Good Season'n With Herb'n Renewal

As a child, I would have been thrilled to wake up and see that there was no school and the hills had snow on them. I could spend the day sledding and then come in to the house and find that my mom had opened a can of soup, heated it and that sure helped warm me up!

As an older adult, I wake up and have to roll into position to see out of my window...cautiously I might add so as to not move a joint quickly which would mean much pain. It does not matter if there is snow or not, because I am not leaving the semi warmth of my home and I now know how to make my own flavorful soups with ease!

Getting old does have its advantages...we do not have to go sleigh riding, we do not have to really enjoy the snow and if we don't want to leave our homes we do not have to...the grandkids can find their own way to our doors! Lol The good part is they can be met with the scent of wonderful homemade soups cooking on our stoves.

Herb'n Renewal really does take the guesswork out of seasoning! Here's a great starter soup for a cold winter day.

Chicken Veggie'n Rice Stew

1-2 lb. chicken, cooked & diced

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 qt. chicken stock

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 cup white rice

2 tbsp. RUB'N SEASON POULTRY

Roux for thickening (optional)

In a large pot, saute' celery and onions in olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add everything else, except the roux! Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer till the veggies and rice are tender...about 1 hour. Thicken with roux (equal parts melted butter and flour mixed together) if desired.

Enjoy the snow from the inside of your warm home!!!!

We've had three people contact us this week asking for a way to use up their leftover pork after the New Year dinner. Not a problem for us, because we love leftovers! It's a great chance to get creative and try something new without the fear of a disaster that cost you loads of money. Believe me, we've had one or two that ended up in Addie's bowl, but what the heck...we tried and we've come up with some recipes to share with you using some of our seasoning blends.

The first in the series (weekly, I hope) uses our Chili Season'n just cause the “Hog Wild Chili” is a great dish for Super Bowl Sunday. It is worth buying a pork loin if you don't have leftovers...I promise! We have a bachelor customer who serves this each year on Super Bowl Sunday and he tells us that his “man cave” is “the” place to be because of the chili!

Hog Wild Chili

3 lbs. pork loin, cubed

2 tbsp. Bacon drippings

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup diced green pepper

1 12 oz. can of beer

1 28 oz. Can diced tomatoes

1 29 oz. Can tomato sauce

3 tbsp. Chili Season'n

1 30 oz. Can chili beans

1 15.5 oz cans of Northern beans

Brown pork in bacon drippings until moisture is reduced and meat is lightly browned. Add peppers and onions; saute' 5 minutes. Add beer, tomatoes, sauce and Chili Season'n. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add beans and return to a simmer and cook until meat is tender...approximately 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. If chili is not the desired thickness, add 1 tbsp. of cornmeal at a time to thicken ...make sure you stir after adding each spoonful.

Enjoy and may your team win! :)