Today was finally a cool and breezy, Autumn feeling day. The perfect kind of day for a pot of soup. This is a recipe I got from a quilt shop years ago. I have changed it up a wee bit, and I make this hearty, comforting soup often. The ingredients are all shown above, with the exception of the stew beef that I had already browned and had simmering on the stove in my Dutch Oven. I began by browning 1.5 pounds of stew meat in a bit of olive oil, and then once brown, toss in a couple bay leaves, and about 2 tsp of Vegit seasoning and let simmer for about an hour with lid on. In another pan, saute one brown onion, several cloves of minced garlic, and 3-4 carrots til soft, about 3-5 min. Add this to meat and then add 4 cans of beef broth, 1 large can of diced stewed tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste, and let this simmer on low for a couple of hours. About 2 hours before serving, add 1 cup pearl barley and replace lid and continue to simmer until barley is done. Also, add the zest of one whole orange to soup pot. Just before serving, saute a pound of mushrooms in 3/4 stick of butter. When soft, add about 1/2 cup full bodied red wine, reduce slightly and add to soup pot. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy! I meant to get more pics of cooking, but wound up taking this to Gennifer and Jake's and finished cooking it there and then had dinner with them.
In my hectic week I forgot to post a favorite cooking tool. For this week, I am featuring a favorite tool called a microplane. I love to zest oranges and other citrus into dishes with this tool. It is also useful for grating whole nutmeg, and ginger and many other things. GREAT tool. I have a small hand held one too that I love for nutmeg! I ALWAYS use whole nutmeg, and grate it myself. The flavor is amazing!
PS Usually I like to use low sodium beef broth, but Stater's only had their store brand. But the low sodium is way better, I think.
Bon Appetit!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Coughs, Stuffy Heads, Fevers and Brussel Sprouts
I have had a very busy week. Between trying to get over the nasty cold and cough I had, and helping out here and there with my girls who also have sick kiddos, as well as been sick themselves, it has come and gone swiftly. No creative photos to show, no fun outings, not even cooking too much this week. Oh wait...I did go on a fun outing. It was over at my friend Maryrose's daughter's house, Kristi, for a Dancing With The Stars night. We had a great time, and it was blogged on both Kristi's and her Mom, Maryrose's blog. I did go to Trader Joe's and get some great goodies. One thing I have always wanted to find was brussel sprouts on the stalk. Anyway, I love the way this looks. And I love brussel sprouts! They had huge boxes of them like this. I have always wanted to use them this way to set up a fall buffet table. They said they will sell out of them, and probably won't get them back on the stalk again.
I have removed them from the stalk and plan to cook them with red cabbage and bacon and onion. Yum!!!
So that's it from Boringville. Maybe I will have more to say tomorrow. But for now, I have a clog in my blog.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah!!!
"It was the most perfect Birthday EVER"
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Happy Birthday Big Brother!!
Today is my brother David's birthday. He is the oldest of the siblings. We are all close in age, and growing up, had lots of fun. As teenagers, our friends began to blend, and my two older brothers dated a lot of my friends, and I dated some of theirs. Even marrying one!!! AS adults we have remained very close. I love you big brother. Happy Birthday!!!!! Cheers!!
Testing...Testing.....1, 2, 3
Okay..so Gennifer has been tweaking her blog posts to include humungousauraus pictures, and I listened to how she did it, but, it was too much for my brain to handle. Apparently, Kristi has found an easier way. And upon investigating this....I can now also use the blatant oops I made a mistake and didn't really mean to say that feature too!!
So....I am going to post one picture, just to see if I can make it extra large.
Testing.....1, 2, 3....
So....I am going to post one picture, just to see if I can make it extra large.
Testing.....1, 2, 3....
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Move over Halloween, Hello Thanksgiving
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween
Miss Claire was a beautiful fairy!
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