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Vegetable Beef Soup

It's a cold night here in Florida, the perfect time for soup. This great soup be started in the morning, simmering until dinner time. It is also a great way to use up whatever is in the pantry as far as vegetables are concerned. Ingredients: 2 pounds beef (I use whatever is on sale) 3 carrots 6 cups beef broth 1 can corn 1 can green beans 1 can diced tomatoes 3 medium potatoes 1/2 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 1 teaspoon onion powder Begin by cubing the beef. Next, add it to a pan and browning it on all sides. Add all the ingredients except the potatoes to a large soup pot. Bring the soup to a slow boil. Cover and reduce to simmer. Allow to cook for 5 to 6 hours, until the meat is tender. Add cubed potatoes and simmer until cooked. Add to bowls and enjoy.

Pumpkin Cake

A few months ago, my wife and I stopped to see her friends and relatives in VA. Her cousin sold me 2 old fluted cake pans. Little did he know we were stopping on our way home at the Lodge factory store to purchase a new pan. It takes a little patience to use a fluted pan, but once you get the hang of things it gets easier. Ingredients; 1 15 ounce can pumpkin 1 cup butter room temperature 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 eggs room temperature 2 cups pastry flour 1 cup AP flour 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt  2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 tablespoon molasses Begin by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, and molasses blending well. In a second bowl mix all the dry ingredients. slowly add the dry to wet ingredients and mix until flour mixture is incorpor

Pumpkin Butter

This is a delicious recipe and a  perfect to us up any leftover pumpkin puree you might have. A quick 20 minutes and you will have a great tasting spread for toast, biscuits, or graham crackers.. Ingredients: 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon molasses 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 pinch of cloves Combine all ingredients except vanilla  in a saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until boiling. Immediately  turn to low stirring carefully and constantly until thickened. The  mixture will splatter when it first boils, which is why it is important to reduce heat. Stir constantly until it thickens, about 20 minute, or mixture can be pulled away from the bottom and doesn't flow back. Stirin vanilla. Place in a sterilized jar and refrigerate. Pumpkin butter will keep for about three weeks. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Cookies

It's fall, and that can mean only one thing, pumpkin flavored everything. This is a simple recipe for delicious pumpkin cookies. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1 egg 2/3 cup canned pumpkin 1 1/2  cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon molasses 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pinch of cloves 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Begin by creaming the sugars and butter in your stand mixer. Mix well for about 5 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, egg, molasses, and vanilla. Add flour and dry ingredients mixing well. Chill dough for one half hour. Drop with a cookie scoop on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Carefully move cookies to a rake and allow to cool.

Dutch Oven Sausage and Veggies

I try and eat healthy, but every once and a while I get a craving for sausage. I was shopping today and saw my favorite sausage was on sale. This is a simple meal that takes no time to make. The salt from the sausage provide all you need, and the flavors from the salsa and chili powder round things out nicely. Ingredients: 1 link all beef sausage 1 ear corn 8 petite potatoes About 12 fressh fresh beans 1/8 teaspoon hatch chili seasoning 1/4 cup of salsa 1 teaspoon clarified butter Begin by preheating your Dutch oven over medium heat, and you oven to 350 degrees. Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Add the butter then add  on the sausage Browning on both sides. Cut the potatoes in half and add to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and place in the oven for 50 minutes. CAREFULLY, with pot holders, remove from oven. Slowly remove lid, being cautious of escaping steam. Plate and enjoy.

Chicken Tips with Peppers and Onions

My wife and I recently went on a short vacation. After we checked into our room, we decided on dinner. The front desk clerk suggested the local steak house. We decided to check it out. We both ordered beef tips, mine with onions and peppers, and my wife's with mushroom gravy. They were amazing. Extremely tender, lightly seasoned, with the onions and peppers cooked just right. The waitress said if we liked the beef tips we should try the chicken tips. The next day we both were really looking forward to those tips. When dinner time arrived, we went straight to the steak house. They were closed for the next three days. This is my version. Ingredients: 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1 large sweet onion 2 bell peppers 1 teaspoon Tuscan infused olive oil 1 teaspoon seasoning salt Begin by think slicing the onions.  Add the olive oil to a preseasoned pan allow to grill about 10 minutes. While the onions are cooking, thinly sliced the peppers. Add the peppers to the skill

Mom's Salsa

My mother loved salsa. Not just any salsa, her salsa. She made it frequently. Even when her health turned, she still made salsa. When she couldn't make it any more, she stood over me instructing to make sure I did it right. This is her recipe. Gather up your ingredients and simply chop them. Start with two cups of diced tomatoes. Mom always mixed yellow and red tomatoes. The yellow variety has less acidity then red. Add one bell pepper, any color. One medium yellow onion.  One jalapeno chopped and seeded. For extra heat you may leave the seeds in. Three cloves of garlic. Two tablespoons chopped cilantro. Finally the juice of a lime. For a little more like flavor, you can also add the zest. Stir it all together, heat some chips and enjoy.