A Soup for Your Leftover Turkey

Turkey Wild Rice Soup recipe from Allrecipes.com

You can use long grain white rice for all or part of the wild rice, but reduce simmering time to 20 to 30 minutes.

3 (10.5 oz) cans condensed chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
8 slices of bacon*
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups half & half cream**
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced turkey meat
2 Tblsp. dry sherry***

In a large pot over medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, green onions and wild rice. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender, 35-40 minutes. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Allow to cool and then crumble. Set aside. When rice is tender, melt margaine in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper all at once. Cook, stirring until smooth and bubbly. Stir in half & half and cook until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir half & half mixture into rice mixture. Stir in bacon, turkey and sherry. Heat through and serve.

*I used turkey bacon
**I used milk to cut down on the fat. The soup was still thick and tasted great!
***I didn't use at all.

Enjoy!

Great Cold Day Soups

Here are two recipes that would be great to try on a very cold day. They are sure to warm you up!! One is more "healthy" than the other, but both are hearty and very tasty. If you try them, let me know what you think.

Baked Potato Soup (taken from Allrecipes.com)

12 slices of bacon*
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, chopped**
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt margarine over med. heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

* I used Turkey bacon to cut down on fat content
**I didn't use onions on my first attempt at this, but would suggest using them for more flavor.
Finally, you may decide to add more salt or use chicken broth in place of or in addition to the milk for more flavor and to thin it out a bit. It's a really thick soup!



Meatball Soup (given to me by Heather Griger)

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can beef or chicken broth (Or you can make your own with bouillon)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
16 frozen meatballs (1/2 oz. each)*
1/2 cup small dried pasta (use macaroni or smaller pasta)
1 cup loose packed frozen mixed veggies**

In a soup pot, mix diced tomatoes, broth, water, italian seasoning and bring to boil. Add meatballs, pasta and veggies to soup. Return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

*I used BJ's frozen Turkey meatballs and just cut them in half.
** I used frozen corn I had from the summer and some frozen beans from BJ's. You really can use whatever vegetable you want here.

Later this week, I'll have a wonderful soup recipe to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey!

Bring on the Soup

I LOVE a nice hot and hearty soup for dinner, especially as the weather begins to get that winter chill and I can see my breath in the air. Soups are relatively easy to make and definitely easy to eat. For me, they're a one pot meal, served with a side of crusty bread. It is a small comfort for those, like me, who just do not like the cold of winter. So, for the next several days, I will be posting some of my favorite soup recipes. NONE of them are Briana originals; they've all been given to me by other sources. I hope you'll try a few of my favorites. I'm sure that at least one of the soups will become a family favorite in your home!!

The first two soups I'm posting come from my mom. They may not be the healthiest, but they are really yummy! Everything my mom makes is yummy.


Zuchinni Garden Chowder: Yields: about 2 1/2 quarts

2 medium zuchinni, chopped (In the winter, you can buy it frozen)
2 T. minced fresh parsley (1 T. dried parsley if you don't have fresh)
1 tsp. dried basil
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 (14oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (12oz.) can evaporated milk
1 package (10oz.) frozen corn
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese**
Pinch of sugar (optional)

**In my futile attempts to eat more healthily, I cut this out altogether, and the soup is still wonderful. Really, you got to trust me on this one.

In a dutch oven or soup kettle, over med. heat, saute the zuchinni, parsley, basil in butter until veggies are tender. Stir in flour, salt, pepper. Gradually stir in water. Add bouillon and lemon juice; mix well. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, milk, corn; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until corn is tender. Just before serving, stir in cheese(s) until melted. Add sugar and garnish with parsley if desired.


Creamy Tomato Soup: Yields: about 8 servings

1 med. onion, chopped*
2 T. butter*
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (10.75 oz) condensed tomato soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. sugar
1/2-1 tsp. dried basil
1/2-1 tsp. paprika
1/8-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, cubed and softened

In a saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in tomatoes, soup, milk, sugar, basil, paprika, and garlic powder. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

*We do not like onions (actually it's my husband's onion breath I don't like), so I always omit them and the butter. Also, it helps if you softened the cream cheese in the microwave a bit before you put it into the soup. Even still, you have to work out the lumps of cream cheese sometimes. But, it's well worth the effort. I've also made it without the cream cheese for a healthier version, and that's good, too!

Pumpkin Cookies

This recipe is one from Allrecipes.com originally and is very yummy and easy to make. It's not overkill on the pumpkin either. I am not a huge pumpkin fan, and I had three for breakfast! :)

Pumpkin Cookies: Yields: 3 dozen

1/2 c. shortening (I use butter or marg.)
1 c. sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. butterscotch chips (I used chocolate chips)

Cream sugar and shortening (butter). Add rest of wet ingredients and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in butterscotch (or chocolate) chips.
Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

I found I needed to bake at least 10 minutes if not longer. I even forgot about the cookies this last batch that I made and they didn't burn and tasted great despite being in the oven longer than suggested! A great "no fail" cookie recipe for fall!!

ENJOY!

Under Pressure

My husband and I feel like we're in a bit of a pressure cooker right now. Sick kids, financial pressures, marital conflict, ever increasing responsibilities to name of few of the pressures in this season of our lives. Many times, admittedly, I have been guilty of questioning God's goodness or even accusing Him of being a liar. 'Tis a fearful thing to see that statement in black and white for anyone who knows and loves God. But, my heart hardens quickly; I am a modern day Israelite, prone to wander. Nevertheless, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies, they never come to an end, and so by God's grace, I press on, confess sin, receive forgiveness, and continue to live in His truth and love.

I remember something my Sr. Pastor said once about the mark of a true believer. It was something like, "it is not the one who never falls, but the one who falls and gets back up again." Well, I am certainly scraped up and bruised from many falls, but my merciful God applies His healing balm of forgiveness again and again and again to me.

More recently, my prayer has been for God to open my eyes or just get them to look in the right direction to see all the ways He is pouring out His mercy and kindness to me and my family and even to fellow believers around me who are also walking through their own seasons of pressure and hardship. This morning as I cleaned up pee and poopie from the kitchen floor (*no, I'm not potty training my 15 month old twins yet; I'm not that crazy. Tucker was going "free" due to some severe diaper rash), I recalled our wonderful family time we had yesterday afternoon.

Somehow in the midst of snotty noses, nebulizer treatments, Judah's blistered and bruised face, Tucker's diarrhea, and an expensive car repair, we were able to get out for a walk in the woods, wheeling the boys over a blanket of dried leaves, and spend a little time together as a family. The boys had their first "romp" in piles of dried leaves. It really was more like clinging onto daddy while mommy got a few shots for Grandma's scrapbook. It was a delightful time together, and I was reminded that the Lord loves to lavish these blessings on me all the time. I just need Him to open my eyes to see all the ways He is being merciful and kind to me.