Pumpkin Ginger Soup

This has become a traditional part of my Thanksgiving meal. I make a big pot the day before Thanksgiving and have a bowl with a sandwich or grilled cheese--an easy, satisfying meal after a day of baking.

My family has its Thanksgiving meal in the afternoon, so a bowl of Pumpkin Ginger Soup keeps me from being grumpy while I smell that turkey cooking.

This soup isn't sweet like Pumpkin Pie. It is hearty and using a tart apple in the recipe adds a nice flavor. It also taste better after taking a moment to count a few of those blessings we take for granted the rest of the year.

Here's my recipe. I believe I found it at cooks.com:

Pumpkin Ginger Soup

2 cups--or 1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)
3 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup light cream
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium apple, diced (I used a Granny Smith apple)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Saute onion and apple until tender. Stir in pumpkin, broth, and spices. Remove from heat.

Process or blend until smooth. Return to saucepan and stir in cream.

Heat through and serve.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving.

A SALAD DRESSING RECIPE

When we begin to watch our weight, we immediately begin to add salads to our meals. The thing is, a salad can become a high calorie side dish--especially if you love those creamy salad dressings.

I've tried using light dressings, but they all seem to leave a bitter aftertaste. I've also tried using less dressing, but then the salads seem a bit plain.

Then I stumbled upon this recipe for an oil, vinegar & herb dressing. I'm not exactly sure how many calories the dressing has, but the canola oil I use is 120 calories per tablespoon--and one tablespoon will sufficiently coat and flavor a large salad.

A good thing about an oil and vinegar dressing is that it doesn't cling to the lettuce. It lightly flavors the salad and drips to the bottom of the container, without adding extra calories.

Another additional benefit of this recipe is that it is very economical. Once you purchase the ingredients, they will last far longer than a $2 to $3 bottle of regular dressing. Here's the recipe:

OIL, VINEGAR & HERB DRESSING

olive, peanut, or vegetable oil (of any variety)
wine vinegar
salt (I like kosher salt best)
parsley flakes
crushed pepper
You may also add:
cloves
crushed garlic
basil
tarragon

1. Combine 1 tea. salt, 1 tea. crushed pepper, and 3 table. wine vinegar in a jar.

2. Cover and shake hard so the salt mixes with the vinegar.

3. Add 3/4 cup of oil, 1 table. parsley, and shake the jar some more. Add any other ingredients and shake.

4. Refrigerate the rest.

I hope you enjoy this!

Simple Holiday Recipes

Many of you in the U. S. are putting the finishing touches to your Thanksgiving menu. Some of you out of the country are all ready gathering recipes for your Christmas dinner or trying to find something for your Christmas parties.

Let's face it. We all live busy lives. We like good food, but most of us don't have a lot of time to give to the preparation of a meal. Here are two side dishes that you can throw together rather quickly. The first is one I often put together and people always like it. I ate the second at a Thanksgiving get-together yesterday and liked so much I decided to make it for my family get-together.

Fruit Salad Ambrosia

Whipped topping--Cool Whip or another brand
Variety of fruit--canned or fresh or a variety of both
shredded coconut--optional
chopped walnuts or pecan--optional

I like to buy the canned tropical fruit mix and add chopped fresh fruit--bananas, apples, grapes, and so on. I mix these with the whipped topping. If I am with a group that enjoys nuts and coconut, I add these. You can be creative. Pop it into the refrigerator until time to serve. In a matter of minutes you have a tasty side dish.


Cranberry Sauce Salad

1 large package of cherry Jello
1 can of cranberry sauce
2 c. boiling water
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple (drained and chilled)

Mix Jello in boiling water. Add cranberry sauce, blend well. Fold in pineapple and pour into a mold or bowl. refrigerate.

I hope these recipes simplify your Thanksgiving or Christmas.

May you truly remember that our time on this Earth is limited and precious. Take the time to tell someone you love them.

. . . if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 KJV

Pumpkin Ginger soup

I have been neglecting my blog a bit. Between job hunting and trying to get my manuscript ready to send to an agent, I barely have a moment to rest. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe one day one of my books will be on the Wal-Mart shelf.

In the meantime, I promised you a pumpkin soup recipe. When I first took a bite of this soup, I was surprised. I expected it to have the sweet taste of pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread. Once I pushed that thought out of my mind and took a second taste, I realized it was a great, hearty soup.

My mother likes a late Thanksgiving dinner, so I will make this soup the night before and eat a bowl for lunch. This is definitely a soup that taste better the second day.

Enjoy and let me know what you think of this recipe. By the way, I found this from Cooks.com .

Pumpkin Ginger Soup

2 cups--or 1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)
3 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup light cream
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium apple, diced (I used a Granny Smith apple)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Saute onion and apple until tender. Stir in pumpkin, broth, and spices. Remove from heat.

Process or blend until smooth. Return to saucepan and stir in cream.

Heat through and serve.

Carrot Cookies

I seldom bake. Most of my baking occurs between the months of October till New Years Day. Since it is almost Halloween, I decided to try a distinctively orange recipe. Now, I am not even going to pretend that it is healthy, but it might provide a new way to give your children their roughage. They might even enjoy mashing the cooked carrots.

My son, 24, just ate one cookie and went back for a second. That's a good sign. I don't like iced cookies but will add the recipe for the frosting anyway.

I have had this recipe for ages. I think it come from either the Angel Food website or Cooks.com. Both are great sites. This is an interesting cookie, not overly sweet.

Carrot Cookies

3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. cooked, mashed carrots
1 egg
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsb. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla or lemon juice.

Mix together butter, sugar, carrots, and eggs. Sift together the dry ingredients. I'm lazy so I just used self-rising flour and left off the salt and baking powder. Add either the vanilla or the lemon juice to the mixture. Drop by the teaspoonful on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 or 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Frosting
juice of one orange (strained)
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

I am thinking about trying this recipe again, but substituting the cooked carrots with dried cranberry (cran-raisins). I think that would make a nice holiday cookie.