic and sautée until tender…
Then add cooked beans, ham bone, water, broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, clove and salt/pepper. 

Bring to a boil, Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours (stirring occasionally).
Remove ham bone, bay leaf and clove. (also remove meat from ham bone, cut into small pieces and add back to soup).

  
This is very frugal soup that is absolutely delicious!
It is yummy served with homemade bread 

and garnished with a dollop of 
our family's favorite...COTTAGE CHEESE.

Enjoy a healthy, frugal 2012, 

putting your dried beans to use to make 

a nourishing pot of soup for your family!
 
I hope you find out as well, 

that this is absolutely delicious!

(and don't forget about the cookies...

they are yummo for the tummo delicious)

Two Favorite Traditions at our House...

"The merry family gatherings - the old, the very young; the strangely lovely way they harmonize in carols sung. 
For Christmas is tradition time - traditions that recall the precious memories down the years, the sameness of them all".

- Helen Lowrie Marshall

Christmas is such a joyful time!
I am amazed every time, when I pull out my Christmas boxes, the wonderful memories that flood into my mind from yesteryear... memories, that I hadn't thought about all year, until I saw or smelled something from our Christmas boxes.

Such is the case for these ornaments. 

My Grandfather lost his wife my Grandma Laura when I was eight years old and shortly after she died, he remarried a wonderful lady named Ruth. We called her Grandma Ruth. 

She was VERY Victorian in her decor 

and these ornaments remind me of going to her house and seeing similar things at her house.

She also LOVED my Christmas Croissants and was SO excited when we would visit during the holidays and bring this tasty treat. She LOVED them and always asked me about how I made them, wanted the recipe, etc..

Clam Chowder and Croissants...
that's what you'll find us dishing up to eat on Christmas Eve at our house.

WARNING...
Christmas traditions and treats at our house are usually pretty decadent and not very frugal, but they are only enjoyed during the holidays and the holidays wouldn't be the same without them. 

So, this is the one time of the year that we splurge on goodies and calories!

With a little bit of work and planning
you can ENJOY some flaky, delicious croissants at YOUR house during the holidays!  

They are worth all of the work it takes to make them!
(Recipes below the instruction photos)

NOW,
for rolling out and baking them...

Croissants (we eat these every Christmas eve with Clam Chowder)
1-1/2 cups butter
1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp. Yeast
½ cup warm water
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 ¼ to 4 ¼ cups flour
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

Cream butter with 1/3 cup flour. Roll mixture between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12x16 inch rectangle. Chill at least 1 hour.

Soften yeast in warm water. Heat ¾ cup milk, sugar, and salt until sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm, turn into large mixing bowl.

Add softened yeast and 1 egg. Beat well.

Stir in 2 cups of the flour. Beat well. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix with a spoon. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough. Continue kneading til smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes). Let rest 10 minutes.

Roll into a 14 inch square. Place “chilled” butter on one half of dough fold over other half and seal edges. Roll into a 21 x 12 inch rectangle. Seal edges. Fold in thirds. Roll into a 21 x 12 inch rectangle. Fold and roll twice more: seal edges. Chill after each rolling.

Fold in thirds to 12 x7 inches. Chill several hours or overnight.

Cut dough crosswise in fourths. Roll each fourth into a 12 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges. Roll up each edge loosely starting from wide edge. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; point down, curve ends.  
Cover, let rise until double. (30 to 45 minutes). 
Beat egg with 1 Tablespoon milk. Brush on tops.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Clam Chowder
2 (6 ½ oz.) cans minced clams
1 large onion finely chopped (I sometimes put in 2 chopped onions)
4 large diced potatoes 

3 carrots diced
3 stalks celery chopped
1/4 cup butter
¾ cup flour
1 quart half & half cream
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Drain juice off clams and pour over vegetables in medium saucepan.
Add enough water to barely cover veggies and simmer in covered pan until veggies are tender. (about 20-25 minutes).
In the meantime, melt butter. Add flour , blend and cook for 1 minute. Add cream and cook. Stir until smooth and thick.
Add un-drained vegetables and clams. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

(it even tastes better if you cook this up the day before as it tastes better the second day after the flavors have seasoned)

I enjoy SO much the traditions that come 

with this most wonderful time of the year!
I've got my butter and flour rolled between waxed paper, chilling, 

ready to be made into yummy croissant dough tomorrow. 

Hope this finds all of you enjoying 

the wonderful traditions of your families 

and savoring and cherishing the 

"Merry Family Gatherings" 

that are abundant during this 
happy and joyful month of December!

Warm up with a bowl of Hearty Meatball Stew!

 Today I am grateful for...

SOUP!

If you were to ask me 

what my favorite meal is, it would definitely be some kind of soup, 

served with some kind of homemade bread or bread sticks. 

 

I can honestly say that I never tire of soup!
Those bowls of comfort and nourishment, 

those pots of soup, that you put whatever veggies/meat that you have in your fridge, you simmer them together and they taste absolutely delicious!  

 Kimmie + a bowl of soup = HAPPINESS!!

 

While most of the soups I make up are really brothy  this is definitely a HEARTY soup to warm you up and give you energy during the fall and winter months.  

My favorite thing about this soup is the variety of veggies in it, 

with my favorite being SWEET POTATOES. 

You wouldn't think that a soup with sweet potatoes in it would be so good, 

but it is and is definitely in our family's top 5 favorite soup recipes.

I have always made my meatballs with ground beef, 

but, I had some excess chicken breasts and so I decided to try grinding them up and made chicken meatballs for one batch of soup.  

Both the beef AND chicken 

 were hits with my family and it's nice to have a meat grinder so that when you get low on ground beef you can grind up chicken breasts instead to add to your recipe.

Meatball Stew with Winter Vegetables
2 medium potatoes diced
2 large carrots diced
1 large onion finely chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp beef Bouillon granules
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. pepper
(seasoned meatballs…recipe below)
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup flour
---In a Dutch oven or large pot bring 6 cups of water to boiling. Add in potatoes, carrots, onions, bouillon granules, oregano and basil and pepper. Return to boiling….reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
---Meanwhile, prepare seasoned meatballs. Add in sweet potatoes and celery to hot broth mixture. Add uncooked meatballs a few at a time to the hot broth mixture. Return to boiling and reduce heat and simmer for 15 more minutes, or until veggies are tender and meatballs are fully cooked.
---Stir in frozen peas
---Stir together, ½ cup water with 1/3 cup flour (until it is not lumpy) and stir this into soup…cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Enjoy!

SEASONED MEATBALLS
In a bowl mix
1 pound ground beef (OR ground turkey or chicken)
1 beaten egg,
½ cup dry bread crumbs,
1 tsp minced dried onion,
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce,
¼ tsp garlic powder, dash of pepper.
Mix all ingredients well and shape into one-inch balls

Enjoy taking your abundance of veggies 

and making up a hearty pot of soup today!

I hope it becomes a favorite with your family, like it has with ours.

Radish Top Soup!

What to do when you are swimming 

in an abundance of radishes from you garden...

This is the first year we planted radishes in our garden and since we were so late in planting (last week of June), I didn't really read the directions of how often to plant the radishes and so we planted the whole package all at once. 

If you want to feel like a successful gardener 

just plant radishes because they don't disappoint with giving you plenty of yummy things to eat!

As we pulled all of our radishes from our garden I looked at the gorgeous green tops and washed them all and queried online to see if they were safe to eat.  

Sure enough, they are healthy and full of all kinds of nutrients 

AND they are delicious as well!

I found this yummy recipe (here) and I made some adjustments to it as I always like to add in celery and carrots to my soups and 4 cups of broth didn't seem like enough and so I added in 6 cups. 

All I can say is it was a HIT with my family 

 and we didn't have any leftovers and we had kids that asked us to plant more radishes so we can have more Radish Tops to make this delicious soup again!

Radish Top Soup

2 Tablespoons butter

1 large onion finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

2 celery stalks finely chopped

2 potatoes peeled and diced

6 cups raw radish greens

6 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup sour cream

10-12 radishes finely sliced 

Melt butter in saucepan and add in onions, celery and carrots and saute until tender.

Add in diced potatoes and radish tops and coat well with butter

Add in chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes

Add in 1/4 cup sour cream and stir until dissolved. 

Serve in bowls and garnish with LOTS of sliced radishes.  
Perfect served with toasted Artisan Bread.

Enjoy being thrifty, eating healthy and making sure that nothing in your garden goes to waste!
Enjoy!