The Weather is Cool and The Soup is On!

I love the fall. The weather gets cooler and you find yourself under a pile of blankets when you wake up in the morning. Today is about perfect around here. It’s about 60 degrees and cloudy (ok, I like it a little bit cooler, but I’ll take this.) Time for soup! Do you make soups in the fall and winter? I have some favorite soup recipes, but am always looking for other good ones. Do share, if you have a family favorite.

Here is one for Steak Soup from my friend Diana that is wonderful. This is crockpotting at my house today. I will admit, it doesn’t look that great in the photo – but it will look and taste great by the end of the day. (You don’t add in the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn until the last hour – so you’re seeing it in its beginning stages.) What I like about this recipe is that it’s so thick and hearty. (4 lbs. of hamburger and tons of vegetables.) Speaking of vegetables, I learned a good trick for slicing onions without the tears. Oh, I know the regular tips – burn a candle nearby to get rid of the fumes (that does help), leave the root end intact while you cut (not sure that really helps), etc. But at a cooking class that I took last year in CA, they told us that we should cut the onion in half and then put the cut-side down on the cutting board. Next, cut into wedges and then dice. This one really does work the best out of all the onion tips that I have tried. Since you need 3 cups of onions diced up for this recipe, you will need to know how to do it without tears. (Unless you can take your tear-stained face into the room where your family is parked, announce that you just need some time to “find yourself and pull it together because it has been a stressful week”, and then can sneak away for a few hours of uninterrupted knitting. In that case, tear up good and enjoy.)

Diana’s Steak Soup

1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
3 cups chopped onion
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
2 lbs. (or 4 cups) mixed veggies
2 (1 lb.) cans diced tomatoes (I use Zesty)
1 Tablespoon Accent
8 cubes beef boullion
2 teaspons black pepper
2 envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix
8 cups hot water
4 lbs. ground beef, cooked

Melt butter in a large pot. Stir in flour. Add water slowly and stir. Add cooked meat, veggies, and seasonings. Bring to boil. Simmer until veggies are cooked, about 1 hour.

(Or use your crockpot. In that case, add in everything except your carrots and mixed veggies. Simmer all day long. Add carrots/mixed veggies for the last hour.)

For a really great meal, add Janice’s Corn Bread Rolls with this soup. (her 9/18 entry)

On the knitting front: I am working away on my Log Cabin Quilt. I liked the strips better when they were short and each color went by quickly. I’m on the longer strips now and am forcing myself not to get bored. I have also started the twin to my Regia sock that I finished at my meeting last weekend. I am determined to get all of my twin-less socks under control. I have also figured out a knitted-gift solution for the people on my list, which I’ll share with you next week.

On The Loopy Ewe front: Have I mentioned how much I love my Namaste Vintage Knitting Bag? It holds several projects, and I love that I can put my favorite pairs of needles around the sides. We have these in Camel, Black and Red. Did you know that red leather is “IN” right now? And did you know that the red leather Namaste bags are hard to find? I have just one left. I’m tempted to snap it up for myself because I just love the red, but then what would I do with two of these bags? Be sensible (she tells herself.) Actually, we have just 2 camel and 3 black ones left, too. When I took mine to my knitting guild meeting two weekends ago, several people asked about it – it really is that great. So did you want to treat yourself to one of these? 🙂

Sheri Ihopeyourweekendplansincludelotsofknitting-that’swhatI’llbedoing