White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup

I looooove making soup in the winter.  Ok I guess it isn't "officially" winter, but we have had some pretty cold days.  I really miss soup in the summer time.  We don't have a/c so making soup is pretty much out of the question for 4 months or so. 

I really try and make up for that as soon as possible.  Soup is cheap, usually easy to make, and I have found that it is harder to mess up then other recipes I tinker with.

You can really just use what you have on hand.  For example, we still have a decent amount of kale in the garden right now.  I am not a big cooked greens eater, but I do enjoy kale slightly cooked.  I prefer to add the kale right before I eat my soup.  It only takes a few seconds for the kale to cook slightly in hot soup.

Below is my recipe for White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup.  You can use any kind of sausage you like.  You can also use any kind of beans.  Pinto beans would be really good in the soup or even lentils (which don't require soaking and can be added 30-45 minutes before you eat, making for a really quick to make soup).  Greens like collards, turnip greens, or chard can be used.  These are all very inexpensive as well.

White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup

1 cup dry white beans
4 cups chopped kale (washed and stems removed)
1/2 lb. turkey sausage
1 medium onion
6 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

You can either do the quick soak method or the long soak which are both on the back of the bag of beans.  I do a brine/quick soak method I learned from Americas Test Kitchen which yields less mushy, flavorful beans.  Put your beans in a pan and cover with cold water (about 2 inches over) and, for this recipe, I add about 1/4 tsp. salt.  Generally you use 2 tsp. per quart of water.  Boil for about 5 minutes and let stand for at least an house.  Drain and rinse your beans.  Continue with recipe as follows. 

In a medium stockpot, add the oil and brown the sausage over medium high heat.  Turn the heat down to low and slowly add the stock.  Take a wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of the pan, so you can
get all of the brown bits into the soup.  Add the onion and beans. 

If you used the method on the bag of beans, cook until beans are tender.  This usually takes 1-2 hours.  If you do the bean brine method, cook the coup for about 40 minutes or until beans are tender.

You can either add the kale to the pot 5 minutes or so before serving, or dish out individual bowls 5 minutes before serving and add the kale that way.  I prefer adding it to the bowls, that way if I have any leftovers, the kale doesn't get too overdone.

A slice of hearty homemade bread is a great accompaniment to the soup.  I also like to garnish with a bit of Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

I love to bake around the holidays but I try to do it without spending too much extra money.  This simple from scratch peanut butter cookie recipe is a very frugal cookie recipe.  I use it to make regular peanut butter cookies and also peanut butter blossoms (the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey Kisses smooshed in the middle).  They make a great homemade Christmas gift or treat to bring to a party.

I like to use this recipe to make my peanut butter blossom cookies because it cuts the costs down a bit since I don't have to use a cookie mix.  I counted 75 kisses in the bag and each batch of this makes about 2 doz. cookies (depending on how big you make them) so you can easily make up to 6 doz. cookies with each bag of 12 oz. kisses, you just have to triple the recipe to make 6 doz.  2 doz. is a great amount to give as a gift, so if you package them in a tin (from the thrift store of course ;) !) you have 3 gifts costing less then $2.00 each!

The following recipe instructions are for making the peanut butter blossoms, but if you want to make plain old, from scratch, peanut butter cookies just roll the each ball of dough in a plate covered in white sugar, place on the pan and press down with a fork once in each direction.

Simple and frugal from scratch peanut butter cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup white flour

*optional 12 oz. bag of Hershey kisses, 24 unwrapped if you are making peanut butter blossoms.

*optional 1/4 cup white sugar on a plate if you are making just plain peanut butter cookies.

Combine all ingredients in a mixer and mix until combined.  How many cookies you get depends on how big of a ball of dough you use.  I made mine about an inch wide.  You could probably use a little less than a tablespoon of dough for each cookie.  If you want to make regular peanut butter cookies follow the instructions above the recipe. 

If you are making peanut butter blossoms place cookies one inch apart on a baking sheet.  Now it must be said that times for cookies vary for everyone.  It depends on the pan you use, the actual temperature of your oven, etc.  These can take anywhere from 10-14 minutes.  Just carefully lift one up with a spatula.  It should be golden brown on the bottom.

Take the cookies out of the oven and quickly place them on a cooling rack.  They will be pretty soft so it is best to use a small spatula and a fork or spoon to help slide them on.  Press a kiss into the middle of each cookie.  Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Basic Wheat Bread Recipe

Baking my own homemade bread was something I didn't do too much of until recently.  My local grocery store sells a loaf of their store brand bread for around a $1.50 so I didn't see much point.  I have been trying to eliminate the amount of preservatives and gross chemicals that my family eats and the ingredients on this store brand bread were a little terrifying!  Let's face it, from scratch recipes are almost always better :)

I rounded up all of the costs and figured the ingredients for my bread cost around .80 for 2 small loves that equal the size of the store bought loaf.  I also know my furnace runs less on days I bake, and I make it a point to do all my bakingon one day.  This keeps the oven from having to run as much, plus it is just easier for me to do it all in one day.  In the winter I assume the costs of running the oven is covered by the fact my furnace does not have to run as much. I think my bread has a much better taste then the store brand, and has a lot less ingredients (to me this is a big plus!).My loaf is more comparable to the fancy loaves of bread that they sell in the bakery for $4.00.  It may be just me, but I like the idea that I am the only one who has handled the food my family and I are eating.  All these pros were enough for me to switch to making homemade bread.  Let's face it, from scratch recipes are almost always better :)

This basic homemade wheat bread recipe has few ingredients which makes it a really simple wheat bread recipe.  I find a mixture of white flour and wheat flour is best but you can change the ratios however you want. 

Simple and Basic Wheat Bread Recipe

 2 c warm water (not hot, just warm to the touch)

2 Tbsp Instant yeast or 1 packet of active dry yeast (if using active dry, let yeast, water, and honey proof or sit for 5-8 minutes or until it has a foamy bubbly top)

1 Tbsp honey (optional)

pinch of salt

4-5 cups of a mixture of flours, we use 2 cups self rising flour or all purpose flour (sift with 1 tsp baking soda a pinch of salt), 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour, and a 1/2 c wheat bran.  You can mix and match these to your tastes.  I have also used 1/2 c quick oats instead of wheat bran.

Mixing and Kneading

Put the warm water, honey, and yeast in a bowl.  Oil a large bowl, making sure all of the sides are covered.  You only need about a Tbsp of cooking oil. Mix the flour into the yeast mixture.  You can use a large spoon, but I just use my hand ;).  Sprinkle 1/2 c of white flour onto a clean work surface.  Place dough on work surface, fold dough in half and press down with the heel of your hand.  1/4 turn the dough, fold, and press down again. 

Repeat this process until the flour is incorporated fully.  The process of turning and pressing the dough is meant to build up the gluten.  If you press the dough and it springs back slightly, it is good to go.  If not repeat the process a couple more times.

Letting the Dough Rise

Put your dough into the oiled bowl and turn to coat the entire thing.  You need to let your dough rise in a warm spot. We use our oven, placing the dough on the middle rack, and placing a pan full of boiling water on the rack below.  I am sure you know to be very very careful with your pan of boiling water.  This works the best for us, especially in the winter when the house is usually too cool for dough to rise well.  Let the dough rise until doubled in size. 

While you are waiting clean off the work surface you used to knead the dough. Now you can either bake the bread in 2 small pans or 1 large pan.  Either way, if you have a glass pan, spread butter all over the bottom and sides of the pan, then brush flour over all buttered surfaces.  This will keep the bread from sticking when it is done.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down, form it into either 2 dough balls for 2 small bread pans, or 1 large dough ball for 1 large bread pan.  I sometimes roll them in cornmeal before I put them in the pan, but this is optional. 

Cover your loaves of bread and let them rise in a warm area until doubled in size.  This will take about an hour so set your timer for 45 minutes, and preheat your oven to 350 at the end of the 45 minutes.  This should give your oven enough time to get to temperature.

Baking the Bread

When the dough has doubled and the oven is fully heated, place the loaves or loaf in the oven on the middle rack. If you have baked 2 loaves I find 30 minutes to be fine.  If you want a crunchier crust you can do 35 or 40.  For a large loaf I do 50-60. 

It is important to realize every one's oven is different, so check your loaf.  If you knock on it and it sounds hollow, and it has a nice golden color it is probably done.  You may have to experiment.  If you make this bread often you will get into a nice rhythm and all of your loaves should turn out great :)  Enjoy!