Not Just Tomato Soup

You know you are incredibly blessed, when the love of your life is also your partner in crime.

Last night was Halloween, and in Tim's childhood they had a tradition of having tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches before heading out Trick or Treating. It is a tradition we have carried on with our own children. The only problem is, that I have yet to find a tomato soup that is both healthy and delicious enough that I want to make it every year!

Yesterday morning, after trolling the internet for recipes yet again, I decided to create my own. Which is where Tim came in. While I am confident in the kitchen, having someone to bounce ideas off is crucial to success.

So, with Tim's help, I give you...

Not Just Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced
1 Medium Eggplant, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups carrots, chopped (I use baby carrots)
4 (28oz) cans of low sodium diced tomatoes in juice
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper

Heat dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add Eggplant and garlic and continue cooking until eggplant softens. While the eggplant mixture is cooking,  place carrots and broth in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, carrots, broth and 1 tsp crushed red pepper to the pot with the eggplant.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, toss in the basil, and puree until smooth. I use a stick blender, but pureeing in a regular blender would work just as well. Add salt, white pepper, and additional crushed red pepper according to taste.

We spent last night with friends. The kids trick or treated, we gave out candy gathered around a fire pit, and shared a meal. This soup was my contribution. Based on the reviews... It's a keeper!

Notes:

1. It's important the carrots are well cooked or they won't puree well. That is why I microwave them in the broth before I put them in the pot. By microwaving them in broth, you don't waste any of the nutrients by dumping out water that you use to boil the carrots.

2.  In the recipe I said to simmer the soup for 20 minutes. You can leave it on longer than that and it will be fine. I put mine on in the afternoon and left it simmering for at least an hour. The longer it simmers, the more rich the soup will taste. If it ends up a little to thick for your taste, just add some broth when you puree!

3.  I served mine with a tbsp of goat cheese on top. I can't recommend that highly enough. It was so rich and delicious!

Zucchini Muffins, Strawberry Banana Muffins, and Uh-oh Charlie Got Carried Away Muffins

Back to School means back to looking for quick, healthy breakfasts for the kids. It needs to be appealing. It needs to be easy. It needs to be more tempting than a Toaster Strudel.

With my kids, if it is baked in the oven, it is a crowd pleaser. So last night I hunkered down with some past their prime bananas and went to work creating some muffins!

Recipe 1:

 

Zucchini Banana Muffins
(This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home. You can find their recipe for Zucchini Banana Bread here)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 mashed, ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 small zucchinis shredded

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a muffin tin with Pam.

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together egg, oil, bananas, vanilla, and zucchinis. Stir into your dry ingredients. Spoon into your prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and spring back when touched.

Note: I shredded my zucchini on my microplaner as I seem to have misplaced my grater. This created more of a puree rather than a shredded effect. The end result was a very moist muffin with the consistency of banana bread!

Recipe 2:

Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins
(This is adapted from an earlier post of mine. You can find it here.)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup strawberry yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium banana, mashed

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup strawberries1/2 cup walnuts (I left these out as Tim doesn't like walnuts)

Preheat oven to 325 and spray a muffin pan with Pam.


Beat together first 6 ingredients until blended. Combine and add the next 3 ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in the strawberries and walnuts. Do not overmix.



Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and spring back when touched.


Recipe 3:

Uh-Oh Charlie Got Carried Away Muffins

I'm not sure exactly what got into me, but as I was looking at those Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins, I started thinking... wouldn't these be good with coconut on top? Oh! and slivered almonds?? Oh, Oh, OH! and a light dusting of brown sugar to caramelize the topping together???

And you know what? I was right! If you make these muffins, be brave, be daring, ADD THE TOPPING!

Topping:
1/3 cup sweetened coconut
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 light brown sugar

After spooning the muffin batter into the muffin pans, top the muffins with coconut and almonds and then lightly sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Holy cannolis these are scrumptious! 

Note: Be sure your children get a few before you find yourself licking the crumbs off the counter!

"Oh There You Are Peter!"

Have you ever seen the movie Hook? Robin Williams plays a grown up Peter Pan who has lost sight of what is most important in life... family. All of that changes when his kids are kidnapped by Captain Hook. Peter goes to NeverLand to rescue his kids. Before he can do that he has to find himself.

My favorite scene is Peter trying to convince the Lost Boys to help him save his kids. Why would they help this grown man? A man who bore no visible resemblance to the boy they knew. A boy who had sworn to never grow up.

And then, in that moment, that moment when everything seems hopeless, the smallest of the Lost Boys walks up to Peter...

And that my friends is how I spent my summer vacation.

 For the month of August I made time for friends, activities, and most importantly, my family. I savored experiences and made memories to carry me through the return to school and schedules.

After a whirlwind romance, I fell in love with Summer.

And now September walks among us, and two weeks in I have realized I love it too. I love the crisp evenings, perfect for a sweatshirt and jeans. I love the return of schedules, activities, and routines. I love balance after a Summer of freedom.

And I love my blog!

This week I will be posting an end of summer salad, a delicious and healthy muffin recipe for Back to School mornings, and a refreshing end of summer white wine with a glass cork!

Welcome home my blog friends. I've missed you!

ps. If you've never seen the movie Hook, I highly recommend it. You can get it through Amazon, or pick it up at Target for $5. Family movie night anyone?