October 2020 · Jess in the Kitchen

Don’t Throw That Away Apple Scrap Jelly

Last Updated on October 10, 2021 by Jess

Apple season brings everyone visiting the orchard, making fresh applesauce and maybe even a pie or two. With all the peeling and coring happening, you’ll be happy to know there is something to do with all those scraps that will result in a delicious outcome: Apple Scrap Jelly!

We bought our house about 11 years ago and promptly began to dig up the ground to put in gardens, bushes, and trees. Since then, we have planted a total of 16 fruit trees on our little slice of happiness. Developing trees takes time, and we are finally at the point where we are picking a few bushels of apples. Oh the joy! This means I am preserving the apples into apple pie filling, applesauce, and the like. A few years ago, I saw the piles of peels and cores knew there had to be something I could do with the “waste.” Enter Apple Scrap Jelly. With only four ingredients, you will likely have everything on hand to make it. It doesn’t even need commercial pectin! What a win!

Do you have some apples you’re hoping to peel and core to make fall treats? Get another bowl, save the scraps, and be prepared to create another treat!

Your Ingredients

a kettle full of apple peels and cores
water
sugar (½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down)
lemon juice (½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down)

Begin The Boiling

After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly. I generally keep two vessels going at the same time: one for my apples for sauce/pie/etc and one for the scraps.

Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining (this is an estimate, it doesn’t need to be perfect by any means). This will likely take an hour or so.

Now, if I’m being real, I generally let water/apple mixture cool overnight in the refrigerator. Not because you have to, but because I don’t want to finish that day.

Time for Jelly!

Either way, your next step is to separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add.

Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Your end goal is to reach the gelling point. There are lots of tests for this, but I prefer the temperature test. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees. For me, the gelling point is 218 degrees. Don’t have a decent food thermometer? Check out the National Center for Home Preservation website for other ways of testing for the gelling point.

It takes longer to reach the gelling point than I think it should. It also goes from needing 3 degrees to reaching the gelling point fast. You can get complacent while you are waiting and suddenly hit the temperature, so I am trying to warn you 🙂

While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them. (If you want to simply place the jelly in the fridge after it hits the gelling point, that’s 100% okay. You don’t need to process it. However, if you want it self-stable, you should process in a waterbath canner.)

Canning Time!

Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water.

Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner, placing on the counter. Listen for the ping of the lids over the next 12 hours. Sealed jars are self stable. If any jar doesn’t seal, simply place it right in the refrigerator.

PS…To be especially awesome, have some fresh baked bread on hand to spread the left over warm apple scrap jelly in the kettle on a slice. Enjoy while the rest of the jelly is in the water bath. I promise, you’ll thank me.

Tools of the Trade

A nice strainer is a must in a stocked kitchen!

I love my waterbath canner.

The shallowness of this kettle makes boiling down go so much quicker. My go to kettle for jelly.

Apple Scrap Jelly

Don't throw away the apple peels and cores. Create a delicious apple scrap jelly with just a handful of pantry ingredients!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 40

Cook Time 2

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Canning

Servings per jar

Equipment

Water Bath Canner

Ingredients

a kettle full of apple peels and cores
water
sugar ½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down
lemon juice ½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down

Instructions

After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly.
Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining.
Separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add.
Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Heat to 8 degrees above the boiling point of water. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees.
While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them rather than storing in the refrigerator.
Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water.
Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to rest for 12 hours before storing.

Keyword apple jelly, apple recipe, apples, Canning, Jelly, Waterbath Canning

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other canning recipes? Check out my canning and preserving page below!

Canning and Preserving

October 27, 2020October 10, 2021

Jess17 Comments

Happy Mistake Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Last Updated on October 3, 2021 by Jess

Isn’t it grand when a “happy little mistake” turns out to be a delight? While I have recently adopted the mentality of “what’s the worst that can happen?” when I am cooking and experimenting (by the way the worst that can happen is I learn what DOESN’T work and I throw away a little food), it is always exciting when the experiment turns out to be the best case scenario. That happened for me a week or so ago when I set out to make pumpkin scones. Scones were not the result, but the sourdough pumpkin muffins I created were a hit!

Let me backtrack A little bit…

I have a great standard scone recipe that I adapt for all sorts of flavors of scones. You can check out one of my sourdough scone recipes here. I generally modify the spices and maybe add some diced fruit or lemon zest. This time, I had freshly roasted pumpkin that I was excited to use and figured it would mix well into the scone recipe. Needless to say, it became a little more damp than I am accustomed to, and I knew scones would be a no go.

A few minutes of thinking and a few additional ingredients resulted in a batter the perfect consistency for muffins. I allowed it to rest (like a good sourdough bread should do), and lo and behold, a light, full of spice sourdough pumpkin muffins were born. I was so excited to share it with all of you!

As an aside, it may not be traditional to share the mishaps turned to beauty in the kitchen. I believe in being real in life and on social media, and man, cooking isn’t always pretty. We make mistakes. Burn things, forget the salt, add one too many eggs, or forget just how many cups of flour you put in (Seriously, I use the least amount of measuring cups possible so if that means I have to use the ½ cup 5 times, I am down for it. Sometimes I lose track though. What can I say?) Bottom line, being in the kitchen should be an adventure. Take chances, embrace the mishaps and love the learning. It’s the only way to get better.

Now let’s get cooking!

Your Ingredients for Sourdough Pumpkin muffins

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves)
⅓ cup cold butter
1 ½ cups fresh, active sourdough starter
1 cup fresh or thawed pumpkin puree
¼-½ chocolate chips (optional)

Your Steps for Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with muffin tin liners. Combine all dry ingredients. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish. To that mixture, add starter, pumpkin, and chocolate chips. Mix by hand until just combined, making sure to reach the bottom of the bowl. Cover. Allow to rest 20-30 minutes. Scoop by ¼ cup full and fill muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test (a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean).

Round out the fall flavor sensation by pairing your freshly baked muffins with some warm apple cider or maybe even a pumpkin spice latte.

Tools of the Trade

If you’re baking, you need a great muffin tin. If you are fortunate enough to have a pumpkin to roast, I recommend a nice thick baking sheet lined in foil. Looking to get a new one? Check out the links below!

Roasted Pumpkin Recipe

Looking to roast your own pie pumpkin? Click here to get the recipe!

Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Sourdough discard mixed with fresh roasted pumpkin puree make for a delightful sourdough pumpkin muffin.

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Servings muffins

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅓ cup cold butter
1 ½ cups fresh active sourdough starter
1 cup fresh or thawed pumpkin puree
¼-½ chocolate chips optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with muffin tin liners.
Combine all dry ingredients. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish.
To that mixture, add starter, pumpkin, and chocolate chips.
Mix by hand until just combined, making sure to reach the bottom of the bowl.
Cover. Allow to rest 20-30 minutes.
Scoop by ¼ cup full and fill muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test (a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean).

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

October 17, 2020October 3, 2021

JessLeave a comment

How Can it Be This Easy Home Roasted Pumpkin

Last Updated on September 11, 2022 by Jess

I love everything about autumn. The jeans and sweatshirt weather. The leaves changing. All the smells. Fresh apples from the orchard and warm cider. I love all of it. I even got married in the fall so we could have the changing trees as a backdrop with mums in every bouquet. However, one thing I could never get behind was pumpkin spice. It just wasn’t my jam. I’ll just skip that flavor and jump to peppermint mocha, thank you very much. Then my mother in law introduced me to home roasted pumpkin, and it was a game changer.

If you have never roasted your own pumpkin, get to the store and pick up a pie pumpkin. Or really, any small pumpkin. I am telling you, it’s SO good. And did I mention it’s easy? Oh, and you even get the seeds out of the pumpkin so you can roast them. Win, win, and win.

If you are an “all things pumpkin” baked goods lover, the even better news is that roasted pumpkin freezes great. If you have a few tried and true recipes, pre measure the pumpkin you need for that specific recipe, place it in a freezer container or bag, label it, and you’ll be good to go the next time you want to get baking. Or you can be like my friend Britt and just eat it by the forkful as you stand around the stove, sipping hot apple cider. I won’t judge.

Your Ingredients

1 pie pumpkin
Olive oil cooking spray (or any other means to grease the pan)
Salt and pepper or cinnamon and brown sugar (optional)

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife. Using a large spoon, clean out the insides and seeds. (I highly recommend separating the seeds from the pulp and placing them in another bowl. Cover with a little water until you’re able to roast them.)

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the pumpkins cut side down. Roast for 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin. It is done when you can easily pierce the skin with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, scrape the flesh from the skins. You can totally puree it, but I just leave it in its natural form.

From here, you have a few options:

Eat it straight from the skin. If you choose this option, might I recommend making it sweet or savory with a sprinkle of a little cinnamon and brown sugar or salt and pepper before you roast it?
Measure it out for your favorite recipes and freeze it. Although many will say it only lasts a few months, I have had zero issues using year old frozen pumpkin.
Measure it out and bake right away. I often will roast one day and bake a few days later. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week in my experience.

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? Or are you more of an apple cider kind of guy or gal?

Don’t have a favorite recipe? This is a great, indulgent pumpkin bread recipe from All Recipes.

Hoping to bake other treats? Check out my baking page by clicking the button below!

Baking

Home Roasted Pumpkin

You'll never want to buy canned pumpkin again after you've eaten your own home roasted pumpkin. Simple and delicious: plain, savory, or sweet

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Preserving

Servings pumpkin

Ingredients

1 pie pumpkin
Olive oil cooking spray
Salt and pepper or cinnamon and brown sugar optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
While the oven is preheating, cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife.
Using a large spoon, clean out the insides and seeds, saving the seeds to be roasted later.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the pumpkins cut side down.
Roast for 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin. It is done when you can easily pierce the skin with a fork.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, scrape the flesh from the skins. For smoother pumpkin, puree it using an immersion blender.

Notes

Options for eating:

Eat it straight from the skin. If you choose this option, I recommend making it sweet or savory with a sprinkle of a little cinnamon and brown sugar or salt and pepper before you roast it.

Measure it out for your favorite recipes and freeze it. Although many will say it only lasts a few months, I have had zero issues using year old frozen pumpkin.

Measure it out and bake right away. I often will roast one day and bake a few days later. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week in my experience.

Keyword fall, pumpkin, roasted vegetables

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other great recipes?

Check some out below!

October 11, 2020September 11, 2022

Jess3 Comments

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Last Updated on March 24, 2021 by Jess

With the garden game slowing down as we move into October, my sourdough game is ready to step up to the plate. Over the weekend, I pulled out my starter and had a lot of excess. And you know what? I hadn’t baked a batch of scones in a while. I looked around my kitchen to see what I had and my eyes were drawn to the bag of dark chocolate chips. Then the bag of unsweetened coconut. Finally, almond extract. What’s not to like?! And so, my dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones were created.

While this recipe is specifically for dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones, it’s a flexible recipe with all sorts of variations. Maple pecan? You got it. Simple cinnamon and sugar? That’s great too! Look around your kitchen and play with the recipe, leaving the base alone. Who knows? You may just develop a perfect, one of a kind recipe that is to die for!

Let’s get cooking! You’re about 30 minutes away from fresh baked dark chocolate coconut scones!

Your ingredients

2 ½ cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup butter
1 ½ cups sourdough starter

Glaze and Toppings Ingredients

¼ cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish. It will look somewhat like sand. To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract. Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet. Mix in chocolate chips. Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter. Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference. Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown.

Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones. (Hint: Recut the scones right after they come out of the oven.) Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing.

Hints and Tips for Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Love toasted coconut? You can toast all of the coconut (or just the topping) by spraying a small frying pan with cooking spray and heating over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut. Heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. It will go from perfection to burned quickly, so watch it.

Looking for other sourdough recipes or hoping to start your own starter? Check out my sourdough page by clicking the link below! Maybe you just want to bake. I have some awesome sweet treats on my baking page too!

Sourdough Adventures

Baking

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones: Extra sourdough starter? These scones use it up nicely, making a subtly sweet breakfast treat!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup butter
1 ½ cups sourdough starter
Glaze and Toppings
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut.
Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed. It will look somewhat like sand.
To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract.
Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter.
Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference.
Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown. Recut scones as soon as they come out of the oven.
Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl.
Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds.
Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones.
Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing.

Notes

Keyword chocolate, coconut, Scones, sourdough, sourdough baking, sourdough scones

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

October 6, 2020March 24, 2021

Jess1 Comment

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup

Last Updated on January 16, 2021 by Jess

I’m telling you, I love summer and all that comes with that: swimming, warm skin, camping, gardening, and carefree days. But man, this time of year, I relish the beautiful fall weather. In Northern Wisconsin, this brings on duck hunting. When it’s duck hunting, I get to relish the enjoyment of cooking for a large crowd of hunters. Usually that means I throw together a few kettles of soup, and this year was no different. We had an abundance of root vegetables in our home and I couldn’t wait to cook with them. What resulted was a delightful Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup.

From the Garden…

We grew potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas this year. I wanted sweet potatoes, but oddly enough, I forgot I wanted them until it was too late (story of my life). So alas, the sweet potatoes were store bought. However, the ground protein was last season’s venison so this root vegetable soup was almost a fully “home harvested meal.” My absolute favorite and leaves me feeling crazy proud.

Now, I recognize not everyone gets the opportunity to grow their own food. Totally okay (Although I am telling you, you should start. It’s the best for SO MANY reasons. I won’t start listing them here, even though I want to). The great thing is that all of these ingredients can be pantry items, which means you can throw it together anytime you are feeling soup without any special trips. How great is that? Ready to get cooking and put together a fantastic Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup? Let’s get to it!

Your Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground protein (we use venison, but any ground protein would do)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of each, diced: sweet potatoes, rutabaga, red potatoes, and carrots
1 1/2 cups diced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
8 cups beef broth, divided

Your Steps

In a large Dutch oven, combine diced potatoes, rutabaga, carrots and 5 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, brown ground protein, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In the same large saucepan (I am all about minimizing dishes), begin to heat the onions and garlic, adding ½ tablespoon-1 tablespoon of oil if necessary. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon dried sage. Once the onions have softened (about 5 minutes), add butter. Melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour, making a roux. VERY slowly, stir in remaining beef broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, bringing to a boil before you add more broth. (Gluten free? You can 100% skip this and have a thinner broth).

Once the broth has been fully incorporated, slowly add the onion mixture to other root vegetables. Stir in the ground protein and allow everything to come up to temperature. Give a quick taste test here, adding extra pepper or salt if needed. (I tend to get heavy with the pepper according to my kids, so I start light and almost always add a little more).

Serve the Root Vegetable Soup!

Serve right out of the kettle with a fresh slice of bread and perhaps a salad. I don’t think I am wrong when I say it doesn’t get much better than homemade soup, sourdough bread, and salad. It might just be my favorite meal of all time. Comfort food at it’s finest!

Tools of the trade

There isn’t too many tools here, but I’m telling you, nothing beats a good cast iron Dutch Oven for your soups, bread baking, and everything in between. I love my red kitchen, so this is a perfect fit!

Looking for other soup? Check out my recipes on my cooking page below!

Cooking

Sourdough Adventures

Print Recipe

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup: Comforting and full of good for you vegetables, this soup will bring joy to your heart and your belly.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground protein we use venison, but any ground protein would do
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups sweet potatoes largely diced
3 cups rutabaga largely diced
3 cups red potatoes largely diced
3 cups carrots largely diced
1 ½ cups diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
7 cups beef broth divided

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven, combine diced potatoes, rutabaga, carrots and 5 cups of beef broth.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, brown ground protein, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
In the same large saucepan begin to heat the onions and garlic, adding ½ tablespoon-1 tablespoon of oil if necessary. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon dried sage.
Once the onions have softened (about 5 minutes), add butter.
Melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour, making a roux.
Slowly add in remaining beef broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, bringing to a boil before you add more broth.
Once the broth has been fully incorporated, slowly add the onion mixture to other root vegetables.
Stir in the ground protein and allow everything to come up to temperature. Add additional salt or pepper as needed.