http://thelittlecabin.net/blog

The reason the blog has its own page is because I have plans for much more than  a blog for the overall site. I hope you really enjoy it a lot. I think it will make it much easier for me to update more often.

Always kind of a good thing for a blog, I’d guess.

Cabbage and Sausage Soup

I created this soup for my mother, who loves both soup and cabbage. It’s really ingredient intense and mildly prep heavy, but really worth the time and work.You can use any sausage, smoked ham, Italian sausage, Kielbasa or a combination of them. I use turkey ham and Italian poultry sausage, usually. Makes really a lot of thick, hardy soup but freezes beautifully.

1-1 1/2 lb. cooked sausage and/or ham, diced.
1 small head cabbage, cored and wedged
1 c. diced sweet onion
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, cleaned well and sliced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
2 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
12 oz vegetable cocktail juice
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 c. beef broth (or use beef base if you have it and equal portions of water.)
5 c. water (more, if needed)
1 1/2 T. dried Italian seasoning
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
lots of fresh ground pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in large deep pan (like a dutch oven) or soup pot. Add onion, carrots, celery and cook just to sweat the veggies, don’t “saute” them. Sweating for about 5 minutes just brings the flavor out, it doesn’t cook them through. Toss in the garlic in the last minute of cook time. Add everything else except the sausage/ham and the potatoes. Let it get hot, then reduce to low heat or simmer for 1 1/2 hours. You can taste during the cooking process, and if it seems weak, add more beef base or broth. Add the potatoes and meats, and cook off for another 20-30 mins, or until cabbage is tenderand potatoes are cooked through.

If you want to start this in the crock pot for the day, you can prep the veggies the night before, and place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to store in the fridge until you get home. It doesn’t take very long for potatoes to cook through.

I’ve decided to go in this direction because I have lots of ideas I’d like to implement that aren’t available on the wonderful free web version of Word Press that begat a long and satisfying blog hobby for so many. I’m excited about the change, but I’m not getting ahead of myself. I said I would post a certain soup recipe, so it will be popping right up after this post.

Now it’s back to hardy (and hopefully at least slightly healthy) cold weather meals. The Beloved and I always love many different kinds of soups in the winter, and I usually create my own recipes. (I never stick exactly with someone else’s recipe no matter how hard I try to make myself, either.) I’m working up this particular recipe for Cabbage soup to share with you, but I still need to fine tune the measurements. Making it today helped to clarify them a little bit better.

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuit copycat

Fresh and hot out of the oven

I used this recipe today, because it’s not in the  Todd Wilbur Top Secret edition I have, and really I didn’t care whose recipe it was. I just wanted fresh biscuits with our soup.

I don’t think it’s a very good idea to use sharp cheddar in these, but I did, because that’s what I always buy for use in my kitchen. These biscuits, made with baking mix and sharp cheddar are like ‘flavor overload’ and not in a good way (in my opinion.) I like them, don’t get me wrong, I just think I’d do well to use mild cheddar next time, because commercial baking mix imparts plenty big flavor itself.

The biscuits, which I kind of sized-up, came out very lightly crunchy on the surface, and big and fluffy inside. You could get the same results from homemade biscuits, if you’re so inclined. Just always be sure to use fresh ingredients, or they’ll come out like hockey pucks. (Not that it has ever happened to me, mind you. )

Here’s the recipe I have used for many years, if you’re adventurous (and ambitious) enough to try scratch biscuits yourself;

Light-gold and crusty outside, moist and fine-textured inside. Yield: 16 Biscuits 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 2/3 cup milk Preheat the oven to 425° F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans. Put the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the milk all at once and stir just until the dough forms a ball around the fork. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 14 times. Pat until 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place touching each other in the cake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Baking-Powder-Biscuits-40048#ixzz1AIf1u4gi

These won’t be quite as salty as those made with baking mix.

All in all, cheddar biscuits were the perfect accompaniment to our Cabbage soup.

Actually, I am just finishing up last minute preparations for Christmas Day dinner. This year, for once we finally have the opportunity to be with my parents directly on Christmas Day rather than somedayinbetweenChristmasandNewYears (yes, that’s its own holiday!). It came about as the result of  last minute change of plans, really, and I didn’t want to spring this on my mother 4 or 5 days beforehand and give her a crapload of stuff to do in little time, so the Beloved said “Let’s take dinner to them.”

Easy for him to say. You all well know who does the cookin’ in this little cabin. LOL Seriously, I thought it was a great idea, and we’ll be serving up turkey, dressing (tradition in my home for many years), homemade rolls, pumpkin bread, and my mom will handle the veggie.

(We didn’t want them to drive all the way here, given our ever-changing weather and their health issues.)

Next thing I knew my brother would be coming because his wife has to work, then she doesn’t have to work and they’ll both be coming for Christmas Dinner, so mom suggested we have the ham she bought, as well. How about that? All because of one little change in plans, I’ll be with almost all of my own family on Christmas Day!

I really am a blessed woman. And there’s no punchline.

Speaking of being blessed, the Beloved and I are flat out horrible at waiting until Christmas Day to give the presents we bought for one another. Hence, the Dec. 22 engagement in 2005 (heh.) Hence,

Beloved Claus comes early

I got this mixer about a  month ago or so, in time for Christmas baking. I can’t even count the times I’ve used it already and even got the bowl stuck on the base once from kneading a big ol’ batch of bread dough.

Needless to say, there is no shortage of Christmas goodies this year at the Little Cabin.

Fred and I wish all of you a Merry and Blessed Christmas with those you hold most dear!

The view from my window

Now slightly to the left

And clear over to the other side

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season!

(The photo directly above is my driveway on the left.)

Any wonder that I treasure these hills as much as I do?