Wintergrain Soup Recipe

So whenever the weather starts to turn here in Michigan I crave soups.  This week has been a specific craving for my mom's Wintergrain Soup Recipe.  I can't recall which of her recipe books its from but it is a hearty vegetarian recipe.  It's not a quick soup to make, but it is so worth taking the time, so here it is:

Wintergrain Soup
1/2 cup of whole wheat berries
water
2/3 cups lentils
1/4 cup barley
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons of thyme
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 1/2 cups yellow onions
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 tablespoon vegetable seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1) Prepare wheat berries ahead of time according to package (bringing to a boil then simmer for a hour)
2) In a 6 quart+ pot combine berries, water, lentils, barley, brown rice, butter and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3) Add potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, celery seed, and garlic.  Bring again to a simmer and continue to cook covered until grains and veggies are tender.  Approx. 30 minutes.
4) Stir occasionally, add veg. seasoning, veg. powder, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, soy sauce, corn and peas.  Reduce heat.
5) Blend 1/2 cup of water and all cheeses and add to soup.
Heat through and its ready! Yum!

Jennifer's Potato Sauerkraut Soup

It's gotten cold and rainy here in East Lansing. The leaves are starting to turn color and fall to the sidewalks. We have our Fall/Halloween Decorations up all over the house and I want to eat soups and keep the kitchen warm with baking. (Canning tomatoes doesn't count).

I've got a list of things to do today and I decided to get the crock pot out to stew all day today. I was given this great recipe by Jennifer Kottke whom I used to work with at Chico's in Madison. I'm not into mushrooms much so I swap out the cream of mushroom soup with another "cream of" and skip the fresh mushrooms, but for the sake of keeping the recipe in tack I'm putting it in for anyone who'd be interested.

Potato Sauerkraut Soup:

4 cups of Chicken Broth

1 can of Mushroom Soup (10 3/4 oz.)

1 can of Sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (16 oz.)

8 oz. Fresh Mushrooms sliced

1 medium Potato, cubed

2 medium Carrots, chopped

1 medium Onion chopped

2 stalks of Celery chopped

3/4 lb of Smoked Sausage cubed

1/2 cup of Cooked Chicken Chopped

2 tablespoons of Vinegar

2 teaspoons of Dill

Throw it all together in the crock pot for 10-12 hours on Low.

I was very wary of making a soup with sauerkraut in it for a while, but this soup is AMAZING.

Now I can get back to my list for today! I am drawing up a pattern for a sweet Fall Leaves Bangle, it's going to be really wide! I'm excited about this next one!