"They call me tater salad."

I need to stop cooking like this. I'm not going to have any clothes that fit by the time Thanksgiving rolls around (see what I did there?). I can't help it though. Fall makes me want to cook. Christmas may be the time of year for baking, but fall is soup season. Here's another one of my favorites, and guess what, it has pork products and potatoes! Big shocker.

Baked Potato Soup
serves an army

• 1 pound of bacon, snipped into bite-sized pieces with kitchen scissors (Use the good stuff, go ahead, you deserve it.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (Baseball-sized is good.)
• 2 cups carrots, diced (Look, it's a vegetable!)
• 5 pounds of potatoes, diced (You can feel healthier and leave the skin on, or go completely unhealthy and peel them first.)
• 1 T dried chives (If you have 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped chives, that's fine, too.)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 to 2 cups milk
• Sour cream to garnish, if you need a little extra fat

Get out your big pot. We're cooking for an army here, there's at least 10 servings in this recipe. Saute the chopped bacon on medium heat until it starts to render its fat.

Add the onion and carrot, and cook until the onion is translucent and the bacon has given off all it's yummy fat. At this point, you can drain off most of the oil, but what's the fun in that? I'm sure cardiologists everywhere are cringing, but bacon fat makes me happy.

Add your potatoes and dried chives, and stir to coat every last piece with goodness. (If you are using fresh chives add them with the cheese so they don't get too nasty.)

Add enough water to cover everything. You can use chicken stock if you'd like, but definitely use low sodium or no salt added chicken stock. Bacon is plenty salty. Taste the broth to see if you need salt or pepper. I always add tons of pepper- I love a peppery potato soup!

After you've adjusted the seasoning, cover it with a lid, and let it cook on medium until the potatoes are starting to fall apart. It's probably going to take about 20 minutes, depending on how big you've diced your potatoes.

Right before serving, add the cheese and stir until it has melted completely. This is when you add the milk. If your soup is too thick, add more milk; if it's just fine, add less milk. Your soup will thicken as it stands, so err on the side of thin rather than thick.

If you've had a really rough day, serve it with a dollop of sour cream and more bacon on top. In my opinion either naked or dressed, this soup is a winner!


I know the title has little to do with the actual post, but it's one of my favorites clips by Ron White.

Yummy, yummy in my tummy... part 2!

One of my Twitter friends, HKprettyinpink, asked me to share my recipe for Sausage, Potato, and Kale soup. I tweeted the simple version, but then thought more explanation might be good for those of you who had no idea what I was talking about. I have come to realize that's most of the earth's population. Even my own family has given me the "wha?" face from time to time.

Doesn't this look good? This is after it's been refrigerated and reheated, too.

So here it goes:


Sausage, Potato, and Kale soup

Note- I call it that because the sausage is my favorite part, followed by the potato, and well, the kale is there because it has vitamins.

• 1 pound of bulk sausage (If you like it spicy, use spicy Italian; if you would rather have chunks of sausage, use sausage links and chop them up, I use Jimmy Dean Regular because that's what I like.)
• 1/2 large onion, chopped (When I say large, I mean the size of a softball.)
• 1 1/2 pounds of baking potatoes, diced (You can either leave the skin on or peel them, your choice. If you would rather have a firmer potato, use red potatoes; they hold up to cooking better.)
• 1 box of chicken stock (I don't know how much stock comes in the box. If you really want to go all Martha, make your own, just don't brag about it to your friends. They might not like you later.)
• 1 pound of frozen greens (Use kale, mustard, turnip or spinach- your choice again. If you want to use fresh, be prepared to wash, dry and chop at least 3-4 pounds to get the same amount. Just go frozen.)

Get out your big pot. Heat enough olive oil to barely cover the bottom over medium heat, and saute your sausage and onion until the sausage is done. If you want globs of sausage, don't worry too much about breaking it up. I need sausage in every bite, so I go medieval on it with my wooden spoon and break it up good.

While the sausage is cooking, you can prep your taters. Add them to the pot and stir until all that yummy sausage and onion stuff is covering every piece. I'm getting hungry. Add the greens now if they're still frozen. If you actually thought ahead and defrosted them (What's wrong with you, and how can I get that way?), add them after the potatoes have cooked halfway.

Dump in your chicken broth. If you need to add a little more water to cover your potatoes, go ahead. Taste the broth to see if you need salt or pepper. If you've added extra water, you're probably going to need to adjust the seasoning. Cover with a lid, and let it cook!

Depending on how big you've diced your potatoes, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. I dice mine small (1/2 inch) because I have no patience. Go small the first time because once you smell this soup, you will want to eat it as soon as you can. If there is any left, I suppose it could be frozen, but I've never had any left to test this theory.

This can also be done in a slow cooker. Saute your sausage and onion first, then add everything to your slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours.

Enjoy!

Jenny taught me how to climb. And I taught her how to dangle.

I've got a yummy, yummy secret to share. Well if I share it, it isn't a secret anymore, is it? Whatever, I have to share this recipe from my friend Jenny, she also sent me that video.

Nutella Pie!
*1 graham cracker crust
*1 box of Devil's food instant pudding
*Nutella
*1 tub of Cool Whip
*1 1/2 c milk
*1 Hershey's chocolate bar (for topping, optional)

-Spread the entire crust (sides and bottom) with Nutella.
-In a med. bowl, mix pudding, 1 1/2 c milk, 1/2 tub of cool whip. Mix well. Pour into crust. Let chill in fridge for 30 min.
-Take out and add remaining (1/2 tub) of cool whip.
-With a cheese grater, put shavings of chocolate bar all over top of cool whip! YUMMO!
-Let chill in fridge for a few hours before eating (or else it will fall apart)!
-Enjoy!

She made one on Sunday and saved me a piece. She had to fight off the hungry menfolk, but she succeeded! Thank you, Jenny!

So yeah, if you haven't tried Nutella yet, it's a chocolate hazelnut spread that is thick like peanut butter. It's good on crepes, pancakes, toast, banana bread, waffles, graham crackers, and scooped out with your finger. Yum, yum, yum...

Yummy, yummy, for my tummy!

First off, Nonna (my MIL) is taking the two older boys for two weeks!!! It's like a half-vacation for me. I'm really glad because Hubby will be taking the teens to camp during that time, and although I can handle all four by myself, he just got back from a four day business trip. I need more time to recover if I'm going to do it again.

Second off (I know that's not right, but deal with it), I wanted to share my sneaky recipe for breakfast bread. I love baking, but I have little patience or time to do it from scratch. So, I use the box mixes and fancy them up a bit. This is not Sandra Lee stuff here. My concoctions are normal. For example-

Peanut Butter Banana Bread- Vanilla cake mix, a cup of freeze dried bananas (Gerber makes them for toddlers or you can use banana chips, but soak them first), peanut butter instead of the butter or oil called for, and for good measure throw 1/2 cup of peanuts in there, too. If you really want to up the banana flavor put a teaspoon of banana flavoring in also.*

Apple Cinnamon Bread- Spice Cake Mix, applesauce instead of the oil called for (lower fat bonus!), a cup of freeze dried apples (once again Gerber or soaked apple chips), and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on the top before baking. You can also substitute apple juice for the water, but sometimes (depending on the mix) it's too sweet. These are supposed to be for breakfast.*

Strawberry Banana Bread- Vanilla Cake Mix (see the trend yet?), a cup of freeze dried strawberries (Gerber or just soaked, dried strawberries), substitute banana baby food for the oil (or just mash up a couple of bananas), banana flavoring if you feel the need, and I always sprinkle red sugar crystals on top. I'll explain why later.*

Mocha Chip Bread- (You had to know this one was coming) Chocolate Cake Mix, a cup of mini chocolate chips, very strong coffee instead of the water called for, and if you feel you need to lower the fat, prune puree or applesauce instead of the oil.*

I have more that I may be posting later, but I had to share the best part. You can freeze them!!! I make them in muffin tins and throw them in freezer bags after they've cooled. You only have to bake once a month, and you'll be set for breakfast! I usually separate the flavors, but since we don't have a microwave (our microwave broke again and I refuse to buy another one- three in one month is ridiculous! I do miss my popcorn though... back on track now), they have to defrost in the refrigerator. I also like to mix the flavors together in the same bag so everyone gets their favorite flavor without having four gallon-sized bags hogging space in my refrigerator. This is why I put the sprinkles on top- red sprinkles means strawberry- hello! The batter for the other recipes are different colors, but the Peanut Butter Banana and Strawberry Breads are almost identical. Especially when you're half awake and rushing to get to school.

The kids love them. Mommy loves them too, because she is NOT a morning person. They're great to have on hand for improptu coffee or tea with friends, and if you have a microwave, you can just zap them from frozen.

I know, I know, they have a lot of sugar in the mixes, but fess up, you give your kids frosted sugar-coated cereal all the time. Mine have real fruit in them, too. Some mornings, they'll have orange juice and yogurt or a banana with one, but I won't lie, sometimes I just give them two muffins and milk. I'm an awful mother, I know, but I REALLY don't like mornings. Once someone comes out with whole wheat cake mixes I'll be better, I promise.

I do occasionally make muffins from scratch (with whole wheat flour even), but really, I'm just being honest here, it's hard to be perfect all the time.

*Unless I've specified to substitute a certain ingredient, follow all the directions on the box. I do not recommend substituting egg whites for the whole eggs if you are substituting out the oil. It just turns out weird, and we do want the children to eat them, right? Oh, and if you can't get freeze dried fruit (try your sporting goods store in the camping section, too), just soak your dried fruit or fruit chips in the liquid you're using in the recipe. Half an hour is fine. I'm not sure why, but the freeze dried fruit turns out fine after baking, but the dried fruit is always leathery unless you soak it first.

Enjoy!

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

I thought that I'd share what I did this evening. I was lucky enough to get some oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from the parents of a boy in my after school care program. Thanks Dee and Mark! My kids don't eat the flesh of the oranges, so they got juiced.

We have a fridge and freezer full of orange and grapefruit juice, and a produce drawer full of tangerines. Yummy! For those of you not lucky enough to get oranges from someone's backyard this is what they look like. They're not all orange, and some even have brown patches. But they beat anything you can find in the store in the taste department.

And then we have the leftovers. Hubby is going to have to take that one to the curb. It's heavy!

So anyone have any good recipes that use orange or grapefruit juice? I could use one or two.