A Shivery Sunday Calls for Soup!!!

Whew! What a weekend it's been - weather wise, anyway! Yesterday (Sat.) morning I woke up to sleet, but within 30 minutes or so it was snowing. We had snow for about 2 hours and then it stopped. By 11 am the sky was almost cleared and a watery sun was shining through. Then this morning we got up to a chilly 25 degrees, and it barely made it out of the 3o's all day.

Here are a couple of pics of my frost bitten knockout roses . . .





The poor things were icy! So that's the last of the bloomers until my camellia blooms, and it won't be long, because it's already showing bits of pink in the buds. Maybe we can have a bouquet on the table for Christmas dinner???

Anyway, we stayed inside and I made a batch of cranberry orange muffins - yummy! And then this afternoon I made another one of our favorite soups - Corned Beef Soup. My mother 'invented' this recipe many years ago, probably from desperation. We didn't have much, and I imagine she had a can of corned beef and some potatoes and carrots, and she turned it into soup. Little did she know it would be an immediate hit and that we both would still be making it probably 45 years or so later! Here is the recipe:

~Peel and dice a large onion - about 2 to 2 1/2 cups diced.



~To a large soup pot (at least 6 quarts) add 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons canola oil, heat to medium high heat and add the onions. Stir and allow to cook until almost tender.



~Now add your vegetables:

• 5 - 6 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced. Enough to make about 4-5 cups diced. (I used russet because that's what I had!)
• 8 - 10 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Enough to make about 3 - 4 cups.
• 3 - 4 stalks of celery diced. Enough to make about 1 to 1 1/2 cup diced.
• 4-5 cups water
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I start with less and add more if needed later).
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 nice large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes - about 1/2 teaspoon. You can add more or use less, depending on your tolerance for heat. This was not very warm, so I ended up adding a couple of dashes of Texas Pete for a little more spice.
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

~Bring to a boil. Add more water if you think it needs it to cover the veggies. I used about 5 cups total plus the broth.

~Stir well and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

~Add the can of corned beef. You will find this in the canned meats area of your grocery, near the chili and good old Spam! Most of the canned corned beef is from Brazil. As you cook it, the corned beef will cook down, so there's no need to chop it up unless you want to.

~Return to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer for about one to two hours or until the veggies are tender.

And there you have a delicious, warm, good for you and filling bowl of soup. Doesn't it look pretty in my Christmas dishes???

As I said before, this is one of our very favorite soups, and tonight hubby ate about 3 bowls full, followed by a couple of fresh cranberry orange muffins. Both are very good winter comfort foods!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please let me know! Have a great week, Becky

Because it's worth it!

Hi Folks! Things are kind of busy around here right now . . . I'll tell you all about it in a few days . . . but until then, I thought you might like a reminder of one of my favorite cool weather recipes. You can find the recipe for my Camellia Cottage Tuscan Chicken Soup right HERE!

I posted this recipe just over a year ago, and have gotten many good comments from folks who made it. The girls (above) even love a spoonful poured over their dry food for dinner.

Now, as soon as I can, I'll come back and let you know what I've been up to these last few days. I can tell you this . . . it's been fun! Blessings folks, Becky

Tasty Thursday - Something Creamy and Easy!

Hi Folks! I'm sorry I haven't felt like doing any cooking, so no real recipes and pics to share today. I 'am' feeling better though, and thought I would share one of my favorite dishes for when I don't feel well.

You know that chicken soup is supposed to have healing properties, and when I was a child, we always had good old Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. Over time, we kind of 'modified' how we made it, and it became a 'creamy' chicken noodle soup and I haven't turned back since.

Here's what you do:

• Take one can of Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup.
• Pour it into a small saucepan and fill your can with milk.
• Pour all but about 1/3 cup of the milk into the pan, stir and heat to bubbling. (Bear in mind this is already cooked and doesn't need to cook for a long time.)
• While the soup is heating, add 1 teaspoon corn starch to the remaining milk, and stir it well.
• When the soup is bubbling, give the milk/corn starch mixture one last stir (the starch settles to the bottom) and pour it into the soup.
• Stir well until the soup is creamy and thick.
• Serve with crackers and (in my case) green olives or dill pickles.

This is an easy, tasty and very comforting soup for when you don't feel well. I have fond memories of eating this when I was a child, AND when I was a single working girl, living alone and needing something warm and yummy for dinner!

Thanks for all your good wishes this week, and I hope to be back to normal really soon. Blessings, Becky