Sweet potato & leek soup

2 Leeks cleaned & chopped
1 Small onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2 Sweet potatoes peeled & chopped
1 Can pumpkin
2 Cloves garlic chopped
1 Quart vegetable broth & 1 cup water
2 Bay leaves
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp each cinnamon, cloves & ginger
Salt & pepper to taste


Saute onions & leeks in olive oil in a big soup pot. Add rest of ingredients & cook till potatoes are tender. Then remove bay leaves & puree soup in blender.

Favorite Christmas cookie?

What is your favorite Christmas cookie? I have always loved Pfeffernusse! Or as I called them when I was a kid... Poof cookies!!!

Chili with hominy

I made this satisfying chili just last night & it turned out great. Even my husband did not miss his beloved meat! And the surprising element of hominy is a great edition. This chili is guaranteed to warm you on a chili winter night.

1 large yellow onion
1 TBSP olive oil
1 Large can diced tomatoes
1 large can Mexican style hominy
1-2 TBSP chili powder
1-2 TBSP cumin
1 can cannellini beans drained
Sprinkling of red chili flakes (to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste
Grated cheddar cheese & diced onions for garnish

Sauté the onion in the olive oil in a large dutch oven.
Add all of the ingredients & simmer for 1 hour.
Season according to taste.
When finished serve up in a bowl garnished with a sprinkling of diced onions & cheese.

Most unusual dish...

What was the most unusual dish you ate for thanksgiving?

Mine was pumpkin cheesecake instead of pie DELISH!!!

Andrea

Creative recipes

Anyone have any creative recipes that use up some of the excess candy that our kids have collected this Halloween?

Refrigerator Pickles

I love a good deli pickle. But the pickles you buy in those jars at the market just don’t cut it! They are all soggy & not at all tasty. I had always heard about these pickles you could make & keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. After doing some research I found some recipes & tried them out. Of course, I had to make a recipe my own, & this is what I came up with.

Take 6-8 pickling cucumbers & quarter them lengthwise into spears. Place them in a container that you can seal & keep in the refrigerator. Cover the spears with this combination:


2 cups cold water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 TBSP. kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
5 whole peppercorns
10 grinds of pepper
3 cloves of garlic

Keep these pickles in the fridge. I have been told that they last for 2 weeks, I really do not know because my family devours them in less than a week!
P.S. I also read that they need 2 days to “cure”. But, I love them even after 1 day!

Favorite Halloween treat

Is there a favorite Halloween treat you make for the kids?