Pumpkin, Barley, and Sage Soup

What a lovely soup for a snowy day.  This flavourful soup comes together quickly and is perfect for a weeknight meal.  The spicey andouille sausage gives it some kick, but if you prefer a milder taste, sweet italian sausage could be used.  I replaced the water and bouillion cubes with homemade chicken broth.

PUMPKIN, BARLEY, AND SAGE SOUP
Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, October 2010
 8 oz. cooked andouille or smoked sausage links, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh sage
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup quick-cooking barley (I used pearl barley)
1 tsp. instant chicken bouillon granules (I used homemade chicken broth)
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

In 4-quart pot or Dutch oven cook sausage, onion and sage in hot oil over medium heat 3 minutes, stirring often. Add barley, 4 cups water (or chicken broth), and bouillon granules. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in pumpkin, maple syrup, and vinegar; heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Happily submitted to Tastey Tuesdays now over at 33 Shades of Green, you'll be so inspired by this lovely blog! 


Printable Recipe


Enjoy!

~Look at the gorgeous kitchen~

from the book "The Book of Knowledge, The Children's Encyclopedia"

1954, The Grolier Society

I found this 21 book set in our community recycle bin!

The Girl Scout Cookies are Here!

Always Buy Cookies from Girl Scouts!

Turkey-Thyme Meatloaf Patties with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

These turkey patties are stuffed wtih fresh herbs, served with nutritious mashed potatoes and topped with a spicey gravey with citrus.  My family loved this dinner.  I'm going to make a bunch of these and freeze them for future meals.  This is sure to become a staple meal at our house!

TURKEY-THYME MEATLOAF PATTIES
with MASHED SWEET POTATOES
from Rachael Ray Magazine


Mashed Potatoes
4 large sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), peeled and thickly sliced
1 to 1-1/4 cups chicken broth (try homemade)
Salt


Turkey-Thyme Meatloaf Patties
1-1/4 pounds ground turkey
Pepper
2/3 cup breadcrumbs (a couple of generous handfuls)
2 scallions, white and green parts only, finely chopped (I used green onions)
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful) (I used regular parsley)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 large egg
1 teaspoon whole milk or half-and-half
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)


Gravey
2 tablespoons butter
1 small red onion or 1 large shallot, chopped
Juice of 1 orange plus 2 teaspoons grated peel
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

In a deep pot, add the sweet potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, salt the water and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.


While the potatoes are working, in a bowl, season the turkey with salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs, scallions, parsley and thyme. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk; mix into the turkey mixture. Shape the meat into 4 oval patties about 1 inch thick. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until browned, about 15 minutes.


In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the orange peel and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour on the red onion and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in 3/4 cup chicken broth and the orange juice; cook until thickened, 30 seconds. Whisk in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.


Mash the potatoes with 1 to 1 1/4 cups chicken broth. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar; season with salt and pepper. Serve with the turkey patties and the gravy on top.


Printable Recipe

 
Happily Submitted to Prairie Story's Recipe Swap Thursday and Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom.
 
Enjoy!

  from "Fact and Story Readers, Book One"

by Henry Suzzallo

illustrated by Ruth M. Hallock and Others

1930, American Book Company

I purchased this from a thrift shop for $2.00.

Menu Plan - January 2011

Whew!  Are the holidays over yet?  Is it me, or did Christmas come way too fast this year?  I only got half of my Christmas cards out and felt disorganized most of the holiday season.  I did have some success as almost everyone on my to-bake-for-list received homemade Cinnamon Buns though. 

We also ate very well during the holidays.  I was able to whip up healthful meals at a moment's notice as I'm becoming a skilled cook and tend to have a well stocked pantry.  I guess all this practice cooking-from-scratch for the last 2 years is starting to pay off :)

One of my goals for the New Year is to become better organinzed. To start, I spent Sunday planning our meals for the month of January.  Although it took me most of the day, it was worth every minute. 

I began by selecting all the recipes I needed for the month and put them together in one folder.  I even scanned and printed those cookbook recipes I was using so I'd have them ready in the same folder.

When I purchased our groceries for the month, it only took 45 minutes to shop and totalled only $177.00.  Not bad at all!

Below is our January Meal Plan.  I couldn't find any meal plan templates that I liked online, so I created my own in Microsoft Word.  I didn't include many breakfast options as we tend to eat oatmeal in the mornings or plain yogurt with homemade granola.  For lunch, we eat leftovers or sandwhiches.

Slow Cooker Meals
Spicy Vegetable Chili
Vegetable Pork Soup
Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings


Freezer Meals
Lasagna (back of the box recipe)
Tarragon Chicken
Savoury Chicken Pot Pies with Cream Cheese Pastry Dough
Pumpkin Waffles
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Whole Wheat Individual Pizza Dough


Soups
Curried Sweet Potatoe Soup
Pumpkin Barley & Sage Soup
Split Pea Soup with Barley


Chicken
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Tuna
Lemon-Dill Tuna Salad

Pork
Pistachio Crusted Pork Chops

Turkey
Turkey-Thyme Meatloaf Patties


Shrimp
Shrimp Curry


Side Dishes
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Steel-Cut Oats “Polenta”


Baking
Anytime Oatmeal Cookies
Fresh Apple Cake
Buttermilk Pudding
Banana Blueberry Muffins

Happily submitted to:

Menu Plan Monday over at the OrgJunkie
Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family
The Pantry Challenge over at Life As Mom

Enjoy!

from "The Golden Book of Little Verses"

by Miriam Clark Potter

Pictures by Mary Blair

1953, Golden Press Inc.

This was my husband's book when he was a boy.

Clone of a Cinnabon (Bread Machine)

Yes, isn't it great when you can use your bread machine!  My back went out last week (it happens to the best of us) and I needed to find a way to get multiple gifts from the kitchen out the door.  These cinnamon rolls are a great way to bake for many, as each batch makes 15-18 rolls.  Who wouldn't love to receive these beauties? 

So far, I've made 6 batches and the recipe has been sucessful each time.  To help my back out, now I roll them out on my glass top stove which actually works out great!   Amy over at New Nostalgia inspired me to make this wonderful recipe (go have a peak at her gorgeous kitchen).

CLONE OF A CINNABON
from Allrecipes.com

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) (warm in microwave 45 sec)
2 eggs, room temperature (put them in glass of warm water 30 sec to bring to temp)
1/3 cup margarine, melted (I used unsalted butter)
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar (I used Stevia in the Raw)
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I used Saigon Cinnamon)
1/3 cup butter, softened

Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Printable Recipe

Enjoy!

from the book "Tell Me About Christmas"

by Mary Alice Jones

illustrated by Marjorie Cooper

1958 Rand McNally & Company

Simpler Times

*Sigh* It's been so busy lately.  I think this is what's called the "Christmas Rush".  This week I'll be baking lots and will have ooodles of delicious recipes to share soon.  For now,  let's curl up by the fire and relax.  Ahh, simpler times indeed.

Enjoy~

from the book "Tell Me About Christmas"

by Mary Alice Jones

Illustrated by Marjorie Cooper

1958, Rand McNally & Company

This book was my Mum's :)

Thai Chicken Soup

My husband and I loved this Thai Chicken Soup from Food Network Magazine.  I couldn't wait to make it as it was so different from usual comfort food, yet very hearty.  This cconut-curry soup is packed full of flavours.  It wasn't so spicey that you were breaking out in a sweat, which is the way I like it, but my husband prefers to have his mouth on fire with Thai food.  Our kids found it a bit spicey for their tastes, but they still ate it.

THAI CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE
from Food Network Magazine, Nov 2010

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green curry paste
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
4 ounces thin rice noodles, broken into pieces
2 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), very thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and curry paste and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk and fish sauce; cover and bring to a boil.

Add the bell peppers and noodles and simmer, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer until just cooked through, about 3 more minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Add more fish sauce and lime juice, if desired.

Printable Recipe
 
Happily submitted to Family Friendly Fridays at Mommie Cooks!
 
Enjoy!

 

from "The How and Why Wonder Book of Our Earth"

by Felix Sutton

Illustrated by John Hull

1972 Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.

I bought this lovely book at an auction.

Fruit Salad with Plum, Madarin, Kiwi & Banana

Tired of the cold grey weather already?  Christmas sweets and comforts foods got you down?  Then make fruit salad!  This is so simple and quick to make.  Refresh yourself with a juicy salad that will brighten your day!

FRUIT SALAD
by Mum In Bloom

2 bananas
3 plums
3 kiwis
3 madarin oranges
lemon juice
sugar (or Truvia which is what I prefer)

Slice all the fruit into bite sized pieces, add a couple teaspoons of lemon (or lime or orange) juice, add sugar to taste and stir all together.

Yes, it's just that easy.

Printable Recipe

Happily submitted to Tastey Tuesdays over at A Beautiful Mess.
Enjoy!

from the book "The Rainbow Dictionary"

by Wendell W. Wright, PH.D.

Asssited by Helene Laird

Illustrations by Joseph Low

1959 The World Publishing Company

I purchased this beautiful book at an auction for pennies!

HP ePrint "Happy Baby" Commercial Spot

Who doesn't love this gorgeous commercial ;o) I just had to share it.
Enjoy!