Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Zesty Pumpkin Soup


Hubby and I were wanting a little taste of Thanksgiving last night, in anticipation of the coming holiday later this week, so I cooked up this wonderful soup in the time it took to bake a loaf of Pillsbury's Italian Bread, about half an hour. The soup is soul-satisfyingly delicious on a cold, late-autumn evening. It would also be a scrumptious start (in small, say 4-ounce  quantities) to a Thanksgiving meal. It is rich and satisfying...I hope you'll try it.


Zesty Pumpkin Soup
Makes 4 regular servings, 8-12 small appetizer servings

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Small pinch ground cayenne pepper
1 15-oz. can 100% pure pumpkin puree
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup of milk
1 5-ounce can evaporated milk
1/8-1/4 cup brown sugar, to taste
1/2-1 t. kosher salt, to taste
1/2-1 t. white pepper, to taste
Garnish: roasted pumpkin seeds or croutons, optional


(Measure out spices into a small bowl before beginning, so you can add them all at once.)

In a 4-qt saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; add onions and cook, stirring often, until almost softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saut̩ one minute more. Add spices and stir for another minute. Add pumpkin and chicken stock; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; simmer for 10-15 minutes. Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor, (or use an immersion blender in the saucepan - my favorite Рless to clean up.) Cover blender or food processor tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Slowly add milk and evaporated milk while stirring to incorporate. Stir in salt and white pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more milk to cool it down. To serve, sprinkle the top of each bowl with roasted pumpkin seeds or croutons.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Pastor Appreciation Gift Card Box


Although October is pastor appreciation month, due to busy schedules, we are having our pastors for dinner with our small group this week. Our youth pastor & his wife have just moved into town, and have a "new" house to settle into, so we are giving them gift cards to help with that process. I made a box that the stack of gift cards would fit into, but didn't want to just top it with a bow, so I used Lori's toolbox template to make the topper, and I had the Jolee's boutique dimensional tool stickers in my stash, just waiting for the perfect project. I designed the pizza box with inspiration from one on melstampz.blogspot.com (link) (she also has an incredible 'leather' tool belt box template and tutorial here). Just when I had exhausted my search for a 3D toolbox, and was about to design one myself, I found this one (don't have a blog to point you to, unfortunately. Thank you, Fatima, wherever you are.) I reworked it for my needs, and my finished svg file is here. Send me a pic if you make it - I love to see your creativity. The finished toolbox measures 3"w x 2"d x 2 3/4"h (3 3/4"h including the handle), and is large enough to hold a gift card.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Pinterest Interest


I've been methodically cleaning off my hard drive by uploading the MILLIONS of JPEG's I've downloaded over the years for designs I like/wanna make/crave. It's a great way to stir up interest in your blog by pinning designs from your posts. Above is a screenshot from my 'I'm soooo gonna do that!' board. I came across a Pinterest Challenge on a blog this morning: Let's get off our bums and make one of those ideas we keep pinning! Off to HD for paint. See-ya!

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