Comfort Food For Frigid Nights

Hi Friends, can you believe I'm back again so soon? I'm going to try to be better about posting this year....now that I have settled into a routine with working from home and I know it's for the foreseeable future.  

Cozying Up For Winter

It's been brutally cold on the mountain top lately....yesterday I'm pretty sure my contact lenses froze to my eyeballs the second I stepped out the door. 

Those of you in warmer states probably don't understand, but we do get used to the frigid winters....and we learn to embrace winter on the mountain top.

What's Cookin, Good Lookin?

Boy have I been super busy in the kitchen lately!

There's just something about being snowed in that makes me want to spend the whole day in my kitchen whipping up all the yummies!

The Art Of Stretching The Grocery Budget

Yes I know....it's been a while...I'm sorry, I have so much I want to share with you but I hadn't gotten around to writing any posts! 

My crazy wedding season has ended (whew!) but I'm still working full time planning next year's weddings as well as lots of holiday parties and corporate events. 

A New Addition to Mountain Mama's Kitchen

I hope all my sweet readers had a wonderful Christmas!

It was a busy, busy time in my little mountain top house, but filled with much love and laughter as well. 

Not to mention, lots of wonderful gifts! I'll share more of them after I unpack and photograph them, but for now I'm sharing something new in Mountain Mama's kitchen....an Instant Pot. 

My Christmas Dinner Menu

Only a few days until Christmas, my sweet friends - do you all have your Christmas menu planned out?

I do....I planned the whole week's worth of menus last weekend so I could do my grocery shopping early! 

Look at me being ahead of the game....and I only forgot one thing! Good thing my younger daughter passes the market on her way home!

There's a good reason I plan my menus out early...bear with me, I'm going to tell you a story. 

What's Cooking In Mountain Mama's Kitchen

I have a very exciting weekend in the kitchen planned....what, that doesn't sound exciting to  you? Well, if you're any sort of a foodie you'll understand what I mean.

I've been drooling over a few recipes out there in blog land, and have a number of things planned to create in my little country kitchen this weekend.

Easy Peasy Dinner Party Menus

I'm planning a dinner party for one of my dearest friends, as a birthday celebration. I've been thinking of this for quite some time, and have finally started the ball rolling by picking a day and sending invites. 

Now it's time to plan the menu!

A Busy Weekend & More Zucchini Recipes!

It was another busy weekend around my little house, no doubt about it. 

The garden was a mess of weeds and overgrown beds after all the rain we've had. 

And the veggie garden was spitting out cucumbers like there's no tomorrow. 

Zucchini Marinara

If you are anything like me you've got more zucchini than you know what to do with right about now. 

Last year I came up with all sorts of ways to use it up. My freezers were stuffed, and we ate out of our garden all winter long. 

Our Favorite Low-Cal Healthy Dinner

Before I begin, I have to warn  you that this post is full of photos that are going to make your tummy growl.

 

Don't get mad at me if you drool on your keyboard.

The Most Amazing Chicken EVER!

Remember a few weeks back I told you about my new toy?

 

And then I reminded you about it when I gave you some great gift ideas for foodies in this post.

 

By the way, Valentine's Day is right around the corner....wink, wink!

Recipe Roundup - Top 16 from 16

Yeah, I know. I should have posted this last week. What can I say, I'm a busy lady! :)

A very sweet and talented friend and blogger suggested that I should do a recipe roundup. Thanks for the suggestion, Kim!

I went back through all my posts for 2016 and decided to repost the top 16 from 16 because I'm cheesy like that.

Yup, that's me. Mmmmmmmmmmm.......cheese!

The Most Amazing Split Pea Soup...and Conquering My Fear

Growing up, we never ate split pea soup. I'm not sure why, but I never so much as sampled it until I was an adult, working in restaurants.

 

The first time I tried it, the soup was served with sliced hotdogs and greasy croutons floating on top.

 

At the young age of 20, that was ok with me.

 

Now? Not so much.

Tuscan Beef & Vegetable Soup

It's rainy and dismal on the mountain top today, but I don't really mind. 

Yesterday was such a busy day, it's nice to have an excuse to spend time indoors today, puttering around my little house. 

I do love to putter, that's for sure!

It's the everyday domestica that feels so calming and grounds me after a busy day, week, month. 

The smell of the laundry as the sheets are tumbling in the washer. 

The sound of the dishwasher as it goes through the cycles, cleaning up the breakfast dishes. 

Freshening up the house for fall, bringing in little touches of autumn with candles, throws, pillows. 

It's time to be cozy and embrace the interior once more. 

I realize I never did tell you what happened with the Amara awards. I wasn't one of the select few who made the shortlist, unfortunately, but that's ok - I am truly so honored that I was even nominated, and I sincerely thank all of you who voted for me, for your belief in my little blog. 

The folks that made the shortlist are incredibly talented bloggers - you should go check them out when you have some free time to bounce around - here's the link to all the shortlisted blogs: Amara Awards - Shortlisted Blogs.

On a completely separate note, do you remember the other day I told you I was going to make a nice pot of beef and vegetable soup? Well, I did....and it was one of my favorite soups ever, so I am so glad I took photos during the process, so I could share it with you!

As per usual, my 'recipes' are really more of a tutorial and less of an exact science. My cooking style would be called 'winging it' for sure!

Ok, here we go - Mountain Mama's Tuscan Beef & Vegetable Soup. 

I started off with 3 chopped onions, rough chop, in my large LeCrueset dutch oven, over a medium flame with a drizzle of olive oil. 

While they were sauteeing, I chopped 3 carrots and 3 stalks of celery. They were added to the onions, and all got sauteed for another 5 minutes or so. 

When they had softened, I made a hole in the center of the veggies, and added 2 heads of garlic, minced, in a tbs of butter. 

When the garlic was nice and fragrant and golden, I stirred all the veggies together and made a new hole in the center for a lb of organic grass fed ground beef, 90 percent lean. 

After the beef was nicely browned, I stirred everything together and added in a zucchini, diced small. I wanted all the veggies to be about equal in size. 

I sprinkled some dried thyme leaves over the zucchini - about a half teaspoon or so. I've noticed that zucchini and thyme really work well together and I've been using thyme in all my zucchini recipes. 

At this point, I added in 2 containers of Swanson's Low Sodium Beef Broth. 

Next I popped a tray of cherry tomatoes into the oven at 425 degrees for about a half hour. 

I added a can of crushed tomatoes with basil to the simmering soup. 

I seasoned the soup with some dried basil and my favorite all purpose seasoning, Vermont Country Seasoning. I would guess about a tablespoon or more of basil, and a little less than a teaspoon of the Vermont Seasoning. 

I put the lid on the dutch oven at this point, turned the heat to low, and let it simmer for about a half hour, while the tomatoes roasted in the oven. 

Oooh, it's starting to look really good already - but I'm not done yet!  In went a half package of imported pasta - the shape I used is called Trofie, and it's made by Pirro, one of my favorite pasta companies. Amazon sells it here, but I purchased it in a local Italian specialty market, the same place I buy the Tuttorosso canned tomatoes. 

The cherry tomatoes were absolutely gorgeous when done roasting, and I dumped the whole tray with the juices right into the soup. I used a potato masher to 'pop' the tomatoes in the soup, as I didn't want any tomatoes left whole in the completed soup. 

I also added two cans of Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. 

The finished soup - oh my gosh, I can't even describe how heavenly this soup was! The roasted tomatoes gave the soup such a fresh taste, far superior to any soup you will ever, ever eat out of a can! 

I have been ruined forever for canned soups - I haven't touched them in years, once I realized how much sodium was in them. I guess that's when I started experimenting with making my own soups - and once I did, there was no return. 

I served the soup with a hearty sprinkle of shredded 6 cheese Italian blend, by Sargento. 

Can you just see all that amazing goodness in there?

We enjoyed the soup with a warm, crusty whole grain baguette. 

Heaven, right there. 

And guess what? 5 quarts for the freezer - you know how happy that makes me! 

This is just one of the three freezers that I have - this is the freezer in the downstairs fridge. Not much room left, that's for sure - and the other two freezers are worse! 

I don't know what I'm going to do with all my produce when I run out of freezer space. I guess I'll have to send home containers with Sweetie - he's got two empty freezers just waiting to be filled!

It's a good problem to have, for sure. And all these amazing meals will be so very welcome in the long winter months, when all our fresh home grown produce is nothing but a memory. 

But we'll be eating well, that's for sure - after all, isn't that what all this hard work right now is all about? Preserving the bounty?

We are so blessed. 

Summer Garden Ragu

As you know, I've been featuring zucchini in my meals quite a bit lately. 

It's hard not to when the garden is being ever-so-generous spitting out zucchini after zucchini!

My Crooked Little Country JUNGLE

Remember a while back I shared some photos of my crooked little country garden?

Well, it's out of control. 

Five Ways To Use All That Zucchini!

I know I'm not the only one who has an abundance of zucchini and yellow squash coming out of the garden right now....after all, 'tis the season!

I've been trying out some new recipes lately for all that zucchini goodness....and so far, each and every recipe has been an overwhelming success!

What To Do With All Those Radishes?!

It's that time of year, when the veggie garden finally starts producing, and you are faced with the wonderful yet challenging task of figuring out to do with all that beautiful produce. 

For us up here on the mountain top, right now the garden is giving us lettuce like mad, and radishes up the kazoo!

What do I do with all those radishes?

Healthy Summer Smoothie

I laugh when I hear people talk about the "Lazy Days of Summer."

In what lifetime?

My summer is anything but lazy.