Jen's Hominy Soup

I think this came from Lauren's family? It's so good, and so good for you. And the kiddos can choose their toppings, so it makes a great family meal.

When I asked Jen for this recipe, she said, "There is no recipe. You just make a chicken soup with hominy and cut up fresh vegetables for people to choose." So to make the chicken and hominy soup:

Boil chicken, saute some onions and/or garlic in olive oil and salt and pepper. cut chicken into small, bite sized pieces. Place chicken, onions, garlic, and canned hominy in pan. Add chicken water(from boiling) or chicken broth, or water and add bullion to taste. Simmer.

Cut up any of the following (do not cook). Each person adds their own choice of fresh veggies to the soup after it is in their bowl:

Limes, lemons, green onions, onions, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower. You can use whatever you have in the fridge or the garden, or be creative. Yum.

Thanks Jen!

Taco Soup (From Bailey Meyer's family)

Morgan begged me to make this after eating it at James and Shurrell's house. It's a favorite now at our house. Serve it with grated cheese and/or sour cream on top, and corn bread or tortilla chips.

3 cups water

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1 or 2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup rice (uncooked) I sometimes make this 1/2 cup to make it go further

1 can tomato sauce

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can corn

1 package taco seasoning (or less to taste)

2 cans ranch style beans

brown ground beef. add other ingredients except ranch style beans together in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Add ranch style beans and warm through. Serve with grated cheese and/or sour cream and corn bread or corn chips.

Clam Chowder (borrowed from Grandma Kathy, Grandma Gail, and the Lion House Cookbook)

My family loves clam chowder. I've borrowed a little bit of this and a little bit of that from The Lion House Cookbook, Grandma Gail, and Grandma Kathy. Morgan thinks you can't have this recipe without Grandma Kathy's famous rolls, which is also a recipe from the Lion House Cookbook.


1/2 C. chopped onion
2 T butter
2 medium potatoes, diced
diced celery
diced carrots

Saute' vegetables in clam juice 20 minutes or until tender.

Add:

2 quarts milk or half n half
1 T. chicken soup base
2 cans minced clams
1 can new england clam chowder

Heat, thicken with roux. Add:

a dash garlic powder (to taste)
1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins

This year I got ambitious and saved the pumpkin meat from our jack-o-lantern pumpkins. It took a lot of time but it was so satisfying. It hurts me to see pumpkins smashed in the road or left to rot. And pumpkins are yummy. And maybe my Grandma Hurst is smiling in heaven. So now I'm faced with a whole ice cream bucket full of pumpkin. What's a girl to do? Make pumpkin soup. And pumpkin bread. And pumpkin cookies. I'll probably still end up having to can or freeze the rest. Here are the recipes I used for the bread and the soup. Yummy, and healthy too.

"Healthified" Pumpkin Bread

source: eatbetteramerica.com

This is a lower fat, higher fiber alternative to pumpkin bread, but yummy, yummy.

50% less fat • 29% fewer calories • 50% more fiber than the original recipe—see the comparison. We’ve scooped out some of the fat from this popular bread and spooned in whole wheat flour. Delicious! From eatbetteramerica.

Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:2 hr 40 min
makes:2 loaves (12 slices each)

2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 1/2cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) (I used 1 3/4 C. pumpkin)

1 cup fat-free (skim) milk

3/4 cup fat-free egg product (or 3 eggs)

1/2 cup canola oil

1.
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottoms only of two 9x5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves until well blended.

2.
In medium bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, egg product and oil until well blended. Stir into flour mixture until well blended. Spoon batter evenly into pans.

3.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Decrease baking soda to 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Nutritional Information
1 Slice: Calories 190 (Calories from Fat 45); Total Fat 5g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 240mg; Total Carbohydrate 32g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 18g); Protein 3g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 60%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 4%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils, 1 oz-equivalents Grains *% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Pumpkin Soup

source: Allrecipes.com

(submitted by Lea Ogawa)

Ingredients
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns
Directions
Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
Return to pan, and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir in heavy cream. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

(I substituted fat free canned milk for the heavy cream, and used fat free chicken stock).

Nutritional Information
Pumpkin Soup
Servings Per Recipe: 9
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 111
Total Fat: 6.6g
Cholesterol: 18mg
Sodium: 1323mg
Total Carbs: 11.9g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6g
Protein: 3.1g