Soup Soup Soup and CSN Giveaway

I seriously need a new drop leaf table. Mine has seen better days. Between the cats scratching the top every time they got caught up there and the legs starting to get wobbly, I just can't take it anymore. I know where I'd like to get a new one. CSN!

Can I just go on for a few minutes about how much I love soup? I mean, seriously. Even if you don't want to make some Chicken Noodle from scratch, there are hundreds of cans available at the grocery store to choose from (I know, it's not really in line with the Food Revolution, but I can't help that the baby wants Campbell's Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup with Chicken). And it's that time of year when people won't look at you funny for eating soup or bringing leftovers to work for lunch.

Last night, I went over to my best friend's apartment for her amazing Broccoli Cheese soup. I'm not kidding when I say that it's better than Panera's. There are so many tiny little carrot sticks and so much broccoli that each bite is packed with good-for-you veg. One thing that could be improved upon is the cheese. She used Velveeta which melts much better than using real cheese, but it certainly isn't great for you. You could always substitute a can of cream of cheese soup (again, not great for you) or make a cheese sauce beforehand to add into the soup at the end. I can't guarantee how it will work, but melting cheese in boiled milk usually makes for a pretty smooth sauce.

I must say, Aloysius was very happy with the soup. I ate a big bowl along with two slices of sourdough bread with butter and was pleasantly full. Speaking of little Alo, would you like to know the cupcakes gender? It's a boy!!! I'll admit to hoping for a girl, but I'm quite happy with a little boy. Especially since he lets me eat soup! Enjoy the soup. I'm gonna make me a sandwich.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Recipe by Anne (definitely check out her makeup blog)

3/4 cup chopped carrots (she used the precut, matchstick carrots)
3/4 cup broccoli (she used frozen florets, but fresh would work fine as would a blend of stalks with florets)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Paprika (dash or a little more, depending on taste preference)
Dash of salt
1 cup cheese

1. In a large pot, combine veggies, broth, and water. Heat to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until veg are tender.
2. Combine milk, flour, paprika, and salt. Stir into broth and veg and. Cook, stirring until thick and bubbly. Add cheese. Stir until melted.

If you've stuck with me to this point, congratulations! I'm hosting another giveaway. CSN is offering one reader a $35 gift certificate to be used on any of their websites. Unfortunately, this giveaway is open only to US residents since CSN does not ship internationally (hence why I did the last giveaway the way that I did). To enter please do the following:

1. Pop on over to Anne's blog and welcome her to the blogging world.
2. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know what a friendly person you are.

That's it! You have until Wednesday 22 September, cause that's my hubby's birthday. I'll use Random.org again to pick the winner. I know if it were me, I'd choose something this time from their great bistro sets!

Poor Hubby

The past couple of weekends I've been noticing that my hubby has had the sniffles. I asked him if he was getting sick and his reply was that he works in a freezer. True, hubby of mine. I let the matter drop (ok, I didn't really since I teased him about being Mr. Sniffles for the past week while gently suggesting he might want to take some medicine). You see, hubby works for the man stocking frozen foods for shipping to grocery stores. He spends roughly 40-50 hours each weekend, Saturday through Monday in the freezer. Anyone would get the sniffles doing that, but since my hubby is a man's man he doesn't think it could possibly be that he's getting sick. Today I received a phone call at work from my darling to please pick up some medicine. He never asks for medicine so I know he's really not feeling well.

 

To go along with his medicine, I picked up what i would need to make him some chicken noodle soup (I'll be eating grilled cheese since I'm not really a fan of this particular soup). I also made him some hot tea with honey and lemon. We're just going to spend the rest of the evening on the couch while the poor guy sniffles into his tea. I'm even going to let him have control of the remote (if he doesn't want to watch RuPaul's Drag Race, I'm not going to force him to tonight). What do you like to watch when you're sick?

 

Embarassing as it is, the only thing I ever want to watch when I'm sick is Barbie movies. I'll even admit to owning the entire collection of Barbie movies. I won't apologize for it either, even after my sister texts me to tease me relentlessly for letting the whole world know. With that, I leave you with this simple recipe. Mr. Sniffles and I are going to get lost in some Dr. Who.

 

Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe by me (not that it's really a recipe since you just throw in the amounts you want)

Chicken
Chicken broth
Carrotts
Celery
Thyme
Bay leaves
Egg noodles

1. Chop the veggies into small pieces.  Place veggies and broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. While the veggies are cooking, cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook until all sides are white. Add to the broth. Add a sprig of thyme and a couple of bay leaves. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Add the egg noodles and allow to cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

MMM MMM Good!

Earlier this week was Mardi Gras as most of you know. I had the fortune of spending the evening with two of my most favorite people, my hubby and my sister. We got spent the evening in dowtown Tulsa for the parade that was put on by the businesses located in the Blue Dome district. Dinner at McNellie's followed (yummy burgers and beer) where the hubby and the sister played some pool while I tried to take pictures (none of them were very good though). Anyway, a day or two later my sister uploaded her own pictures to her Facebook. Comments kept trickling into my email about some of the ones that had been tagged of me. When I got around to looking at the pictures, I was disgusted at what I saw. I know that I'm a big girl. No one could ever mistake me for being anorexic. But the person staring back at me from those pictures was not the same person I see in the mirror. Needless to say, I started taking stock of what I've been eating (and cooking). I've been making very rich and fattening foods. I'm making a promise to myself to try to be more healthy, and to show I'm serious, I've included the picture that made me sick (all the way at the bottom).

The first recipe I decided to tackle for my new healthier version of myself is a soup recipe I found in Taste of Home magazine. Tomato Tortellini soup is so simple and super tasty. I adapted the heck out of this thing and plan on doing some things even more differently next time (I'll add some grilled chicken and have a smaller portion with a small salad next time to make it extra filling). I hope you'll keep me company as I go on this journey to try to lighten some recipes up. Enjoy the soup!

Tomato Tortellini Soup
Recip by Taste of Homes, heavily adapted by me

1 pckg. (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini (next time I'll use the whole wheat variety, they just didn't have any this time at the store)
2 cans (10-3/4 oz. each) reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3-3/4 cups skim milk
1/4 half and half cream
1/2 chopped oil packed sundried tomatoes (I cheated and used a pre-chopped variety; next time I won't use the oil packed)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1.2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions (should just be boil some water, add tortellini, cook for 7-9 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine soup, broth, milk, half and half, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently.
3. Drain tortellini and carefully add to the soup. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese. Serve and top with remaining cheese.

So we'll call this the before picture, and hopefully by this time next year, the after picture will be much better.