Butternut Beer Brats Soup Revisited
Inside: A bowl of comfort and warmth and healing–Butternut Beer Brats Soup revisited. With winter still upon us, it’s worth another look. And did I mention it’s simple to make?
Soup. A bowl of comfort and warmth and healing. I don’t know about you, but that’s what fits the bill right now. Though I posted this recipe over a year ago when I did a short series on soups, I make this quite often, so I wanted to share the recipe again. It’s worth revisiting.
For many years we had a soup standoff in our household. I would try making soup for dinner and Hubs would grudgingly eat it, claiming that soup wasn’t a real meal because it didn’t stick with you. This was not the rewarding repast for one who has toiled all day in the salt mines.
So I tried upping my game, serving steaming hot yeast rolls or fresh from the oven biscuits to go along with what I considered to be a substantial bowl of comfort. Perfect, right? Wrong! He only became more cranky, as did I, so I finally abandoned the whole notion. Soup for dinner was officially banned. (Thankfully that didn’t include chili.) I resigned myself to a quick soup fix from the microwave just for me during my lunches at home.
Then one night I got a craving and made a mock potato soup–cauliflower taking the place of the spuds–while fixing Hubs an entirely different meal. “I know you don’t like soup for dinner,” I said, “but you’re welcome to try some of this if you want. It’s really pretty good.”
He did try it–and liked it. Every so often I would make that soup, served alongside some beefy main dish, and he’d eat it. Gradually, I removed the main dish and served the soup as the focus, paired with a side. But not often. Then Mike decided to completely overhaul his eating habits and lose weight. That first winter he came to me and said, “Could we do more soups?”
So here we are, six years later, happily residing in Soup Town, where the only requirement is the soup be tasty and fit according to our low carb ways.
And our dinner table is a much better place.
- 1 package of beer brats pork sausage fresh links (5 brats)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cups of cooked butternut squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cups of chicken bone broth or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- Brown the brats in large soup pot over medium heat, remove from pot, and slice them into bite-sized pieces when cool enough to handle.
- Saute the onion until translucent in the same pot and return the brats to the pot and cook another minute or so.
- Add the broth to deglaze the pan.
- Add the butternut squash and seasonings.
- Simmer for ten minutes or longer to let the flavors mingle.
- Enjoy!
A few quick notes. . . If you want to lighten this soup even more, you can use fresh link turkey sausage. I’ve tried the sweet Italian kind, and it works well. You can also use a different flavor of brats. I bake the squash ahead of time, but you might try buying diced, uncooked butternut squash from the produce section and allow this to cook in the broth. Of course, you’d need additional cooking time.
Enjoy the soup!
Do you serve soup often at your house? Tell us your soup tales in the comments.
Related posts:
Simple Suppers: Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
How to Make Chicken Bone Broth
Simple Suppers: Classic Broccoli Cheese Soup
Posts from a year ago:
What’s in my Winter Wellness Kit
Inside: Take a peek inside my Winter Wellness Kit to see what helps keep me healthy during the cold weather months.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on any of the product links and purchase items, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps pay for my website.
February. . . We made it this far, we can go the distance! We’re in the winter homestretch (hopefully), but a little more TLC can go a long way in finishing well. Thus my Winter Wellness Kit.
Granted, it probably would have been more effective to publish this back in November, but, you know, those holidays and all. So much more fun to talk about making fudge and wreath ornaments than how to ward off sickness and keep warm and healthy. And who wants to think about hot water bottles and cold remedies in the excitement of a new year?
So, late as this post might be, I imagine it will be right on time for some folks. Now on to the Winter Wellness Kit.
The Contents of my Winter Wellness Kit
In no particular order, this is what I like to have on hand:
Hot water bottle. I’ve been a fan of hot water bottles for decades now. While many people swear by heating pads, I believe that hot water heat in a bottle works better, something about the heat and water motion. Plus you don’t need an outlet, though you do need to refill from time to time.
Airborne. My friend Candace who gave me the lemon wellness tea recipe also turned me on to this wonderful product. I remember years ago when I was running the dairy by myself for a couple of days and came down with the flu, running a temperature of 102. I took Airborne tabs for that night and by the next day I felt so much better. I’ve been buying them ever since. We keep a tube on hand year around but especially in winter.
Essential oils with diffuser. I covered this in a recent post with eight essential oil blends for diffusing in winter. Diffusing cleans the air and the scent is uplifting. Plus it adds much-needed moisture to the air.
Humidifier. Along with my diffuser, the humidifier keeps the house from becoming so dry from the furnace. I break mine out every year around October or November and use it daily. Prices range from the inexpensive simple kind to more elaborate, pricier models. I tend to go for the simple (cheap) ones.
Theraworx. I’m always making sure to get enough magnesium through diet and supplements, but I still deal with that restless legs feeling sometimes. While this product is marketed for leg cramps (people swear by it for this purpose) I use it for restless legs, and it works well. I keep a bottle on hand year around.
Liquid vitamin D3. Did you know many people are deficient in vitamin D? With the lack of sunlight in the winter, getting enough vitamin D is even more important. I like this brand and find the citrus taste to be refreshing. The liquid makes it fast absorbing, too.
Badger Sore Muscle Rub. I’ve used this on my feet when they get sore and find it quite soothing. Just rub on the Badger balm and slip on a pair of socks, and I’m good to go. I also like that the ingredients are natural. Good stuff! They have other great products worth checking out as well.
So there you have it–my Winter Wellness Kit. Good things to have on hand for cold weather comfort!
What items do you keep around especially during wintertime? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
The 5 W’s for Thriving in Winter
8 Uplifting Essential Oil Blends for Wintertime
Lemon Wellness Tea for Sick Days
How to Make Chicken Bone Broth
Winter Conversations, Clarence Hiding, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Posts from a year ago:
How I’m Finding Time to Read and Other Worthy Pursuits
Birdwatching Birthdays, Photography Lessons, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Winter Conversations, Clarence Hiding, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Yet another discussion about the weather, Clarence goes a-hiding, and when Christmas lingers too long.
Yet Another Discussion About the Weather
Winter is like the relative you genuinely like, but after a couple of months you’re ready for your dear old uncle to go home.
Winter is charming BC–before Christmas. Bundling up in scarves and hats and mittens. Sweaters, both cute and ugly, add to the delight of the season, and the anticipation of the first snowfall is magical. And even a few snows after that seem enchanting as we walk in our winter wonderland.
But then January rolls around, and bundling becomes “dressing in layers,” and canned soup and cold medicines with ugly green cartoon characters portraying nasal discharge dominate our screens. Cold settles in, a chill that is hard to get rid of, and the sun seems to have gotten shy all of a sudden.
This particular winter has been long. Uncle Frost stopped by early in November and made a couple of loud comments around the dinner table, upsetting Cousin Fall, who left town early. Before I wanted him to leave. Summer had hardly been gone herself, and I really didn’t get enough time with Fall.
Christmas came and went, like it always does, and by the time the excitement of the new year started wearing off, I was done with Uncle Frost. Add in hazardous travel, trouble with pipes and wells, and I’m beginning to lose my patience.
But Amy, you say, weren’t you the one who wrote about thriving in winter a couple of posts ago?
Yes, that would be me. To tell you the truth, January has been hard this time around, and I was beginning to feel like a hypocrite for writing with tips to thrive in winter. But then it occurred to me that I was helping make my own point. Those tips have worked for me in the past, and they’re still helping me.
Meanwhile, I’ll put up with Uncle Frost, mostly ignoring him and his tired antics because one of these days quite soon, Spring will be skipping up the lane, ready for a game of hide-n-seek. Hopefully I’ll find her right away, and she’ll stick around for awhile.
Clarence Goes A-hiding
Clarence is an inside/outside cat. He likes to spend some of his life in the great outdoors, though he tends to like long naps indoors in the cold weather. For a cat, he’s pretty predictable. Not a lot of variety in his favorite napping spots–counter, armchair, couch, floor by our feet, the bed.
So imagine my distress the other night when I couldn’t find him in any of these places. Although a couple of times he’s gotten behind the washer and dryer, and when Emily visits he sometimes hides in the bathroom, he was in neither location. I started in with “Here kitty, kitty,” to which Winston (my other cat) looked at me like I was a little crazy. He knew something I didn’t. Upon heading into the kitchen I did a double take. There, in the sink, was my sweet little baby Clarence curled up sleeping.
The picture of cuteness, right? He wasn’t really happy when I turned on the light to snap a picture, though.
When Christmas Lingers too Long
Confession time: I still have some of my Christmas decorations out, and when I say out, they are not, for the most part, showcased in an attractive display. They are lying around or standing guard on my television stand, waiting patiently to go back in the box. Even as I binge-watch episodes of Marie Kondo tidying up on Netflix. Write posts and take pictures for posts. Cook meals and meditate. Yeah, I’ll call it meditating as I’m sitting on the couch with the TV off. (If the TV is on, it doesn’t count as meditating.)
The truth is, I’m running out of excuses. Through January 6, I’m covered. After all, that’s when the Three Kings showed up. (Or when the liturgical calendar celebrates them.) So I stubbornly keep my decorations up through this most neglected occasion.
But that ship has sailed. The camels have headed back over the vast sandy plains to wherever it is wise men go. (Figuratively speaking, of course.)
I have carried this task on my to-do list for the past several weeks, finally deciding to pack away Christmas before I turn the calendar page to February. We’ll see.
And maybe, just maybe, that old groundhog will not see his shadow in a couple of days.
Any lingering Christmas decor hanging around your house? Confess in the comments. It’s good for the soul.
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Reindeer Socks, Most Popular Posts 2018, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
The 5 W’s for Thriving in Winter
8 Uplifting Essential Oil Blends for Wintertime
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Posts from a year ago:
Birdwatching Birthdays, Photography Lessons, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
8 Uplifting Essential Oil Blends for Wintertime
Inside: Outside it’s dark and dreary, but inside it’s light and cheery–with these 8 uplifting essential oil blends for wintertime! Try them and see if they give your mood a lift!
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on any of the links and purchase items, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps pay for my website.
My Introduction to Essential Oils
I’ve always been partial to scented things, so learning about and using essential oils was a natural fit. I didn’t get serious about them until two years ago after receiving a diffuser and sample oils for Christmas. Since then I’ve researched various oils for various symptoms, learned about the unique relationship with oils and cats (not what you might have heard), and enjoyed the mood-elevating properties of specific oil blends.
Winter is the perfect time to diffuse essential oils. With the house shut tight against the cold and the furnace running so much of the time, I like to keep my diffuser going. This particular season, as I’ve been warding off a head cold, I’ve been diffusing a blend with lemon and eucalyptus oils and breathing so much better! When I’m feeling tired, I mix peppermint and rosemary oils to energize me. Scents like sweet orange boost my mood and brighten my day.
Have I piqued your curiosity? Or maybe you’re already an EO enthusiast and would like to try something new. Whatever the case, here are my current favorite essential oil blends for winter. Just a reminder, consult the directions for your diffuser as to how much water to add and use either filtered or distilled water.
Fresh air, breathe well
I have diffused this so many times in the past! It smells wonderful and really helps with minor congestion.
- 4 drops lemon oil
- 4 drops geranium oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus oil
- 2 drops rosemary oil
Simple fresh air
This is an abbreviated version of the previous blend. It works just as well, in that the lemon and eucalyptus are the workhorses of the above blend–lemon oil cleans the air and eucalyptus oil is good for breathing.
- 4 drops lemon oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus oil
Fresh air, breath well, sleep well
Another riff off of the original. This time I’m swapping out the rosemary for the lavender to promote good sleep.
- 4 drops lemon oil
- 4 drops geranium oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus oil
- 2 drops lavender oil
Sweet dreams
This is so nice to diffuse at bedtime with the sweet orange and lavender scents mingled together. Really nice!
- 3 drops sweet orange oil
- 3 drops lavender oil
Energy
I often do this earthy blend in the summer as well, particularly when insects are trying to get into the house. Energy for me, unpleasant odor for the bugs! Still a winter favorite, though.
- 3 drops peppermint oil
- 3 drops rosemary oil
Sweet Energy
One of my new faves! I love the cool, sweet combo of these oils together. In a word–refreshing!
- 3 drops sweet orange oil
- 3 drops peppermint oil
Lemon boost
For lemonade fans. Lemon always makes me think “clean,” and the peppermint adds a hint of coolness to the blend.
- 3 drops lemon oil
- 2 drops peppermint oil
Winter Joy
I diffused this a lot around Christmas, but I’m still using it. Frankincense has that ancient, healing quality. Add in the sweet factor and the peppermint cool, and it’s a wonderful, uplifting blend to diffuse even after Christmas!
- 3 drops frankincense oil
- 3 drops sweet orange oil
- 2 drops peppermint oil
These winter blends are just a sampling of my favorites. While I’ve highlighted the aromatic qualities more than the healing properties, do your research to find out more about what essential oils can do for you from a health perspective. Experiment and find your favorite scents. A good blend can go a long way in elevating your mood, something many of us need to be mindful of during the sometimes seemingly long months of winter!
Do you have a favorite essential oil blend for wintertime? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Get Started with Essential Oils: Advice from an EO Teacher
How to Make Chicken Bone Broth
Posts from a year ago:
Simple Suppers: Classic Broccoli Cheese Soup