Do any of you have a wonderful "Cream of...." Soup? Leave me a comment!
I have many fabulous creamy soup recipes. They are so warm and comforting. And, well, on the not so good for weight loss side of things, if ya know whaddi mean.
Several years ago I was on Weight Watchers (after my 5th pregnancy) and I discovered that cream soups don't always have to undo my efforts at losing weight.
This Cream Of Broccoli Soup is one of my favorite WW recipes. It's only 2 points and very satisfying. I think adding the hot pepper sauce is a stroke of genius. It adds an unexpected punch before you even realize you are missing the things you have left out. When I make it, I put in more broccoli. Veggies are FREE so it doesn't add any more points, and it makes it creamier and thicker still. I also like toasted almonds on top too, but then you have to count those points.
Of course, if you are not trying to lose weight, feel free to use 1 cup cream of half and half instead of the fat-free milk. And throw in alot of cheddar, then top with sour cream. And, rather than count points, well, just count yourself lucky!
Now my friends, I must announce that SOS is over for this season. My plan was to go through February and it is now the very last day of February. But SOS will be back, Lord-Willing, when Fall is here once again. Ewww, don't even say such a thing right now!
BUT, stay tuned for a new weekly food carnival. I am still deciding on some of the details and will, of course, put it all here when the time is right. Thank you to those of you who participated. I have definitely gained some new favorites!
The Suburban was in the shop so only part of the family could go anywhere. We had planned to go on a more local hike. But when that trail was still closed for the winter, we just decided to keep driving west. By the time we arrived it was later afternoon-early evening. We played on the beach for a little bit then got to watch a stunning sunset. The Oregon Coast is so gorgeous.
(This post should be on our family blog. But the layout of this blog lets me post larger pictures so I put them here instead.)
It was fun not to tell the kids. Since the two oldest were not there, it took more time before Nathan was paying enough attention to notice what the signs were saying. It wasn't until the ocean vista was before us that Evan and Elisabeth realized. They were really confused at first, but it made it worth the drive!
We are so blessed to live where we do. Had we decided to drive east, we would have been up on the mountain in less than two hours or in the desert in three.
You will see some repeats this week. We had lots of leftovers on certain nights and a surprise trip to the beach! Someone wise once told me that in order to be flexible we have to have a plan or there is nothing to flex! I am still glad I make these plans, even if we don’t eat up needing it all each week. I also want to be a good steward of our food and money so want to make sure all leftovers are eaten.
~ Make sure pork and ground beef are out of freezer
Wednesday: B: Bagel Breakfast Sandwiches L: Farmhouse BBQ Muffins (will use homemade biscuit dough though) D: Loaded Barbeque Potato Casserole This is a yummy twist on Shepherd's Pie ( start pork, chiles, BBQ sauce and bacon in crockpot in morning, large crockpot)
Friday: B:Sliced Breakfast L: $5 Footlongs for picnic if weather cooperates <incentive for kids, they will earn this> D: Leftovers
TO DO: ~ Thaw Chicken for Sunday
Saturday: B: Leftovers or fend for yourself L: Leftovers D: Chilled Salmon (baked with dill, lemon, onion and butter) with crackers and dips (Family Night)
TO DO: Make buns for Sunday.
Sunday: B: Granola L: Buffalo Chicken Party Sandwiches (make chicken in crockpot to cook while at church, in two crockpots so kids who do not like blue cheese will like it!) on Homemade Buns (I have to let them rise longer in my house than the recipe calls for). D: Sunday Popcorn and Snacks (we eat lunch late so just have snacks on Sunday night).
Here is the recipe I threw together last week. It turned out pretty well, but I am going to post it with the tweaking I did since then. I hope you try it and like it!
1 Whole Chicken, stewed and deboned (or equivalent)
2 cups broth from stewed chicken and/or other broth.
3 stalks celery
3 grated carrots
1 grated onion
Olive oil or butter
Hot Sauce (what I had was a very mild chili sauce which was more like ketchup, so I added 2 T. Tabasco. Using Hot Wing Sauce with a kick will be much better)
1 t liquid smoke
2 t worchestershire sauce
3-4 small potatoes
8 ounces grated Cheddar Cheese
1 brick cream cheese
Half and Half or milk
Saute onion, carrots and celery in butter or olive oil until crisp tender. Add all ingredients except cheeses. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir in cubed cream cheese and grated cheddar. Stir until melted. Serve with all or some of these choices on side:
~Blue Cheese crumbles
~ Ranch Dip
~ Spicy Wing Sauce
~ Cilantro
~ Sour Cream
~ Salsa
~ Anything else you would serve with Chicken Wings. Have fun!
NEXT WEEK: Cream Of ??? soups.
Link your favorite or put your recipe in the comments section.
I am SO glad to be back for menu planning -- it has been weeks! Truth be told, I have been struggling with some health related concerns which accumulated and began to overwhelm me. Thankfully, I have some answers now and seem to be doing better every day!
In my ongoing attempt to have more schedule, more discipline and more togetherness, I am experimenting by planning all three meals for each day. We'll see how it goes.
I am not listing our fruit and veggie plans unless I am making a specific recipe. I keep a lot of healthy, fresh, organic produce on hand. I have canned produce from last summer too. We always have salad, veggies or fruit with our meals.
I am also trying to use the crockpot for at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner per week. Breakfast in the crockpot is something very pleasant to wake up to. And lunch and dinner fill the house with homey smells all day, then make dinner so much less complicated!
Wednesday: B: Yogurt Parfaits (with oats or granola and fresh or dried fruit) L: Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese (Elisabeth 7yo to make with mom to practice for her very first dinner night when I am on Sister Trip)
* Note: We had to double the recipe. I hated to use up that much milk so we used half milk and half dry milk with water. Also added about 4 T. real butter and 1 cubed brick of Cream Cheese, and cut back on the cheddar. Turned out watery so had to add a second pound of pasta. Then it turned out great! D: Loaded Barbeque Potato Casserole This is a yummy twist on Shepherd's Pie ( start pork, chiles, BBQ sauce and bacon in crockpot in morning, large crockpot)
Friday: B: Oatmeal Pancakes L: Build Your Own Chef Salad with Ranch Dressing (Include green mix with lettuces and spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, turkey, hard boiled egg, avocado, real bacon bits, grated cheese) D: Sticky Chicken with brown rice
Saturday: B:Leftovers or Fend For Yourself! L: Leftovers from the week D: New Soup for next weeks Soup's On Saturday!
Sunday: B: Blueberry Flax Granola L: Buffalo Chicken Party Sandwiches (make chicken in crockpot while at church) on Homemade Buns (I have to let them rise longer in my house than the recipe calls for). D: Sunday Popcorn and Snacks (we eat lunch late so just have snacks on Sunday night).
Yes, it's Saturday. No, I do not have any tried and true soup recipe for you. However, I have an interesting idea for you to experiment with. I am trying it tomorrow too.
Some of you are WILD about football. There was alot of hullabaloo about that a couple weeks ago. Here at my house, we are basketball folks. Especially my boys. This weekend is All Star weekend. The boys are especially excited because our (our= our team's) own Brandon Roy is playing. So I want to make something special to eat.
This morning as I was deboning a chicken I made broth with and mulling over what to do with it. I was thinking about what I would make in the crockpot to be ready when we get home from church, as well as what I would make for the basketball festivities. Then it occured to me that there MUST be some kind of recipe for Chicken Wing Soup.
I love search engines.
I found several recipes, got some great ideas, and am adding some ingredients of my own. Next week I will post the results and, if it was deeee-lish-us, I will post the recipe.
In the meantime, have any of you made Chicken Wing Soup before? Do you have a wonderful recipe for it? I also considered Barbeque Chicken Soup so if you have a recipe for that I'd love that too. Maybe this week you can experiment and come up with your own. Or maybe you have a treasured recipe.
If you want to post next week about some kind of soup that is modeled after your favorite way to eat chicken, I'd love it if you will link! I will plan to have the link up first thing next Saturday.
(I don't know why Blogger is formatting weird, hopefully you can make sense of this)
Today is the one year anniversary of this blog. I started blogging before this, but nothing regular and not under this name. This is my true first real and consistent blogging endeavor.
I have discovered so much this year, especially about myself. Alot of it I learned through blogging. Most of it I will remember because of blogging.
And I have "met" so many new friends through blogging too (Hey, if my dad can meet his wife online, why can't I call my bloggy peeps my friends?)
I planned to write much more. But I did not know I would be rushing around trying to get ready to take a trip to say goodbye to my dear Great Aunt. Maybe I will write more when I celebrate my 200th post, which will be soon!
And, whether you've been reading all along -- or if you just started, consider yourself THANKED for being a reader of this blog, for your comment contributions, and for being a part of my little blogging world over this past year.
As a mother to 5 (five) boys, I am concerned with the feminization of young men. I'm not tackling any controversial conversation about homosexuality here, I am talking purely about raising our boys to be strong men and leaders in their families.
I am still pro chivalry. I think it is appropriate for men to open doors for women. I think the mantra "women and children first" is worth perpetuating. I think there are alot of women out there who appreciate a man who is a MAN. I don't view men who snivel and whine and make excuses for themselves as Real Men.
I'm not saying a man should never get a pedicure, or should never weep. I am certainly not saying they should not do dishes or housework. Many manly young men are artistic. They'd rather paint than play football. Or play music rather than work on their big ole truck.
Boys need to learn to do a man's work. They need to learn to chop wood and haul debris. They need to learn to accept responsibility for their actions. They need to learn how to be leaders. They need to learn how to be strong and steady for the women in their lives. They need to be dependable. And, YES. They need to change diapers and walk a colicky baby to sleep for hours in the middle of the night so their beloved can sleep a little.
Isn't CHARACTER the measure of a man? So we need to make sure we teach our boys to do hard things, things that challenge and stretch them -- things that build character. We need to comfort and cuddle them when they are little and be there for them as they grow. But we also have to let them suffer some hard knocks. We need to encourage and foster relationships with their fathers. And we need to realize that we will have to cut the apron strings, whether it is sending them outside to make bows and arrows out of sticks and branches and build forts, or to go fishing on a boat with their buddies (when they are old enough) while you worry all day that they will capsize. Maybe they will be turned down for a date by a girl they like, or not be accepted by a group of friends they'd like to be part of. We have to let them go through hard times, make mistakes, and accept the responsibility for them.
We need to PRAY!
I heard this song awhile back and it made me chuckle...(you'll have to turn off the tunes on my sidebar to listen to this)
When you see a deer you see Bambi and I see antlers up on the wall.
When you see a lake you think picnics and I see a large mouth up under that log.
You're probably thinkin' that you're gonna change me. In some ways, well, maybe you might. Scrub me down, dress me up, oh but no matter what remember I'm still a guy.
When you see a priceless French painting I see a drunk naked girl. You think that riding a wild bull sounds crazy and I'd like to give it a whirl.
Well, love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of and in weak moment I might -- walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall -- but remember I'm still a guy.
I'll pour out my heart, hold your hand in the car, write a love song that makes you cry. Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground 'cuz he copped a feel as you walk by.
I can hear you now talkin' to your friends sayin', "Yeah girls he's come a long way from draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club and buildin' a fire in a cave."
But when you say a back rub means only a back rub then you swat my hand when I try. Well now what can I say - at the end of the day,"Honey, I'm still a guy."
And I'll pour out my heart, hold your hand in the car, write a love song that makes you cry. Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground 'cuz he copped a feel as you walk by.
These days there's dudes gettin' facials, manicured, waxed and botoxed. With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands you can't grip a tackle box.
Yeah, with all of these men linin' up to get neutered it's hip now to be feminized. I don't highlight my hair, I've still got a pair. Yeah, honey I'm still a guy.
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked there's a gun in my truck. Oh thank god, I'm still a guy.
These represent the levels of full curriculum we have done within Sonlight's Program. It is a literature based curriculum we use in our homeschool. We LOVE Sonlight!
