Beef Veggie Soup

Yesterday started out as a beautiful day, but soon it turned into a cold and rainy afternoon that stretched into late evening. The change in the weather had me thinking about my Granny. When I think of Granny I think of all her comfort foods. On about any cold day you can go to Grannies and find a pot of her vegetable soup brewing. So in honor of my Granny I made some soup.

Beef Veggie Soup
Makes approx. 10 quarts

Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
5 to 6 medium potatoes, cubed raw
2 cans of green beans (drained)
12 oz bag of frozen corn
12 oz bag of frozen peas
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can of tomato paste (optional)
2 cans of beef broth or 1 box
2 quarts or 1 large can of tomato juice
5 cups of water
small head of cabbage, chopped quarter size
tsp garlic powder
tsp onion powder
tsp salt
tsp paprika
tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves

Directions:
In at least a 15 qt. stock pot, brown the hamburger and the onion. Don't drain. Add celery, carrots, potatoes and 4 cups of water. Cook for 20 minutes and then add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the cabbage. Bring to a boil. Add the cabbage. It will float on top until it cooks down. If you use a big pot it will fit nicely, however if you use a smaller pan you will need to add the cabbage a little at a time till its all in there. Turn down the heat and simmer for an hour or two. Stir occasionally. Serve with a wedge of cornbread and a pat of butter. Enjoy!

~ Farm Girl

Pictured with the soup is my homemade cornbread. I will be sharing that recipe as well.Pin It

Around the Farm

Just a few quick snap shots from the farm this beautiful Thursday morning...

Someone is on the wrong side of the fence

She needs a napkin she's got something on her mouth...

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Different sights

I've been taking classes for sometime now and every now and then I mix in something that I like rather than what I have to take. Why not, Right? Here are some of the recent photos I have taken for my class.

I should be out there taking pictures now. It's such a beautiful morning. Hope everyone has a blessed day.

~ Farm GirlPin It

Bunny News

It's been sometime since I have updated on the bunny happenings around the farm. We've had a lot going on with them here this summer/fall. We've only been in the bunny business since February but it sure does seem like forever. I've learned so much already and learning more each and every day. We've had our ups and downs like any other farm with farm critters. You win some you loose some.

During the Drencho which caused the extended power outage we lost several of our bunnies due to heat. We just couldn't keep them cool enough. Heck, I think we were baking ourselves too. Any how we lost Sprite and Robin and nearly 20 babies at different stages. Some of which were our daughters fair projects. Luckily we have made great friends in the local rabbit business and we got replacements which turned out to be back ups.

That was summer it's fall now. We've not had much luck with litters living. We lost two full litters right off the bat last week but, I'm so glad to say that we did get two litters that are almost a week old. Check them out. I need new pictures as they have a nice coat of fur now.

Jinny N Reese's babies (6 or 7 of them)

Bab's N Snowball's babies (9 of them)

We have finally added a new breed to our rabbitary. We now have Californians. Another excellent choice for our local 4-Hers. The majority of our rabbits are White New Zelands, then we have a male and female red NZ, Grandpa as I call him (Cadbury) hes a Castor Rex and Jinny is a Rex mix. So meet our newest additions.

Phoebe

Flora and Bucky - they were on a date!

So that concludes our news right now. We are hoping that "date night" will grace us with a few more babies here in a few days. We shall see.

~ Farmgirl

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Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

I'm digging the whole pintrest thing these days. The amount of recipes shared daily has gotten me out of a rut on many occasions. Now that we are in full swing apple harvest season this is the perfect dessert to complete any meal. This cake is just delicious. You will have to bake one yourself to find out...

Caramelly. Appley. Delicious.

Apple Cake:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• I cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup finely chopped apples
• 1/2 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Brown Sugar Glaze:

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

For the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch baking dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.

In a large bowl, mix eggs with an electric mixer til light and foamy. Add oil and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter till the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts and stir to mix them into the batter.

Scrape batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Place hot cake onto wire cooling rack. While its still hot prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Spoon the hot glaze over the warm cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan. Serve with a scoop of Black Walnut ice cream (Mayfield's brand).

Note: This recipe can easily be doubled and made in an 9x13 baking pan.


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