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Savory Venison and Wild Rice Bake

Ready for some savory venison and wild rice bake? I am so excited to share! Being a northern Wisconsin family, it may come as no surprise that a primary protein source at our house is venison. We harvest 2-4 deer a year between the gun and bow season and butcher them ourselves. Using our Kitchen Aid mixer, we grind upwards of 60 pounds of venison a year, which we use instead of ground beef or turkey 90% of the time.

I’m always looking for new ways to use it, and this was a fun recipe to develop from scratch a few years ago. This venison and wild rice bake has a feel of tater tot hotdish (I’m close to the Minnesota border, don’t ya know?) with a true from scratch taste. You won’t find any “cream of whatever” soups in the ingredients; only true delicious wholesome foods here. I hope it becomes a go to comfort food for you like it has for us.

Oh! And no ground venison? No problem! Substitute your favorite ground protein: beef, turkey, you name it.

The ingredients For Venison and Wild Rice bake

1 pound ground venison, seasoned with salt and pepper
6 cups low sodium chicken stock, divided
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup wild rice
2 cups carrots, diced
1 ¼ cup onion (1 large), diced
1 ¼ cup celery (6 stalks), diced
2 cups broccoli, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons thyme
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Your Steps

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes. If it gets over cooked, it will be mush once you bake it.

Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle (I love my cast iron Dutch oven) with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl. In the same pan (The less dishes, the better, right?), cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice.

Now for the Creamy part

In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste. Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through. Often, I will prep mine in the morning or the day before and refrigerate until we are ready to eat. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle. A wonderful comfort food.

Tools of the Trade

What are some tools I can’t live without? First, my Pyrex baking dishes are a go to for all things baked. And I love a lot of baked dishes. I also really dig my flexible cutting boards and my goodness, as silly as this sounds, this is my favorite whisk. I have had it for years and it’s truly the only one I use.

Savory Venison Wild Rice Bake

Savory herbs, two types of rice, and ground venison come together for a delicious venison and wild rice bake.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 20

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Servings people

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound ground venison seasoned with salt and pepper
6 cups low sodium chicken stock divided
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup wild rice
2 cups carrots diced
1 ¼ cup onion 1 large, diced
1 ¼ cup celery 6 stalks, diced
2 cups broccoli diced
1 cup mushrooms sliced
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons thyme
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl.
In the same pan, add an additional 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice.
In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium-low heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste.
Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.
Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through.

Notes

This can be prepped early, say the night before or in the morning. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle.

Keyword from scratch, rice pilaf, vegetables, venison, venison recipe, whole foods, wild rice

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Can I share some other favorites of mine?

Check out the recipes below for other meal inspiration!

October 25, 2021February 23, 2024

Jess30 Comments

For the Holidays Cranberry Apple Preserves

“Tis the season for cranberries, right? Now if you ask me, any season is cranberry season. But right now, fresh, whole cranberries are fully stocked at all the grocery stores, just yearning to create something delicious in your kitchen. I know Thanksgiving is over, but that doesn’t mean your time with cranberries needs to be. Give these cranberry apple preserves a try!

One of my favorite things about living in Wisconsin is that all things cranberry are readily available. I thought that was standard in all states. I was telling a friend in Texas how much I adore cranberry wine (I am not a fancy wine girl, clearly). Her response was, “THEY MAKE CRANBERRY WINE?!” Yup, they do. And it’s delish. If you’re interested, check out Door Peninsula Winery (I love their Cranbernet) or Three Lakes Winery (I love…all their wine. All of it.) They even ship to lots of states!

I will buy anything cranberry related. Add some citrus, and I am in heaven. So this cranberry apple preserve recipe is a great one. It has all the deliciousness of a well prepared cranberry sauce while being the consistency of jam. Can you go wrong?! Even if you aren’t a typical canner, you can do this recipe.

Before we Start, The supplies

This cranberry apple preserves recipe will result in approximately seven 8 ounce jelly jars. You can use wide mouth or narrow mouth jars. Just be sure you have rings and lids for them and that they will all fit in your canner at once.

You will need a water bath canner or large stock pot with a lid. The jars need to be off the bottom of the pot. A water bath canner will have a rack to use if you go that route. If you use a stock pot, I would invest in canning racks. You can also put a towel down in a pinch, but it is MESSY in terms of getting water everywhere.

It is also helpful to have the tools in a canning kit like this, but it isn’t necessary. Canning would be crazy challenging without the jar funnel and jar tongs. The lid lifter is also very handy.

New to canning? Check out the Ball’s Book of Canning or The National Center for Home Food Preservation for more detailed information. I will give you the low down, but it will be short and sweet. You will want to read up more, I promise

Your Ingredients

24 ounces whole cranberries, rinsed and picked through
3 apples, cored, peeled and diced
1 clementine orange, chopped finely with peels
2 ¾ cup sugar
2 cups water
⅓ cup honey

Your Steps to Cranberry Apple Preserves

To begin, prepare your water bath canner. Fill the canner with enough water so that once the jars are in the canner, they will be covered by at least one inch of water. Too much water is better than not enough, but remember that some water will be displaced by the jars. Cover and begin to heat over a medium heat.

You will also need to wash and prepare 8 ounce canning jars (approximately 7 jars will be produced with this recipe). I typically do this while my preserves are just starting to cook down. Wash rings, lids, and jars. Place jars in the rack in the canner, elevated above the water. This will keep them warm. Follow directions for your specific lids. I typically wash and place in simmering water on the stove.

Now, begin to prepare the jam. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over a high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook and stir over the high heat until the mixture reaches 219 degrees (However, for every 1000 feet of altitude you have, subtract 2 degrees). Once temperature is reached, remove from heat. (Note: It takes some time to reach this temperature. But it will go from 214 degrees to done quicker than you expect. Just watch the temperature closely)

Time to Can!

Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims with a damp cloth, add lids and adjust band to fingertip tight. Place jars into water bath canner and process for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Allow jars to cool 5 minutes in the canner, then remove and allow to cool for 12-24 hours. Do not retighten bands. Check seal after cool to be sure they are self-stable. Label and store. Any jars that did not seal can be stored in the refrigerator.

apples and oranges — Ruby red cranberries. So fun!

Tools of the Trade

Not a Canner (…yet)?

You can 100% complete this recipe and store it in the refrigerator. Fill the jars with hot jam, wipe, adjust lid and ring. Allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator. Since you will likely get about 7 jars of jam, I would recommend cutting the recipe in half.

Ready to can and preserve more?

Check out my pages for canning and preserving for other inspiration below:

Canning and Preserving

Cranberry Apple Preserves

As the weather gets cooler, cranberries become a tasty, tart treat. These preserves are sure to make your taste buds dance with the combination of cranberry, apple, and orange.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Waterbath 15

Servings

Equipment

Water Bath Canner
7-9 1/2 pint canning jars with lids and rings
Large saucepan

Ingredients

24 ounces whole cranberries rinsed and picked through
3 apples cored, peeled and diced
1 mandrin orange chopped finely with peels
2 ¾ cup sugar
2 cups water
⅓ cup honey

Instructions

Prepare your water bath canner. Fill the canner with enough water so that once the jars are in the canner, they will be covered by at least one inch of water. Cover and begin to heat over a medium heat.
Wash and prepare 8 ounce canning jars (approximately 7 jars will be produced with this recipe).
Now, begin to prepare the jam. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.
Bring to a boil over a high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Continue to cook and stir over the high heat until the mixture reaches 219 degrees (However, for every 1000 feet of altitude you have, subtract 2 degrees).
Once temperature is reached, remove from heat.
Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.
Wipe rims with a damp cloth, add lids and adjust band to fingertip tight.
Place jars into water bath canner and process for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover.
Allow jars to cool 5 minutes in the canner, then remove and allow to cool for 12-24 hours. Do not retighten bands. Check seal after cool to be sure they are self-stable. Label and store.

Notes

Any jars that did not seal can be stored in the refrigerator.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

November 29, 2020October 2, 2021

JessLeave a comment

From the Garden Midwest Harvest Soup

Summer is winding down in Northern Wisconsin and that means it’s turning to my favorite season. No, not autumn. Okay, I adore autumn. But with autumn comes soup season! A large kettle of soup, a salad, and some fresh baked sourdough bread just can not be beat, and luckily I love making it all. Since the weather dipped into the lower 30’s last week, I had to put together a new soup. I talked with my lady friends, and we christened it Midwest Harvest Soup. I think it is incredibly fitting.

Picture it: the end of garden season. You are harvesting the last of your tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. Maybe you grew onions too. And it is also time to clean out the freezer because it is almost hunting season which means a new batch of venison to process and store in the freezer. You want to use it all up. This, my friends, is where a Midwest Harvest Soup comes into play.

Before we begin…

Let me share that each year, we process our own venison. While doing so, we grind and combine some of it with pork butt 50/50 and mix in the seasonings that go with Italian sausage. We dig the mixture put together by Taste of Lizzy T. We freeze our version of Italian sausage in one pound packages and pull it out for all our Italian dishes; think: pasta, baked ziti, etc. It’s fantastic, adds tons of flavor, and keeps the fat down since the pork is only 50% of the mixture. You can bet that if a recipe of mine calls for Italian sausage, I am using this venison version.

Is it cold where you’re at today? Or do you just love soup like me? Let’s get simmering up a batch of this delicious Midwest Harvest Soup to warm your bellies and your souls.

Your Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage
¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
¼ cup finely diced onion
pepper, to taste (¼ – ½ teaspoon)

2 cups chopped sweet pepper (any color)
1 cup chopped onion
½ tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped tomatoes
3 cups chopped zucchini, skins on
½ tablespoon dried oregano
½ tablespoon dried basil
5 cups beef broth (I dig Orrington Farm’s beef base)
2 cups water
¾ cup orzo

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften. Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo. Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through.

Of course, you should serve this Midwest Harvest soup with crusty, fresh bread and a side salad for good measure. But even if you don’t have those things on hand, a warm bowl of soup is delightful all on its own.

Note

It will thicken over a few days, so if you are preparing this with the intent of eating it over a few days like I do, know that it will become more stew like in the coming days. If that isn’t your jam, you can always add an additional cup or two of beef broth.

Tools of the Trade

This broth base is amazing. It allows you to control the amount of sodium when you make your stock. It doesn’t get weird and clumpy like other stock bases I have used and is my go to in our home.

I ADORE my cast iron Dutch Oven from The Lodge. The enamel makes me worry less about rust and oh man, it just makes soups better.

Midwest Harvest Soup

End of the season harvests combine with orzo and Italian sausage meatballs to create this comforting and warm you soul Midwest Harvest Soup.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings

Equipment

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Ingredients

1 pound Italian sausage
¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
¼ cup finely diced onion
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cups chopped sweet pepper any color
1 cup chopped onion
½ tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped tomatoes
3 cups chopped zucchini skins on
½ tablespoon dried oregano
½ tablespoon dried basil
5 cups beef broth
2 cups water
¾ cup orzo

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper.
Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften.
Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often.
Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo.
Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through.

Keyword from the garden, Italian sausage, orzo, soup, soups and stews

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

September 19, 2020August 8, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Whole Wheat Gooseberry Muffins

A number of years ago, I tried a berry at a farmer’s market. There must have been samples, but the memory is vague. I loved the berry I tried, and told my husband we had to grow them. The following year, we purchased two gooseberry plants. I was so excited! A year later, we had berries. I tried them, and they weren’t at all what I remembered. (In hindsight, I think I had currants at the farmer’s market.) That’s life, right? Maybe it’s just my life. But luckily, I really loved the flavor that gooseberries had. Needless to say, I was grateful for my mishap. Recently, a friend stopped by, asked, what the plant was, and subsequently, what I use them for. Previously, I had only just snacked on them. Once I made a gooseberry gin jam (YUM!). Now I can say with confidence that they make slightly tart and sweet whole wheat gooseberry muffins that are delish!

But what does a gooseberry taste like?

Never had a gooseberry? They are about the size of a large blueberry, but look like a miniature watermelon with the texture of a grape. Typing that just makes me smile. It almost sounds like a description from a Dr. Seuss book, but I think it’s a great description. They can tart like a green grape or sweeter like a red grape. They grow on bushes with some gnarly thorns. I see that as part of the adventure of having them…can I get away without getting pricked?

Anywho…we had a bumper crop this year, and I wanted to do more than freeze them. I wanted to bake. I love the way this recipe turned out. They have texture and beautiful color. The flavor is reminiscent of rhubarb with the sweet tart combination. Don’t have gooseberries on hand? I am certain that blueberries would be a great alternative and can’t wait to give that a try too!

Your Ingredients for Gooseberry Muffins

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup Greek yogurt
⅓ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups gooseberries, cleaned (1 ½ cups if you dig the tart flavor. 1 cup if you want it a little sweeter)

Your steps

If you haven’t yet, nip off the ends on the gooseberries. You only want the berry portion in the muffin. Then, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin. This recipe will result in approximately 12 muffins.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk egg. Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla, and olive oil. Whisk well. After the wet ingredients have combined, pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Fold in cleaned gooseberries. Again, you can use one to one and a half cups, depending on your preference of flavor. My family loves tart (think, rhubarb bread and pie), so I add more berries.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through. Allow to cool in the tin a few minutes before removing. I think these gooseberry muffins are best served warm with a cup of coffee. 🙂

Gooseberry Muffins

Sweet and tart combine for a muffin reminiscent of a rhubarb bread in these gooseberry muffins. You'll love the tart surprise you get as you bite into one.

1 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings muffins

Ingredients

1 – 1 ½ cups gooseberries cleaned (1 ½ cups if you dig the tart flavor. 1 cup if you want it a little sweeter)
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
½ cup Greek yogurt
⅓ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

If you haven’t yet, nip off the ends on the gooseberries. You only want the berry portion in the muffin.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin. This recipe will result in approximately 12 muffins.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk egg. Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla, and olive oil. Whisk well.
Pour into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in cleaned gooseberries.
Again, you can use one to one and a half cups, depending on your preference of flavor.
Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.
Allow to cool in the tin a few minutes before removing.

Keyword Breakfast, gooseberry, muffin, muffins

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Hints and Tips

If you opt for all purpose flour rather than whole wheat, you may want to decrease the milk by a ½ tablespoon or so. Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than all purpose flour does. If you don’t decrease it, you may have a wetter batter.

Fun fact! Upon further research, I learned that gooseberries were made illegal in the United States in the early 1900’s. They are also in the currant family! No wonder I confused the two 🙂 If you’re interested in the history, check it out here!

Looking for more recipes? Click the links below:

Baking

Canning and Perserving

July 17, 2020August 1, 2024

Jess7 Comments

Strawberry and Peach Sorbet

The Scenario…

Over picking at the strawberry patch because you don’t realize just how many berries fit in your bucket until you weigh it.

Looking at the fruits at the farmer’s market and buying it all because the color is beyond appealing.

Planting countless raspberry plants and then not being able to keep up with the bounty they produce in July.

The delicious solution!

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Let me tell you, I have experienced them all. One would think that I would learn from my mistakes, but I still continue to get sucked into ALLLLL the fruits and then need to find something to do with them. This week, it was strawberries and peaches. And thus, a homemade strawberry and peach sorbet was born.

Last year, I had a crazy red raspberry crop. Crazy, as in it took me over an hour to harvest during its peak time. This meant I needed to find new and fun ways to preserve them. I made all the jam. I froze bags of them. Then I stumbled across a fruit sorbet recipe while flipping through my Ball’s Guide to Preserving Book. It sounded amazing, but had SO much added sugar. I modified it some last year, and now have improved it again to not use raspberries but the strawberries from our garden and peaches from the store.

If you’ve been following me for a little time, you know that I like to use my son as my ultimate taste tester. He isn’t afraid to tell me something is too healthy tasting, too salty, lacking vegetables, etc. He’s a good egg, that kid. Anywho…I took a scoop of what couldn’t fit in the jars and had him try it. He closed his eyes, smiled, and kind of whispered, “What IS that?!” I don’t know about you, but that screams approval if you ask me 😉

Don’t have strawberries and/or peaches? I have such good news! This recipe is totally moldable to your favorite flavor combination. Ultimately, you will need 4 cups of chopped soft fruit. Think berries, peaches, nectarines, etc. (Ball says you can use melon, but I haven’t tested it).

Your Ingredients:

2 cups chopped strawberries
2 cups diced peaches, peeled first then cut up
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey

Your steps

Combine fruit. Use a blender or immersion blender to break fruit down. I use an immersion blender and blend right in the kettle I will be heating them in. Add remaining ingredients. From here, use the immersion blender to mix everything together once more. Once combined, heat over medium heat until the mixture is beginning to simmer, stirring often. Pour into a 9×13 pan, cover, and place in the freezer and allow to freeze solid.

Once fully frozen, remove and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. This will make it easier to remove the sorbet. Working in small batches, puree frozen sorbet. There are lots of options for this. You can use a blender, a food processor, or an immersion blender. For me, I dig the immersion blender because clean up is so easy. Scoop the puree into freezer safe containers, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top. I like to use 4 ounce jelly jars for ½ cup servings ready to go! Finally, be sure to label and return to the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy them!

A few notes

When I initially found this recipe, I wanted to cut the second blending of the sorbet. It is critical to complete if you want fluffy sorbet that you remember from childhood. It’s worth the extra step. Don’t skip it!

Initially, I tried this recipe freshly picked raspberries so feel free to mix it up in terms of fruit. Ultimately, you need 4 cups of chopped/crushed fruit so let your taste buds to the work here.

Looking for an adult version? I found that adding ½ cup of lime twisted gin was a delight to the raspberry sorbet! Be mindful of how much alcohol you add as it will effect the ability of the sorbet to freeze.

Have a sweeter tooth? The recipe originally calls for 2 cups of sugar. If you’d like, add more to suit your own tastes.

Tools I use

Hoping to use some of the tools I love for creating these? Here’s the link for the 4 ounce jelly jars I used as well an immersion blender. Seriously, the immersion blender is an underrated tool in the kitchen and it hardly takes up any storage space! If you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend investing. You’ll thank me!

As for the jelly jars, I am usually a Ball or Kerr jar lover, but a friend gifted me these Verone jars and I loved that they came with two piece lids for canning as well as one piece lids for storage. Double duty in one pack of jars. Super cool 🙂

Looking for other ways to preserve your summer bounty? Check out my canning and preserving page!

Strawberry and Peach Sorbet

A fruit sorbet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Freeze Time 4

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canning

Servings 1/2 cup servings

Equipment

Food Processor or Immersion Blender

Ingredients

2 cups chopped strawberries
2 cups diced peaches peeled first then cut up
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey more to taste

Instructions

Combine fruit.
Use a blender or immersion blender to break fruit down into a puree.
Add remaining ingredients. Blend once more to fully break down the fruit and incorporate added ingredients.
Once combined, heat over medium heat until the mixture is beginning to simmer, stirring often.
Pour into a 9×13 pan, cover, and place in the freezer and allow to freeze solid.
Once fully frozen, remove and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to remove from pan. Working in small batches, puree frozen sorbet using food processor, blender or immersion blender.
Scoop the puree into freezer safe containers, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top. Label and return to freezer if not enjoying immediately.

Notes

Don’t have strawberries or peaches? No problem. Any soft fruit will do. Think, berries of any kind, nectarines, even melon perhaps?

You may be tempted to skip the second blend step. Don’t! It’s critical for the sorbet to be fluffy, just the way you remember it.

Keyword clean, peach, sorbet, strawberry, sweets

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 29, 2020June 7, 2021

JessLeave a comment

French Dressing From Scratch

Salads are life. I decide on a restaurant by the quality of the side salad I can get on a regular basis. They don’t have to be anything special: I am always down for some leafy greens, onion, tomato, carrot, and cucumber salad. Add a few black olives, croutons and french dressing and I am happy as a clam. I often get made fun of for this. Our best couple friends quote the Simpsons, “You don’t make friends with salad.” Maybe not , but I’ll be your friend if you have a strong salad game.

French dressing has been my go to for as long as I can remember. After I made my health a major priority a few years ago, I tried to change over to a vinaigrette. Every change makes a difference, right? Ugh, it was so hard though. Don’t get me wrong, I do love some good vinaigrettes, but in the end my loyalty lies with French dressing.

The search for a homemade recipe begins

I set out to find a recipe that I could make from scratch to cut out some of the “yuck” that comes with the dressings found in the inner isles of the grocery store. Namely, I wanted to cut the added, refined sugars and maybe the oil. It just feels good to know what is in the food you are eating. At first, I called this recipe “a work in progress” on Instagram. And while all recipes will always be work in process (Isn’t everything? That’s my growth mindset and fitness lover talking), I have been digging on this one more and more. It’s simple to put together with many “on hand” ingredients, which is a constant focus of mine. So here’s my work in progress, delicious, cut the sugar French Dressing. I hope you love it as much as I do!

YOur Ingredients

¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon minced garlic/garlic powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Your steps

Using a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the ketchup, olive oil, and honey. (I am all about the least amount of dishes possible, so I like to do ketchup to the ¼ cup, olive oil to the ½ cup line, and then the honey to the ¾ cup line). Add onion powder, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Whisk together until well blended. It might take a little longer than you think it should because of the honey and ketchup. Once well mixed, pour into a container with a lid to be stored in the refrigerator. For best results, remove from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes prior to using and shake well just before pouring.

A few notes…

The flavors get better the longer you let them mingle, so if you have enough forethought, mix this up the night before. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll be mixing this 5 minutes before you put your salad together. Oh well, live and learn 😉

Also, you may have noticed that I have a sweet mixer bottle for my dressings. I actually have two and they are almost always full of my own homemade dressings. They are the Kolder Salad Dressing Mixing Bottles and you can get them for yourself by clicking here or the picture below.

They clean up easily and are great for an even pour of your dressings. Notice, they also have recipes on them. Some I love, some I don’t. As a person who loves to experiment in the kitchen, I usually use them more for storage, but maybe the recipes will speak to you. Only way to know is to try them out!

Looking for some made dishes to go with your sides? Check out the links below or the cooking page for some inspiration!

French Dressing

A classic French Dressing sweetened with honey

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon minced garlic/garlic powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Using a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the ketchup, olive oil, and honey.
Add onion powder, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar.
Whisk together until well blended.
Once well mixed, pour into a container with a lid to be stored in the refrigerator. Shake well before pouring.

Notes

This recipe gets better with age, so mix a few hours before you plan on using it. It will pour easier if you take it out of the refrigerator 5-10 minutes prior to using.

Keyword Dressings, French Dressing, Salad

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 17, 2020March 5, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Wild Violet Jelly

Jump to Recipe

Most of my foraging adventures begin with me learning of a recipe and saying, “You can do that?!” after reading online, and immediately heading out to forage for whatever it is that you need. Wild Violet Jelly is one of those adventures. I had just finished baking up dandelion cookies and had more dandelions in the fridge ready to be cleaned when a friend sent me a wild violet recipe.

Oh my goodness! I have those ALL OVER my yard and along the edge of our woods. Time to switch gears and try something different before they disappear. Also, if you don’t know me personally, you may not know that I have a 5 year old spitfire of a daughter who’s name is, you guessed it, Violet. Imagine the joy on her face when I shared the idea for Violet to harvest violets to make Violet Jelly. So fun!

Of course, we needed to use mason jars to do our harvesting. I grabbed a quart jar and gave her a pint jar without lids. We set out on a walkabout around our yard and within an hour or so, we had found a pint jar’s worth of violets. As with anyexperience with a 5 year old, it wasn’t without tears. The silly girl got so excited she started skipping, tripped over a root, and immediately lost all her violets. I share as a lesson for all you. I know you’ll be excited, but please refrain from getting so excited you skip and lose your jar!

Although the harvesting took about an hour, this was the most labor intensive part of the recipe. In all the foraging and cooking I’ve done so far, I would say this is a great toe dipper. It didn’t require too much work and you’ll end up with about six beautiful jars of lavender colored jam.

Get ready so if you’re ready, grab your jars and start foraging!

Your Ingredients:

1 pint (2 cups) wild violet flowers
4 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
4 ½ cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin

Your equipment:

1 pint jar and 1 quart jar
Cheese cloth or mesh strainer
6 half pint jelly jars with rings and lids
Water bath canner with lid

If this is your first go at canning, you can totally use a deep kettle with a dish towel rather than purchasing a water bath canner. The dish towel on the bottom is to keep the jars off the bottom of the kettle. This will be a little messier with the water, but it works. When I first started canning, I did my first four batches of pickles and jellies this way. I wasn’t sure I was going to love it and didn’t want to invest. Silly me 🙂

Harvest the Flowers

After spending days harvesting dandelions, this was surprisingly easy. Be sure that you’ve identified the right flower, and pick away. It’s best to look at the leaves to make sure you are picking the right one. Once you start, be sure to be a responsible forager, leaving some flowers in each bunch. Try to be mindful that you just get the flower. This was easy for me, but I had to pull stems from my daughter’s harvest since she’s five. Pick enough flowers to fill a pint jar, or just over two cups.

Create a Violet Tea

Once you have harvested the violets, transfer them into a quart jar. Pour boiling water over the flowers and cover. If you don’t have a quart jar, any container that you can cover and refrigerate will be fine. After the jar has come to room temperature, place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but up to 24 hours. I was amazed at the color that came from the flowers. It went from purple flowers to teal water to a much more muted green as the time pasted in the refrigerator. I let it sit overnight.

Time for Jelly

The following day, start heating your water bath canner with enough water to cover your jelly jars with at least 2 inches of water. Strain the flowers from the tea. To do this, I used a fine mesh strainer with a natural coffee filter in it. I poured from the quart jar into a measuring cup (see picture). Straining through cheesecloth would also be a great option. End game: You need them separated. You do you 🙂

Once separated, measure out 3 cups of violet tea. You may add additional water to reach 3 cups if necessary. Pour this into a larger non-reactive kettle. Add powdered pectin and lemon juice, whisking to incorporate. This will be THE coolest thing you do. The violet tea is a muted green when made, but just be ready when you add the lemon juice. It will instantly go from green to a beautiful lavender color. I knew it was going to happen and I still got so excited I knocked over my bottle of lemon juice, spilling it all over my kitchen floor. Oh well…making memories, right? Back to the recipe…

Bring the tea, pectin, and lemon juice mixture to a boil. Once you have achieved a rolling boil, add sugar. Return to a rolling boil, stirring quite often, if not always. Once you have reached a rolling boil, time for 1 minute, stirring the whole time. Ladle jelly into prepared jelly jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe the edges with a damp cloth, add lids, and tighten rings to fingertip tight. Put into the water bath canner and process for 5-10 minutes. I did 10 minutes because my altitude is greater than 1000 feet. (Always read the pectin directions and follow those for your altitude).

Once the jelly is done processing, remove the canner from heat and let jars rest in the water for an additional 5 minutes. Finally, remove jars from the canner and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before moving. Listen for the ping of the lids (best part of canning…apart from the eating of the beautiful food you create) and marvel at the beautiful spring jelly; the other best part of canning 🙂

A few notes:

Make sure you are using powdered pectin rather than liquid pectin. They do not set the same. Early in my canning career I didn’t know the difference and had a few batches of jelly never set.
If you have never canned, you can reference the instructions within the pectin box for additional, more detailed directions. While you aren’t using fruit, the directions will still be very similar.
I adore this book and using it as my canning bible. If you are at all interested in all you can can, check out Ball’s Blue Book Guide to Preserving.
If foraging is your jam and you’re in the midwest, Midwest Foraging by Lisa M. Rose is a great resource.
Sealed jars are shelf-stable, meaning they can be stored on a shelf unrefrigerated. If your jars don’t ping (a sign that they have sealed), they are still good. You will just need to store them in the refrigerator.
Most sources recommend removing the rings from jars for storage so that you will know if they unseal for any reason. I generally just loosen them as much as I can without removing them.

Looking for more canning recipes? Click here!

Looking to forage and then create? Click here!

Wild Violet Jelly

A beautiful lavender colored jelly created from wild violet tea

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Tea Resting Time 1

Course Snack

Cuisine Canning

Servings

Equipment

Water Bath Canner
Cheese Cloth or Mesh Strainer
Quart Canning Jar
6 Half Pint Jelly Jars with Rings and Lids
Pint Canning Jar (optional)

Ingredients

1 pint (2 cups) wild violet flowers
4 cups boiling water
3 tbsp bottled lemon juice
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin

Instructions

Harvest 1 pint (2 cups) of wild violet flowers. Be sure they are clean and rid of debris. Place inside a clean quart jar with lid and ring.
Pour boiling water over violets, filling the jar. Cover. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place in fridge to steep for 4-24 hours.
Prepare water bath canner by filling with water so that the jars will have at least 2 inches of water over them when placed inside. Begin to heat. Clean and prep canning jars, rings, and lids. Set aside.
Strain flowers from tea using cheese cloth and mesh strainer. Remove any flower debris and discard. Measure 3 cups of tea, adding water if necessary. Pour into a non-reactive kettle.
Measure sugar in a separate bowl. Set aside. Add pectin and lemon juice to tea. Heat over medium high heat. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often.
Once rolling boil has been reached, stir in sugar. Continue to stir until rolling boil is reached again. Time for exactly one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Pour into prepared jelly jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims of jars, put on lids and rings, tightening to finger tip tightness.
Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to sit in canner 5 additional minutes. Remove from canner, place on counter, and let sit for at least 24 hours.

Notes

More in depth directions regarding canning jelly can be found with the directions with powdered pectin. Be sure to read through those directions as well.

Keyword Canning, Foraging, Jelly, Violet, Violet Jelly, Waterbath Canning

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

May 20, 2020July 8, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Dandelion and Honey Shortbread Cookies

Jump to Recipe

I recently read that most people begin their descent into the foraging world by harvesting dandelions or mushrooms. For me, it was acorns, but dandelions were a very close second. As soon as I had read the things you could make with them, I was determined to try them all. Pesto. Jelly (I have a great recipe for that here). Wine. And now, these delightful melt in your mouth morsels. You’ve got to try these so easy to put together Dandelion and Honey Shortbread Cookies.

However, I must give ample warning. After you try these, you just might become hooked on the idea of foraging too. You see, a few years ago my classroom looked out over a large field; I am not joking when I tell you I would look longingly at the yellow balls of sunshine that are dandelions. I dreaded that they were going to get mowed over. There was so much potential in those little guys. Just think how many of these dandelion cookies we could get! And the wine. Don’t get me started. I mean, you should definitely get started. You’ll feel a sense of connectedness to the Earth as you create and bake. I promise (Okay, maybe promise is a strong word, but I really bet you will!). Here’s your toe dipping recipe into the world of foraging: Dandelion and Honey Shortbread Cookies.

Your ingredients:

1/2 cup dandelion petals
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Harvesting the Dandelions:

First, the harvesting of the dandelions. I won’t lie, it’s a bit of a tedious step for most dandelion recipes. However, you don’t need too many for this recipe. I like to harvest earlier in the morning, prior to the flowers opening too much. Pick just the heads. Then I find it easiest if I hold onto the yellow petals and cut the bottom green stem portion with a scissors. Then I pick off the remaining green portions and compost them. Measure the yellow petals to a lightly packed 1/2 cup. Then…

Your Steps:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy. Mix in honey. Next, gently fold in dandelion petals. Combine the flour and salt, adding to the sugar and butter mixture. Mix until just combined. For best results, allow the dough to chill for at least a half hour. Scoop dough by tablespoonfuls and roll each into a ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Finally, use a flat bottomed cup dipped in powdered sugar to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until slightly browned on the edges. Revel at the fact that you just baked with a “humble weed” and then give them a try. The flavor deepens a few days after they are baked, so try not to enjoy them all at once!

Looking for more foraging recipes? Click here! Or has your sweet tooth been activated? I have lots of sweet treats to choose from on my baking page 🙂

All the yellow petals and none of the green.

Dandelion and Honey Shortbread Cookies

Buttery and delicate, these unique shortbread cookies melt in your mouth.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Course Dessert

Cuisine Foraging

Servings cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup dandelion petals
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To gather the dandelion petals, I find it easiest to get the heads of the flowers when they are closed. I hold onto the yellow portion and cut off the bottom green stem. Try to remove all green portions.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream sugar and softens butter until light and fluffy.
Mix in honey and then gently fold in dandelion petals.
Add flour and sprinkle salt on top. Mix until just combined. For best results, allow the dough to chill at least a half hour.
Scoop dough by tablespoonfuls. Roll each tablespoon of dough into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use a flat bottomed cup dipped in powdered sugar to flatten the cookies slightly.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until slightly browned on the edges. Enjoy!

Keyword Cookies, Dandelion Recipe, Dandelions, Foraging, Honey, Shortbread

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

May 15, 2020June 4, 2021

Jess1 Comment

Homemade Peanut Butter

Do you ever think to yourself, “I know I could easily buy this for much cheaper, BUT can I make it from scratch? I mean, just because I can?” I function in that world quite often; It has rubbed off on my children. Case in point, last night. I rarely eat the Oreos my husband buys, but last night, I thought, “Oooo…a crumbled Oreo on ice cream sounds so good.”

I went to grab an Oreo, and of course my husband and children had JUST finished them hours ago. When I pointed out to my family that of course I decided I wanted one right after they finished them, my 5-year-old daughter quickly responded, “Maybe you can find a recipe to make them homemade?!” I have apparently created monsters (Or not, because how cool is it that both of my children get excited about making things from scratch?! #momwin)

The “what can I make from scratch” itch has been stronger since we started being “safer at home.” My kids’ go to lunch is peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla shell. I like it on sourdough. Because we have a substantial garden and I love canning, we also have enough homemade jelly and jam to feed a small army.

So let’s see, I have a fresh loaf of sourdough bread. I have homegrown and canned black raspberry jam open in the fridge. Wouldn’t it be awesome if I made homemade peanut butter so the whole sandwich was produced by me? (This is another passion of mine…having the whole meal be from scratch and the protein harvested by my husband through hunting. So fun!). I gave it a try and the results were delicious. When my 10-year-old son (the go-to taste tester) gave it a try, he just closed his eyes and smiled. He makes it special.

This process was so much easier than I expected and your kids will be tickled pink to know they took peanuts from the pantry and made peanut butter from them! Give it a try!

Your ingredients

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil (or other oil, I went olive)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey (to taste)

(Feel free to double or triple this recipe. I wanted to start small in case we didn’t love it. It was such an easy process that making it in small, fresh batches is a great idea too!)

Your Steps to Homemade Peanut Butter

Place the peanuts in a small food processor and pulse on high. This will take a few minutes. Be patient. As I watched the peanut go from whole to chopped to a large sand texture, I thought there was no way they were going to turn to butter. Keep going.

Once you have obtained a very fine sand texture, drizzle oil into the mixture, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, blending it in as you go. Again, be patient and suddenly you’ll think, “Holy cow! I made peanut butter!” The initial plan was not to put honey in mine, but I gave it a try and thought it would be good to have it be a touch sweeter. I added 1/2 teaspoon, blended it in, and then gave it to my son. He gave it two thumbs up so I stopped there. If you have a sweeter tooth than we do, you may want to add a little more.

What I love about this peanut butter is that you can control the consistency. I like a little texture so I opt for crunchy on my PB and Js. While I didn’t get crunchy per say, I did have texture which was good. I haven’t tried it yet, but you could totally mix in some additional chopped peanuts for true crunchy peanut butter. I hope you enjoy it as much we did at our house. Although I have a hard time sharing…I mean, they get all the Oreos right?

Let me know what you think! —Jess

PS…Ready for a game changer? Put a thin layer of homemade peanut butter on BOTH sides of the bread then put the jelly/jam on one side. My PB and J game has been forever changed because of this small hint!

Get ready for magic, right before your eyes.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

I do love my little food processor for creating small batches. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better, right?

Looking for homemade jam or jelly to pair with your peanut butter? Check out my canning and preserving page to get a recipe! Click the button below! Or click any of the pictures below for the direct link!

Canning

Homemade Peanut Butter

From scratch food is almost always better, but sometimes it isn't easy. Not the case with this homemade peanut butter! You are truly five minutes away!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil or other oil, I went olive
1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey to taste
dash of salt optional

Instructions

Place the peanuts in a small food processor and pulse on high. This will take a few minutes. Be patient.
Once you have obtained a very fine sand texture, drizzle oil into the mixture, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, blending it in as you go.
Drizzle in honey and sprinkle in salt. Blend once more.

Keyword peanut butter, peanuts, sandwiches

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

April 20, 2020May 14, 2023

JessLeave a comment

So Simple Tomato Soup

I’ve always enjoyed a grilled cheese and some tomato soup. It wasn’t on my top list of favorites, but it definitely provides a source of comfort. Then I started baking sourdough bread and let me tell you, homemade sourdough quite possibly makes the best grilled cheese you’ll ever have. It’s been my “easy lunch” on the weekend countless times because it makes me so happy. Wait, you don’t bake sourdough…yet? What are you waiting for? Check it out here!

Okay, I digress. Sourdough grilled cheese is incredible, but tomato soup makes it so much better. And alas, we don’t generally have it on hand anymore since I make my own soups from scratch (I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to soup…it’s a bit of an obsession). But recently it was chilly out and I just needed tomato soup. I looked around my fridge and pantry and put this together in flash…along with a grilled cheese of course.

A few notes from me: Most tomato soups (and creamy soups in general) call for heavy cream. I never have that on hand, and I like to make soups with things that I have on hand. I find that milk works just fine and makes for a slightly lighter soup without compromising too much. If you dig a creamier soup, feel free to use heavy cream rather than milk. If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to sneak all the veggies I can into a meal. It’s how I roll. This soup isn’t any different. Finally, this soup makes use of an immersion blender/stick blender (click here to see which one I have). If you don’t have one, it’s a pretty sweet kitchen gadget that has tons of uses and doesn’t take up too much space. I recommend it 🙂

Okay, let’s get cooking!

Your ingredients:

1 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 small)
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used one salt free and one garlic seasoned), NOT drained
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tablespoon honey (to taste)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft. Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize). Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft. Hit all your soup goodness with the immersion blender and blend until smooth (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup). Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.

If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit. But if you’re like me at all, you’ll just be itching to get that warm goodness in your belly and you’ll eat it right away, complete with a grilled cheese. Yum!

I can’t help but take a picture of chopped vegetables. So pretty.

So Simple Tomato Soup

A few easy, on hand ingredients combine to make a simple from scratch tomato soup everyone will love!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Total Time 20

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced zucchini about 1 small
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes NOT drained
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 cup milk I used 1%
1/2 tablespoon honey to taste

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft.
Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize).
Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft.
Blend until smooth using an immersion blender and blend. (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup).
Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.
If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit.

Keyword Gluten Free, soup recipe, tomato soup

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other soup recipes?

Check out some of the recipes below!

April 15, 2020September 24, 2023

Jess2 Comments

The ingredients For Venison and Wild Rice bake

Your Steps

Now for the Creamy part

Tools of the Trade

Savory Venison Wild Rice Bake

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Can I share some other favorites of mine?

Before we Start, The supplies

Your Ingredients

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Time to Can!

Tools of the Trade

Not a Canner (…yet)?

Ready to can and preserve more?

Cranberry Apple Preserves

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Before we begin…

Your Ingredients:

Your Steps

Note

Tools of the Trade

Midwest Harvest Soup

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

But what does a gooseberry taste like?

Your Ingredients for Gooseberry Muffins

Your steps

Gooseberry Muffins

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Instructions

Hints and Tips

The Scenario…

The delicious solution!

Your Ingredients:

Your steps

A few notes

Tools I use

Strawberry and Peach Sorbet

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

The search for a homemade recipe begins

YOur Ingredients

Your steps

A few notes…

French Dressing

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Your Ingredients:

Your equipment:

Harvest the Flowers

Create a Violet Tea

Time for Jelly

Wild Violet Jelly

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Your ingredients:

Harvesting the Dandelions:

Your Steps:

Dandelion and Honey Shortbread Cookies

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Instructions

Your ingredients

Your Steps to Homemade Peanut Butter

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Homemade Peanut Butter

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients