Here’s another quick and easy soup leading up to the big day. Potatoes! Nothing says comfort like potatoes.

Cheddar & Potato Soup 

Sauté 1 diced onion in 4 T butter. Add ¼ cup flour, 1 t dry mustard, and ½ t cayenne; stir for 3 minutes. Add 4 cups chicken broth, 1½ cups diced carrots, and 1½ cups diced potatoes; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 2 cups half-and-half and 3 cups grated cheddar cheese; cook for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serves 6.

How about you? Do you have simple soups in mind prior to the big day? I do.

Roasted Beet Soup

Wrap 3 beets individually in foil and roast for 1 hour at 400°F. Let cool, then slip off outer skins and dice. Sauté 1 diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 T olive oil. Add 8 cups vegetable stock, 2 cups shredded cabbage, 1 cup shredded carrots, and the beets; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 2 T red-wine vinegar, 1 t sugar, 1 T lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8.

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What’s missing on this plate?

P.S. There are no correct answers, only mouth-watering possibilities.

Go ahead and say it. “She’s weird.” Of all the yummy things I could eat for breakfast, I have a favorite that I’ve been eating, ummm, pretty much almost every day lately. (I do ruts well.) On days when I feel like I have a bit more time for prep, I double the amount I make so I can eat it for lunch or dinner later that day with maybe some baked chicken breast or smoked kokanee (from the Okanagan language referring to land-locked lake populations of sockeye salmon—thanks to my husband, who put a winter’s supply in our freezer).

“What is it?” you ask.

My breakfast starts in the chicken coop. Even though it’s still early out, my hens have eggs for me. (I’m probably eating an egg laid the day before but this time of year it’s cold enough to leave the eggs until my morning visit to the coop.) After feeding my girls, I head next door to my year-round greenhouse (really an unheated hoop house that’s still supplying us with summer-y things like green peppers and lettuce) to grab a pocket full of kale, some arugula, one carrot, some parsley, and a sprig of rosemary.

Back in my kitchen, I drop the egg into a saucepan on the stove for a soft-boiled egg. While that’s cooking, I chop the greens and herbs up along with 2 cloves of fresh garlic and one apple. Slices of carrot go in next and then a few spoons-full of baked butternut squash. (I cook a butternut squash every week to add to just about everything I eat—love that stuff!) Last comes a big dollup of what’s known as the guardian of intestinal health, sauerkraut—the real deal, not the pasteurized store-bought stuff.

With a cup of plain white tea in hand (sometimes I add a bit of fresh cream straight from my cow), I sit down to eat my power breakfast—all of it homegrown. Savory for breakfast? You bet. Sauerkraut? I actually go to bed at night excited to wake up the next morning and eat it all over again. I warned you. Weird. But hey, if you’re up for trying it, I think you’ll agree, yum! Oh, and HEALTHY (all in CAPS with at least ten exclamation marks)!!!!!!!!!!

PULLED PORK
PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 8 HOURS
MAKES: 6 SERVINGS

3          lbs pork shoulder, cut into 2” pieces
1 1/3    cups barbecue sauce, divided
1/2       onion, minced
4          garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3          T maple syrup
1          T apple cider vinegar
2          t molasses
1/2       t salt

1. Add pork loin, 2/3 cup barbecue sauce, onion, garlic, maple syrup, vinegar, molasses, and salt to a crockpot. Turn to low, and cook for 8 hours.
2. Drain and discard cooking juices. Using two forks, shred pork. Stir in remaining 2/3 cup barbecue sauce. Serve on hoagie rolls with fresh greens. 

Gather Ingredients.

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I was sitting at my desk watching the snow fall and munching away on my favorite new snack when I realized, you might like to get in on this little secret.

Any snack food comparing themselves to the joys of “magical yoga pant material,” or “weird nail polish colors,” has made some pretty bold comparisons.

Well, guess what?

They know a thing or two.

Angie’s Popcorn!

I’m telling you, it’s delicious. We make a lot of popcorn at our house, but sometimes I’m craving popcorn in a place or at a time when I can’t get the popper out, melt the butter, etc. That’s when Angie saves me! (I can seriously munch on this snack, the kind of serious where I’ll find remnants in my scarf hours later.)

And P.S. The ingredients are simple, non-GMO, and all high quality. Sea Salt is my fav, but my girls and their daddy love the Sweet & Salty.