Christening the New Stock Pot!

After much discussion, we decided to make a family favorite last Friday night for the first meal prepared in the new stock pot: 

Hearty Italian Soup

½ pound Italian-style sausage, cut into ½ inch pieces

¾ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced (can use powder)

3 (14 ½ oz) cans beef broth

1 (14 ½ oz) can stewed tomatoes

½ cup dry white wine (optional)

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon basil

½ teaspoon marjoram

2 oz fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti, broken into 2 inch lengths

1 (16 oz) package Italian-style frozen vegetables

freshly ground black pepper (optional)

chopped parsley (optional)

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot, sauté sausage, onion and garlic. Drain and return to pot. Add beef broth, tomatoes, wine, sugar, oregano, basil and marjoram. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 6 minutes. Add vegetables and continue to simmer until vegetables and pasta are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley to garnish. Serve with parmesan cheese. Makes 6 to 8 servings (for small people… in our house this is about one meal!)

My notes: I generally make a double batch of this since sausage comes in 1 pound rolls/packages. If we are not planning to eat it all at one sitting, I put in the vegetables and wait on the pasta. It tends to break down and get starchy if reheated a lot. So once the veggies are about where we like them I move one meals’ worth into a smaller pot and add pasta to that pot. Then I refrigerate or freeze the rest and add the pasta in while reheating it – after it has come to a boil. We also tend to double or triple the amount of pasta.

Kitchen Project Before Pics - Part 2

Part 2 includes the eating parts of the kitchen (stay tuned for Part 3, the cooking/food prep areas)
(kitchen table. the biggest change in this area is new flooring... cuz that 80s marbled carpet has got to go!)

(same end of the kitchen but with the back door)

(this section will be the baking center and bar/beverage area... if everything goes according to plan! are you digging the light fixture? the kids table and chairs went to Good Will today... end of an era!)

Kitchen Project Before Pics - Part 1

I'm going to split the before photos into three posts: kitchen work areas, kitchen eating area, and the ancillary spaces. Starting with the latter, our kitchen remodel extends into our foyer/entryway and down a hallway that serves as our pantry, utility room and laundry room. There's also a little half bath at the end of that hall. These areas will all get new flooring (same throughout the whole project, medium red oak engineered floor) and fresh paint.

Looking from the kitchen through the pantry/utility room/laundry room into the powder room:

Same view, with shelves et al moved out of the way:

(and yes, those are my reusable grocery bags hanging on the door knob in the foreground! :) )

The pantry section - we plan to reuse some of the old cabinets from the kitchen by hanging them above these shelves for extra storage. The door on the right leads into the kitchen.

Here's the entryway:

(from kitchen looking at front door)

(from front door looking into the kitchen)

(view from living room)

we're widening the entry to the kitchen so it matches the entry to the foyer - it's only about 15 inches though it looks huge in this picture!

This is the tile in the entryway that I'm really looking forward to saying goodbye to:

more tomorrow! we're making good progress getting everything moved in preparation for Monday (when demo starts)!

Countertop Thoughts

Looking at websites trying to pick out our countertop. We're liking quartz a lot and had picked out a color but now think it looks too pink so the search continues.

This one is called Victoria:

The sample we have looks darker than it looks in this photo, but overall I like it. (Side note: our floors will be light (not as light as this floor though) and we're leaning toward darker (walnut maybe? cabinets.) It's weird because in the kitchen above the sample looks gray but in the swatch it seems more yellow:

Here's another pic of it in a room:

The Kitchen Project Begins!

Monday the demo begins - lots of flooring to remove - and lots of "stuff" to move before then. We have a basic layout decided, and are just about ready to sign off on the new flooring (medium red oak). Next decision is what the cabinets should look like. We have some different zones set up on the floor plan, and of course my favorite is the baking center!

Inspiration pics:

Baking center from Better Homes and Gardens has drawers on the bottom for spices and a cabinet above with space for all the other baking ingredients, bowls and measuring cups. Not sure I want to give up the counter space though!

I like the open look of this baking center from KitchenBathIdeas:

I'd like some marble for rolling out dough... but probably not acres of it! Not sure we need all our baking materials on display either.

Nutrient Rich Potato-Bean Soup

This recipe came from the Houston Chronicle Favorite Recipe column years ago. I usually double it.

1/2 cup sliced celery
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons butter, melted
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream or plain nonfat yogurt
1 Tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
dash of salt, optional

In a medium pot, cook celery, carrots and garlic in butter over medium heat 4 minutes or until tender. Carefully stir in broth, potatoes and dill. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Using a slotted spoon. transfer half the potatoes to a dish. Mash with the back of a spoon and return to pot. This makes the broth creamier. Add beans to potato misture, mashing about half the beans as you mix them in.
In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, flour, pepper and salt. Stir into soup. Cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly.

Makes 6 servings.

I use fat-free sour cream. If you want to use yogurt, you might try Greek instead of regular; it's thicker.

Golden Granola

I love this recipe because it's full of healthy ingredients and it's fairly simple to make.

Adapted from 3 Bowls: Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery

dry ingredients
3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ, toasted
1/2 cup soy flour
1 cup pecans, toasted
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

wet ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons honey (I used clover honey)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, currants, apricots, dates), chopped if necessary. I used golden raisins today.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine dry ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl and make a well in the center. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until evenly moistened.

Spread on a large baking sheet and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Additional thoughts:
- the original recipe called for walnuts and almonds, so have fun with the nuts! Use what you like.
- you can substitute rolled rye flakes or rolled wheat flakes for up to 1 cup of the oats.
- feel free to use all maple syrup or all honey if you only have one or the other (or use them in another proportion for the same total amount of liquid... though I do like the combination - you can taste all the subtle flavors.
- I'm considering adding a little coconut next time I make it.

Note (5/1/2013): We have been making this a lot lately and it occurs to me that I should share that we tend to double the nuts and the fruit in this recipe. Often we use almonds (T's favorite) but pecans are a favorite as well.