Okie Dokie… so my blog is getting a sloowwww start! Life has a way of keeping us bizzzzy, which is one reason I even contemplated doing a blog for a couple of years (!) before heading into blog fog. So don’t worry about my posts becoming invasive and ‘too much’ because I don’t think THAT is gonna be an issue…
This week, St. Patty’s Day to be exact, is a special day for me. Nope, I’m not Irish, but it is a day of celebration for me because…
March 17th is my Personal Day of Freedom Celebration! This March 17th, I’m dance’n a jig as I look back on being a ‘former’ smoker… my QUIT DATE was March 17th, 2005! WoW…6 y.e.a.r.s it’s been!
My precious little nephew Wyatt came into my world the previous September, and as much as I wanted to quit before he arrived, I just couldn’t (or more like “didn’t”). But as he grew, I didn’t want his little senses to be subjected to something even I found disgusting! I didn’t want him to SEE me smoking… I didn’t want him to SMELL the nasty stench on my clothes… so I did it! Just six months after God blessed our family with him, I QUIT! And haven’t had or wanted so much as a puff since that day… So St. Patty’s Day will always be ‘my day,’ the day I started smelling better… breathing better… living better… and tasting foods ‘more better!’
Speaking of tasting… I found this recipe, or some form of it, years ago visiting the home of a personal chef colleague in Dallas, TX. While hanging out in Donna’s kitchen and browsing through her cookbooks, I came upon this soup in a book I made note of as “Sensibly Thin.” So that’s the best I have to offer in terms of giving credit where credit is due… but the picture is my own. It was taken before I started learning ‘more better’ food photography tips… so ‘scuse the poor quality!
This week, grocery stores have the usually expensive Corned Beef Roasts on sale, so it’s a great time to pick one (or a few) up and crock pot tomorrow while at work for a tradtional Corned Beef and Cabbage supper tomorrow night.
Then, in a few days, stir up a pot of this really DEE-lish soup with the leftovers! (And y’all know I’m a ‘throw cooker’ so throw leftover cabbage into this soup too…just yet one more layer of flavor.) It’s incredibly easy and fast to make and probably not a soup you’ve made before… Sooooo 
… celebrate something… if nothing but simply being alive with a roof over your head that a big fat wave didn’t just swoosh over, taking away everything you treasure and need to live each day, including loved ones.
With the events this past week in Japan, this Irish Blessing seems to be the appropriate one… so let us all stop to count our blessings today, and every day!
Blessings to your and yours…
Bless This House |
Bless this house, o Lord, we pray.
|
Speaking of GROCERY stores… gotta run now… our *new* Piggly Wiggly store opened in town today (wheeee doggies!)… headed there right now! 
Stay tuned… may be a blog post over there somewhere…. hope y’all enjoy this soup, just perfect for chilly winter’s eve on the doorstep of SPRING!!
This is the original recipe I created, but like my makeover one even better… that is the one you’ll find on the “Print Recipe” page! Enjoy one, the other or both… or one you create with a little of both!!
NOTE: Over time, my edited recipe evaporated when an old app I used became extinct. Before I properly saved recipes, so unfortunately my edited recipe is no more. Take this recipe and tweak as you like.
Cream of Reuben Soup (original recipe)
Serving Size: 8
1 small onion — chopped
2 cloves garlic — minced
1 large carrot — shredded
3 T. cornstarch*
6 c. chicken broth
1 c. skim milk (I use 1/2 and 1/2)
10 oz. corned beef brisket — chopped
…from some you cooked or deli sliced
(more is a ‘good thang’)
8 oz. Bavarian sauerkraut — drained and rinsed (I just ‘throw in’ an entire can)
1/2 t. thyme (I throw in a bit more)
1/4 t. white pepper
1/4 t. tarragon
1 t. Old Bay Seasoning
1/3 c. water (only if needed for consistency)
8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
Rye or Pumpernickel Bread (for croutons) – omit or sub for gluten free
…broken into pieces and toasted**
Cook onion, garlic and carrot in microwave-safe bowl on HI for 2 mins. Drain.
Blend in cornstarch. Add broth and milk. Cook on stove over med. heat until thickens.
Add remaining ingredients and cook until cheese melts.
Serve with rye bread or croutons.
* Use a pure gluten free cornstarch to keep GF.
** I love breads, but living alone, I never eat an entire loaf. So when I buy a loaf of rye or pumpernickel, I put some in freezer to have on hand for a change of pace sandwich or for croutons for soups like this. If wrapped well, bread will last a longggg time in your freezer. These breads also can be used in recipes that call for bread crumbs… think outside the usual box and use a different kind of bread to give your recipe needing bread crumbs a new and different layer of flavor!
