Baby It's Cold Outside - Is It Soup Yet?

The title is two statements that certainly go together.  The weather is changing and you can't have enough homemade soup for these below zero Winter days.  I have several favorite recipes for soup and the easiest is the all-time favorite Vegetable Soup.  This soup is a combination of everything, excuse the pun, including the kitchen sink.

My Mom started out her vegetable soup with a small cut of chuck roast with diced onions and celery for flavor.  Cooking this down always gave the stock the most flavor.  As I became the Mom I took over and I always saved my leftover vegetables from dinner in a container in the freezer until I had enough to make soup.  After the chuck was simmered down and cut up into small pieces, I would add the potato cubes and sliced carrots.  I preferred baby carrots because they were smaller and I'm not fond of cooked carrots.  Then I would add the defrosted vegetables to the pot and simmer for about 2 hours.  The simmering time isn't written in stone but don't boil away your broth.  Close to the end of the simmering time just before serving I would add some diced tomato and a can of butter beans.  I'm particularly fond of butter beans and never, I mean never, use Lima beans.

I now have a short cut that eliminates the Chuck Roast method.  I still use the leftovers from a chuck roast but I've started using beef stock as my starter and I make less since I can now make it in my slow cooker.  I've been using this method and adding my vegetables for the past year.  The new crock pot makes my soup every bit as good as the ones I used to toil over and let simmer all day long on top of the stove.  The best part is I can let it cool down and store the crock pot liner in my refrigerator until I'm ready to put up my soup for the freezer because I've eaten enough of that particular soup for the time being.

My very favorite soup is Tortellini Soup, but this takes extra time to make because I follow the recipe to the T and don't skip anything on this recipe.  The result is one of the best tortellini soups this side of the Mississippi.  It's kind of like the vegetable soup with a little bit of a seasoned bite and pasta in it.

There are so many other soups that can be made and put up in the freezer for the long cold winter but these are my two favorites.

Weather Change and Skeletal Pain

How quickly the earth can spin and send us in different weather patterns.  It's not the weather that bothers me so much as the dampness and chills when it rains.

In the last couple of months we have gone from warm 70 degree days to overnight lows of 50's and lower.   Even with a new furnace and setting the temps around 70 for heat and 72 for air the living room seems to be in a constant chill.  That could be because I don't get any direct sunlight into that room and there are no windows on the afternoon sun side.

But for the most part it is the damp weather brought on by rain or snow that gets to me and my bones.

We got our first real snow that laid on the ground overnight and I'm feeling achey this morning. This year we went from 50 degree weather to wind chills below zero.  The only solution I have for that is to stay in and bundle up.  When I do have to venture out I wear 3 layers and cover my nose because I now have COPD and need to protect my breathing.

The main reason for writing this blog is because my bones are feeling the dampness and the chill.  I have had to resort to medical treatment twice.   I don't deal with cold very well.  So far I'm still only using Tylenol extra strength but I'm taking 4 doses a day during the bouts of pain that creep into my joints and bones.

Doc doesn't think it's arthritis because of where the pains are and where they radiate but I'm the one feeling them and I know it's in the joints and bones.  I do have a bone spur on my shoulder though.  I've become my mother and resorted to using Salonpas patches on my back when I have a twinge as my Mom used to say.  So strange that I would think of this today which was her birthday.  They may smell like an old mitt but they do work along with the Tylenol.

I firmly believe that it is the dampness in the air that affects everyone who has any joint or skeletal ailment.  I don't have the solution for the pain but I know when it occurs.  So in this freezing weather -- stay safe -- stay warm.

Just a Spaghetti Kind of Day

In our house as a child Thursday was always Spaghetti Day and my favorite meal of the week.  My Mom never made her own sauce but the taste was superb.  She added her mixtures of sauteed ground beef to one can of Chef Boyardee Mushroom Sauce and one Can of Chef Boyardee Meat Sauce.  The popular Walt Disney song has been a by-word in our house, "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," or in this case takes the acid out of the spaghetti sauce.

I spent a lot of time in my kitchen getting my homemade spaghetti sauce to taste like my Mom's mostly out of the can recipe but I succeeded. I always buy 73% ground beef because it has more flavor because of the fat content.  I confess I do use a couple of jars of prepared sauce as fillers for my tomato, tomato paste and ground meat recipe.  After I have a base I add one jar of store bought mushroom sauce because I don't put mushrooms in my skillet with the meat and one jar of onion and garlic sauce to add to the content but not the flavor.

I had better than a half a bag of ravioli in my freezer, so I made my spaghetti sauce with the ground meat and the ravioli.  I just didn't layer it into the lasagna style that you see above.  We ate ravioli the old fashioned way with meat sauce over it.

As much as I enjoyed the ravioli, it just didn't quench the urge I had for my Mom's Thursday Night Spaghetti.  So last night we ate spaghetti with the meat sauce that was left over from the ravioli.  Good spaghetti sauce never goes to waste in my house because I love so.  I always have at least a half pound of thin spaghetti pasta on the shelf so that I can enjoy the best of the best.

So when you see that butcher's special of ground chuck, think about making what I called as a child, "bisgetti."   As always, "Try it -- You'll like it."

Soup and Sandwich Season

a selection from Panera for those cold days

Here it is January and it's leaning towards being being warmer than usual in the Pittsburgh area.  It's not unusual for this time of year that we are huddling in our houses with the threat of snow or inches of the white stuff to be shoveled.  We are enjoying waves of intermitant warmer weather rather than outright long heavy snowfalls.

We got a dusting so far this season

Another reason to do some zoup which is what it sounded like when some of my neighbors said it growing up in Aspinwall.  We had a family that grew all their own vegetable next to me and their 17 children learned the home arts, woodcrafting for the boys and the kitchen skills for the girls.

But I digress.....

I'm sure winter is not done with us by any means since we still have all of  this month, February and March to go this season.  I'm hoping that Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see his shadow on February 2 and we can get ready for an early spring.  I don't mind the cold weather or even short bouts of snow.  I only dread the extremely cold days following bouts of rain when the roads are icy and the only safe place is inside your home.

I'm not a pessimist by any means but I've learned that you can't count on the weather at any time of the year here in Pittsburgh.  On the average, this time of year is what I call soup and sandwich weather.

Tortellini Soup

There is nothing better for you in cold weather than a bowl of soup.  One of my favorite recipes for soup is Tortellini Soup.  This soup takes some special techniques if you follow the recipe closely but is well worth the effort.  This hearty soup is sure to chase away those chills.

Vegetable Soup

You can't make soup from scratch without including Homemade Vegetable Soup.  My mom made the best and I've spent a lifetime trying to duplicate her recipe.  There is one rule to making good vegetable soup and that is the more vegetables the better.  My personal like is to add butter beans but no lima beans.  Since this is Lent, You would make the vegetable soup without any meat base but my Mom usually started her vegetable soup by simmering chuck roast chunks to give it a fuller flavor.

Grilled Cheese

What is better than a simple grilled cheese sandwich to go along with your soup de jour.  While the soup is simmering and getting all those great flavors mixed in start your grilled cheese sandwich on another burner.  All you need is a square griddle, two pieces of bread and 1 or two pieces of American cheese.

Grilled Cheese with Bacon

If you prefer you can add a couple of pieces of bacon to the sandwich for an entirely different taste treat.  Lately I have been buying the already cooked bacon in the dairy aisle and just adding a piece or two on top of the slices of cheese.

Green Pepper Soup

Another one of my favorite soups for this season is Stuffed Pepper Soup.  This is another hearty soup that is very easy to make.  The hardest part of the process is sauteing the ground beef.  I was at Giant Eagle the other day and they had this one on sale that day.  The soup lady gave me a great idea.  She ladles her Green Pepper Soup over mashed potatoes.  That sounds like a winner to me.

There are so many other soups we can make.  Read my other articles for other soups to make for the blustery Winter season.

Cheesy Potatoes Or Loaded Potatoes

This is one of our family's favorite side dishes.   We have always been a potato salad family and that would be the choice to have my daughter make for the any family gathering.  Let's be honest, we love a good potato salad that has just enough crunch from the chopped vegetables and just the right flavor from the hard boiled eggs and salad dressing that is used.  There are many types of potato salad to choose from and each family has their own favorite recipe.

Leftovers from 13x9" casserole

We were first treated to this recipe when my daughter was asked to bring Cheesy Potatoes to a birthday party.  She followed this up by bringing it to Our Christmas Eve dinner.

On Christmas Eve, our family tends to not eat meat from a tradition that my late husband started with my children when we married many years ago.  My first husband's family is Polish and they do not refrain from eating meat on Christmas Eve.  In fact, I remember gathering at his grandparent's home on Christmas Eve where there was a fully baked ham on the table ready to slice for sandwhiches.

Two years ago we were treated to meat balls and my daughter was asked to bring Cheesy Potatoes.  She normally bakes off a pound of bacon to go into these potatoes; but for some reason, she is the only one of my children who clings to the Italian tradition of no meat on Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve we ate Cheesy Potatoes without Bacon added to the recipe.

This year we are gathering at my daughter's home for Christmas Eve and I'm hoping that she has these potatoes on the table but she did a traditional Polish with Kolbassy as one of the main dishes.

That brings up another subject.  These potatoes can be made from scratch if you want to peel and grate 2 pounds of potatoes and you want to bake off the pound of bacon.

Grating Potatoes

I'm sure the finished product would come out with the same wonderful flavors.  However, I purchased my potatoes already grated country style potatoes from the frozen food section of the store and Hormel natural bacon pieces from the dressing aisle at the supermarket.  This recipe calls for finely chopped onions but I did not use them in mine.  In retrospect, I could have bought the O'Brien style hash brown potatoes and achieved a more flavorful casserole.

The recipe calls for canned cream of chicken soup, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and melted margarine.  When you use all of these and add them to the O'Brien style potatoes you will achieve what we refer to as a loaded potato casserole.

This recipe is a great way to welcome in the colder days of Fall to go along with a meatloaf or any other entree.  In any case, I hope you try these and enjoy this home style cooking side dish that has become such a favorite in our family.

Parmesan Allergy: White Garlic Sauce Made Without Parmesan

Garlic Sauce Pasta

When I was younger, I often wondered why I would become nauseated when I would go into an Italian home when they were making sauces.  A good Italian sauce gives a home an ambiance of a welcoming home and fills the house with an aroma all it's own.  In my case though, I found that I was allergic to Parmesan and that is what caused my discomfort.  Here is a white sauce recipe for those you you who share my allergy.

Melt Butter

This recipe calls for melting a half cup of butter over a medium heat.

Add Cream Cheese & Garlic Powder

Add one 8 oz. package of cream cheese and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder and stir with a whisk until smooth.

Add milk

Slowly add 2 cups of milk and whisk to prevent forming lumps.

Add a dash of pepper to the mix and then remove from the heat to thicken.  The sauce will thicken quickly and if it becomes too thick you can add a drop or two more milk to thin it down.

Tortellini and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce

It is now ready to toss with your favorite pasta recipe.  I prefer tortellini and broccoli with my mock Alfredo Sauce.

Let's Make Soup

Here is a favorite old subject of mine which is making soups and putting them up for winter.  By putting them up for winter, I mean freezing portions for later use.  I find that soups from the freezer are just as good and sometimes better than when we first made them.  So let's get started and make some of my favorite soups.

Tortellini Soup

There is nothing better for you in cold weather than a bowl of soup. One of my favorite recipes for soup is Tortellini Soup. This soup takes some special techniques if you follow the recipe closely but is well worth the effort. This hearty soup is sure to chase away those chills.

Vegetable Soup

You can't make soup from scratch without including Homemade Vegetable Soup. My mom made the best and I've spent a lifetime trying to duplicate her recipe. There is one rule to making good vegetable soup and that is the more vegetables the better. My personal like is to add butter beans but no lima beans. In Lent which is not too far off, You would make the vegetable soup without any meat base but my Mom usually started her vegetable soup by simmering chuck roast chunks to give it a fuller flavor.

Another one of my favorite soups for this season is Stuffed Pepper Soup. This is another hearty soup that is very easy to make. The hardest part of the process is browning the ground beef.  Everything that goes into stuffed peppers goes into this soup and it is just as hearty and flavorful.

There are so many other soups we can make for the coming blustery Winter season.  I've found a recipe for Potato and Corn Chowder.  This one is easy and can be made using frozen corn rather than starting from scratch like my Mom used to do.

There are so many ways to make soup and so many flavors that you could literally eat soup and sandwiches though the months of January to March Just by making them and freezing portions for later.

Gruel or Porridge for Breakfast

Definition:  Gruel is a thin food made by boiling some grain in water or milk.  A thin porridge.

When I was growing up, the winters were taken to the extremes.  We would get one or two bearable days and then some bone freezing snow and ice.  It's Pittsburgh for God's sake.  What do you expect?  Certainly not 40 and 50 degree weather through the ending and beginning months of the year.

What was different when my brother and I went to school was that there was no bus service to school.  You bundled up and walked in whatever weather there was that day.  Sometimes in the middle of a cold snap you would walk the four blocks to school only to find that the boiler wasn't working and had to trudge back home.  At lunch time you walked both ways to get your lunch.

Cream of Wheat

My point is that most mornings in the winter our Mom made either Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat.  Ours wasn't a pampered household so there was no such thing as Chocolate Cream of Wheat until we were well past school age and our Mom, being a chocoholic, could buy it for her breakfasts which she shared with my children.  In fact my youngest son, Bobby, practically lived with my Mom.  He would beg from her continually and normally shared her meals.

What made our cooked cereal more palatable is that my Mom always put a dab of margarine into the bowl with our portion.  Being a frugal household, we had margarine instead of butter.  Then we added our sugar and milk.  I always like my hot cereal very thin and I added enough milk to drink my Cream of Wheat, which was my favorite.

I remember as a Girl Scout I was away at summer camp and they served us Oatmeal for breakfast.  I sat at the table with my bowl waiting for the butter because they served it with sugar and milk only.  Only after the counselor asked me what I was waiting for did I find out that it was not normal to serve margarine with your cooked cereal and that it was a luxury that my mother gave to us.

my Bear n Mom mug that I gave bear as a present.

With all of the shortcuts in today's world, I still love my breakfast porridge.  For the past couple of winters I have been trying to watch my cholesterol and eating mainly Oatmeal made in the same way, always thin enough to drink out of a large mug.  Over last winter, I treated myself to my first love, Cream of Wheat, made in the microwave.  I'm not fond of chocolate in my cereal and coffee like my mother was so I stick to the original with lots of melted butter, sugar and milk.

If you can manage the microwave you can make perfect porridge.  Add 3 tablespoons of your grain to 3/4 cups of water, stir and microwave for 1 minute. Take the bowl from the microwave and whisk the mixture.  Return the bowl to the microwave for another minute and your cereal is ready to add your condiments and eat.  Of course, I pour mine into a large mug and drink it instead of coffee.

I'm sure you can find a warm cereal to your liking and it so gets you ready for that cold winter day.