Quick Sausage Kale Soup

Rachael Ray hit a sweet note with millions when she proved that it only takes 30 minutes to get a healthy, delicious meal on the table.  Being a working mom forced me to find great ideas for quick meals.  Eating out often is way too expensive and unhealthy, and I'm convinced that a great meal doesn't take long to make.  So here's a great example of a quick and wonderful meal.  It's another one of my favorite soups:

3-4 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, hot or sweet
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup of finely chopped cabbage
1 quart chicken stock plus some water
1 can diced tomatoes (optional)
1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped loosely
1 can beans, garbanzo, white (your choice)

In a heavy-bottomed large pot brown the garlic in  2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the chopped sausage and brown it over medium high heat.  If you get sausage in the casing, just cut it away if you want chunks, or slice the sausage into the size you want in the soup.

When the meat is browned add the onion, carrots, celery and cabbage.  Let the veggies heat through for 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock, tomatoes (if you want) and the kale.  If you need more liquid add 1-2 cups of water.  The kale will wilt and reduce in size once it cooks.  Let the kale simmer for 10 minutes in the broth.  Add the beans, salt and pepper to taste, cook for 5-10 more minutes and it's done!

I like to serve this with pastina or rice.  Sometimes I cook lentils to add to this soup.  You really could add any vegetable you like.  Kale is a "super food" and is loaded with vitamins A & C, along with other nutrients.  I hope you enjoy this one, I sure do!

What are some of your favorite quick soups?  Please let me know.

Good Old Chicken Soup

When it gets cold I love to start making soup!  My favorite crock pot soup is so simple and good for you, I thought it was worth its own post.  Here's the recipe:

1 small frying chicken (4-6 pounds), rinsed, giblets discarded
1 large sweet onion, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
salt to taste

Put the chicken in the crock pot and fill with water.  Cook it on low all day, 8-10 hours.  Remove the chicken to a platter, split it apart and let it cool.  Pour the chicken stock into a large soup pot.  Add the onion, celery and carrots to the broth and bring it to a boil.  Turn it off and let it sit, the vegetables will cook and not get mushy.  Pull all the meat off the bones and discard the carcass.  Add the meat to the soup and salt to taste.  Serve with rice, pastina, millet, or just plain!

I love this soup and make it regularly all winter long.  I put the chicken in the crock pot before I go to work and when I come home I feel like dinner is almost ready!

I can get a small chicken at Aldi or Walmart for less than $5 and this soup lasts us for days.  There's something wonderful about sipping hot broth and eating wholesome chicken and vegetables inside when the weather outside is frightful.  I hope you enjoy this!

Please comment with your variations and tips for chicken soup!

You've Got To Love It

This is a live action shot of my Christmas storage in my basement.  Now is the time when people are taking down decorations and packing things away for next year.  But, it's a great opportunity to thin out the amount of decorations you have and make decisions to only keep the things you love.

It's hard to get rid of sentimental items, I know, but you have to be realistic about how much space you can devote to stuff you use once a year.  So, be brave, take a little time while you're packing up the Christmas garland and stockings, and get rid of decorations you haven't used in a few years.  It may be time to give some items away to someone who might enjoy them more!  Keep the important pieces that you really love to look at and that remind you of special memories.  That's worth your storage space.  And next year when you take out the boxes you'll be glad you whittled down the amount.  Remember, if you pack it away, you've got to love it.

But It Was My Grandmother's!

You are looking at a teapot that my mother had on a shelf next to her kitchen sink for as long as I can remember.  For years I used it to brew tea, then I just looked at it on a shelf for a while.  Now it's in a cupboard where I don't see if often.  But it was my mother's!

I have lots of conversations with people who are conflicted about how to deal with stuff they inherit from beloved family members.  Just how do you measure your devotion to someone you love?  Is it wrong to sell or give away things that belonged to your grandmother?  I know people who had to clean out entire contents of houses when a parent passes away or moves into a smaller house.  These kinds of decisions are difficult and are very personal.

Here's my point, keeping truckloads of items from a dear loved one does not prove devotion.  I believe that truly honoring someone's memory is an attitude, and cannot measured by physical items kept.  My mother passed away when I was newly married and I inherited lots of her things as we cleaned out the house.  I got dishes, pots, kitchen gadgets, linens, knickknacks, and some jewelry.  All the boxes were piled in my basement for a long time until I realized that my personal tolerance for clutter was very low.  I slowly gave away or sold many of the everyday items that I knew I would never use and didn't want to store.  None of that diminished my gratefulness and love for the woman who nurtured me and loved me with her whole heart.  I think of her more and more often as I grow older and I look forward to the day when I'll see her again in heaven.  The items that I've kept I use regularly, or have places to store them neatly.  I think my mom would like that.

So, if you are being harassed by an attic full of boxes you inherited, or a garage filled with stuff you don't know where to put, wait until you're ready to make honest decisions about what you really want to keep to remember someone, and don't be afraid to give away the rest.  Your heart will be glad in the end!

Priorities

I'm going to be writing about all kinds of tips for making our home lives easier.  But it occurred to me that I have many young mom friends who are very busy with young children and truly don't have time to think about organizing cupboards or cleaning closets.  That's OK!!

There are seasons in life and each season has priorities.  If you're busy running after toddlers, changing diapers and sometimes can't even get dinner on the table,  please don't let anything on my blog depress you.  You are doing one of the most difficult and honorable jobs on the planet!  It's not easy to train a child in the way he should go.  It takes time, effort and a lot of selflessness.  Years from now you will never even remember that your linen closet was disorganized, but you will definitely remember the hours you spent cuddling your babies and reading to your toddlers.  Household stuff has a way of "screaming" at young moms who are home a lot and feel the pressure of getting things done around the house.  Don't get your priorities out of order.

This is a New Year, a good time to make a mental list of what's important in your life.  This crazy world we live in has its upside-down list of priorities.  I would resist outside pressure at every turn and hold on firmly to what you know is important.  For me, it's God, my husband, my children, family, friends, and after all that comes home, job, etc.  So, what are your priorities?

Time Yourself!

I'd like to meet someone someday who actually has a lot of time for cleaning.  Most of us have plenty of other and better things to do.  So, here's one of my favorite cleaning hints - Go Faster!  Recently I had 15 minutes to spare before I had to leave the house one morning.  I was ready to go, purse in hand, when I thought to myself, "I wonder if I could quickly clean the kitchen sink before I go?"  Off I went to the sink, sprinkled cleanser, etc...done in 3 minutes.  Then I thought, "Could I wipe all the dirty fingerprint marks around the cabinet knobs before I go?"  Grabbed some cleaner and another rag...done in 3 minutes.  Well, I kept going and wiped the counter, the front of the stove, the windowsill, the refrigerator handles and even wiped a spot off my tile floor.  And I was still done in less than the 15 minutes I originally had.  Later, it was nice to come home from my appointment with a cleanly wiped kitchen!

So, give yourself 5 or 10 minutes, a rag and some cleaner, and see what you can accomplish if you move fast!  Let me know what you did!

Cleaning Habits

Now that it's January 1, people naturally talk about resolutions.  I'm not a big fan of those because they generally are too vague and not achievable.  If you make a resolution, keep it honest and limited so that you'll be encouraged when you do it!

Let's talk about our cleaning habits and maybe try to make a small change that can have a big outcome.  I'm a firm believer in Spot Cleaning.  Here's my motto:  If you make a mess, clean it up.  For example, I can't remember the last time I actually fully cleaned my refrigerator by taking everything out and scrubbing surfaces.  But when I notice a small spot or spill, it takes less than 15 seconds to grab a washrag and wipe.  If I take those 15 seconds to wipe, pick up, put away, etc. the small things I notice then big cleaning jobs aren't as necessary.  Yes, it can be annoying when you're in the middle of cooking dinner and you see a drop of dried ketchup on the floor to take care of it.  But if it becomes your habit, then you'll simplify your life with fewer big cleaning sessions.

By the way, I apologize that the "Comment Settings" were wrong.  I changed them and now it should be easier to leave comments.  Please try again if you had trouble before!