Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

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Cheesy Potato Soup

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Potato soup is a family favorite.

We typically have two kinds of potato soup: creamy or chunky cheesy.

Sautéing up a mirepoix, making a roux, and adding parcooked potatoes is super easy.

I often use leftover potatoes. If not, I boil them separately while I saute up the veggies and make the roux, then the cheese sauce.

I add in the potatoes and make some yummy toppings and it’s like a loaded baked potato in a bowl.

Look at gorgeous this creamy cheesy soup looks!

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Cheesy Potato Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 5 medium potatoes, peeled and parcooked
  • 1-2 stalks celery, minced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/4 c butter
  • 1/4 c AP flour
  • 3 c half and half
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 16 oz Velveeta, cubed
  • 1-2 t garlic powder
  • salt and white pepper
  • 4 strips bacon, chopped and fried crisp for topping
  • 1 c shredded Colby Jack or Cheddar for topping
  • 1/4 c chopped parsley for topping
  • 1/4 c chopped chives and/or green onions for topping

Instructions

  1. Boil peeled and chopped potatoes if not already cooked.

  2. Saute celery and onion in butter for a few minutes.

  3. Sprinkle with flour and add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Add half and half and turn down heat to make a thick sauce. Do not boil.

  4. Add potatoes to soup.

  5. Add cubed Velveeta until melted and creamy. Do not boil.

  6. Season with garlic, salt, and pepper.

  7. Ladle into bowls and toppings. Enjoy!

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Zuppa Toscana

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I often make variations of Zuppa Toscana based on what I have on hand.

It’s one of the quickest and easiest soups to make.

I always have the three main ingredients on hand:

  • Potatoes
  • Greens
  • Sausage

I often saute breakfast sausage and/or bacon with chopped onions.

I add potatoes, either chopped and parboiled, or leftovers.

Chicken stock is almost always in my freezer.

I quarter the potatoes for pretty.

Last, I toss in some chopped greens to wilt and salt and pepper for the finishing touch.

Bon appetit!

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Zuppa Toscana

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 package sausage Italian or breakfast
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 5 new potatoes, cooked
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 1-3 T minced garlic
  • 2-3 c chopped kale or other greens
  • 1 t red pepper flakes optional
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 c cream or half and half optional
  • 1-2 T Parmesan cheese, grated for topping

Instructions

  1. Boil potatoes in water in a separate pot if not already cooked.

  2. Brown sausage and onion with a bit of olive oil or bacon grease to keep it from sticking.

  3. Add garlic and saute.

  4. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning.

  5. Drain and quarter potatoes. Add to the soup.

  6. Add greens until just wilted.

  7. Add cream if using. Do not allow to boil.

  8. Grate Parmesan cheese on top of soup to serve.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

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I almost always have chicken stock in my freezer.

I make a fresh slow cooker full every time we have chicken bones.

Easy slow cooker chicken stock:

  • chicken bones (or turkey)
  • 1 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 small tomato or 3-5 grape tomatoes (optional)
  • 1-2 carrots ( I don’t even peel them)
  • 1-2 celery stalks
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 5 whole peppercorns
  • 2 Bay leaves

Fill with water and set slow cooker on low for 12 hours.

*I don’t add onion or garlic to stock because it makes it bitter.

Strain and use immediately in recipes or freeze in labeled quart bags.

I sometimes can get a second slow cooker pot of slightly weaker stock if there are a lot of bones.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Sautéing up a mirepoix, making a roux, and adding fresh boiled noodles or leftover rice with cooked chicken and veggies is super easy and quick.

This is a great soup when someone is feeling sick in my house. I can usually whip it up quick with leftovers or freezer items I keep on hand. I can update this soup with various veggies and herbs for brighter flavor.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1-2 stalks celery, minced
  • 1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/4 c butter
  • 6 c chicken stock
  • 1-2 lbs chopped cooked chicken
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 t thyme leaves
  • 1 T parsley
  • 1 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 package good quality egg noodles boiled to al dente

Instructions

  1. Boil noodles according to package instructions.

  2. Saute veggies in butter for a few minutes.

  3. Add chicken stock.

  4. Add chicken and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes until flavors meld.

  5. I sometimes like to add dill, sage, or rosemary for extra flavor.

  6. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with noodles.

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Plank Grilled Salmon

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We are super impressed with the quality – flavor, smell, and texture – of Sitka Salmon Shares.

It’s better than any storebought salmon we’ve ever had.

We all were delighted by the ocean smell of this flash frozen fresh sustainably caught wild coho salmon!

The color is bright and flesh is firm.

Soak a cedar plank in cold water for at least an hour. I cover the plank with water in the sink and place a heavy bowl on top to keep it covered. Otherwise, it will burn on the grill!

Season and marinate the salmon.

Heat up the charcoal or gas grill. Grill indirectly for about 20 minutes or until 145*.

You can also bake the plank on a cookie sheet in the oven at 325* for about 30-40 minutes.

It’s gorgeous!

We like to serve our salmon with rice pilaf and stir fried veggies.

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Plank Grilled Salmon

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 T honey
  • 2 T soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 tsp lemon peel
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 T olive oil

Instructions

  1. Combine seasoning and spread on fish.

    Grill with indirect heat on top on plank, skin side down for about 20 minutes or until temperature to 145*

Sitka Salmon Shares delivers premium, sustainable, wild Alaskan seafood from the fishermen directly to members’ doorsteps! Shop Sitka Salmon Shares.

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Easy Fried Rice

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Fried rice is a super easy frugal dish to use up leftovers.

My family loves it and it only takes minutes.

The base is onion, carrot, and peas.

I like to use radishes too.

Leftover meat chopped finely and any other veggies are great.

Saute onions and carrots and add the meat to warm it up.

Crumble in the cold dry rice.

If I don’t have leftover rice, popping it in the freezer gets it cool and dry quickly.

Add sauces and Chinese Five Spice. Also extra garlic and ginger is great.

The rice steams and the whole house smells delicious.

Toss the frozen peas in and top with sesame oil.

My kids don’t really like the scrambled eggs on top and we were out of green onions this time.

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Fried Rice

Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 T butter or oil for frying
  • 3 cups cold dry rice
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked meat
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup peeled chopped carrot
  • 1/4 cup chopped radish or daikon
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1-2 T Chinese Five Spice Powder
  • 4 T soy sauce
  • 3-4 T dry sherry
  • 1-2 T Mirin
  • 1 T sesame oil at the end
  • 1-2 scrambled eggs for topping
  • 2-3 chopped green onions for topping

Instructions

  1. Melt butter or heat up oil in large frying pan or wok.

  2. Add chopped onion, carrots, radish and saute until onion is translucent. Add chopped meat.

  3. Crumble cold rice on top. Add soy, sherry, and mirin to steam the rice. Sprinkle with 5 Spice. Mix well.

  4. Add scrambled egg if using. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle chopped green.

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Tritip Steak

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One of our favorite family meals is tritip steak.

It’s a simple and frugal cut of beef. Everyone likes it. It doesn’t take very long on the gas grill. We seldom have leftovers.

I rub spices and olive oil into the meat and let it marinate for at least an hour.

It takes about 20-30 minutes on the grill for medium rare.

Gorgeous thin slices against the grain for tenderness.

We serve tritip with rice or potatoes, salad, fried broccoli or grilled asparagus.

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Tritip Steak

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp coarse black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp sea or kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground coffee
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Mix rub ingredients together in a bowl or jar.

  2. Massage rub into tritip steak on all sides.

  3. Pour olive oil over steak, turning to coat. Let sit for at least an hour in the fridge.

  4. Grill steak over medium heat on gas grill for about 20-30 minutes, or until thermometer reads about 120*

  5. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and serve with reserved juices.

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Vegetable Beef Soup

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Aaron’s mom had this famous busy day soup.

I first had it the weekend I met his parents.

Our kids beg for it – even in summer!

Sometimes, I deviate from the original recipe, but it’s really perfect the way it is.

Directions:

Sometimes, I saute fresh veggies like mirepoix or mushrooms in butter and make my own cream sauces as a base.

Check out our veggie-packed cream soup recipe.

But I’ve found great canned cream soups that are healthier and organic so I just buy those now.

I usually use ground beef, the cheapest I can find.

Then I literally dump everything in and simmer for about 30 minutes. You could use a slow cooker too.

This soup is just perfect for a busy day. You can fix it and forget it and throw it together last minute.

I really like Lima beans, so I usually add those also. You can do just peas and carrots or the medley. It’s up to you!

I sometimes use barley, but I don’t really like it.

I’ve done little noodles before too, but you don’t want those left in the broth or they get soggy for leftovers.

We like to serve it with toast.

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Vegetable Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground meat
  • 1 pack dry onion soup mix
  • 48 oz V8
  • 1 can cream of celery
  • 1 can cream of mushroom
  • 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 cup cooked barley
  • 2 peeled and diced potatoes
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • salt, pepper, garlic to taste

Instructions

  1. Brown the meat and drain the fat.

  2. Boil and drain the barley.

  3. Peel and dice the potatoes.

  4. Combine all ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes.

  5. Serve with toast!

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The Best Gravy

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I want my kids to know how to make the Five Mother Sauces.

We make a pretty good marinara. We do a nice blender Hollandaise.

Gravy is a necessity to learn how to make well.

It’s very versatile. It goes with meats, starches, even a soup/stew base.

Our basic easy recipe is a great starter for a flavorful gravy.

You can add herbs, wine, beer, or other ingredients to make it unique to your tastes.

I do use pan drippings from a roast meat with a fat separator, but otherwise I use good quality stock in a neat little box.

Directions:

Begin with a roux of melted fat and flour until dry and almost crispy.

Add ketchup, mustard (preferably Dijon), Worcestershire. Trust me.

Quickly add stock and whisk – or beer, wine, whatever liquid you’re making that goes with your meal. You really don’t need more than a total of 2 cups.

For a nice brown gravy, I use 1 cup beef stock and 1/2 cup chicken stock.

For poultry gravy, I use all chicken or turkey stock. I usually add some half and half to this one.

Add more liquid if it gets too thick too quickly.

The key to shiny gorgeous gravy is whisking well over low heat until thick then straining out solids and adding just a pat of butter to melt before serving.

As you become more confident, you can experiment with what works and tastes good to you.

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Gravy

Ingredients

  • 4 T unsalted butter or fat of choice
  • 1/4 c AP flour
  • 1 1/2 c stock beef, chicken, turkey, veal, veggie
  • 1 T ketchup
  • 2 t Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 t Dijon mustard
  • garlic powder to taste
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Melt butter or fat in pan.

  2. Whisk in flour until browned a bit.

  3. Whisk in stock.

  4. Whisk in ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard, and spice.

  5. Bring to boil until thickened.

  6. Add cream, milk, more stock if it becomes too thick.

  7. Strain with fine mesh sieve to remove lumps. Press with spatula to get the good stuff.

  8. Add a pat of butter for a nice shine.

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Homemade Pasta

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Homemade pasta is really the best. There’s just nothing like it.

It’s super fun and easy for kids.

It is a little more time consuming than throwing a box of spaghetti into boiling water, but it’s oh so worth it.

It starts out kind of messy, with eggs and flour.

We really love our KitchenAid mixer and all the attachments.

Katie is really a pro when it comes to making pasta.

She folds and rolls, folds and rolls.

Everybody likes to cut the pasta into wide and thin noodles.

We also make our own sauces like marinara and alfredo and pesto.

We hardly ever have any leftover noodles!

5 from 3 votes
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Egg Noodles

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 t salt

Instructions

  1. To Make the Dough: Pour flour in a mound. Make a well in the center of flour. Pour whole eggs, egg yolks, and salt into well. Use a fork to mix. Knead dough with hands until all is incorporated into a dough ball.

  2. Wrap ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and rest on countertop for 30 minutes.

  3. To Roll the Pasta: Put down a sheet of parchment paper and dust lightly with flour. Cut dough into quarters. Set one quarter on work surface and re-wrap remaining dough. Flatten the quarter of dough into an oblong shape about 1/2 inch thick.

  4. Set pasta maker to widest setting and pass dough 3 times through the machine at this setting.

  5. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Fold both ends in so that they meet at the center of the dough, and then fold the dough in half where the end points meet, trying not to incorporate too much air into the folds. Flatten dough to 1/2-inch thick. Pass through the rollers 3 additional times.

  6. Reduce the setting by 1 notch and repeat. Continue passing the dough through the rollers, reducing the thickness by 1 setting each time until it reaches the desired thickness. It should now be very delicate and elastic to the touch and slightly translucent.

  7. Place rolled dough onto a work surface or baking sheet lightly dusted with flour or on parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour or line with parchment between folds to prevent sticking.

    Cover dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to prevent drying, then repeat steps with remaining dough quarters. 

  8. To Cut Noodles: Adjust pasta machine to noodle setting of your choice. Working one dough segment at a time, feed dough through the pasta cutter. 

  9. Divide the cut noodles into individual portions, dust lightly with flour, and curl into a nest. Place on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently cover with kitchen towel until ready to cook. Pasta can be frozen directly on the baking sheet, transferred to a zipper-lock freezer bag, and stored in the freezer for up to three weeks before cooking. Cook frozen pasta directly from the freezer.

  10. To Cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta, stir gently with a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or a cooking fork, and cook, tasting at regular intervals until noodles are just set with a definite bite, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain, toss with sauce, and serve.


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Canning Applesauce

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Our neighbor across the street offered us as many apples as we could pick!

I think we got enough.

We made applesauce!

We cored and sliced apples and boiled them down with some water. This can also be done in a slow cooker.

You can add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, sugars, or leave it plain.

We love our KitchenAid mixer and attachments!

Look at that lovely golden applesauce.

The grinder spits out the peels and gives us smooth applesauce. So much less work!

We boil it down a little more. You can adjust any seasonings at this point.

We poured it into jars and did a water bath canning. They all popped!

This will last us a long time!

Check out our super simple applesauce recipe:

5 from 2 votes
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Applesauce

Ingredients

  • 12 lbs apples, peeled, cored, quartered (about 30-35)
  • 1-2 cups water
  • 4 T lemon juice
  • 1-3 cups sugar optional
  • 1/4 cup cinnamon optional

Instructions

  1. Combine apples with just enough water to prevent sticking in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 20 minutes, until apples are tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

  2. Transfer apples, working in batches, to a food mill or a food processor fitted with a metal blade and purée until smooth.

  3. Return apple purée to saucepan. Add sugar, if using, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Maintain a gentle boil over low heat while filling jars.

  4. Ladle hot applesauce into hot, clean jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

  5. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

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