MINESTRONE SOUP

And welcome back fellow S.I.P.'ers (Shelter in Place) 

It's times like these that I thank the powers to be (my wife) that we have a fully stocked kitchen pantry. There is always a meal to be made. (Without going OUT)

Also glad that we have friends who make a store run and then shows up on your doorstep.

I also love their dog.

Goo

All jokes aside, these are trying times for all of us. Especially those of us over that magical age. 

So let's go back to the pantry and see what we can see.......

How about some SOUP !!!!

Let's make Minestrone

Here's what you need

2 Large Potatoes (Cut into ½ inch squares)

 not very square, are they?

2 Large Green Onions (chopped - use all of it)

 These came from our garden

3 Small Carrots (chopped fine)

½ of a Medium SWEET Onion (Chopped fine)

2 Celery stalks (Chopped fine)

3 Cloves of Garlic (Chopped fine)

¼ Cup Kale (Chopped)

 Also from the garden

Small Parmesan Rind

½ Cup of PESTO   (Home made from our garden)

1 ½ Cup of Broth (Chicken of Turkey)

Home made, of course

14 ½ oz Can Diced Tomatoes (Blended)

15 ½ oz Can White Kidney Beans

1 Cup of Ditalina Pasta 

Water – As needed

Saute Onions in 2 TBL EVOO

Add Celery & Carrots

Saute then add Garlic

Saute for 2 minutes

Add Broth, Tomatoes, & 2 Cups of water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Add Potatoes, Parmesan Rind & Pesto

Add 1 Cup water

Bring to a boil.

You may want another cup of water here.

After it starts to boil, reduce heat to simmer

Put a lid on it and simmer for 40 minutes

While we wait, let's go out on the porch for a refreshing adult beverage .... or two

After 40 minutes, add the Beans, Kale, & Pasta

Cook until Pasta is done.

Salt & Pepper to taste

 taste test !!!!!

Remove the Parmesan chunks

Salt & Pepper to taste.

When serving you can add a sprinkle of Red Pepper Flakes to kick

it up a notch

 you can add some Parmesan on top

 or not

a little 'heat' doesn't hurt

After it cools a bit, put the left overs in a container. Add some frozen water bottles in order to bring the temp down to 70-80 degrees.... Remove the bottles and place in the cold box.

 

IF I HAD TO DO IT OVER.....

Yeah, it needs Mushrooms..........

Seriously, this was SO GOOD. The Parm and the Pesto adds so much flavor. You need to make this... OH, you don't have any PESTO? And you don't know how to make it ??? Do not fear, the wise one is here. We will do that NEXT on Kill It, Cut It Up & Cook It.

See you then, and remember:

Be SAFE, Be SMART, and Be WELL

and EAT AT HOME

Live Long & Prosper

PANTRY RAID

Welcome back to Kill It, Cut It Up & Cook It. I hope you are all doing well, and doing your part during this time.

It is crazy out there....People hoarding all kinds of stuff, and still standing close to other people.

This is the scene Tuesday morning (6:45) just before our PUBLIX opened. They saved the first hour Tuesday & Wednesday for us "elderly folk." Since they are surrounded by four "retirement communities", it's a nice gesture. But people need to get a grip on things.

Photo by Larry Caniglia - he left

My contribution (other then STAYING HOME) is right here on KICIU&CI. Showing you how to cook wonderful meals without GOING OUT.

I have been preaching this philosophy for years. Not that I never go out. We do go out. ONCE IN A WHILE.

The rest of the time we are in our kitchen preparing wonderful meals that are inexpensive.

But enough rant. Let's start with a cute doggie.

and an adult beverage

OK, now that we feel better, let's get on with the show !!

Since the stores are JAMMED pack full of people buying needless stuff, we are staying home and going to a pantry raid.

 No No.....I said a PANTRY RAID.

Jeez, some of you folks have warped senses of humor.

First you need a WELL stocked pantry. (AND A FREEZER)

Ah...staples of our life. Jiff and Popcorn

Yes, I need to rebuild the Pantry. It is the LAST Phase of our kitchen project, I can't wait

I spied a nice jar of MARINARA..... Let's make sketti and MEAT SAUCE..

 
Since you and I have been cooking together for a long time, let's be bold and do this WITHOUT a printed recipe.
 

Let's gather some STUFF 

 Start with a couple cloves of GARLIC.......Chop 'em up

 And some ONION..... Chop those up

 

 

 Grate some Parmesan Cheese (NOT that crap in a green container) USE FRESH

Get your BACON FAT out of the cold box

In the spice RACK, score some FENNEL and grate it up

 Put 1 TBL of fat in the BIG POT

 While the fat heats, let's line up our STUFF for round 1

Not that the fat is HOT, add the ONIONS and a bit of salt & pepper

 STIR, STIR STIR

 When the onions are tender, ADD THE Mushrooms

 Stir often, but keep slightly covered

 When the Mushrooms are cooked, ADD the meat. I used 1 lb of Ground Chuck and 1 lb of sausage

 Add the Fennel, the chopped Garlic, and some Italian Herb MIX

Now it's time for the SAUCE

 And some HOME MADE PESTO !!!

And the grated Parm

Penny also grows her own  PARSLEY. Let's add some of that stuff too

Now it is ready to cook..... for about 60-90 minutes on Simmer. But bring it to a boil first.

Time for another adult beverage.

While it cooked, we played with the dog and checked out Penny's new "Pollinating Garden" 

OK, the sauce is killer good so let's make some Pasta. 

Pasta is hard to find here, but we had this in the pantry....See why we keep it well stocked?
 

BOIL WATER

 Gee it would be nice to have some Garlic bread with this, but we don't have any.

BUT WAIT !!!!!   We have 3 left over hot dog buns. I bet those would be good.

Butter the buns

ADD some Garlic Salt and Garlic Powder

Ready for the oven

Back to the hot water.....Put in the Pasta

 While the pasta cooks, put the buns in the oven, and broil....BUT KEEP YOUR EYES ON THEM

 

 Don't they look good??? ..... I call this 'cooking by the seat of your pants'. I may never buy Garlic Bread again.

OK,   let's review     PASTA - DONE      SAUCE - DONE    BREAD - DONE    BEER - COLD

Let's EAT

We decided to have  dinner on the porch this time. It was a nice Florida evening.

This was so good. If you don't have all these ingredients, don't fret.
Use your imagination and don't be afraid to experiment with the things you have on hand. 

Here comes the best part. Two nights later we heated the left overs in a double boiler, and had another GREAT meal !!!!
 

I could not finish it all

So there you have it. TWO great meals, from the pantry. And we didn't have to go to the store or wait in a drive thru.

This staying at home isn't too bad. (yet) Florida has not issued a lock down YET, but I have a feeling it may happen this week. We are waiting to see. In the meantime, we have locked ourselves down, except for groceries......and beer........

Bread has become impossible to find. So Penny went to Mexican store and scored a big bag of flour. That's next on Kill It Cut It Up And Cook It.

We are going to MAKE BREAD !!!!

See you then.

Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, and BE SMART....

To quote my wife:   "Lee was right"