In case you haven’t heard, Midwest Storyteller offers FREEBIES! They happen on the first Friday of every month, which means you have only two more days to wait before entering the drawing for the December Freebie! The “Freebie Rules” have just changed to make it easier for you to win, so read on, SUBSCRIBE and share this post with all your friends so they can enter also.
Ooh…and what might this be?
‘Tis the season for secrets and surprises, so I’m keeping this secret till Friday, December 1st! I thrive on keeping fun little secrets this time of year, don’t you? It keeps the wonder in our world.
Once you see Friday’s post, feel free to pounce on it! No pushing – no shoving – the nicest thing about lining up in cyber-land is that nobody gets hurt.
And now, here are the revised rules.
First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick. If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page. All it means to be a subscriber is that you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the fun and FREE STUFF! And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
IMPORTANT: After subscribing, you MUST check your email to confirm the subscription or it will not appear. Then, sadly, you won’t be eligible to enter.
When the Freebie is revealed on Friday, you’ll need to scroll back up to the top of the post and under the title, click on “Leave a Comment”. Subscribers who comment as directed before midnight on Friday will enter the drawing, provided they are already on the subscribers list and live within the continental United States.
Three simple steps! And now we wait…are you starting to get a little excited? It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Take a look at a couple of other gifts I’ve given away recently here and here.
Now hurry! Go! Go! Go! Subscribe, Confirm and Enter on Friday!
NOTE TO READERS: These recipes are old family favorites that appeared here on my blog prior to myeating according to the Trim Healthy Mama plan or becoming a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach. The soup recipe fits the Trim Healthy Mama plan as an “S”. The biscuits? Well, they’re Frankenfood. While they taste fabulous, I cannot recommend them for healthy lifestyle or blood sugar control. I am working on adapting many of these recipes to the plan so watch for future posts!
America’s annual love affair with pumpkin begins where Labor Day ends and soothes us all with it’s warm flavor through Thanksgiving and its weekend of yummy leftovers. I thought I’d share this recipe to give you just one more pumpkiny thing to delight in before the season comes to a halt and all our fickle hearts leave it behind in search of the perfect Christmas cookie.
Let me introduce you to Zesty Pumpkin Soup – a favorite of mine that I make at least a couple of times during the fall. Why I don’t make it year-round is a mystery because it’s so yummy. To go along with it, I’m going to give you my recipe for Billy’s Biscuits, because what’s better than a great bowl of soup and a light and airy, buttery biscuit?
I’ve had the Recipe for Zesty Pumpkin Soup for years and years and I’ve tried my best to remember the source so that I can give credit where credit is due. I think I’ve finally remembered where I got it! Years ago, at a local shop, I picked up a super-cheap set of four paperback cookbooks which I believe were called, “Home Cooks’ Easy Recipes”. The pages were printed on newsprint and other than the cover, there were no photos. I tried all sorts of recipes in those books, but eventually parted with them in a garage sale – I think. I’ve looked online and can’t find any such books to reference here, or I would be happy to do so.
The interesting thing about Zesty Pumpkin Soup is that it is savory! Almost all pumpkin recipes are some variation that requires brown sugar and reminds you in some way of the eternal favorite, pumpkin pie. This is really different, but absolutely delicious. The original recipe called for the finished soup to be pureed until smooth. However, I forgot to do this once and ended up discovering that I actually preferred the “bits”, as long as they are finely chopped.
“Billy’s Biscuits?” you ask. “Who on earth is Billy?” I believe these biscuits began with a recipe known to some folks as “Southern Gal Biscuits”, but I got the recipe from my friend, Billy, after he served them up for breakfast when I was a houseguest. They were the best biscuits I’d ever had.
Here’s Billy –
I miss Billy, but know that breakfast in Heaven has been kicked up a notch ever since he arrived. I admit to tweaking the recipe for my own use, because I steer clear of shortening and refined sugars, but I’m sure if Billy were here to taste them, he’d approve! Normally, I also steer clear of wheat, but I do have an occasional cheat day. I’d sooner cheat and have these biscuits than almost any other treat. They’re worth it! Since I’ve never made these without thinking of Billy while I’m doing it, I can’t call them by any other name.
I see you shaking your head and muttering, “Soup – maybe. Homemade biscuits – no way! Where’s the can?” I’m about to take away all your fears about not having enough time or know-how to make these. They are lightning-fast and fool-proof, due to a few little tricks I’ll share with you.
And, best of all, there’s a FREE printable recipe.
Let’s get started –
Zesty Pumpkin Soup
1/4 cup real butter
1 cup chopped onion (chop this fairly small)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups chicken broth or stock (sugar free)
2 (14 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Sour cream
Chopped fresh chives
Saute onion in butter until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, sald, coriander and red pepper; cook 1 minute longer.
Add broth; boil gently, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.
Stir in pumpkin, milk and heavy cream. Cook an additional five minutes.
(As you can see in the photo, I tend to use my favorite ingredients from Aldi and Costco. Finding broth without added sugar is sometimes more difficult than catching the chicken and making your own, so I really appreciate Costco carrying the Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock.)
Garnish each bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.
Makes a 3-quart saucepan of soup.
Now, before you nix the idea of making biscuits to go with this quick soup recipe, let me give you four fabulous tips that will make life so much easier!
Mix your dry ingredients ahead of time! If you know you’ll be preparing the biscuits for breakfast (when you are not exactly wide awake and ready to read a recipe and fumble around for ingredients) or if you want them hot and fresh for company, but don’t want to mess up your kitchen and be separated from your guests, this can save time and temper! Just measure all the dry ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside until biscuit time.
Grate the butter! I saw this tip somewhere gave it a try. I could kiss the hand of the genius who thought of it! Whether biscuits, pie crust or any other recipe, I’ll never “cut in” the fat again! All I do is grab a stick of frozen butter and my handy-dandy grater that catches all the bits and work fast. Peel back the paper on the butter and grate it against the grater with the small holes. Pop the lid onto the container and put it immediately back into the freezer! All those frozen little curls of butter will stir into your dry ingredients in about three seconds and you’ll be thanking me for passing on this grand idea. Seriously – always grate the butter!
Invest in a large silicone countertop rolling mat. Oh my goodness! I still dust with flour, but nothing sticks! You can roll out and cut cookies, biscuits – whatever you like – directly on the mat and best of all, when guests arrive, you can just roll it up, tuck it away and clean it later. No messy counters! I got mine at Aldi for a really reasonable price and the holiday baking season would be a good time to check there. Big name brands tend to be super expensive.
A dough scraper. I mean – really – where have these been all my life? Also, I have a marble rolling pin and I freeze it ahead of time if I know I’ll be making biscuits, cookies, etc. Nothing sticks!
Billy’s Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all purpose non-GMO wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
7 Tablespoons real butter, grated and re-frozen
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Quickly add the frozen, grated butter and stir to coat the butter with the flour mixture before the butter begins to melt.
Beat egg in milk; stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened.
Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough 15 times by folding the entire ball of dough in half, giving it a quarter turn and folding it again. Roll out the dough to 3/4” thickness. Cut into circles with a large 3” biscuit cutter.
Transfer biscuits to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Yield: About 8-10 biscuits.
Enjoy your quick and heart-warming autumn meal. If you’ve prepared your dry ingredients and butter for the biscuits ahead of time, you can whip up the biscuits while the soup is simmering and have them ready to serve!
Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends! And…don’t forget your free printable recipes below.
Questions? Comments? If you make the soup and/or the biscuits, let me know how you liked it! Scroll back up to the title of this post and “Leave a Comment”. And why not SUBSCRIBE, so you’ll receive an email reminder each time Midwest Storyteller has something new.
They’re coming! You can hear their expectant panting from miles away as they prepare to descend on your home for Thanksgiving. You make a frantic dart through the house and decide it’s time to throw away the 4th of July balloons and take down the seashell jar that’s been welcoming everyone to your home with its shades of summery pastels.
Now what? There’s enough money to be spent on the turkey and ingredients for the traditional side dishes.
Been there – done all that. One thing I’m thankful for is the fact that my mother handed down to me the ability to make something out of nothing. Another quality we share is “squirrely-ness”. I’m not talking about that tendency to be just a tad odd – you know, the type of person that makes other people tilt their head to one side and blink – I’m talking about the ability to squirrel away cool stuff, small stuff, odd stuff and “sooner or later I’m gonna use that for something and when I do, it’s gonna be really cool” stuff.
I love to decorate and hate throwing good stuff away, so I’ve learned to stare at things and ponder how I might recycle them into something new and different without having to go out and spend more than a few dollars to put a new twist on things.
I get the urge to decorate for fall at sundown on Labor Day. I ran a week or two late this year, but in case you’re way behind and wanting to “lovelify” everything before the doorbell rings and the turkey timer goes off, I thought we’d brainstorm.
Here’s my fall fireplace. I took the photo with all the candles lit so you could see how we like to enjoy it on these long fall evenings.
Here’s a close-up of the mantle.
Now, let’s take a look at the individual elements. Aside from batteries for flameless candles and string lights, I don’t think I spent a single dime this year! Even the votive candles are leftovers from a bulk purchase I made at my local thrift shop a year or two ago.
I hope I’ve gotten your cogs turning. Somewhere, tucked into a bookshelf, stored in a tub in the basement or perhaps still in a sack in the trunk from when a friend passed it on to you, there are things you can round up and experiment with.
Admittedly, I did some degree of head-shaking and standing around with my hands on my hips as I tapped my chin. Then, I’d arrange and re-arrange, and before long I found myself content.
Is it super-trendy? No. That would have taken a trip to the store for chalkboards and things covered in burlap and chevron prints. Somehow, I just wasn’t tempted to go there.
Once I’d completed my “design remix”, I was free to get out an enjoy fall and do my usual thing, perhaps causing not a few people to tilt their heads to one side and blink, but that’s my normal and I don’t think I got it from Mom.
As you can see from the photo, all you really need is family, friends, a mixture of garage sales and flea markets, a willingness to build your stash and a nice set of working blinkers so that you can zip into the stores with the best prices. Obviously, I’ve done more than a little “squirreling” in Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning and Big Lots. I can’t say enough about the great quality of QVC’s Bethlehem Lights collection! Seems they always have something great on clearance.
I had a group of ladies over for an annual Pumpkin Night event and we enjoyed a buffet of recipes containing pumpkin. I didn’t spend any money on table-scape either. I just dove into my stash! Take a look – as long as you don’t mind that guests had already arrived before I got the photo taken and things look just a trifle askew. Trifle! Now, why didn’t somebody bring a pumpkin trifle? Great idea for next year!
I’d love to hear from you. Just under the title of this post, you can “Leave a Comment”, letting me know your thoughts and ideas. What kind of things have you pulled together to decorate that will inspire the rest of us?
More inspiration for quick fall décor can be found here. You might enjoy getting to know my mom here. Need inspiration from me and my mom to help you rescue and recycle the poor, the tired and the pretty-much-trash stuff around the house? Check it out here!
Coming up next: Two fabulous free recipes for a heartwarming fall meal. SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss it!
I’m excited to announce the winner of November’s “First Friday Freebie”. A fabulous free gift is offered each month, on the first Friday, to a faithful subscriber. (Hooray for the letter, “f”!)
Subscribe now and you’ll be ready to enter to win in December! Instructions on how to do that are below.
Our November winner is…
Ginger from Prairie Home, Missouri!
Ginger left a comment on the post, saying, “I’ll take the Blessings Jar!” and she won!
You can see the Blessings Jar and it’s contents a little better in this photo –
I’m also announcing a change-up in the rules. From now on, the Freebie winner will be chosen from a drawing of the subscribers who leave a comment before midnight on the day the post appears.
I’m following the suggestion of subscriber, Liz, who was feeling that perhaps people who are busy or at work may not be able to comment until later in the day. So, a drawing will be!
If you’d like to enter the monthly give-a-way, do a few things to be sure you don’t miss out.
SUBSCRIBE! On your computer, you can do that in the right side-bar. On a phone or tablet, you may need to go to the “Contact” page. Only subscribers are eligible to win. If you do not confirm your subscription by clicking on the confirmation email you receive, you are STILL not a subscriber, so don’t forget that. You’ll get an email when there’s a new post or freebie.
“Follow” Midwest Storyteller on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Even if you forget to check your email on the first Friday, the offer will show up in your feed.
Spread the love – and the FREEBIES! “Share” Midwest Storyteller with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Pin this post to Pinterest and send the pin to friends you’d like to see enter to win.
You’ll be eligible to win if you are a subscriber at the time of the offer and if you live in the continental United States. Then all you’ll need to do is read the post and leave a comment as instructed!
Simple, right?
Get ready! The next free gift will be given away on Friday, December 1st!
How are you liking the freebies so far? Please scroll back up and click on “Leave a Comment” under the title of this post and let me know.
If you’d like to see who won the First Friday Freebie for October, click here.
My, how time flies! Today is the first Friday in November and time for Midwest Storyteller’s First Friday Freebie. If you missed seeing my last freebie give-a-way, you can take a look at it here. If you’re wondering who won, check it out here.
Each month, I offer a gift to one of the loyal and loveable fans of Midwest Storyteller. It’s absolutely free and the rules are, oh, so simple.
This is truly the season to be thankful. As we all prepare our hearts and minds for the holiday season ahead, we know what makes us thrive! It’s our family, friends and the simple things in life that make us rich.
I’ve chosen this gift to help you and your family remember what matters most.
I just want you to know that I had a pretty tough time not keeping this gift for myself!
This beautiful Blessings Jar is perfect for this time of year. Included is an organza bag filled with blank “My Blessing” cards for family members and guests to fill out and drop into the jar. Also included are ten additional cards with inspirational quotes such as the one you can see in the photo by C. S. Lewis which says, “When we lose one blessing, another is often, most unexpectedly, given in its place.”
Wouldn’t it be great to have each of your Thanksgiving guests drop their card into the jar when arrive? Later, gathered at the feast, you can draw the cards out of the jar and read them aloud.
Another great idea is to place the jar in a prominent place this month and have family members jot down a blessing every day to add to the jar.
And the Number 1 thing to be thankful for? The Blessing Jar is FREE!
Another thing I loved about this gift is that it matches any décor and is not limited to seasonal display. It serves as a year-round reminder and can always be used to store a few other things you’re thankful for. Hmmm… Let me think… Cookies… Vacation money… the list goes on and on.
Ooooh! I almost forgot – it would make a lovely gift, wouldn’t it?
And now, here are the rules.
First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick. If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page. All it means to be a subscriber is that you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the helpful, fun and FREE stuff! And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
IMPORTANT: After subscribing, you MUST check your email to confirm the subscription or it will not appear. Then, sadly, you are not eligible to enter.
You’ll need to scroll back up to the top of this post and under the title, click on “Leave a Comment”. The first subscriber to comment with, “I’ll take the Blessing Jar!” will win, provided that you’re already on the subscribers list and that you live within the continental United States.
Three simple steps! Have a wonderful and blessed First Friday of the month!
Now hurry! Go! Go! Go! Subscribe, Confirm and Enter! Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and let’s get the word out! It’s crazy not to spread free stuff around!
‘Tis the season for secrets and surprises, so I’m keeping this secret till Friday, December 1st! I thrive on keeping fun little secrets this time of year, don’t you? It keeps the wonder in our world. 
