Jerry's Cock-A-Leekie Soup

It is soup time now that the weather has cooled off. This afternoon I made Cock-A-Leekie soup from a recipe my sister, Jerry, gave me. Well, not really a recipe as she only told me what she puts in it when she makes it!

I don't care for soups with chicken, but love chicken any other way...go figure that one out.

I am not going to bore you with photos of each step...just the basic recipe.

This is what I used and how I proceeded.

Jerry's Cock-A-Leekie Soup

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 ½ quarts chicken broth/stock
4 carrots, chopped fairly small
1 large potato, diced
1 onion, diced
3 large leeks, washed and cut into half-moons
3 celery stalks, diced
½ cup cooked rice
1 bay leaf
salt/pepper to taste*

In a 4-quart pot poach the chicken breasts in the chicken broth/stock with a bay leaf. Remove to a plate to cool so they can be shredded.
Add the carrots, onions, celery and leeks to the broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the potatoes and simmer another 15 minutes.
Cook the rice in a separate pot according to package instructions. Once the rice is tender I dumped it into a strainer and ran cold water over it to get some of the starch off.
While the rice is cooking shred the chicken.
Add rice and shredded chicken to the vegetable mixture.
Add the heavy cream, heating until hot but not boiling.
Serve and enjoy...I know my husband really liked it!

*I do not add salt/pepper during the cooking process...I let everyone add their own.

This is probably not an authentic recipe as it has no prunes added!

I will join the party at On The Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Breakfast In Pink And Green

This week my inspiration came from Goodwill...Franciscan Desert Rose at a price I couldn't pass up. The dinner plates were 99¢ each, all the other pieces 49¢ each and then a 25% senior discount. A 5 piece placesetting, service for 4 at $8.85, who could/would pass that deal up? I don't know where I will store them, but will find a spot. I think they are all older pieces, meaning none were produced in China.

The table is set for breakfast, that is why the cup/saucer were used. I don't have much in the way of pink, so I have started with green placemats from my friend, Kathleen. I added pink linen napkins along with the Oneida Afterglow flatware.

I am not sure of the maker/pattern of the glassware. They were also found at Goodwill for 99¢ each less the 25% senior discount.

The little bee skep syrup pitcher is one I picked up a few years ago at a yard sale for a quarter.

The centerpiece is a geranium from the porch and a set of pink,cream and green candlesticks.

Franciscan china-Goodwill
Stemware-Goodwill
Flatware-Family
Green placemats-Gift from Kathleen
Pink linen napkins-Savers
Pink/cream/green candlesticks-Savers
Bee skep pitcher-Yard sale
White pitcher-Goodwill
Geranium plant-Back porch

Thank you for visiting, hope to see you here again, next week. If you are kind enough to leave I comment, I will visit you, too!

Parties I will be joining this week:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Wednesdays Bunny Hop Party at Bunny Jeans Decor
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch
Thrifty Thursday at Tales From Bloggeritaville
Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove
Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound
Seasonal Sunday at The Tablecaper

Halloween Is Here!

Halloween is almost upon us! I don't think I have ever done a table quite like this one...this isn't my favorite holiday so I don't have much in the way of Halloween stuff. All in all, it came out pretty cool!

The chargers are large solid black dinner plates that are almost bowl-like. The dinner plate is a creamy white with a patterned border, then the salad plate is one of my everyday black squares, topped with a white dessert plate and finally a black and orange appetizer plate with a spider and web.

Rim shot...

I used black napkins with a pale orange gathered from the center and held with a tarnished silver napkin ring adorned with a spider. I first used a black spider, but it didn't show up very well so I grabbed the orange ones. The flatware is Oneida Afterglow.

I found the very inexpensive Tiara Diamond Point tankards at a local antique store. The little ones are vintage Hazel-Atlas black amethyst juice glasses; gift from my sister, Judy, last year.

The centerpiece started with that white stuff that is supposed to be used for webs, but I didn't read the instructions on how to use it. Unfortunately, I made a mess of it, so I just bunched it up in the middle of the table! I have added a ceramic witch with bad makeup (she also lights up), chunky black candlesticks with orange candles, a couple apothecaries with candy corn, the ever-present mini-white pumpkins, two black raven/crow candles and some plastic spider rings.
The most expensive item on the table are the candles...are they ravens or are they crows? They were about $6 each...which made me flinch when I handed the money to the cashier.

Check out the bad makeup...that is exactly what I would look like, if I were to apply it..LOL!

Thank you for your visit...hope you will return next week. If you leave a comment, I will be sure to visit you, too!

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Wednesdays Bunny Hop Party at Bunny Jeans Decor
Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Another Green Fix!

It is time, once again, to join the rest of the tablescapers for eye candy to get us through another week of beautiful tables.

This week my inspiration came from a platter, a pitcher and metal candlestick, all in green, which by now everyone knows is my favorite color. This is a very simple table this week, no frills, not even a tablecloth.

The pitcher and 16-inch platter were found taped together at Savers for only $6.99. As soon as I spotted these on the lowest shelf mixed in with flower pots I knew they were Bordallo Pinheiro before I ever turned them over. I have no clue what the patterns are on either piece, but know they are not a set.

I started with a rattan-like charger, added a white Gibson dinner plate, which were $2.99 for a set of 4. I then added a green salad plate, a birthday gift from my friend, Kathleen of Cuisine Kathleen a few years ago. I topped the salad plate with a plain white soup bowl. The soup bowls were 25¢ each at ARC Thrift Store a couple of years ago.

The glassware I have had for years, not sure where I bought it.

The green and white napkins have been around for eons, too.

The centerpiece started with green 17" tall metal candlesticks, found at Savers for $5.99 each, which is more than I usually like to pay, but, they were green! I used the platter, added those cute little white mini pumpkins with a handful of pecans...hey, I told you I would get mileage from those pumpkins!

Sorry the photos are so dark, it was a rainy day when I took most of them...it later cleared up and the sun came out.

Thanks for visiting my little mundane blog, In The Middle Of Nowhere, it is very much appreciated. If you leave a comment I will be sure to visit you!

I will be joining:

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Wednesdays Bunny Hop Party at Bunny Jeans Decor and More
Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Anyone For A Brownie?

Now that the weather has cooled off a little I will be doing more baking. This week I baked my favorite brownies. I have had this recipe for almost 40 years. It was given to me by a neighbor friend in Vermont, who has since passed away at a too young age from cancer. I thank her every time I make these. I have added a couple of ingredients that were not in the original recipe; maraschino cherries and mini chocolate bits; oh, and chocolate icing. These are not the thing to bake if you are trying to diet...they are very, very rich!

Barb Beckwith's Village Luncheonette Cocoa Brownies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla sxtract
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix everything except the walnuts together. Beat for about 2 minutes. Add walnuts, mixing well to distribute evenly. This is the point I have added my twist to the recipe...that would be 1 cup of quartered maraschino cherries and 1 cup mini chocolate morsels.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350° in a 9"x13" jelly roll pan. Do not overbake! They are supposed to be barely done...not cakelke brownies, but very dense.

Marilyn's Chocolate Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk

Beat ingredients together until smooth adding enough milk to make of spreading consistency.

I hope you enjoy these brownies as much as we do...they are very addictive!

Thanks for visiting this week.

I will join:

On The Menu Monday at Stone Gable
Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

We have had the most beautiful week weatherwise that I can remember. Sunny, warm, cloudless days. I wish it would stay like this forever!

As I was going through the linens I noticed a tablecloth covered in pumpkins, leaves and acorns, just the right one for this week's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch. For more inspiring tables just click on the link, sit back and enjoy.

To the tablecloth I have added dark green fringed napkins. The flatware is Oneida Afterglow, circa 1956.

The dinner plate is a solid white (Homer Laughlin White Dover), layered with a solid orange salad plate (Waechtersbach Orange Peel), an orange pumpkin dessert plate and then a small pumpkin soup bowl. Both are from the Better Homes and Garden Fall Collection.

The glassware is just an orange stem I found in a small antique shop in Topeka last spring. I don't know the pattern or maker.

I am using the mini white pumpkins again this week for the centerpiece. They are piled onto a white compote from TJMaxx. They are so cute, but will not last as long as I would like, so I will be getting mileage from them! I have added dried fruit and flower pods. The candlesticks, little ceramic pumpkins paired with orange tapers.

Rimshot!

Thanks for taking the time to visit In The Middle Of Nowhere. Hope to see you here again next time...in the meantime, have a great week!


I will also join:
Bunny Jeans Decor and More for Wednesdays Bunny Hop Party
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday