Soup's On!

Here's the wrap up on our soup week last week.

The leftovers from the pasta e fagioli and tortellini were enough for 2 lunches for us. The tortellini tasted even better than it looked!

We had chicken noodle soup one day made with rotisserie chicken leftover from dinner the night before. Carrots, onion, celery and garilc sauteed until tender and onion is transparent. Add Chicken broth, diced cooked chicken, salt pepper and herbs (I used thyme and rosemary). Bring to a boil and add noodles, cook until noodles are tender. If you have leftover pasta &/or rice to add, just heat through. Another good addition -- Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Ready Rice -- it's not as good as cooking it yourself, but it is whole grains fast. If you have any left over peas, corn or whatever, try adding it. It's just soup, no rules.

Another night we had potato soup. I think the best potatoes for this are yellow or gold. They were on sale a week ago so I grabbed some. Carrots, celery, onion and garlic sauteed...you know by now. Add 1 qt broth and 2-3 medium potatoes diced, cook until potatoes are almost done. (Here's a trick I learned from Giada, and it's good!) Add in a cup or two of leftover salad greens, if you have some that will (or have just begun to) wilt before you use them. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk, salt, pepper and herbs -- I used thyme and rosemary. Heat through. Serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese and bacon crumbles. If you skip the bacon and use vegetable broth, you have a vegetarian dish.

I know alot of people avoid potatoes. Truthfully, like any other food, moderation is key. Potatoes have alot of Vit. C and some calcium. Sweet potatoes also have alot of Vit. A. Red skinned potatoes have a variety of B vitamins and some other minerals. They have fiber. Not to mention how well potatoes keep in a cool dry place. So, don't load them up with too much fat, and don't skip the potatoes.

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With Snow Comes Soup

Our family loves soup, especially when the weather is cold. Tonight we had pasta e fagioli, made with the leftover roast beef. It's pretty easy and very healthy. Though there are quite a few ingredients, they are all things I try to keep in the house anyhow.

1 cup each carrots, celery and onion all cut small and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Saute in olive oil until tender and onion is transparent. Combine in large pot with 1 can (about 15 oz or so) each of tomatoes (diced, crushed...on sale this week @ Meijer), tomato sauce, kidney beans and great northern beans (on sale) and V8 juice. Also add 1 lb ground beef browned, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp thyme, salt & pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated and not quite as thick as desired. Add 1/2 lb of elbow noodles cooked al dente. I like Barilla Plus. It has whole grains, extra protein and Omega 3s, but doesn't have the grit of 100% whole grain pasta. Sprinkle with Italian cheese. Yum!

To save money, or if you are a vegetarian, you can skip the meat. To get ahead on another meal, cook extra of the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Put some in the fridge to use for fried rice, meatloaf or toss with pasta. Tomorrow, we will be having Bertolli whole grain cheese tortellini (on sale) with asparagus (from the end of last week), olives (on sale) and shrimp (on sale...seeing a theme?) tossed with olive oil, garlic and herbs.

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With Gravy on Top

Last night's dinner was roast beef in the crockpot. I just chopped a few carrots and half a large sweet onion & put in the bottom. I seasoned and seared the roast (on sale this week) in the skillet, put that in and added some chopped garlic and some broth. Cooked it on low for 8 hours or so. The roast fell apart coming out of the crockpot it was so tender. Because I don't like what the crockpot does to veggies, especially potatoes, I made mashed potatoes the old-fashioned way. Small dice and they cook much faster. But I didn't waste the veg in the crockpot. I pureed those with just a little of the broth and it made a very delicious gravy. Healthier than regular gravy too, I bet. I tossed some carrots and asparagus (also on sale) with olive oil, salt, pepper and just a smidge of sugar and roasted in the oven, 400 degrees. These were good, but would have been better had I checked them sooner, they were a little overdone. An easy, healthy dinner nonetheless. I will make it again and try not to over-roast the veggies.

Oh, and the pork chop leftovers -- I cut the chop into bite size pieces and sauteed that, the leftover veggies and some pasta leftover from spaghetti night in the skillet. No extra seasoning required. With a side of diced mango (on sale), it was a perfect lunch for us! Yum!

Stay tuned for the fate of the leftover roast...

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New Family Favorite

This week, Meijer has boneless pork loin chops on sale. We tried this new recipe for Grilled Apple Brined Pork Chops and we all loved it! We had it with roasted little red potatoes (also on sale), sweet potato and broccoli, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, basil and rosemary. Put in a single layer on a baking sheet at 400 for about 35 minutes, depending on the size you chop the veggies. So Good! And even better....just enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I brined the chops for 5-6 hours and used Montreal grill seasoning, our family's favorite.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-apple-brined-pork-chops-recipe/index.html

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Taking the plunge

My husband blogs, tweets and probably some other similar activities I don't know about. He truly enjoys that sort of communication. I, on the other hand, prefer face to face, one-on-one (or small group). I am a private person and don't even keep a written journal, preferring to keep most of my private thoughts just that, private. Besides, who really cares to hear or read what I have to say anyhow?

The afore mentioned hubby has asked me in the past about blogging. "No, not really interested." But, I have an idea that will allow me the opportunity to become part of this millennium without exposing more of myself than I want to.

Our family reviews our budget at the beginning of each year, usually finding the largest opportunity to save is eating out less often. This year is no exception. Busy schedules make eating out an easy, though not ideal, solution to the need to eat. Also, like many moms around the world, I do try to have my family eat healthy, well-balanced meals. I am known to now and then bring home an unusual fruit or vegetable for my family to try. However, fruits and vegetables are a difficult find when eating out, even at many sit-down restaurants.

I love to cook and asked for recipe software for Christmas to keep track all of the recipes I make up on the fly. Especially important if the family likes the meal! So, this year, I am resolved to plan and cook more meals at home, to help save our family some money and include a greater variety of fresh produce.

Quick and easy. Healthy and delicious. Inexpensive. Is that too much to ask? Join me on this expedition, if you like.

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