Soup by Grinnin' Meadows Fresh

Pumpkin Soup with Lime-Ginger Cream

This soup will warm your belly as well as your soul:  Created and written by Sara Rolfs of Grinnin' Meadows

1/4 C butter

2 C finely chopped onions

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/3 C Milk

 3 cups pumpkin puree

6 C chick or veggie soup stock

salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:  1/4 C lime juice

     1 TBS grated fresh ginger

  1/2 C sour cream

  2 TBS grated lime zest

~ In a large skillet melt butter over med heat.  Add onions and slowly saute until translucent.  Stiur in cayenne and transfer to food processor or blender.  Add milk & pumpkin, process until smooth.  Pour mixture into saucepan and whisk in the soup stock.  Over med-high heat bring soup to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper.

~In a small saucepan over med heat, cook lime juice and grated ginger for 2 mintues.  Starin into a med bowl, discard the ginger and whisk the remaining liquied with sour cream.

~Ladle soup into bowls.  Put the lime-sour cream mixture into a squeeze bottle and decorate by drizzling designs on top.  Sprinkle with lime zest.



Oh Crepe....what's for breakfast?

We love crepes in our house.  They are easy.  They are cheap.  And the are tasty!!  I think the overall perception in America is that the crepe is a Breakfast item but to me they are the European tortilla.  You can throw meat, cheese, and veggies in to make a nutritious dinner.  Essentially, anything that you put on your bread can go in a crepe (more, I am sure, if you get creative). 

Here is a quick, easy basic crepe recipe.  In fact, I don't think I have EVER used a different recipe:

TOri loves fruit crepes...PS this fruit came from the freezer so we can have Fruit Crepes all year!Basic Crepe Recipe

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 water (if you don't have milk handy use a whole cup of water...it really doesn't effect the crepe too much)

1/2 tsp of salt

2 Table spoons melted butter

Mix all these ingredients together until there are no lumps.  Pour into a heated pan (no oil necessary - I usually cook on mid-high - I also use a large pan since I like big crepes).  Once the batter is in the pan sort of tilt the pan around to coat the bottom of the pan with the batter (much like you would when making an omelet).  It only takes about 15 seconds per side to cook the crepe all the way through. 

Then remove from pan and fill with your favorite mixings.  Wrap those babies up and serve.  For dessert crepes, we use a little Nutella and bananas.  For dinner, we might toss fresh pesto with chicken and shredded cheese...there are limitless ideas for crepes....ENJOY!

I am always on the hunt for creative menu items.  Let me know if you have a new one to try!

Quick Cookies - Freeze them!

So I am a menu maker in my home.  I really find this keeps us on track with budget, health and keeping from wasting food each week.  One of the first things I ever began freezing is cookie dough.  Even when I was single I really enjoyed cooking at home but always found it hard to make single-serving "anything."  A batch of cookies (although I could certainly put away a batch) was always difficult to throw out so I started makinig 6-12 cookies out of the batch.  I then separate the cookies into 6 cookie portions onto saran wrap.  I fold over the ends then roll up the dough.  I found myself with fresh cookies any time I wanted them.

Choose any cookie recipe you like:

double or triple your batchnot a gorgeous picture but you get the idea...

portion out the appropriate cookie amount for your family

roll in saran/plastic wrap

TO COOK FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH:

remove from freezer - No need to defrost

remove wrap, then slice (I find it easier to slice while the cookie dough is still frozen)

Cook at the regular temperature needed for your choice of cookie.

P.S. - I dig around the internet for tasty ideas of recipes I like that can be made in bulk so that when I cook, I can freeze left overs.  Let me know if you have any grerat ideas for Freezer recipes...One of my favorite is Pesto Pinwheel Chicken...

Cooking pumpkins...

I am a turkey baby.  Mom birthed her 7th baby on Thanksgiving Eve...just in time to swaddle me, rush home to finish basting the turkey.  Being born on Thanksgiving, I must confess -  I have no love lost on the pumpkin pie.  Not sure at what point I choose a dislike for the gourd

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Sit, laugh, enjoy a good meal-together Kate

I find it interesting that when I look up families eating together, there is an actual study conducted by the University of Minnesota in 2004. This study shows that “frequent family meals are related to better nutritional intake, and a decreased risk for unhealthy weight control practices, and substance abuse.” (www.mealsmatter.org). Not only does this study show that our physical health is improved, but that the mental health is also improved.

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