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| This soup works miracles. Wanna know why? Jamey ate it. Let’s just say that my sister isn’t a big fan of my cooking. Baking, yes. Cooking, no. She likes chicken nuggets and hot dogs…….not Roasted Green Beans or Mini Meatloaves. But, this has some of her favorite things in it, so I took a big leap of faith. Success! Really, I have never made this soup where the eaters have not loved it. I’ve made it for us, I’ve made it for company, and I’ve even made it to sell. It’s THAT good. It’ll warm you to the bones and make you come back for more. When I have leftovers, I hog them myself and usually don’t share. When Barry says “Where’s the rest of that soup?” I can only answer with a look of total confusion and say “What soup?” [Read more…] |
Search Results for: soup
Pumpkin Chili
I’m always intrigued by recipes that have unusual ingredients in the title and I usually end up making them. I once made brownies with cayenne pepper in them (Brownies With a Kick) and they were delicious! There are exceptions to this rule however. Like, any recipe with “whole fish” in the title is not for me. I don’t want food staring at me while I try to eat it. Or anything that says “live.” No. The point of food is that it’s dead. But Pumpkin Chili? That’s not so scary sounding. I love soups with pumpkin stirred in. It gives it a little something special. This soup is very hearty and the pumpkin gives it a smooth taste. It’s easy to make and it’s very warming during this coooooooooooooooooold season. I’ll just stop right here and tell you that the Farmer’s Almanac was VERY wrong. It is NOT a mild winter. Where do they get their information? [Read more…] |
Spicy White Bean Chowder
I’ve been asked to do some nice, simple soup recipes. Since the cold weather is getting underway I thought now might be a good time to do it. I love soup, but we don’t eat much of it in the summer since it’s hot. Once I tried making a cold cucumber soup – Barry was NOT a fan. He said, “That’s just wrong. Soup is supposed to be hot.” Since then there have been no more cold soups in my house. I’m bitter. Monday is designated Meatless Monday in our home, so in honor of that I’m starting out with something bean-based. Beans, beans, good for your heart……well, you can finish it. [Read more…] |
My Favorite Things – 2010
| These are a few of my favorite things!” I love that song…….girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Yeah, you’re gonna sing that all day now. I’m not sorry. I decided that since it was the Christmas season, I’d talk about my current five favorite things in the kitchen. I’ll also tell you how you can get them cheaper than retail. Yeah, you knew that was coming. If you know someone who loves kitchen things and you can’t think of what to get them for Christmas, then today you’re going to get five options to choose from. Your shopping just can’t really get any easier than this. I should go into business being a personal bargain shopper. |
This is the most expensive of my five things……unless you run into one at a yard sale. I got one this summer for my friend Kim for a grand total of $1.00. Yep. Don’t be a hater. Anyway, I am in love with my food processor. I use it a LOT. It will puree soup….okay, it purees whatever you put in there, but I just wanted to say soup. It does a ton of other stuff too, but I didn’t read the manual. I’ve got a weird relationship with instruction manuals……I don’t read them. I just really enjoy mine. It makes a lot of the things I do in the kitchen a lot quicker. Sometimes if I have a lot of veggies to chop, I’ll just throw them in there and give it a whirl for a few seconds. Done! It can also be used to make pie crust, but we’ll explore that later. So, how do you get this baby cheaper? Mine was a gift from my Mama. Thanks Mama! That’s a good way to get it cheaper. Of course, I already said you could look for them at yard sales. However, if you want one NOW you’re in luck. ‘Tis the season! This time of year tons of electronic things are on sale. This is really the time of year to buy anything electronic. I just saw today that they have tons of options on Overstock.com and they are also offering $1 shipping! [Read more…] |
Christmas Candy – Peppermint Bark
I make this every year at Christmas. It’s not for me though. Personally, I think it’s disgusting. 🙂 However, I am in the minority. Whenever I take it somewhere, I never bring any back. It’s hard to understand people when they’re talking to you and stuffing their mouth with Peppermint Bark at the same time. I have this thing with mint flavor – I hate it. Yep, that about sums it up. Now, this candy is SO easy to make and it is a really good gift for the mailman. You can put it in your mailbox and not worry about it melting at this time of year. We always gift our mailman at Christmas. Anyway, let me show you how to make this and you’ll be shaking your head in amazement at how easy it is….and then you’ll go make a dozen batches. |
This is what you need. Peppermints of some sort and white candy coating. That’s it. Recipes with a small ingredient list always intrigue me. I used candy canes because they were on sale (duh) but you could use peppermint disks instead. Also, you can use the green ones if you’re feeling particularly festive. I don’t like those either. Blech! Oh my gosh! I just thought of this – you could use red AND green ones! [Read more…] |
How to Make a Smoothie
| Did you know there are actually restaurants that only sell smoothies? I still haven’t figured that one out. I’ve never been to one, as I’ve heard they’re pretty expensive. To me, it would sorta be like drinking my money, all blended up. Do you know where that money has been? Eww! Also, I think those smoothies are supposed to sometimes stand in as your meal. What is THAT about? Only a smoothie to eat? Man, I need something else with my drink, like cereal, toast, or waffles. Man cannot live on smoothie alone. I make great smoothies at home, using whatever we have on hand. You can do it too, because it’s SO easy! I’ll go step by step, giving you ideas so you can create your own custom smoothie, and for heaven’s sake please eat a biscuit with it. |
 For this demonstration, I made Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothies. Those are two ingredients that are just meant to be together. Soul mates! These are the ingredients that I used if you want to make one just like me (awwww, flattery!): two bananas, two tablespoons of peanut butter, ¼ cup dry milk, two tablespoons wheat germ, one cup of yogurt, and a handful of ice cubes. This made enough for two smoothies, so if you only want one you’d cut it in half – genius, right? [Read more…] |
Easy Ground Beef #2 – Mac and Cheese Pizza
***UPDATE – See this post about our new eating habits. (7/10/11) If two things are awesome and you put them together, it equals maximum awesomeness. Macaroni and cheese…….pizza. Glory! Put them together and it must equal wedded bliss. And it was, oh my it was! I should start pairing more things together. If I like both things, then it should work out, right? Peanut butter and banana, cereal and yogurt, ham and cheese, green beans and ketchup. Ok, something just came to mind that cancelled out that previous thought. Two things you like separately DO NOT always work out together. Once I tried to make Shrimp Pot Pie. Let me just tell you now, that was not my brightest moment in the kitchen. I still have nightmares about that dish. Now that I’ve sufficiently gagged you, let’s make an easy ground beef recipe that proves two awesome things CAN go together and be even more awesome – Mac and Cheese Pizza! [Read more…] |
Easy Ground Beef #1 – Creamy, Meaty Rotini
I was asked to do some recipes for ground beef that were easy and quick. So, I’m taking this week and dedicating it to ground beef. Beef! It’s what’s for dinner! Where’s the beef? This is sort of a Stacy original. I used a recipe from Taste of Home as a base, and went from there. I didn’t have all the ingredients that it called for, so I improvised……I didn’t follow the recipe. Don’t shoot me or turn me in to Martha Stewart. If you shoot me, you may end up in prison WITH Martha Stewart. You can do so many things with ground beef. I grew up on a cattle farm, so we’ve always had beef in abundance. I’ve never had to buy it at the store, but I hear it’s pretty cheap as far as meat is concerned. So, let’s make a cheap meal shall we? [Read more…] |
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
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Meet Ruth and Rebecca. They’re expert laundry soap makers. Why are you seeing their photo? Well, because I tried making some laundry soap at home and it was a total dud. I mean, it was the duddiest of the duds. I got mad. This should be something I can do, right? Well, my soap chunked up and became almost un-stirrable. It was sad. I was sad. I was mostly mad though. I hate when I mess something up. So, I contacted Rebecca because I knew she made her own laundry detergent with her mom. I asked if I could come over and take photos to find out what I was doing wrong. Well, I wasn’t adding the same amounts of stuff that they were. Turns out that not everything you read on the internet is true. GASP! Sorry Al Gore. So, here is the story of the soap – the right way. [Read more…] |
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Well, it’s that time of year when pumpkins abound! I just love them. They’re so pretty…..and tasty! Barry loves pumpkin pie (gag attack!) and I like putting pumpkin puree in breads, cookies, and stews.
It can get pretty expensive if you use a lot of pumpkin puree – unless you make it yourself. Then it becomes pretty cheap. Y’all know I like to keep things cheap! And I also like to teach y’all how to do things for yourself.
