I made a whole batch of this so I would be set for an easy and tasty lunch for the next few days. It’s adapted slightly from a Cooking Light recipe from January 2001.

White Bean Soup with Bacon

2 tsps olive oil
1/2 cup bacon, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
1 tsp chicken-flavored “Better Than Bullion”
2 (19 oz) cans white beans, undrained
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsps fresh parsley, minced
2 Tbsp sherry
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly grated

Combine water and Better Than Bullion and blend well.

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat and add the bacon. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the water, beans, bay leaves and broth mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered for 20-25 minutes. Add the parsley, sherry and black pepper and cook another minute. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Blend soup briefly with an immersion mixer to the desired consistency.

Makes 4 servings.

Nothing jump started the holidays better than my gram’s cookies. Every year she made copious amounts of russian teaballs and these buttery cookies with a half a pecan on top, delicious!

We haven’t had the joy of these cookies in a few years, so I searched through her old wooden recipe box and found the (surprisingly easy) directions. I think I did them justice. :)

Russian Teaballs

1 lb butter, softened
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 cups flour, sifted
1 lb grated almonds (I just grind them in a food processor until finely chopped)
powdered sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter in a stand mixer on medium speed, add granulated sugar. Gradually add sifted flour, you will probably have to scrape the sides of the mixer as you go. (I switched from the whisk to the paddle attachment about halfway through, but I think you could start with the paddle and save yourself some time.) Add the grated almonds and incorporate completely.

Form little balls (about 2 Tbsp dough per ball) and place on ungreased baking sheets, about 20 to a sheet. The idea is to end up with round cookies, so I freeze the dough balls on the cookie sheets for about 10 minutes before putting them in the oven so they don’t flatten out when baked.

Bake for 16 minutes, flipping the cookies over after 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, this will allow the cookies to firm up a bit, they are very crumbly when hot. While still warm, gently roll in a dish of powdered sugar to coat. I store these in layers with wax paper in between, but wait until completely cooled to box them up.

Makes about 80 cookies.