Bean Soup

Bean Soup and Tangerine Quick Bread

I’m still working on the t-shirt quilt although it is coming along nicely.I have cut 45 rectangles and now I am sewing them together.  Next is the batting and the backing.  Davis and Olivia get home for their Spring Break this Friday so I hope to be finished by then if not much sooner.

 However, I always underestimate how long things are going to take to finish.  I don’t know if it’s just me being too optimistic or just wishful thinking.  I’m not often accused of being a bright-eyed optimist to I guess I’m just hoping to move things along by setting unrealistic deadlines.  It’s my personal strategy for time management.

Today I ate salad twice.  Shocking I know.  I was just saying how I don’t really notice a difference in the way I feel if I eat well or not, so I often have to force feed myself salad or other greenery.  Speaking of which, did you know that Pantone has selected “Greenery” as the 2017 color of the year?

Image result for pantone color of the year 2017

To me, that goes under the same heading with life coach that I mentioned in a previous post…and that heading is…Seriously???  We need people to tell us what colors we are supposed to incorporate in our lives each year?  Are we so sheep-like that we can’t even choose our own colors out of the Crayola box?  I’m making a stand and wearing pink tomorrow. I feel so bold. Care to join me in this fashion rebellion?

In addition to my salad, I made two quick recipes.  One of them even has the name quick in the title so you know it has to be fast.  (Actually the quick bread just means that there was no yeast in the recipe but it goes along with my snappy repartee so I’m going with it.)  I was determined to make progress on the quilt so I didn’t have much time for cooking.  My soup, salad, and quick bread made a delicious lunch and then it was back to the sweatshop to work, work, work.

White Bean and Chicken Soup

1 small onion (about 3/4 cup finely chopped)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 32-ounce carton low sodium chicken broth

1 15.5-ounce can navy beans (or any white bean)

2 cups diced, cooked chicken

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onion, garlic, and carrots in the butter until soft. Add the bay leaf.  Add the flour and stir until smooth. Stir in the chicken broth, beans, and chicken.  Simmer 20 minutes or until done.  Add salt and pepper to taste and remove bay leaf before serving.(I used a rotisserie chicken from Publix, regular salted broth and regular salted beans so I didn’t have to add any salt.  I would suggest using a lower sodium variety of either the broth or beans…or both.)

After the soup and salad, I served the Tangerine Quick Bread.  I didn’t use the poppy seeds in my recipe.  Not a fan, but I am now a big fan of this bread.  Delicious!

 

Tangerine Quick Bread

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Brunch and Breakfast Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon finely shredded tangerine peel

1 tablespoons tangerine juice

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons tangerine juice

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom and sides of 1 8X4-inch loaf pan or 3 6X3-inch (small) loaf pans; set aside.  In a large bowl stir together flour, the 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.  In a medium bowl combine egg, milk, oil, tangerine peel, 2 tablespoons tangerine juice, and the poppy seeds.  Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened.  Spoon batter int the prepared loaf pans.  Bake for 50 – 55 minutes if using the large loaf pan and 20-25 minutes if using the three small loaf pans.  When cake tests done, remove from oven and cool in pan(s) on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile for tangerine glaze, in a small saucepan combine the 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons tangerine juice, and the butter.  Cook and stir over medium-low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.  Remove bread from pans.  Poke holes in top of warm bread with a skewer; slowly brush with tangerine glaze.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  (Or eat warm – tastes great either way.) Garnish with additional tangerine peel.

I’m thinking this would also be good if I exchanged the tangerine for lemon.  I want to try it sometime.

Have a great week and don’t forget to be bold!

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3 Responses to Bean Soup and Tangerine Quick Bread

  1. Gina March 5, 2017 at 8:53 pm #

    I will be skipping the bean soup, as you can imagine, but the tangerine quick bread looks absolutely delicious! I’ll be making that soon.

    • Julie March 6, 2017 at 5:53 am #

      The Tangerine Bread was delicious. The glaze really makes it special.

      • Merry Carol Cotton March 6, 2017 at 6:19 am #

        Your wide range of recipes is great…

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