Category: Annie DeMoranville

Tis The Season

Crazy one-year-old kitten ☑️
Crazy one-year-old Great Dane ☑️
Bull-in-a-China-shop rescue Dane ☑️

Oh, well. I’ll give it a shot anyway

It’s Snowing So Time For Soup

This year for my Dad’s Christmas present, I’m including a dozen+ frozen dinners. Chili, beef stew, pot roast, and tonight’s installment:

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

  • 1 lb ground beef*
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • ¼ tsp thyme
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 8 oz carrots, sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes or tomato puree
  • 15 oz can red kidney beans
  • 15 oz can white northern beans
  • 16 oz chicken broth*
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • ¼ to ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 small bay leaf (remove before serving)
  • 8 oz ditali or small shell pasta

large saucepan or dutch oven

In saucepan, brown beef, add spices and mix in well with meat, add onion, carrots, celery and garlic, and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except pasta) and let simmer 30 minutes on a medium, stirring frequently.  Add pasta to soup, simmer on low for additional 10 minutes, until pasta is al dente.

*if you want to keep it vegetarian, substitute a meaty mushroom for the ground beef (saute with broth or butter) and vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

If you think this is similar to one of the Olive Garden’s soups, it is. It’s also fairly easy to put together and hearty on a cold November night.

Snow Puppies

We had our first snow last night, and the pups are cold. I am NOT turning up the heat. LOL

How many Great Danes can you fit on one cushion? Apparently, three, at least.

Updates: Holidays, Duxbridge and Critters, Oh, My!

This post is a little longer than usual, but a lot to catch up on.

It’s been a rough year-ish. And while I’ve been busy with the Duxbridge Mysteries series, that was about all the writing I could manage. Posting new content here was minimal. I’m hoping to make up for that going forward, especially since the upcoming holidays are some of my favorites. Recipes galore.

Just got back from a great relaxing trip to Boston. Friends, family, and fall colors were just what was needed. A week away was a little stressful for both Trixie and Jasper, but they were in good hands, and Scout was super chill, so that helped them. And now that I’m back, they are all relaxing back into their routines.

The first book in the Duxbridge Mystery series is finishing up with the editor. I’m assuming publication date will be in time for the holidays. It’s taken longer than expected, mainly because there were weeks of not feeling up to writing. Daily life and my day job were about all I could tackle. But, as always, the characters won’t shut up, so I always return to it.

Duxbridge is a fictional town created by my writing partner and me. The first book is mine, about a cookbook author who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a local celebrity chef. Besides showcasing the quirky residents in the sleepy town, it will also feature many recipes. We are now trying to figure out how to best include the recipes in the book.

The paperbacks will have the recipes in the back, the ebooks will have links. Trying to decide if they will link here or if we will add the recipes to the soon-to-be-launched Duxbridge website. No matter how they are presented, I will ensure each recipe is posted here.

My writing partner is working on her book, which will include knitting patterns, as this is her specialty. And her fictitious Duxbridge knitting group will be helping her main character solve the puzzle of who assaulted a local photographer.

There are three more books planned after that, but you’ll just have to wait for those reveals.

And for my TJ Wilde fans, and yes, I know you have been asking, and I’ve been hedging, but I have finally started to write actual chapters! The story has been percolating long enough that it feels ready to put to paper. So stay tuned for that.

Here are a few animal photos because I know I can’t get away with catching you up on them. As you can see, they’ve all recovered from my absence.

I think that catches you up. I’ll keep you updated on everything and start holiday recipes in the next week or so. Until then…

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions

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