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.

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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!

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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!
           

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

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Speaking of snowmen --

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.

 

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! 







Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

On The Menu

There is rain in the forecast ... lots of it.

So I thought it would be a good time for some soup.

I just happened to have a bag of baby spinach that I needed to use.
There was tortelinni in the freezer. 
 A can of tomatoes from the pantry.
And, I was lucky, 32oz of vegetable broth.
That's all I needed.

I found this recipe in Fine Cooking years ago and it remains one of my
favorite quick and easy recipes.
You can find my original post here.
And, it's pretty too.

I chopped a small onion and let it cook in some olive oil.
Added 32 oz of vegetable broth.
The canned tomatoes.
A bag of baby spinach.
Letting that cook until the spinach was wilted.
Then I added the tortellini.
Let all of that come to a boil and the tortellini fully cook.
Done!

Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and serve.

Quick and easy.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

On The Menu

I really like stuffed peppers.
I found this recipe on Skinnytaste and had to give it a try.

Santa Fe Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Skinnytaste.com 

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/2 pepper • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 160 • Fat: 3 g • Carbs: 19 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 15.5 g • Sugar: 1 g

Sodium: 119 (without salt)  

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 1/2 lb 99% lean ground turkey

• 3/4 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

• 3/4 cups frozen corn

• 1 hot pickled serrano pepper, chopped (or jalepeño) more to taste

• 1 large diced tomato

• 1 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tbsp chopped onion

• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish

• 1 tsp cumin

• kosher salt to taste

For the peppers:

• 3 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise

• 1/3 cup reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth

• 9 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Sargento Monterey Jack cheese

• 1 tbsp chopped scallions, for garnish

Directions:

In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned, add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, serrano pepper, diced tomatoes, and cumin. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid, add corn and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until all the liquid reduces.

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut peppers in half lengthwise, removing seeds and stem.  

Place peppers, cut side up in an oven-proof dish. Fill each pepper with 1/2 cup turkey mixture. Pour about 1/3 cup water or chicken broth on the bottom of the dish. Cover tight with foil. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until the peppers become soft.  

Remove foil, top each with 1 1/2 tbsp of cheese and bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes.  Top with scallions and serve with reduced-fat sour cream if desired (optional).

I rarely make a recipe as it is written.
I didn't have a tomato or a serrano or jalapeno pepper
so I used a can of Rotel Chile.

It was yummy and looks nice on the fall table! 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

I'm joining the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday.