Bacon Night! - Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

It is really easy to find new recipes using bacon, but finding new recipes that intrigue me with new flavor profiles takes some doing.  I love doing soup this time of year, mostly because it makes for great leftovers that usually hold up well in the freezer for quick meals when we need them.  I found this recipe at All Recipes in an email they sent out a few weeks ago, and decided to give it a try.  Super simple to make and great flavors have added this to the FatBoy rotation.

Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

 

YIELD
 8 servings
ACTIVE TIME
 15 mins
TOTAL TIME
 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

    • 5 slices bacon
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1/2 white onion, chopped
    • 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
    • 2 cups beef stock
    • 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans
    • 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
    • 2 stalks celery, chopped
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
    • 1/2 cup red wine
    •  salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, coarsely chop, and set aside.
    2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute white onion and garlic 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in beef stock, pinto beans, tomatoes, celery, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer.
    3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the apple in the red wine until soft.
    4. Mix bacon, apple, and remaining red wine into the soup mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until well blended.

Fatboyheaven goes BIG for The Pantry at Rock Creek Church

This morning the family and I got up early and headed down to Rock Creek Church to cook Fat Boy Stew for 115 people at their Food Pantry for the 2nd Saturday meal. Just take the recipe for Fatboy stew and multiply it by 10 and you have the idea. It was great to give back and help with what has become a family project at the Pantry, and we had a lot of fun catching up with a great group of volunteers.  

If you would like to help this holiday season, the Pantry at Rock Creek Church provides food for more than 100 families every week through their partnership with The Oregon Food Bank.  Donations to The Oregon Food Bank can be designated to benefit The Pantry, as can gifts to Rock Creek Church at 4470 NW 185th Ave., Portland, OR 97229.

Here was the grocery list:

230 cups total volume

5lbs sausage - polish links/ brats
10lbs hamburger -
12 lbs frozen mixed veggies
12 cans diced tomatoes
24 cans pinto beans
10lbs potatoes
5 large onions
Chicken stock base
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
Cumin
Chili powder
4 gallons water

Brown the ground beef and sweat the onions until translucent

Add the sausage

Add the tomatoes, mixed veggies, and beans

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for at least an hour

Dinner Time - King's Hawaiian Baked Ham & Swiss Sandwiches

I was looking for dinner ideas and ran across some posts on Pinterest about doing these sandwiches and though I'd give them a try.  The flavor profile is amazing!  My daughter swears there was pinapple, but alas there was none.  The cheese melted thoroughly and the butter soaked rolls crisped up extremely well.  A little messy in the hand, but well worth having to hold a napkin close at hand.  Give this one a try folks, this is Fat Boy Heaven right here!

King's Hawaiian Baked Ham & Swiss Sandwiches

 

YIELD
 12 Sandwiches
ACTIVE TIME
 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME
 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

    • 1 12 pack of King’s Hawaiian Original Rolls
    • 3/4 lb. deli ham, shaved
    • 1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
    • 1 1/2 sticks butter
    • 3 tablespoons Stone Ground deli mustard
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    • 3 teaspoons of poppy seeds
    • 1 onion, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion and poppy seed. Simmer for several minutes.
    2. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping all top and bottom halves in tact).
    3. In a greased 9×13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and spread 1/3 of the onion mixture over the bottom of the rolls followed by the ham and cheese.Spread 1/3 of onion mixture over the bottoms of the rollsLayer ham and cheese evenly over bottoms
    4. Replace the tops of the rolls and spread the remaining onion mixture over top.
    5. Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes and, once finished, separate for serving.Ready to cut apart and serve!

Dinner Tonight: Turkey Apple Sausage with garden fresh sautè

We have been dieting, and only eating food at most one meal per day. Tonight I decided another boneless skinless chicken breast wasn't going to cut it!

I stopped at New Seasons Market to get some fresh made sausage. I selected an Apple Turkey sausage and took it home.

I started by adding 1 Tbs. oil and 1 Tbs. butter to a sauté pan over medium heat. I sliced up a large Walla-Walla sweet onion and added it to the pan, along with 3 cloves of fresh garlic from our garden.

While the onions were sweating I looked at the fresh veggies from our garden and grabbed a fresh yellow summer squash and a green pepper, both of which I cut into 1/2 inch cubes. I added them after the onions had started to carmalize, adding salt and fresh ground pepper.

While the veggies were cooking I started the sausages browning on a cast iron grill pan for ~5 minutes per side. Once they were browned nicely I added them to the sauté pan and covered it, reducing the heat to medium low giving the flavors a chance to combine. 20 minutes later it was ready to eat. To plate I sliced the sausages and placed vegetables down both sides, then sprinkled with Pecarino Romano cheese to add a nice sharp bite which contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the squash.

This is a great, simple lean meal that can really be done with any kind of sausage and vegetables you have from your garden over the summer.