Wonderful Soup ... perfect for Fall

Tonight we had Crock Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup from A Year of Slow Cooking. This was a perfect way to start Fall. It was excellent and has made its way into my book of tried and true recipes to be used again (and again!). Thanks to Stephanie O'Dea for such wonderful cooking. If you haven't checked out her site, please take a look, I know you will enjoy it. I've posted the recipe below, and here at Stephanie's site: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html

--1 pound dried black eyed peas
--1 pound spicy sausage
--6 cups chicken broth
--1 yellow onion, diced
--1 cup diced carrots
--1 cup diced celery
--4 cloves garlic, diced
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (not pictured. I didn't know I needed it at first. But I did.)
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--Tabasco sauce (to add at the end to taste)

The Directions.

Soak your beans overnight. Drain and pick out the undesirables (broken, discolored beans) in the morning.Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people. Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans. Add sliced sausage. Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6. Before serving, use a stick blender to smash up about 1 cup of beans. If you don't have a stick blender, scoop out 1 cup of beans, blend them in a traditional blender, and add back to the soup. Don't blend too much---just enough to get the broth thicker and creamy-looking.Ladle into bowls, and add Tabasco sauce to taste.

Monday Menu

Found this recipe the other day on one of my groups, don't remember which one, but the recipe said its from a site called HALFMYSIZE.COM, I am going to try this tonight, I wasn't able to find the recipe itself at the site but then I haven't registered as of yet and gone browsing through the site ... I think I will go do that shortly, this is the link to the site. http://www.halfmysize.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Taco Bake
Serves - 8

1 lb very lean (96%) ground beef or 12 oz. Boca Crumbles
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red or green pepper
1 8 oz. package Reduced Fat crescent rolls
1 can pinto beans with or without jalapenos, drained
1 packet tacoseasoning
2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 cup fat free cheddar cheese

Preheave over to 375.
Brown beef, onion and pepper, drain.

Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Unroll crescent rolls (they will fit right inside of the pan). Pinche togehter to make crust and bake for 6 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, beans and taco season to beef, mix thoroughly. Top crust with meat mixture and bake 10 minutes, top with chesse and bake additional 5 minutes.

This sounds like a great fall time meal, will find out tonight. As I usually do I will make a good sized salad with several ingredients, not sure whether we'll have a pudding or fruit dessert. As we're cutting down I'm finding that by making larger salads, and a "normal" size main portion is a good thing. I'm hoping to freeze 1/2 of this (I hope it freezes ... will find that out too!).

Addendum = this was good, put in my "keep" book to make in a few months. I think this is something nice every few months for a change of pace and it certainly is easy enough. As far as freezing, I decided not to, I'm thinking the crust wouldn't do well, so the remainder we will have on leftover night, although I think the beef mixture by itself would freeze well.

Sharing an inspiration

I am just amazed at all the wonderful blogs that I keep finding with the most creative, giving, authors! There are so many wonderful projects, ideas, re-dos, and recipes with such generosity in sharing that which they do and create. Crochet (has to be the first mentioned you know), knitting, painting, sewing, quilting, woodworking, cooking ... the list goes on, no? You know what I mean. I have always loved to make things and these have inspired me to start to make my own designs (of which are only a few), but more in time (I hope!).

I'm thinking of every now and then featuring a blog here ... would appreciate any thoughts on this or letting me know about a blog; yours or another's.

Beauty

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller

Diamonds in Snow ...

...a crocheted scarf.





Just finished this tonight. I don't think the picture shows it well though. The silver is Patons' Brilliant and has a sparkle to it and the off white is Caron's Simply Soft, so it is very comfortable and, what else ... soft! It is worked in continuous rows around and goes up quickly.



It does curl and so I ironed it with a press cloth and low heat to help it lay out but it still does twist, (much more then what you see here) but I think that adds to it. To keep from twisting, just use one size hook throughout.


This is a great stash buster, using less then a skein of each.

One skein each of Paton's Brilliant and Caron Simply Soft
Hook Sizes F, J, K

Starting with J Hook and Paton's Brilliant

1. ch 11, sc in 2nd chain from hook and each chain across, 10sc ch1, turn



2. sc in same stitch as c1, sc across, 10sc ch1, turn - repeat this for 10 rows - first diamond



3. ch 31, turn, sc in 2nd chain from hook and 9 more, 10 sc, ch1, turn sc in same stitch as ch1, sc across, ch1, turn, repeat this for 10 rows - 2nd diamond



4. repeat row 3 - 3rd diamond



5. ch 114, turn, sc in 2nd chain from hook and 9 more, 10sc, ch1, turn, sc in same stitch as ch1, sc across, ch1, turn ... repeat for 10 rows - 4th diamond



6. Repeat row 3 two more times for 5th and 6th diamonds.



7. Change to F Hook sc around diamonds and in each chain going up one side and then down to where you started with the F Hook, fasten off.



8. With K Hook attach Caron Simply Soft Off White, ch 3, dc in each sc around, sl st to beginning ch 3.




9. 9. Ch3, dc around again, sl st to beginning.



10. 10. Repeat row 9, st st to beginning ch 3 and fasten off. (Three rows of the off white.)

Monday Menu today

Its that time of the week again (already, how quickly these weeks are going by!), preparing what Monday's Menu will be ... this cooler air leads me to soups and stews and taking what I have on hand tomorrow night we will be having stew! A very simple dish, simple ingredients, quite tasty!

A Very Simple Beef Stew

2 tbls. oil
1 lb. stew meat (cut into smaller pieces)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
16 oz. bag of mixed vegetables
handful of baby carrots, chopped
celery stalk, sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
8-9 cups of water
3 chicken bouillon cube

Brown stew meat in oil in pot.
Add onion and garlic, saute
add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, cook about 3 hours till water has reduced. Very flavorful and doesn't get much easier then this. This is a s u p e r e a s y one.

Serve with bread and a salad. Weather perfect.

Crocheted Lined Envelope Styled Pouch

Another stash buster is this little envelope styled pouch. And it is oh so easy! Its actually large enough (8 x 10 inches) to hold a book, some crochet hooks, a skein of yarn for a crochet theme although you could use for anything. Remember that I'm stash busting right now so I just grabbed the next yarn in the pack and on hand fabric, but with a very pretty yarn, say a silvery with a satin lining would make a wonderful package to contain a camisole or slip tucked inside! Add emblishments to the outside ... buttons, jewlery, crocheted motifs, or embroidery.

With J hook, ch 31, sc in 2nd chain from hook and across (31 stitches), ch 1, turn

SC in each stich across, ch 1 turn ... continue for 58 rows, place a marker at this point, then continue to work even for another 5 more rows.

On next row decrease one sc at the beginning of the row and one at the end of the row, ch 1 turn,

continue with this to last two stitches

Now sc around entire piece.

Cut a piece of fabric for lining a little bit bigger then your flat crocheted envelope, draw a line around the crocheted envelope to mark the lining

Fold the lining using your marked line as a guide and iron down, place on crocheted piece and sew in place.

Fold the bottom to point of marker, with contrasting color single crochet from bottom (going through both now front and back stitches and then around flap and continue down the other side through both front and back sc's. Fasten off. Put a row of single crochets across the inside edge to finsh off, weave in all ends. Fill with your items and you're finished.

On a smaller scale these would make wonderful "place cards". Embroidering a name, lining with fabric to reflect the holiday or occasion, filling with a lottery ticket, candy kisses, mints, and a little ornament or trinket these would look adorable on a doily covered plate.

Remember

Remembering those who lost their lives, and their families, with prayers and love.

We must never forget.

Lentils Recipe

Lentils are a nice side dish to a main meal. For two people this makes enough to accompany two meals.

Lentils

1 1/2 cups of lentils, rinsed
6 cups water
1 onion, diced
garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 cups sliced baby carrots
3 chicken bouillon cubes
4 stalks celery, diced

Put all ingredients in pot except for celery, bring to boil, simmer till lentils are soft and cooked and water is reduced. As I like the celery a bit crunchy I added the celery at this point and continued cooking for about 15 minutes longer. If you prefer the celery cooked add right at the beginning.

Labor Day

Monday Menu on Sunday Nite

What beautiful weather we are having. Sunny and clear and no doubt that Fall is now in the air, there's actually a chill this evening. With that being the case, it makes me look for stew or soup type meals. I dug out my crock pot and popped over to A Year of Slow Cooking and found this lovely looking dish ...

Slow Cooker Sausage & Vegetables Medley
to complete dinner we will have
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Salad
Chocolate Pudding

Right now I have 6 Italian Turkey Sausage and 2 Italian Sausage browning in the oven to use tomorrow in this recipe. The recipe is as follows:

5-6 chicken or turkey sausage links
1/2 package mushrooms
1-2 medium potatoes
few stalks of celery
some baby carrots
some broccoli
some cauliflower (will be leaving that out, one of my favorites, but not the family's)
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup white wine (not a necessity, so will probably not use)

Layer vegetables, (most to least dense) in crock pot
add sliced sausage
add broth and wine
cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4
right before serving can add a handful of fresh spinach and cover for 10 minutes to wilt leaves

I'll be adding whatever else I find in the fridge, i.e., peppers ...

The original recipe and pictures are here:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/crockpot-sausage-and-vegetables-medley.html
A Year of Slow Cooking is by Stephanie O'Dea ... I know you will love this blog. Wait till you see her book!

Unlined Book Tote

Easy, stash busting book/magazine tote.

Quick, single strap, tote that works up easily in an evening. Great for using up those scrap pieces of yarn, change colors as desired.

With J Hook:

1. Ch 25, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across to last chain, 3 sc in last chain.

2. Continue sc in opposite side to end, 3 sc in end stitch. Place marker to indicate start/end of row.

3. Sc down side to end, 3 sc in middle st on the edge, sc down to side, 3 sc on starting edge.

4 - 8. Continue row 3 for an additional 5 rows, this completes the base of the bag.

9. From here on sc in back loop only. Continue around until piece measures 12 inches, fasten off.

Strap:

Ch 6, sc in 2nd chain from hook and next 4 stitches, 5sc, *ch1, turn, sc in each 5 sc*.Continue till strap is 20 inches long. Sew strap to bag sides.

Tote with added loop motif.

Fill with book and/or magazine, warm soft socks or slippers, tea bags and a few goodies for a get well or thinking of you gift.

Loop Motif

Size J Hook

Small amount of yarn

Ch 6, join

1. Ch 3, dc in ring, ch 2, *2dc, 2ch* in ring for 8 ch 2 spaces and 16 dc, join.

2. Ch 8, skip 2dc, sc in next dc, repeat around, join.

3. *Ch 8, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc,* repeat around, ch 8, join.

4. Sl st into loop, ch3, 1dc, 1tr, 2dc in loop, sc in sc, *2dc, 1tr, 2dc in loop, sc in sc, repeataround, st st into lst sc.

5. *Ch 5, sc in tr, ch 5, sc in sc*, repeat around, join in lst sc, fasten off.

Round About Motif

And this is my first motif ... Round About or Little Round About. Make a nice sets of coasters or use to embellish clothing, bags, purses ...

I used a size J hook on these, however, you can use whatever you would like. I also will be trying in thread , I think these would look very pretty as an embellishment to a garment. They take a small amount of yarn - great for stash busting!

Ch 8, join to lst chain.

1. Ch 3, 23 dc in loop, join to top of ch 3; 24 dc.

2. *ch 3, skip 1 stitch, dc in next stitch* around, join in list sc.
3. Slip st into first loop, *ch3, skip 1 st, sc in next st* around, join 1st sc.

(stop here for the little round about)

4. Slip st into loop, ch3, 2 dc in same loop, *sc in sc, ch3, 3dc in loop* around, sc, fasten off.