Soup Weather

I’ve been hearing reports of snow from loved ones here & there. Here in West Texas it’s not snowing, but it is cold enough to wear hats & gloves outside. That’s when I like to make soup. So if you’re snowed in and chilled to the bone, check your pantry for these ingredients and whip up a pot of Creamy Potato Soup.

• 6 fist-sized potatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
• 1 small onion, peeled and cut in eighths
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 32 oz. carton organic chiken or vegetable broth
• 1-2 cups milk (preferably organic if you can get it)
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• dash of salt

Combine the first four ingredients in a large pot. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Do not drain. Process potato mixture in blender until smooth. Add milk to desired consistency and pepper, stirring well. Heat until bubbly and serve.

This soup is thick and creamy. We like to dress up a bowl of it like a baked potato with the works: dollup of sour cream, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and chopped green onion. Mmmmmm.

Happy Birthday Jesus

After singing “Happy Birthday Dear Jesus” we had a fun time of opening our gifts to each other. I hope each of you have a wonderful day together with your family and friends.

Merry Christmas!

On the Road

We are traveling for the holidays and having a great time. We’ve been exploring Austin and visiting some friends and family, and tomorrow we’ll head to my inlaws’ in Houston. So far I haven’t experienced anything very spectacular in the food department. But we did eat “brunch” at a little dive – hole in the wall – on Sunday.

Due to driving all day Saturday, we had gotten a late start and missed out on the hotel’s breakfast offerings. So, I was in the mood for, well, breakfast. So we did a search on our semi-trusty satellite Sam and found someplace called The Omeletry. My husband ordered some sort of spinach omelet he said was good. I absolutely adore avocados, so had to try the quacamole omelet. It was loaded with mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes and, of course, cheese.

I enjoyed my omelet immensely until . . . I found a hair about halfway through. Ah man, I was so disappointed! That really put a damper on my enthusiasm and I did not finish the omelet. The manager assured us after inspecting the offending hair that it was actually a strand from a basting brush they used while cooking. He also comped our entire bill – all three of our meals. So, I think I would probably go back and give them another chance. They do know how to make a good omelet. What would you do?

More Cookies From Kate

If you’re looking to do some holiday baking, sounds like you’d better get some baker’s chocolate and make these Chewy Chocolate Bites from Kate in the kitchen. She’s the creator of the cheesecake cookies I posted about a few weeks ago. And from the sounds of these chocolate cookies, we can bring on world peace if enough of us make them. Well, that might require sharing them . . .

If you try these before I do, I want to hear about it.

Nutrition Humor

Check out this post on Miss Lionheart – too funny. I suppose I’d better improve my fluency in Spanish and drop the English. You’ll get that if you read the post.

Hmmm, I’d be curious to know more about the “food industry” in Japan, Mexico, China, Italy, and Germany. There’s another research project to work on in my spare time, while I’m resting. Really, you gotta read Miss Lionheart’s post.

Have a great weekend!

For Ginger

In response to my Breakfast for Dinner post, Ginger asked:

It seems like last year our Costco had some pumpkin based thing put out by Krusteaz and there were several recipes on the side of the box for cookies/muffins, etc. They were fabulous!
Do you have any ideas or suggestions. Krusteaz’s website offered no help.
Thanks!

First, let me apologize for taking so long to respond. I’ve had several posts on my mind but no time to sit down and type ‘em out.  Now I’m afraid it’s “too late” for some, but maybe not. Folks might have turkey again for Christmas, so perhaps I’ll still post about the wonderful turkey soup I made from the carcas and leftovers. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

What I have is the Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread Mix. As far as muffins go, just use the basic quick bread instructions and spoon the batter into muffin tins instead of a bread pan. I made some for a meeting tonight and they turned out well. To make them more of a treat I added a half bag of white chocolate chips I had. On the side of the box is the following recipe for:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 pouch Quick Bread Mix
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 taspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup raisins, optional
• sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place quick bread mix and butter in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add egg, oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Continue to mix on medium speed until dough forms. Stir in raisins, if desired. Using rounded tablespoon dough for each cookie, form balls and roll in sugar, if desired. Place 2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

On the box are also recipes for Pumpkin Swirl Snack Cake and Caramel Pumpkin Cake. I’d be happy to post or email those if anyone is looking for them. This box came with three pouches. I used one for 2 separate batches of pumpkin pancakes – which were very good. I used the second one tonight for muffins. I have only one left. I’m certain I will find good use for it before the year is out.