A Recipe or Two

So we have settled back into our daily school year routine.  Carpools, naps, library visits, morning walks with Ava, ballet classes, errands, the list goes on and on.  It means we are certainly busy, but it doesn't lend itself to exciting blog posts.  I doubt you really want to hear how far I walked this morning (about 2 miles) or what errands I ran (grocery store) or how many loads of laundry I have done (lots), or the start of school cold that husband, Ava and I are all fighting (surprisingly the older ones have been spared).  In my spare time, between carpools, errands, etc. I have been trying some new recipes.  The heat has finally broken and although it isn't cold by any means, at least it isn't 100 anymore.  In homage to the break in the weather, I have made some soup.  Delicious soup!

Back before Christmas last year when I was pregnant and on bed rest for pre-term labor with Ava, our church family rallied around us and provided home cooked meals for our family for months.  They definitely went above and beyond.  I will be paying it forward for years to come.  In fact, so many people brought meals that the older children turned it into a game, they titled the Ding Dong Game.  To play the Ding Dong Game one of them would get a basket, bag or bucket of some sort and stand outside of the room, usually the bedroom, with the door closed.  That child would then knock or better yet say "ding dong."  When the door opened the child on the outside would say, "Hi...I brought dinner.  I made chicken and rice."  Chicken and rice is what they usually have when we have Chinese (chicken fried rice) and is one of their favorites.  It was adorable.  Anyway, one friend brought us a delicious pot of soup, hereafter known as Ashley's soup.  It had carrots, white beans, spinach, and turkey sausage.  Delicious.  Everyone loved it and I have wanted the recipe since our very first taste.  Well, in perusing Pinterest the other day I came across a "pin" with a link to "101 Healthy Soups" recipes.  I checked it out and low and behold there was a recipe for North Woods Bean Soup that sounded just like Ashley's soup.  I decided to try it and was rewarded when it tasted just like Ashley's.

Doesn't it look yummy.
(This isn't the actual soup I made.  I copied this photo from the original recipe posted here http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/healthy-soup-recipes-00412000070018/page52.html)

Copied from www.cookinglight.com.  Photo by Randy Mayor

Here is the recipe copied from www.cookinglight.com

Cooking spray

1 cup baby carrots, halved

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic gloves

7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups fat free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes.  Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth.  Return the pureed mixture to pan.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes.  Remove soup from heat.  Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

To go with this delicious soup I made Cornmeal Cheddar Scones.  These are some of husband's favorites.  I am not a fan of cornbread.  I just don't like it, but I like these. I found this recipe in the 2010 Christmas with Southern Living book and make it quite often.  These go great with soups and chili.

Here is the recipe copied from 2010 Christmas with Southern Living.

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (I don't always have this in my pantry so I just substitute black pepper)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

1 large egg

3/4 cup buttermilk (Another item I don't usually have on hand so I substitute regular milk, usually skim since that's what we drink)

Parchment paper

Unsalted butter, melted

Sea salt

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place first 7 ingredients in a food processor.  Add 3/4 cup butter; pulse 3 or 4 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Place flour mixture in a large bowl; stir in cheese.  Whisk together egg and buttermilk until blended.  Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add egg mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

2.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead lightly 3 or 4 times.  Pat dough into a 10- x 7-inch rectangle.  Cut into 15 squares.  Place squares on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush tops with melted unsalted butter, and sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.

These didn't last long enough to get a photo and I couldn't find a photo on the Southern Living website.  Sorry.  But I hope you try them and enjoy!