Italian Cannellini Soup

With windchills hitting -50 at times, it is time to make soup.  This is what I created after gathering ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry.

Italian Cannellini Soup

3 oz Pancetta, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp celery flakes
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp parsley
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or soup kettle.  Add in carrots and allow to cook for 5 minutes.  Add in garlic and cook for another minute before adding in the broth and remaining ingredients.  Simmer until carrots are fork tender.

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Autumn Vegetables

There's no denying that these vegetables are my favorites and putting together with honey and cinnamon is just a win-win situation.

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Autumn Vegetables

1 sweet potato
2 large carrots
1 small buttercup squash

3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 generous pinch of sea salt

Peel and diced all the vegetables.  In a large bowl, combine honey, olive oil and spices.  Add in vegetables and toss.  Spread out on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil.  Bake for 40 minutes at 350°.

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

I decided to try making apple stuffed pork chops since the pork chops with cranberry stuffing turned out so well.  I added in an easy to make gravy this time with apple cider in it.

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

2 thick cut pork chops
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup herb stuffing
1/4 cup apple, diced
1 tsp rubbed sage
Salt & freshly ground pepper for the stuffing and on the chops

Apple cider
1  tbsp flour
1/2 cup cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut a slit in the middle of each chop to create a pocket.  In a small bowl, mix together stuffing, apples and spices.  Stuff into the pockets.  I did not secure the pockets with toothpicks and the stuffing remained intact.  In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil.  When heated, add in the pork chops and cook on each side for 5 minutes.  Place in a baking pan and cover that with aluminum foil.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the pork temperature reaches 150°.  If there are juices that ran off, pour into a measuring cup and add in apple cider until it reaches the 1/2 cup mark.  Reheat the frying pan and add in juices, cider and flour.  Whisk together.  Add in cream.  Continue stirring until it thickens.  Season to taste.

Raspberry Ale Cheese Ball

It's not often that I will mention a brand name of a product in my blog but I will when I find a new cheese that love.  The cheese I found is Sartori Raspberry BellaVitano,  a cheese that was soaked in raspberry ale.  It shredded nicely and I didn't want to add in spices that would hide the flavor.  

Raspberry Ale Cheese Ball

8 oz cream cheese, softened
5.3 oz Sartori Raspberry BellaVitano cheese, shredded
1 tbsp red raspberry seedless jam
1/3 cup cashews, chopped

Mix together softened cream cheese and Raspberry BellaVitano cheese. Add in the raspberry jam and mix well. Shape into a ball shape in bowl and cover
with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove and roll in chopped
cashews.

Return to refrigerator. Remove 15 minutes before
serving.  Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Italian Bread

Cold weather, actual colds or the flu...not sure what hit me but the need for soup and something to go along with it and this bread was the perfect thing.  A nice, crisp crust and soft insides.  

Italian Bread

2 3/4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp bread machine active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra light virgin olive oil

1 large egg slightly beaten
1 tbsp water

Put flour, yeast, warm water, sugar, salt and olive oil in bread machine and set to dough setting.

When done, remove from machine and put on a baking stone that has a thin coating of corn meal.  Cut a quarter inch deep in three stripes with a sharp knife.  Let rise for about a half hour in a warm area.

Brush top of bread with the mixture of 1 beaten egg and 1 tbsp water.  Bake until a golden brown.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°

Cinnamon & Sugar Snack Mix

This could also be called a sweet & salty snack mix.  The salt from the pretzels and almonds balance out with the sugar and cinnamon mixture on top of them making them not overly sweet.

Cinnamon & Sugar Snack Mix


5 cups pretzel twists
2 cups sea salt almonds
2 cups Crispix cereal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup canola oil

Mix together pretzels, almonds and Crispix in a roasting pan or dutch oven.  In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon completely before stirring in the canola oil.  Pour over the pretzel mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes at 300°, stirring every 10 minutes.

Cranberry & Strawberry Jam

Another gift giving treat this year is this jam that I made.  It's a perfect topping for an orange cranberry bread or biscuits.

Cranberry & Strawberry Jam

12 oz fresh cranberries, rinsed and chopped

16 oz fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 package Sure-Jell

Place fruit and 1/2 cup sugar in a large saucepan and let sit covered for one hour.  Remove lid and cook over medium heat.  Adding in brown sugar and sugar.  Put sugar in 1/2 cup at a time and taste.  What I think was good might be not sweet enough for you.  Make the package of Sure-Jell to their instructions.  Stir into fruit mixture.  Before it's done, add in cinnamon.  Can or place in decorative containers for gift giving.