Friday, December 2, 2016

The Last Month of the Year





"Of all the months of the year
there is not a month one-half so welcome to the young,
or so full of happy associations, 
as the last month of the year...." 
 "All the Year Round: December"
All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal Conducted by
Charles Dickens, 1887 December 10th.


*

I am hoping our 80 degree temperatures are over,
but I'm not willing to place a bet!

Today the high is expected to be 68
and by the weekend highs will be in the 50s.
On the Texas Gulf Coast -- that means sweater weather!

It also means:
Oatmeal in the mornings
Slipper socks to keep the feet warm
Gloves for my morning walk
Hot chocolate several times during the day
and soup making!

*

Today I'm making Turkey Vegetable Soup.
Have to use up the turkey and stock from Thanksgiving.
The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks:
CAMPBELL'S GREAT AMERICAN COOKBOOK
Amazon does have used copies.
I use this cookbook a lot.
I like all the "home" style cooking and stories that are included
and not a can of soup anywhere! 


TURKEY-VEGETABLE SOUP


"Today's improved transportation and preservations techniques
make it possible to have virtually any combination of vegetables
available any time of year in almost every part of the country.
Enjoy this turkey soup with its spring peas and summer tomatoes
during any season."  

(We've come a long way, baby!)

Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced
(I love carrots so I always put extra.)
1/2 cup slice celery
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed
5 cups chicken or turky broth
1 can (8 ounces) tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup diced yellow squash
1 cup diced cooked turkey
1/4 cup raw regular rice

1. In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, in hot butter, cook onion, carrot, celery and thyme until just tender, stirring occasionally.

2.   Stir in broth, tomatoes, peas, squash and turkey. Over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover, simmer 20 minutes.

3.  Add rice. Cover; simmer 20 minutes more or until rice is tender.    

I hardly ever make a recipe as it is written.
In this case, I used olive oil instead of butter.
I didn't have squash, so I added more peas and corn
and brown rice instead of "regular" white rice.
Sometimes I add a pinch of green or red chili powder ... in this case red!
           

Turkey Vegetable Soup


Some soup with sugar cookies for later.
Snowman cookies on the list to make when these are all gone.


*


Speaking of snowmen --



Snowman


I like snowmen.
They can stay out when the holidays are over.
And, they make me smile. 

*

Oliver is ready for Christmas.
He wore his fancy new collar for all of three minutes.

 

Oliver


This will be Oliver's first Christmas.
I've decided when I put the tree up to use the unbreakable ornaments.
Oliver is a climber! 



Collage



Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social



27 comments:

podso said...

I do like Oliver's temporary collar! And your colorful mosaic at the end. We too are enjoying our turkey soup. Mmmmm. Our weather has finally turned cold again and I hope it lasts this time.

Tom said...

First off, what a wonderful banner. That soup looks mighty good.

Mascha said...

Thanks for the recipe, have noticed and will cook that soupp. The sugar cookis looks so pretty and yummy and your sweet cat... cats and Christmas trees are always an act of defiance -
Enjoy your weekend

Amy at love made my home said...

Hope you get to enjoy some good sweater weather soon!

Christine said...

"souper " looking soup! I adore snowmen & make some every year! I also love Oliver's! I laughed at him looking in dismay at his festive collar!

Rosie said...

Oliver looks delightful, I bet he will be climbing up your tree in sheer amazement at his first Christmas. Love his collar and your soup and cookies look delicious:)

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Oliver's new collar is wonderful! And he kept it on for 3 whole minutes? Hahahahaha! Love those autumn leaf cookies too.

Alexa T said...

Wow...so nice collar for Oliver! festive! And so many sweet delights, yummy soup, delicious things for cold days! Winter Holidays can come!! A very good day and weekend, too!

Sharon said...

Love the collar on Oliver - so festive! I ended up using the rest of our leftover Turkey for Turkey Chili that I promptly froze for later as everyone was tired of turkey!

Happy Five on Friday

mamasmercantile said...

Loved the sound of the soup, I usually make a turkey and ham pie. Love the collar. Have a great weekend.

Adam said...

Cats do love the Christmas tree. Or is it hate?

Karen Lakis said...

I love sweater weather - and that turkey soup looks so good! Two of the many things I like about the colder weather!

Mac n' Janet said...

Enjoyed your five, wanted to get my cat a Christmas outfit, but figured first she'd destroy it and the me for doing it do her.

riitta k said...

Your banner is simply gorgeous! But I so feel for poor Oliver <3

AnnieOBTextiles said...

Your soup looks and sounds delicious. Oliver looks very cute in his collar and I hope he enjoys the tree!

Little Wandering Wren said...

Yes we can see Oliver has not quite taken to his scarf like the snowman has! Great photos!
Wren x

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

oliver has a beautiful necklace -- fitting for a beautiful kitty. i know what you mean about 60s being cold -- that's true in Florida too. Didn't used to be when we lived in Oregon all year, but now that we are used to subtropical temperaturs, we are freezing here in that weather. Ready to head south!

Patsy said...

I love seeing all the sweet kitties and your new header is magnificent. Wish I knew how to do that.

Maggie said...

One of the cosiest things to eat is hot home made soup when the weather turns chilly. I love the way you went "off message" tweaking the ingredients to make this soup your own, I do that all the time!
Thanks for sharing your recipe, it'll come in useful after Boxing Day I'm sure.
Happy Mosaic Monday.

Stacey said...

Fellow Texan here enjoying similar days. We are about to get some real cold though. :)

Anonymous said...

50's sounds marvelous for you. Oliver is such a cutie!!! non-breakable, always a rule here. xox

Gracie Saylor said...

Thanks for such a happy post! I lived in Kingsville, TX...for 3 months...in the summer!!! We had a Christmas tree climbing kitten once, too. Big fluffy snow flakes are falling here in Boring, OR. I am hankering to make some of you soup :)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It's fun that you got some cute pics of your cat! They don't like to fuss, do they? And I love your pretty cookies. We may get into the 50s for a high one day this week and we'll be in sweaters too! heehee! Enjoy your week! Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Your soup looks and sounds great. Fun mosaic shape!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

What fun - that soup looks delicious. If our temps are in the 50s here in the Pacific Northwest you start to see shorts and sandals (not short shorts - but what we used to call Bermuda shorts) and at 68 we think we are in a heat wave. Interesting differences in how we get used to our climates. Your snowman is wonderful!!!!

Eilis said...

Your soup is perfect for this weather! Thank you for joining Monday Social.

Botanic Bleu said...

Soup weather has arrived to north Texas, too. We had our first hard freeze Thursday night, and the days are still overcast and cold. Brrr... Thanks for sharing at Monday Social.

Judith