Kielbasa Split Pea Soup

This is another recipe from Taste of Home's Light and Tasty magazine. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Kielbasa-Split-Pea-Soup/Print/35
This was my first try at the recipe. Being a fan of Split Pea Soup, I enjoyed it. I will say that once the peas were added, it needed to cook a bit longer than the recipe recommended to make those dried peas good and tender. Give it a whirl. High in dietary fiber. Low in fat. Not to mention, pretty cost effective. I found the kielbasa buy one, get one free...so you'll be seeing that on our menu again.

Kielbasa Split Pea Soup

2 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 package (16 ounces) dried green split peas

9 cups water, divided

1 pound smoked turkey kielbasa, halved and sliced

4 medium carrots, halved and thinly sliced

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, cook celery
and onion until tender. Stir in split peas and 6 cups water. Bring toa boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in thekielbasa, carrots, potatoes, parsley, basil, salt, pepper andremaining water. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for20-25 minutes or until peas and vegetables are tender. Yield: 12 servings (3 quarts).
Copyright Reiman Media Group, Inc © 2008

Nutrition Facts
One serving:
1 cup
Calories:
208
Fat:
2 g
Saturated Fat:
0 g
Cholesterol:
13 mg
Sodium:
635 mg
Carbohydrate:
34 g
Fiber:
11 g
Protein:
15 g
Diabetic Exchange:
2 starch, 2 very lean meat.

Pumpkin Cutout Cookies

Last year I was the room mom. I loved being the room mom, but it was a lot of work. Then we moved over the summer to a whole other state. No one at the new school knew of my talents as a room mom, so when that sign up sheet went 'round, I just watched it go by(my mind was saying "no" but my hand still almost had my name all over that sheet!) How is it then, that I found myself decorating 2 dozen pumpkin cutout cookies on a Sunday evening? Because I checked a little box that said I would like to help with the fall party by sending something in. That seemed harmless. Then I made the mistake of asking, "What do you need?" instead of just saying, "I'll send the juice boxes." This is how I ended up in charge of the snack, and a pumpkin, AND napkins. Not that I care. I just wanted to clarify why I was baking pumpkin cutout cookies on a Sunday. I have to also mention here that I had a couple of school imposed rules: NO cupcakes (which happen to be my Halloween specialty) and NO Halloween-themed "stuff". It was a FALL party NOT a Halloween party. Otherwise, these cookies would have had cute little jack-o-lantern faces instead of being plain ol' pumpkins. Does it sound like I'm complaining? Okay, I'll give it a rest and just show you those cookies.



This was a great little mommy and me project. You might notice the miniature rolling pin next to mine.







Next, you'll want to cut out the cookies. This is always a great way to involve the kiddos.




To transfer to the cookie sheet, I use a thin spatula. It slides under the flimsy dough and lifts easily, avoiding fingerprints in your pretty lil' cookies. Finger prints on your cutout cookies are not nostalgic like your beloved puppy's paw prints imprinted in your driveway concrete...it's just tacky. Use the spatula.


Cool.


Frost. We used orange sprinkles too. Gives them a little extra pizazz and texture. Plus, that's my daughter's favorite part. She does the sprinkles. It's her special job.



They are kind of pretty...for plain ol' pumpkins



Before I post the recipe for my cutout cookies, I have to come clean. The cookies that I baked yesterday and that are pictured here are NOT my usual cutout recipe. I tried a new recipe. It really wasn't that great. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right? So, here is the cutout cookie recipe that I LOVE. It really is awesome. Best tasting cutout cookies. Ever. Make your own pumpkin cutouts or use it for Christmas (I don't, I'm a gingerbread kinda girl) or woo your sweetie for Valentine's Day with beautiful heart-shaped cookies made from this recipe:

White Velvet Cutouts

2 cups butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the flour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cutout. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Meal Plan and Grocery List October 20-26

Monday October 20th
Kielbasa Split Pea Soup
Your favorite rustic bread
1 cup of soup= 208 calories, 2 g fat, 11 g fiber. WW points: 3
Diabetic Exchange: 2 starch, 2 very lean meat

Tuesday October 21st
Chicken Piccata
over
Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
1 prepared 4 oz. chicken breast with sauce= 246 calories, 8 g fat. WW points: 6
Diabetic exchange: 4 lean meat, ½ starch

Wednesday October 22nd
Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes
Garlic Bread

Thursday October 23rd
Blushing Penne
Tossed Salad
Garlic Bread (again)
1 cup Blushing Penne= 336 calories, 10g fat, 2 g fiber. WW points: 7

Friday October 24th
Pizza Night
Sorry for the monotony, but Friday night is pizza night in our household.

Saturday October 25th
Dinner at the Tailgate
No meal plan

Sunday October 26th
Swiss Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

As promised, when I have the nutritional information available for a recipe, I’ll post it for all of you.

* WW points = Weight Watchers points : )

Here’s the grocery list for this week’s meal plan:

Deli
8 oz. shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Produce
Spaghetti Squash
Acorn Squash
Celery
1 Bunch of Carrots
green pepper
4 medium tomatoes or 2 cans diced tomatoes
parsley
bag of salad
3 onions
Small bag of potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
Mushroom (if you want em’ on your pizza)

Bread
Favorite rustic bread to serve with soup

Meat
1 lb Turkey Kielbasa
2 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breast
1 lb. bulk sausage
1 lb. Italian sausage (if desired for pizza)
Pepperoni (for pizza)
1 cubed or round steak for swissing

Dairy
Egg substitute
Butter
1 pint half and half
Pizza dough in a tube- I prefer the new thin crust variety
Grated Parmesan
Shredded cheese for pizza

Canned goods
Dry white wine or white cooking wine
Lemon juice
Chicken Broth
Hot Pepper Sauce
Tomato Paste
Pizza Sauce
Capers
Cream of Mushroom Soup

Dry Goods/Baking/Spices
1 lb dried green split peas
flour
whole wheat angel hair pasta
16 oz. package of penne
olive oil
basil
oregano
fennel
thyme
salt and pepper

Freezer section
Garlic bread or Texas toast

Saturday Morning Short Order Cook

Today’s Lesson: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. Well, actually just the gravy. My biscuits came from a tube.

On those blissful Saturday mornings that we have no where that we have to be, we like to enjoy a leisurely family breakfast. This means that I assume the role of short order cook. I’m happy to take you along the process of this morning’s breakfast. For me, the foremost important task is to start the coffee. After that things can start happening. Next, I set the oven to 350 degrees (or whatever the refrigerator tube of biscuits instructs) so that it can preheat while I fry up some sausage. When the oven is ready, put in your biscuits so that they are done around the same time as your sausage gravy.

One of my husband’s favorite food in the world is biscuits and gravy, so it’s often on our weekend breakfast menu. However, our daughter “isn’t a fan of gravy” as she puts it, so when I’m browning my sausage I make a couple of little patties for her.

If this picture were a Rorschach test I’d see Jimi Hendrix wearing John Lennon glasses. Do you guys see that? No? Never mind. Me either. Just kidding. I’m totally sane. I swear.

Once the sausage is cooked, I remove it from the skillet. Then melt about 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet. If you’ve got lots of grease from the sausage, you won’t need to add butter. The grease can act as the fat for your roux. (Roux- A thickening agent made from fat mixed with flour that is cooked together to be used to stiffen the texture of sauces, gravies, and soups) For whatever reason, my sausage doesn’t ever seem to yield enough fat. Therefore, it's butter for our gravy. Glorious butter! Did I mention that biscuits and gravy is FAR from heart healthy? Oh well, too late to turn back now.

Next I add 2-3 tablespoons of flour and stir until smooth.

Now, gradually pour in about 2 cups of milk. Keep stirring, you don’t want lumpy gravy.



Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened. Now, return the sausage to the skillet. Give her a stir and salt and pepper to taste.



See, that wasn’t so hard.

Now I’ll fry up an egg for our daughter. She likes em’ over-easy. She’s big on dipping her toast.

Quick. Rorschach again. What do you see?




Now a scrambled egg for the baby.



Here it is, our Saturday morning breakfast:



Happy Saturday to you!

Pizza Night!

I’d love to brag that I make my own pizza dough. I used to, until pizza night became an every Friday occurrence and we had a couple of kiddos to slow my dough making self down. Once in a blue moon I make my own dough. I’d share the recipe, but I’d have to dig it up from wherever I last stuffed it. Sometimes I use those little packets of pizza crust mix. You know, the kind that you just add water. But really, my new and improved favorite is the Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Crust. I make my pizza on a jelly roll pan, so this product is the perfect shape and amount of dough to easily press onto my pan. Here’s how I begin:

I prepare the pan by smoothing on a generous coat of oil (olive or vegetable). Then I sprinkle the pan with a little garlic salt, rosemary, and Parmesan. Now I’m ready to unroll and smoosh (technical culinary term) the dough to fit the pan. Depending on the crust that I'm using, I sometimes pre-bake the crust for up to 8 minutes at 425 degrees.
While the crust is baking, I ready my other ingredients. Chop onions, slice mushrooms, fry up some bacon....whatever prep work that needs to be finished.

Next I top the dough with about 3/4 cup of pizza sauce. Not everyone in our house enjoys the same toppings, so I actually divide the pizza up into sections and family members can top their section to their taste.















Me, I like ham, mushroom, olives, onions…. make that lots of onions, and Italian sausage or bacon if we’ve got it on hand. My husband is the pepperoni guy. The more the better. For a while I switched it to turkey pepperoni, but he busted me last weekend when he read the package, so we’re back to regular old artery-clogging pepperoni. He’s also a fan of banana peppers on his pizza. Our little one prefers just cheese or a little ham and cheese. This week the ham smelled suspect, so she got pepperoni too. This little “plain” section raises a caution flag, because if the rest of the pizza is heavily topped and one section is not, then that little section tends to cook (burn) faster than the rest. We now have a little pizza pan to make the plain cheese pizza (not pictured tonight). Luckily, the baby is not so picky. We just make sure we don’t give her anything too spicy.
















Now we top with cheese. This is just plain shredded mozzerella. I really like provolone or an Italian blend as well. This week, mozzerella was on sale, so it's good ol' mozzerella tonight.
















Finally, just follow the directions on the pizza crust container. I bake mine an additional 6-11 minutes once the toppings are in place.

And ta-dah:
















Cool a little.

Cut .

Enjoy.

TGIF, right?