Black Bean Soup

We here in the Deep South have experienced the summer that won’t seem to end. Who knew we’d have 101-degree temperatures in late October? We have set temperature record after temperature record.

The end is coming. We have flirted with the 40s at night. There was no better reason to finally try a new soup recipe.

This soup was easy to make and is simply delicious. BUT please make sure to plan ahead. The beans need to be soaked overnight. It made more than enough for us to eat and then freeze a portion for a cold winter night that is coming again. I just know it.

The recipe comes from Shirley Edberg. I found it in a recipe book compiled by The Citizens Bank many years ago. I changed it up a bit to suit our tastes. Serve it over white rice and it makes a complete meal. I hope you enjoy it.

Black Bean Soup

1 lb. black beans

1 ½ lb. smoked sausage, cut into ¼-inch slices

3 medium onions, chopped

3 (green) bell peppers, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used ¼ tsp garlic powder)

Salt and pepper to taste (This wasn’t needed)

2 tablespoons wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse.

Slowly brown sausage. Place in a large soup pot.

Sauté onions and bell peppers until onions are clear. Pour into soup pot.

Add remaining ingredients, including drained and rinsed beans, to the pot. Cover with fresh water and slowly bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until beans are done but not mushy. This takes about 2 hours.

Serve over rice, cooked in a separate pot.

P.S. This soup freezes really well.

Chicken Casserole

Some days you've just got to go with what you have. It was one of those days. I needed lunch and I needed it quickly. I found a few recipes -- google is a wonderful thing -- but I didn't have time to cook chicken down and I didn't have all the ingredients for any one recipe. So I adapted and this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Chicken Casserole

2 cans (12.5 oz. each) chunk chicken breast, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
32 Ritz crackers

* you can substitute cream of mushroom soup

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Combine the soup, sour cream and onion. Spread it on top of the chicken. Crumble the Ritz crackers over that.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin-Ginger Cupcakes

This recipe comes from the December/January issue of allrecipes magazine. I was draw to it because of the pumpkin. There's just something about the holidays that makes me gravitate toward pumpkin. How about you?

Maybe it's just part of the holiday season. Maybe it's all about cool temperatures and a roaring fire. Pumpkin speaks to coziness and contentment. Add a few more spices and everything smells wonderful and tastes divine.

This is an easy recipe. I hope you enjoy the cupcakes.

Pumpkin-Ginger Cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 (3.4-oz.) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour 24 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

Mix together flour, pudding mix, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, ground ginger, salt and cloves in a bowl.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed until lite and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until just incorporated. (Batter may appear curdled or separated.) Pour into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer muffins to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting

8 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
crystallized ginger for garnish

Beat together 2 cups of powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla in a very large bowl until smooth. Beat in remaining powdered sugar until smooth, adding more milk if necessary to make frosting spreadable.

Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with crystallized ginger.

Cheese Pennies

I found this recipe in the December issue of Alabama Living magazine. It reminds me of cheese straws, which is something I totally love. Okay. Maybe not exactly, but close enough.

Cheese Pennies

1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine, softened
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese
1/2 package dry onion soup mix, shaken well before opening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream margarine and cheese together. Add soup mix, salt and flour. Blend well.

Divide into fifths. Shape each section into a long "snake" one inch in diameter. Chill.

Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Bake slices at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until well browned. Remove immediately and cool completely.

Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen. Store in airtight container.

Candy Cane Chocolate Mini Loaves

This recipe also comes from the December issue of Taste of Home magazine. The author suggested using left over candy canes for this special treat. That's certainly a wonderful idea. However, I love the idea of making these mini loaves and giving them out as Christmas gifts. What a wonderful expression of love and thoughtfulness to give something you made yourself.

I suggest melting the white chocolate for the topping in the microwave. Place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 30 seconds intervals until melted. Be sure to stir after each 30 seconds, as the chocolate may not always look melted when it really is.

Again, I hope you'll take time to purchase Taste of Home magazine and treat yourself to other amazing recipes. This is just the best cooking magazine around.

Candy Cane Chocolate Mini Loaves

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar
4 large egg whites, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup (6 oz.) miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coast eight 5 3/4 x 3 x 2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

Beat butter and sugar until crumbling, about 2 minutes. Add egg whites, eggs, coffee, yogurt, oil and extracts.

In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add to brown sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Topping

2 oz. white baking chocolate, melted
3 tablespoons crushed candy canes

Drizzle melted white baking chocolate over loaves. Sprinkle with crushed candies.

Chocolate Comfort Cake

I found this recipe in the December issue of Taste of Home magazine. If you like to cook, this magazine is one of the best I've found anywhere. The recipes are for what I call real food and most include ingredients that we would normally have in our kitchens.

One tip noted at the bottom of the recipe concerns the coffee. Don't skip it, even if you're not a coffee drinker. The coffee brings out the taste of the dark chocolate.

I hope you'll head out to purchase this magazine and check out all the other wonderful recipes.

Chocolate Comfort Cake

1 box dark chocolate cake mix (regular size)
1 pkg. (3.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, canola oil, coffee and sugar. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into a well-greased 10-inch fluted tube pan. Bake approximately 50-55 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out lean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack.

In a double-boiler, melt the butter and chocolate. Stir until mixture is glossy and smooth. Drizzle over the cake.

Candy Cane Cake

This recipe comes from the December issue of Country Living magazine. It has many wonderful recipes and a section on vintage toys and ornaments. I especially loved that. I hope you enjoy the Candy Cake Cake and that you take time to check out Country Living magazine.

I Do recommend that you not use substitutions in the ingredients.  For example, don't substitute regular all-purpose flour for cake flour or margarine for real butter. The same is true for using imitation vanilla flavoring instead of pure vanilla flavoring. Sometimes those substitutions don't matter but cakes just taste better when you use the real stuff.

Candy Cane Cake

3 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment. Grease parchment. (I use waxed paper instead of parchment paper.)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high until pale and fluffy. It takes about 3-4 minutes. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat only until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

7-Minute Frosting

4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Bring 2 inches water to a gentle simmer in the bottom of a double-boiler. Place egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, salt, water and corn syrup into the top boiler.. Place boiler over saucepan and cook, whisking on low speed with a hand mixer, until mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. This takes 8-9 minutes.

Remove top pan and continue to whisk on medium speed until thick, glossy peaks form. This takes 2-3 minutes.

Assembling and Decorating

3 candy canes, crushed (about 1/4 cup)
Store-bought peppermint bark, roughly chopped


Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with 1 cup frosting and sprinkle with half of the crushed candy canes. Place second cake layer on top of that and top with 1 cup frosting and the remainder of the crushed candy canes.

Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Press peppermint bark into the frosting on the sides of the cake.