Sausage and Potato Soup

 

Sausage and Potato Soup (Variation on Zuppa Toscana

1 pound Italian sausage (I used a mild bulk, but you can definitely go for the hot sausage, too)

2 cups diced potatoes

1 cup of diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 quart (4 cups) chicken or vegetable broth

salt and pepper

2 tsps. dried rosemary (recipe also calls for thyme.  I do not like thyme so I don't keep it on hand.)

2 cups chopped kale (I used super greens which had kale, collard, beet greens, swiss chard, spinach, and arugula)

1 15-oz. can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 

1/2 cup heavy cream

Brown sausage.  Remove from pan and drain if necessary.  Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and garlic.  Cook until just beginning to turn soft, adding fat to the pan if necessary.  Add garlic, sausage, broth and seasonings.  Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.  Add greens and beans and return pan to a boil.   Stir in cream and serve.

I used half and half in my bowl and heated just a couple of tablespoons, as I would for morning coffee and added to my bowl, along with a bit of grated Asiago cheese.  

Pumpkin Banana Bread

 

Years ago, I found this recipe inside a Land O Lakes butter box.  I thought it sounded delicious and gave it a try.  It quickly became a family seasonal favorite.  Alas, I lost the recipe.

This was about 30 odd years ago when one could still call a big company and get help.  I called the 1-800 number listed on another box of butter, told them my issue and was put in touch with their Home Ec department.  I told the Chef what recipe I wanted, and they promised me they would look in their files for it.  A few weeks later I received a typewritten copy of the recipe, along with coupons for butter.  I was over the moon to have the recipe all over again.

I confess, I'm not a huge Pumpkin Spice fan but this recipe is one of the exceptions.  I make this recipe each autumn and feel Fall has truly arrived when I smell the aroma of the lovely warm spices as the bread bakes.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup soft butter

3 eggs, room temperature

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup pumpkin

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp.  powdered ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease 2 8x5x4 inch loaf pans.

Mix sugar, butter and eggs on medium speed.  Mix for about 1 minute.  Add banana and pumpkin.  Mix gently.  Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix briefly, just until combined.  Stir in walnuts.

Divide batter between the two loaf pans.   Bake for 55-60 minutes.

This has a lovely warm spicy aroma and a beautiful color.  

Butter Baked Chicken, Biscuits, and Gravy

 Butter Baked Chicken, Biscuits, and Gravy

I found this recipe ages and ages ago in an older church cookbook.  It sounded so homey and good that I had to make it right away and it did not disappoint.  The original recipe does call for a can of biscuits, but I've made my own for this and frankly I see no reason to ever buy a can of biscuits.  You could sub in the frozen biscuits, if you don't make your own.  But for those of you who want to use canned biscuits, feel free to do so.

The biscuits bake in the gravy, which is something that is unusual, but I find it very delicious.  The tops get nice and brown, the bottoms are not soggy, but they aren't dry on the bottom either.  

I have used bone in pieces of chicken to substitute for the boneless chicken breasts.  I don't recall adding extra time for cooking because the dish cooks so long anyway.

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 14-oz can evaporated milk

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper

1/2 c butter

1/4 cup water or broth

1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup

1 can biscuits (8 piece)

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Melt butter in a 9 x 13 baking pan.  

Pour a little of the evaporated milk in a large bowl.  Mix flour with salt and pepper.  Dip chicken pieces in milk and then dredge through the flour.  Save any remaining flour.

Place chicken in the pan with melted butter.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Turn Chicken.

Mix soup, broth/water and remaining flour well.  Pour around the chicken.  At this point, add in your biscuits to the pan, too.  Bake about 30 minutes until gravy has slightly thickened and biscuits are browned.

This is such a good cozy sort of meal to serve on a cool rainy day!

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Brunswick Stew

 

Brunswick Stew is an old recipe, dating back to pilgrim days when this country was raw and new and a refuge for those fleeing the Puritan wars in England.  Original recipes call for wild boar, squirrel, rabbits etc.

In the South I grew up in, Brunswick Stew has many variations and people have strong opinions about it.  Mama and Granny made their stew with a mix of cooked pork shoulder and boiled chicken.  Some folks add cooked ground hamburger (or venison) to their stew.  Some stews are sweet and thin, some are thick and meaty.  Some have tomato sauce as well as tomatoes.  It really does come down to what type most closely resembles what you're accustomed to eating.

In the small town where I once lived, there were two barbecue places that they sat right across the highway from each other.  A friend and I would have barbecue for lunch at least once a month and we had to go to BOTH restaurants because we did not agree on the Brunswick Stew.  The barbecued meats were equally good, but the Brunswick Stews were vastly different!

A Barbecue restaurant will usually offer a variety of meats.  Pulled pork, BBQed ribs, chicken quarters and these days you might find beef Brisket, but it was not common in decades prior to this.  The meat is smoked onsite. If you order the dinner, the plates are served the same regardless of which meat choice you make.   You get a serving of meat, two slices of white bread, coleslaw and Brunswick Stew.  If you order pulled pork, you generally get dill pickle slices to go with it.

Generally, when I serve Brunswick Stew, I keep it simple.  The recipe has plenty of meat in it and because I serve it in generous bowls, I don't feel the need to add a pulled pork sandwich on the side.  If we're especially hungry or it's especially cold a wedge of cornbread is a welcome addition.

My recipe base for Brunswick Stew comes from The Culinary Arts Encyclopedic Cookbook.  I have altered the recipe.  When I first made it, there was something missing and after tasting it Mama told me just what it was.  There were two ingredients that were required to give it the taste that I'd grown up on.  I've added those, increased the tomatoes and voila!  Taste memory is satisfied with every bite.

This recipe makes a lot.  My Dutch oven was full.  We ate big deep bowls for supper one cold night and then I put up 13 cups in the freezer.  So be prepared to freeze leftovers.

Brunswick Stew

1 whole chicken, cooked, meat pulled from the bones

2 onions, diced

2 tablespoons fat of choice

2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 can whole kernel corn, do not drain

2 cups frozen small green butter beans

1 cup frozen Green Garden Peas

7 cups water (I used broth from cooking the chicken)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. ketchup (start with 2 tablespoons and increase to your taste)

1/ 4 cup vinegar (start with 2 tablespoons and increase to your taste)

Tabasco or hot sauce of choice (optional)

Heat fat in a large Dutch oven or stock pot.  Cook diced onion in fat until translucent.  Add all ingredients except the ketchup and vinegar. Bring to a boil then slow simmer for a couple of hours.  Add ketchup and vinegar to suit your taste.

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Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef)

Years ago, I loved to watch a program called "Donna's Day" and she made Ropa Vieja.  It sounded absolutely delicious.  I thought about it for years, but I never made it.  Then Mandy In the Making shared her Crocktober Video with three recipes.  One was for Ropa Vieja.  She and her family raved over it as they ate.  I was determined to make it.

I made Biria Beef last year and it was good...but it had a long list of ingredients and a lot of steps.  It's my opinion that this recipe is every bit as good and it's much easier to make.  

I did not follow the recipe as Mandy made it.  She followed the original author's recipe which sounds awesome. I just didn't have one ingredient and then I started my roast from frozen in the slow cooker rather than thawing and searing as she suggested.  I can only imagine the added flavor searing the meat would give.  But I'll share how I personally made it because it was so good!

Ropa Vieja

2 pounds Beef Chuck roast

15 ounces tomato sauce

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 diced, seeded jalapeno (the recipe calls for a 4 ounce can of green chilies but I was out)

1 medium onion, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon vinegar (I used apple cider)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Place roast and all ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours.  As I said, I started mine from frozen and it cooked up just lovely.  

When fully tender, shred the meat and put back into the juices in the pot.

We made Burrito Bowls with a lovely Cuban Black Beans and Rice.  I made a corn relish to add to the bowls, too.   We topped with shredded cheese and had tortillas on the side.  We had some of the beef in tortillas the next day and that was delicious as well.  I'd love to try a bit as a quesadilla...

If you think this will be very tomato-y, it's not.  I don't know why it's not but it's not.  It is just full of flavor and tender. 

I had a ton of leftovers which I froze.  The recipe said the leftovers would freeze well. 

If you're looking for a different spin for your Taco Tuesday, give this recipe a try.  It's so good!

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Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

 

I found this recipe this week when I was planning meals and thought I'd give it a try.  The truth is, as I said on my Blue House Journal post, I love the look of acorn squash and butternut squash and all the winter squashes... But my enthusiasm wanes the moment I start planning to cook one.  I've tried myriads of recipes and to date none of them have been what I'd call a keeper.  Not one of them made me excited to think, "Winter squash are in season, oh boy!"

Well, this year I got smart and bought the very smallest squash I could find.  I thought I'd get to decorate with them for a little while, but they were not the keeping sort.  It was time to cook or plan to toss in another week.  I opted to cook.  

And then began the search for a 'new' recipe.  

I found a recipe on Paleo Running Momma's site.  I highlighted her recipe in the post.  I didn't have all of the ingredients listed but I took inspiration and ran with it.

Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 Acorn squash, about 1 pound each

Cut the squash in half, seed and then place on a baking sheet.  Roast at 350F until just tender.  I did this a couple of days ahead.  

1 pound pork sausage 

1 large apple, finely diced

1 onion, diced

1 tsp. dried crumbled sage

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced

1 tbsp. garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the sausage until just brown, crumbling well.  If needed, add 2 tbsps. butter or oil to the pan. Once the sausage is lightly browned, add in the diced apple and onion.  Season with the herbs and garlic.  Once the apple is tender, salt and pepper to taste.

Salt the insides of the acorn squash.  Fill with stuffing, packing it down slightly.    Bake until squash and filling are fully hot at 350F.  Since my squash had been in the fridge it took about 40 minutes to come up to full temperature.

It was at this point I found myself wishing I had some sort of sauce or gravy to in the meat mixture.  In the end, after viewing several more recipes online I thought I'd just put shredded cheese on top.  Most recipes recommended Parmesan.  I was going to use cheddar, which I had, but then I saw the log of Smoked Gouda we'd bought last week at Sam's Club.  I thought the creaminess and smokiness of the Gouda would suit the filling.

This was absolutely delicious.  John ate it all and then told me he'd happily eat it again.  Which was great since we have leftovers, lol.

Chicken with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes and Gnocchi

 

I saw a recipe recently that reminded me I had spinach and sundried tomatoes in the freezer.  Then I saw another recipe entirely for another chicken dish that I can't find.  But I remembered one ingredient in that dish and happened to have purchased it.  I decided to make up my own recipe for this dish and it turned out soooo good.   John's no fan of spinach but he ate every bite and told me "It isn't bad!"  

By the way, I dislike recipe titles that include the bulk of your ingredients but I am not creative enough today to figure out a better name for this recipe.  

The recipe I'm sharing will feed three.  Just double ingredients to feed more folks.

Chicken With Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes and Gnocchi

1 chicken breast

1/4 cup Italian dressing 

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (NOT in oil)

Cook on low heat in slow cooker until chicken is done.

Add:

5 ounces baby spinach (mine was frozen fresh)

1 tsp. garlic

half of a 7.5-ounce container of cream cheese with chives and onions

1/2 cup of half and half

I cooked this on medium for about an hour since my spinach was frozen, then mixed well.  If you need to thin the sauce add more half and half or some of your pasta cooking water.   Then add:

1/2 of a 1-pound package of Gnocchi, cooked and drained.  

Heat through and serve.  This serves three generous servings.