December 2, 2010

Soups A Plenty!

I’m heavily distracted today. You would be too if you were scouring the internet for good soup recipes. There are soo many good ones, I don’t know even know where to start! Here’s a list of soups that have caught my eye…

I’ve already made a few grocery lists…I’m pretty sure you will too. Prepare to get sucked in by the seductive powers of SOUP.

Vegetable Based:

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Parsnip Leek aka Cry Baby Soup from Gourmet Fury

Spicy Pumpkin Soup with yummy Thai Flavors from If You Can Make that You Can Make This

Pumpkin Soup with Creme Fraiche & Shrimp from Sparkling Ink

Red Cabbage Soup from Apron Strings

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup from 101 Cookbooks

Creamy Tomato Soup from Joy the Baker

Fabulous Roots Soup from Simply Photo

Purple Soup (cauliflower) from Chez Us

Curried Zucchini Soup with Coconut Milk from 3191

Mushroom & Tarragon Soup from Dula Notes

Celery Root Soup from David Lebovitz

Balthazar’s Creamy Mushroom Soup from Smitten Kitchen

Vegan Sweet Pepper Coconut Chowder from Resolute Woot

Potato Parmesan Soup with Parsley Fennel Pesto from Running with Tweezers

Chestnut Apple Soup from Sassy Radish

Onion Soup from Lottie & Doof

Miso Soup from Dana Treat

Vegan Tomato & Fennel Soup from Gluten Free Girl

Carrot Soup from Bleubird Vintage

Roasted Vegetable Soup with Polenta Croutons from Tartelette

Pear, Pecorino & Potato Soup from Cooking with Amy

Kale & White Bean Soup from Bake Me Away

Melted Leeks and Quinoa with Poached Farm Egg & Parmesan Broth from Married with Dinner

Delicata Squash Soup with Blue Cheese from A Chow Life

Hearty and/or Meaty

Chicken & Vegetable Soup from Honey & Jam

Lentil Soup with Chipotle Yogurt from Sprouted Kitchen

Scotch Ale, Pumpkin & Pork Stew from Nectar & Light

Black Bean & Ham Bone Soup from Three Many Cooks

Chickpea Tomato Soup with Rosemary by Orangette

Le French Lentil Soup (using Trader Joe’s steamed lentils!) from The Ugly Green Chair

Tortilla Soup from Matt Bites

Garlicky Black Pepper Shrimp & Black Eyed Peas Soup from Gourmeted

Italian Wedding Soup from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Beef & Mushroom Stew from the Pioneer Woman

Pho Ga, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup from Steamy Kitchen

Mulligatawny Soup from The 10 Cent Designer

Chicken & Dumplings from Leite’s Culinaria

Green Tea Soba Noodle Soup with Tilapia and Mushrooms from 5 Second Rule

Pesto Tortellini Soup from This Week for Dinner

Seafood Miso Soup from Wright Food

Chorizo & Lentil Soup from Seven Spoons

Pork Belly Ramen with Kale, Beet Greens & Snow Peas from Sean Wilkins

Oh btw! That soup up there is my Curry Butternut Squash Soup! It’s super creamy, but with no cream!

recipes

December 1, 2010

Tracy’s KILLER Garlic Bread

While we’re on the subject of soups, I thought it would be nice to share my SECRET recipe for the most KILLER Garlic Bread. What goes better with soups than garlic bread? Not much! My neighbor taught me to add dill in the garlic butter. It’s what makes this garlic bread killer. That’s the secret! I guarantee a loaf will be devoured faster than you can dish it out. I’ve learned that I must stash a few pieces in the kitchen when I make a batch because my company goes nuts for it and never leaves me any. Rude! But also totally understandable.

If you were to ask me what my death row meal would be, I’d immediately tell you a buffet full of this KILLER GARLIC BREAD. Go ahead, try some. You’ll see what I mean.

recipes, Uncategorized

November 30, 2010

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I’ve made this soup twice in the past week. That should tell you something! This recipe comes from one of my favorite websites, 101 Cookbooks. There isn’t a recipe on Heidi’s site that I haven’t drooled over. I should note that this soup is not your typical broccoli cheddar soup. It doesn’t contain mushy overcooked broccoli or bright orange cheddar cheese. The two main flavor boosters are grainy mustard and aged cheddar. They both add such a wonderful tang & depth to the soup. I bet it would pair really well with a cold hoppy beer.

We also need to talk about the star of the soup. Mustard Croutons! The whole thing is genius. I could probably plow through the whole batch in one sitting, sans the soup… Unfortunately, I know better after this past weekend. My friend Whitney has made this soup several times and I totally see why she’s been smitten. It’s REAL good. She says that replacing the cheddar with feta is fantastic! Next time, I’m gonna try that. I also forgot to top my soup with some smoked paprika. There’s always leftovers….
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

November 29, 2010

Vegetable Lentil Soup

I’m declaring this week– SOUP WEEK! It’s like Shark week– but with soup! After scarfing down too much food, all I want is something simple and hearty with lots of vegetables & fiber. Soup always comes to my rescue! Make it one night and you have a few days worth of leftovers. This time of the year is so jam-packed with activities, it’s nice to just quickly warm up a bowl of soup and have lunch or dinner in an instant. Pair a bowl with a crusty hunk of bread and a nice green salad and you are feeling good about the holidays coming up. I know I am.

So yeah, let’s kick off SOUP WEEK!

I’m really warming up to lentils these days. My mom made me a really great Ina Garten soup with lentils and kielbasa (will make & post sometime soon!) and I’ve been nuts for lentils ever since. This Vegetable Lentil Soup is pretty hearty and of course perfect with garlic croutons. There’s lots of vegetables in the mix and it’s a really good base if you want to experiment with different flavors. Add some cumin and you have some smokey depth! Add chunks of sweet potatoes and you’re using a power food in addition to all this tasty goodness. I bet kale would be awesome in there too…I’ll probably try that next time! I threw in some freshly grated Parmesan in one of my servings (NOM!) and in another bowl, I added freshly sliced avocado (TASTY!) Go ahead, make this and use it as a springboard for your new favorite soup. Or if you are just looking for something to put in a bowl that will warm up your freezing hands, this will do the trick, no doubt.
CONTINUE READING

Uncategorized

November 28, 2010

i’m stuffed!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was super low key & fun!

My dad busted out some great red wines & we played with Cooper all afternoon.

This is what our table looked like:

We started off with my Mom’s Green Salad. Always a favorite.

And here’s my plate! Stuffing, turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes & gravy.

I fixed Cooper a plate of all the good stuff but he wouldn’t touch any of it! He missed out.

He did like blowing out my mom’s fancy candles, though!

I’m still stuffed and looking at these pics don’t help. Totally looking forward to eating lighter this coming week!

Thinking there might be a lot of soups & salads in my future…..What about you?

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November 24, 2010

It’s crunch time!

Soo much to do in the next few days! I’ve just been to the market (what the HECK was I thinking?!) and now I’m ready to get to work!

I decided to play it safe and make things from my arsenal so I don’t have the added pressure of pulling something off I’ve never tried before. Been there, done that and have like 12 gray hairs to prove it.

So here’s my lineup/game plan!

For Thanksgiving I’m in charge of Pumpkin Cream Pie & helping my mother with everything else.

The day after Thanksgiving we are visiting with Casey’s family, and I have a HUGE TO DO list for that.

The tough part is that I have to pack all this stuff up in advance so I can prep it while I’m there.

Lots of lists have been made… Believe me.

For appetizers we are having a Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Log with garlic crostini.

I’m making some type of mushroom bruschetta concoction. Might look something like this…

I’ve been inspired by Tara & Whitney. I might make something that’s a combo of their two recipes. We’ll see!

I’m making my Simple Caesar Salad with lots of extra croutons for the kids to munch on.

My nephew Henry is a huge crouton fan! I always make him his own bag. He loves it.

This will go along with a red sauce spaghetti & sausage dinner…with a BUNCH of my famous garlic bread (recipe soon!)

I’ll bust out some Spicy Maple Walnuts if I get a chance. They’re totally easy, so I’m not worried.

I’ve made Fleur De Sel Caramels already. They were a hit last year! I got a few requests for them again this year!

Also…hoping to get this post out sometime (soon!) for Easy Apple Cranberry CAKE. OMFG it’s good.

Say hello!

So that’s what I’ve got cooking. Which only makes me realize that I’d better get at it!

I hope you all have a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving! Eat an extra scoop of stuffing for me!

xoxoxo

Tracy

Uncategorized

November 22, 2010

And the winner is….

Using a random number generator,

Jennifer T!!

Congratulations!! You’ve won:

Here’s her favorite food memory!!!

I bet your grandmother would be proud! I hope you love my current 3 fave things!

THANK YOU to all of you who entered my first giveaway! I REALLY enjoyed reading all of your favorite food memories. There were soo many good ones! I had soo much fun with this!