Kitchen Fixin's ~ New Recipes ~ My Hour Off

I used the last of the sweet potatoes for dinner.  I'm thrilled they lasted this long.  Do you see that recipe?  Ha!  It's in my pile on the counter, but half of the recipe is missing.  It's for a beef barley soup, which is really not new to me.  However, I decided to use all the ingredients, but use my crock pot, and leave out the beef.

Funny story about this.  I was on my knees, digging through the freezer looking for beef, when I found one last bag of frozen garden tomatoes.  I was so excited the girls laughed at me.

 

I had leftover vegetable broth, so I made this vegetable barley soup.  I tossed in some dandelion greens at the end, and used the leftover home canned hot sauce to add more flavor (and not let it waste).  It was fantastic.  And I have enough leftover so I get today off from cooking!  Woo hoo!

From the freezer - pumpkin puree, shredded zucchini, and blueberries.  This was another new recipe.  It's online with Rodale's Organic Life (Pumpkin Zucchini Spice Bread).  I didn't have pecans, and decided to use blueberries (as one website showed the same recipe using raisins).  

I have already added this recipe to my recipe file.  It is a crowd pleaser.  Making it in the bundt pan is nice too.  

I had exactly 3/4 cup of frozen blueberries that needed to be used up before digging into the next bag, and it turned out great.  Next time, I'll add 1 full cup.  It's delicious!  It's perfect for the kids to slice and take to school, and Hubby and Daughter to take it to work. I like that it makes a nice amount to last a few days around here too.

I am trying to win this battle with the new recipes.  I threw out two, tried two, and saved one to try when the garden is producing.  I am going to toss many more today.  That's my goal.  So many are close to what I already make, and most soup days, it's whatever I have on hand.  

Although bitter cold, and last night dipping into the single digits (and frozen water in the barn to deal with), we've had some beautiful sunshiny days.  Thank goodness for spikes on my muck books.  The drive and walkways are ice covered.

I love crock pot nights on a cold wintery day.  I tend to take more time off for myself after the kids get home from school.  I told the kids, that I was going to watch the the Ellen show ( I love shows that make me laugh), and crochet until their Dad got home.  They all were shocked.  I did too.  I crocheted the scrap yarn blanket and watched TV for an entire hour.  Before dinner, ha ha ha ha!  Oh I felt so guilty, but it was oh so needed.  When Hubby got home, he peeked in on me and his eyes were wide open.  I looked at him and said, "you don't see me."