Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Italian Wedding Soup

This is my low carb version of creamy italian wedding soup. We love this soup and it's so so easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 box (quart?) chicken broth
1 head cauliflower (or a bag, frozen)
1 pint heavy cream
1 pound sweet italian sausage
3 cloves garlic
1 big onion
a pot full of chopped curly kale
water
salt, pepper

Here's what you do:
*Pour the entire box of chicken broth into a medium pot, break up cauliflower and place in pot, cook on medium/high then medium/low until cauliflower is tender/smooshie.
*While that cooks, chop onion and garlic, set aside.  Then chop the kale in big pieces like you'd cut romaine for a ceasar salad.  It may feel tough now, but it gets limp and is easy to spoon once cooked.
*Put a swirl of olive oil in a big pot and heat, then add the peeled sausages, breaking up into large chunks, about 3/4 inch each.  Keep stirring so it doesn't stick and toss in a chopped onion and chopped garlic.  Once this is cooked, turn down to low.  Drain excess oil if necessary.
*Smash cauliflower in the chicken broth with a potato masher.  It doesn't have to be creamed, but pretty well smooshie, which thickens the soup.  Throw this into the pot with the italian sausage and stir.
*Add water to bring pot to half full.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
*Pack kale in until no more will fit in pot. It will cook down!  Cook on med heat until the kale is soft and cooked down into the liquid (maybe a half hour or more).
*Add pint of heavy cream.  Never allow any soup with milk product to boil!  It will turn grainy.
*Now serve!


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Southern Pork Pot in the Pressure Cooker

Southern Pork Pot in the Pressure Cooker
I have this wonderful basket of vegetables on my kitchen counter, just waiting to be cooked.  On top was a pint of fresh okra, and beneath that were white boniato sweet potatoes that I grew myself.  Both are pretty much southern fare, so I decided to do a little mix/match and create a meal.

I put a small pork roast in the pressure cooker to be browned a bit in hot oil, lid off.  Next went a couple of cups of water, a personal sized can of tomato juice, and a big bowl of cut up vegetables: a huge white sweet potato with skin, cut into wedges, one big carrot, a small onion, about a dozen spears of sliced up okra, two very ripe tomatoes, a 6 ounce can of tomato juice, salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, and celery seed.  I have no idea how it will taste, but most of my creations are usually pretty good.

prepared ingredients
browned pork roast on top of veggies and liquids
  I closed the lid, brought the fire up to start the pressure, which pops up the safety lock.  Once the lock is up, the steam is focused on the little rattler on the top of the pot.  It sounds like a train rattling down the tracks to me.
It smells wonderful!
After about a half hour of puffing, I'll turn off the burner and let it cool down for about fifteen minutes.  The safety lock (a little metal stick that keeps the lid securely shut) will retract and then I can open the lid and serve dinner.  I like a pressure cooker...it is the polar opposite of a crock pot, but just as wonderful.  Okay - Once finished, I fished out the solids from the pot and added corn starch to make a thin gravy.  Dinner was VERY good.  Too strange for David who doesn't care for any southern veggie, but Mark, Amanda and I dug in.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Homemade Kettle Corn

a giant kettle korn setup - not my kitchen
Today as Mark and I watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Saints, I took a kitchen break and whipped up my own version of kettle corn.  Here is my recipe:

You will need-
mid-sized pot with lid
popcorn oil
popcorn
sugar
popcorn salt
big bowl
large spoon

Instructions-

  • In a mid sized pot with lid over high heat, swirl enough butter flavored popcorn oil to mostly coat the bottom of the pot.
  • Add 4 kernels of corn and cover.  Wait to hear four pops.
  • Add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, cover and swirl just a few seconds to moisten the corn.
  • Immediately add 2 teaspoons sugar.
  • Cover and shake pan over high heat until popping stops.
  • Dump into big bowl and give a few shakes of fine popcorn salt (to taste).  Stir well with a large spoon.
I have a glass top stove and it worked fine.  In fact, I think shimmy-shaking the pan was much easier on the smooth surface.

Search This Blog

Search Labels

15 bean soup almond milk apple waldorf salad Aunt Louise's Lemon Supreme Cake avocado avocado smoothie baking list banana bread banana cake bbq chicken bbq pork ribs bbq short ribs bean soup beans and rice beef Beef fajita on rice beef ribs Beef Shank beef shanks and eggplant beef short ribs in pressure cooker beef stew beef stew kale mushr barley bell peppers beverage BISCUITS black Black and White Chili black-eyed peas and rice blueberry blueberry basil vinegar blueberry citrus concerve blueberry-strawberry jam bok choy bratwurst/chicken breakfast breakfast bar breakfast hot egg breakfast simple brocolli cheese soup brown sugar & pecan pound cake browned burgers browned butter frosting browned butter icing Brownie Mania buffalo chicken wings burgers butter melt away cookies Butternut Squash Soup cabbage and sausage Cabbage and Straw Italiano cabbage boil cake Candy canning canning salsa canning strawberry preserves caramel cake carnival food carrot cake casserole cast iron cookware cauliflower mac n cheese cereal cheesecake cheesy hash brown chili cherry blueberry dump cherry cream cheese bake cherry pie chicken chicken baked chicken bbq chicken breasts chicken brown rice tomato corn chicken cheddar ritz chicken cordon bleu chicken creole chicken fajitas chicken fettucini alfredo chicken hen bake chicken in the pressure cooker chicken kiev chicken leggies chicken parm chicken pot pie from Costco chicken stuffing bake chicken/brat chili chocolate chocolate cake chocolate cocoa icing chopped steak chowder Christmas Christmas 2013 baking list Christmas Baking christmas cookies Christmas Crack collard greens Cookie Icing cookies cooking lesson - baked chicken corned beef and cabbage Costco Meal cream cheese pound cake crock pot datil pepper sauce. crock pot turkey crockpot bean soup crockpot curry chicken stew crockpot sizes curry stew with root vegetables and chicken datil pepper datil pepper jelly datil pepper sauce datil recipes Del Frisco's steak desserts deviled eggs deviled eggs colored Diet dill pickles dump cake Easter Dinner egg egg yolk removal eggplant eggplant parmesan eggs steamed to hard boiled failure Failures fair food fair sausages fast meal father's day pound cake fettuccine fifteen bean soup fish fix and freeze chicken fix syrupy jam flank steak with tomato and onion freezer meals frosting garlic dill pickles ginger ale carrots gingerbread men greens grilled pork chops Ham ham dinner hamburger hamburger hashbrown casserole hamburger patties hamburger patties with gravy hamburgers and hot dogs heart attack chicken heart attack chicken 2 honey garlic chicken hot dogs hummingbird cake ice cream ice cream - cinnamon ice cream - peach icing italian sausage Italian Wedding Soup Italian Wedding Soup with kale jam failure repair kale kettle cork Key Lime Pie kosher greens lantana in a pot laundry detergent leftovers lemon supreme cake lemons lima beans limoncello limoncello simple syrup liquer lonely roast beef low carb blueberry omlette low carb creamed shrimp and veggies low carb popsicles low carb snack drink low carb soup mac n cheese n cauliflower macaroni and cheese margaritas mayonnaisse meals meatballs meatballs in gravy meatloaf with salsa Mennonite Girls Can Cook menu list menu monday 2-8-10 mexican Mexican Chicken Mexican restaurant MnM Cookies molasses cookies moose poop Mother's Day mushburger soup mushel-burgers My Fridge Food navy bean soup in crockpot oatmeal breakfast bar oatmeal cookies okra onion pepper sausages orange baked chicken oreo brownie bar oriental oven baked chicken fajitas Paleo Pancakes pasta pasta puttanesce pasta puttanesce mushrooms pb and cocoa and coffee drink peach butter peach cobbler peaches peanut butter Peanut Butter/Flax/Oatmeal Protein Balls Perkin's pickled peaches pickles pie pie cherry pineapple upside down cake polynesian pot roast popcorn pork pork chops pork chops and corn flakes pork neckbones and gravy pork purlo pork ribs pork roast pork roast in the crock pot Pot Roast pound cake pressure cooker beef short ribs pressure cooker pork pot prostitute meal Pumpkin bake Pumpkin Ice Cream pumpkin latte coffee creamer quinoa quinoa veggie salad ratatouille veg dish raw cow's milk re-canning syrupy jam recipe finder red refrigerator cookie Ribs ribs and organics ribs in pressure cooker ribs/steak roast beef in a pot roll and cut out cookies salad Salmon Salad salsa Sangria sausage sausage chowder sausage spaghetti sausages scalloped potatoes seafood separate egg yolk shake shepherd's turkey pie short ribs short ribs of beef shrimp shrimp farfalle calabrese skateland pickles sketti slow cooker chicken smoked meats soup sour cream pound cake southern pound cake spaghetti spaghetti meat free spinach phyllo spinach swiss quiche spritz cookies squash steak stew strawberry cake and icing strawberry cheesecake strawberry frosting strawberry jam strawberry preserves strawberry-banana jam stuffed bel peppers stuffed pork chops sugar cookie superbowl 2012 superbowl steak sushi swedish almond slices sweet taco pasta tandoori thai grilled eggplant Thanksgiving. tilapia Toffee tortollini with spinach trifle turkey dinner turkey greens turkey wings twice-toasted toast Uncle RP's London Broil Uncle RP's London Broil Marinade Veg-All Casserole vegetable vegetable soup vegetables veggie mac n cheese wedding cookies weekly menu white chili winter soup yolk removal