Soup's On! Saturday : Cream of Broccoli

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!

Spur Of The Moment Drive To The Beach

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.

I love adventures!

Menu Plan Monday: February 23- March 1, 2009

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.

Monday:
B: Crockpot Egg Casserole (add green chiles instead of green peppers)
L: Poor Man's Stroganoff (Evan make with Mom.)
D: Garlic Topped Pot Roast (already made for yesterday but then Hubby took us out to eat)

TO DO:

~ Put breakfast in crockpot.

~ Soak black beans and rice

~ Take chicken out of freezer

Tuesday:
B: Warm and Fruity Breakfast Cereal
L: Seasoned Black Beans and Rice with locally made corn tortillas and/or Baked Tortilla Chips, cheese, sour cream, tomato and cilantro
D: Candied Garlic Chicken Wings

TO DO:

~ Put egg mixture in crockpot

~ 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)

TO DO:

~ Soak pinto and black beans

~ Thaw ground beef and pork for Friday breakfast

Thursday:
B: Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies
L: Chicken Roll Ups

D: 7 Layer Tortilla Pie

TO DO: ~ Put breakfast ingredients in 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).

Soup’s On Saturday: Chicken Wing Soup

Does anyone else have a chicken soup recipe?

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.

Brother of the Bride

Maybe it's because I know that I we can all say things that are well meant -- but come off all wrong.

But I love this commercial.

Menu Plan Monday: February 16-22

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!

Have a wonderful, wholesome week!

P.S. You can look at tons more menus at www.orgjunkie.com

Monday:
B: Crockpot Cobbler (medium crockpot)
L: Bean and Cheese Burritos
D: Nacho Spuds

Tuesday:
B: Peanut Butter Toast on Homemade Bread, Fruit
L: Seasoned Black Beans and Rice with cheese, sour cream and cilantro
D: Bacon Potato Chowder (from my friend Julie C's private blog)
with Cornbread Muffins

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)


Thursday:
B: Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
L: Poor Man's Stroganoff (Evan make with Mom to practice like Elisabeth above)

D: Garlic Topped Pot Roast

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).

Soup's On Saturday: A Call For Chicken Wing Soup

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.

GO WESTERN CONFERENCE!!!