Turkey Bacon Soup Recipe

4 cups chicken broth
2 c. water
½ c. chopped green onions
½ c. uncooked rice
8 slices bacon
½ c. butter
¾ c. flour
½ t. salt
¼ t. poultry seasoning
¼ t. black pepper
2 c. half & half cream
1 ½ c. cooked & diced turkey meat

In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water, green onions and rice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer about 35 minutes. In a large skillet cook the bacon, allow to cool then crumble & set aside.

When the rice is tender melt the butter in a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Stir in flour salt, poultry seasoning and pepper. Cook and stir until smooth and bubbly. Stir in half & half cream until thickened – about 2 minutes. Stir cream mixture into rice mixture, add turkey and bacon, heath through and serve. Great with warmed, crusty bread.

Garden 2026 Update #1 - Planning, Winter Sowing & Some BIG Changes!

My garden planning updates are mostly for me to keep a journal of what works, what didn't, and what I can do to improve my efforts.  I've decided to make them public to help anyone who might be along the same gardening  journey as me. I sure hope you find them helpful!

GARDEN PLANNING

Now that Christmas and New Year's celebrations are over, it's time to get back into the garden mindset and get to planning!  While I always look forward to the last few months of the year when the garden is put to bed and things are a little slower, I also look forward to gearing back up and getting ready for another amazing year of growing. 

This year planning it's a little more enjoyable since my sister-in-law gifted me a really cute little, spiral, lay-flat garden journal. She had no idea but over the winter I've been busy creating some custom, personalized garden journals and coordinating garden supplies myself!  For the last few years I've been using a simple, plain 3 ring binder and notebook paper but I've opted to create some custom binders as well as lay-flat spiral journals that can easily be taken out into the garden for quick note taking. Just a little prettier, and personalized so they make a wonderfully endearing garden-lover gift as well.  You can see the newest lay-flat spiral journals and 3 ring binders here at my zazzle shop. 

WINTER SOWING

The first update this year is the winter sown seeds. Last year I discovered winter sowing for the first time and sowed many seed types. It was tremendously successful for my Sunflowers, Yarrow and Chamomile. Much better germination rates and stronger, taller plants than I've ever grown. Checking in with my notes & updates from last year reminded me I needed to add more rain water intake holes in the tops of my containers, and more drainage holes in the bottom. So I've done that with a little help of my hot glue gun by simply melting the holes in my dollar store lidded totes. This year the winter sown seeds are Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea) and Lavender. 

GARDEN CHANGES

My garden plans this year are to make some pretty big changes, that make growing & tending to the garden even easier. Since I built my first garden beds many years ago I've made some pretty ambitious choices but now I'm dialing it back quite a bit. I gave up the "experiment" garden last year and dedicated that space to what I know grows really well here in growing zone 6a. To make that even more useful, my plan is to rebuild that bed and reduce the size slightly to make room for another comfortable seating area right in the middle of the garden. While I will lose a small amount of growing space, I still have more than enough to grow what we eat and what grows well, so adding the seating area is just an added bonus that benefits anyone spending time in the garden.  You can never really have too much comfortable seating tucked here and there in your garden. 😊

This year I'll be growing less than what I've grown before (no potatoes, onions or beans) but will be growing some sweet potatoes in a new bed I built last year & using the main trellis for Sugar Baby pumpkins. I just prepared the organic sweet potatoes today, so they'll rest here on the heat mat & grow their slips, and hopefull they'll all be ready for garden planting come spring. Next to the sweet potatoes are a few pots of cinnamon basil I picked up recently. I love basil but I've never tried the cinnamon variety so I'm really looking forward to that.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this helps you in some way as you begin to plan your own garden.  Please feel welcome to leave a comment or question & have an awesome day! 💖

Family Favorite Comfort Food Sandwiches: Beefy Cheesy Melts

Recently one of my adult kids asked about a family favorite sandwich recipe that's been lovingly known as the "Beefy Cheesy Melt".

Essentially her question was along the lines of "where the heck did that even come from?!"  😁 

I'm not sure which one of my kids came up with that name as they were growing up, but it stuck almost immediately, and they've been called this for at least a couple of decades now.  

The fun thing about this super simple recipe is that it was originally inspired by a fun, cultural trend while I was growing up, in the mid 1970's. 

At our local K-mart there was a kiosk style deli right near the check-out lines, called the K-Mart Grill (that literally wasn't a grill at all)  that sold sandwiches, cold salads and a wide variety of items.  This was long before all the chain sub sandwich shops, so this was the closest we had to deli style sandwiches. Our family favorite was the honey ham and cheese on a toasted bun. It was SO good!

Fast forward a couple of decades (with a houseful of little people myself), I decided to make my own homemade version of these simple sandwiches for a fraction of the cost but also to snazz it up a little bit. (Spoiler alert, it worked brilliantly). Everyone loved them, and they instantly became a family favorite and are still requested to be added to the weekly dinner menu!

Without further delay here is the recipe:

BEEFY CHEESY MELT SANDWICHES (makes 6 sandwiches)

Pre-heat oven to 400.

6 Toasted Onion Buns*

Mustard spread (any style, hot, honey, etc.)

2 Lbs. Deli Thin Sliced Roast Beef - any style 

6 slices sharp cheddar cheese (or Pepper Jack, or any favorite cheese)

6 Foil squares (12"x12" foil for wrapping sandwiches)

DIRECTIONS:

*If you cannot find onion buns at your local bakery, shame on them, but also: use any favorite sandwich buns and loads of carmelized or crispy onions. 

Split each sandwich bun in half.  Apply mustard spread on each side.

Split roast beef slices 6 ways & layer onto buns. Top with cheese, onions (if using) then the top bun. 

Wrap tightly in foil - set aside on baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, flipping wrapped sandwiches at the 10 minute mark.

Serve with Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Baked French Fries or any side you prefer. 

EASY DIY Christmas Basket Add-Ins: Dried Fruit and Spice Simmer Pot Pouches

One of the easiest DIY add-ins to any Christmas basket is a fun and festive Christmas Simmer Pot filled with dried fruit and spice.

Here's the recipe I used to make mine this year that has all the same ingredients I use in my Hot Wassail that simmers in the crockpot all day on Christmas eve.

3 orange slices, dried

6 apple slices, dried

6 whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1 T cranberries, chopped & dried

1 sprig dried pine or rosemary (optional)

Pour the entire contents into a small pot with 3 cups of hot water. Let simmer over low heat. Add more water as needed.

This recipe is kitchen tested, and it works really well for a 6+ hour stove top simmer.  You can also remove from heat at the end of a day's use, let cool and use the next day.  2 days is the longest recommended use for optimum scent infusion.