Soups on!

Since soups are a big favorite of mine in the fall, I thought I'd recap soups I've done and those I hope to do in the coming months!

Last week I made a HUGE pot of Pasta e Fagioli ala Rachel Ray, which, although it differs from most of the pasta e fagioli I've seen in restaurants, is my favorite recipe for it. Mine is more like a pasta dish however - I always overdose on the pasta!



Another favorite of mine is Tyler Florence's Corn Chowder. It filled my dutch oven to the brim, and was spectacular. I can only imagine how much better it would have been with fresh corn, yum.




Broccoli-Cheese soup - I got this as part of a recipe exchange, and loved it, but thought I could do better next time, so hopefully this is one of the items I'll get to make again this season.




The soups I am looking forward to making this season:

Black bean and bowtie soup (this is basically black bean vegetable soup with farfalle; one of the ladies at church brought this in a while back and I looooved it)

Homemade chicken noodle soup (did this once, with broth and anelli, but looking to do it again with homemade chicken stock!)

Beef Barley soup (probably won't be a favorite of hubs, but I've always wanted a great, simple recipe for this)


Do any of you, out there in cyber-inter-web-land, have any great soup suggestions? What is your favorite soup for cold weather?

Recap

I am so so sorry I haven't been updating. I have been a bad blogger. But I have some darn good excuses! My lack of blogging is proportional to the amount of work I have been doing offline...I've actually made things, but they're old recipes that are already here! But don't worry, I have good things in the works:

Monday: I made chicken noodle soup for the first time! It was cheater noodle soup in a way though - picked up a rotisserie chicken from the store on the way home. I used these babies (anelletti), and chicken broth, onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and a touch of rosemary. It wasn't incredibly impressive, it could have been more flavorful - but it sufficed to keep the chill away for a little bit.

Last night: Applesauce Spice Muffins, mmm mmm good. I filled the mini muffin pan almost three times (60 mini-muffins!) and made 12 big muffins to take to work. They taste just like applesauce. Post to come!

Tonight: will be prepping to make two bundt cakes this weekend. Will not be putting flower pots in the middle. Then, GREEK FESTIVAL!!!! Then, possibly going to drop food off/see my best friend and her kids. Small wonder is 6 weeks old! She's a cutie.

Saturday: wake up as early as freaking possible, make Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake for the bake sale Sunday, then make Pear Cake for a family reunion this weekend. *whew*

Sunday: set up for a 'Fall Fest' at church, run the bake sale, rush home, pick up hubs, go to reunion, and then MAYBE take a nap. LOL.

Monday: I have off!!! I'm going to drop my poor doggie off for some tests (he's peeing like a fountain on everything), then bake some stuff for my meeting that night. Hopefully I'll get to decorate the house for Halloween as well.

Next Saturday: make mac 'n' cheese for small wonder's baptism party, make cake for yet another meeting. If I'm going. Haven't decided this one yet. Oh and make cake/cookies/etc for coffee hour at church.

Next Sunday: Teach Sunday School, do coffee hour, run to small wonder's baptism party, maybe go to church talent show, maybe go to meeting.

Holy crap. Remind me again why I say yes to everything?

I have a meeting with a gyro and a couple of loukoumades.

Extra points if you say "yee-roh" instead of "jai-roh."

Greek Festival!!

Yeah, you heard me. Greek Festival. Every year, the Greek Orthodox church nearby holds a spectacular food-o-rama. Baklava, gyros, souvlaki, dolmades, pastitsio, loukoumades, the list goes on and on. And (wait for it) they're open until midnight this year. There *might* be some ouzo involved.

That's a full 12 hours of partying, PA Greek-style. Oh yum. The possibilities. I'm so sorry turkey-day challenge, you will need to be postponed due to fantastical deliciousness.

And just to show that I'm actually trying to get back into the swing of cooking...I'll be making pasta e fagioli tonight. I'll take pictures! Don't fret!

My newest lunchtime want & CD27

These are way too cool. I want them for me, screw the kids. ; )

Reusable Snack Baggies


Way too cool!


Also...how did this happen?



Eh? nothing? how freaking long is this going to last?
*sigh*

add another one to the list of things I want to buy now

or...another two...whatever.

because I wanted a my little pony, not a little brother (sorry, bro)



because...I carried a watermelon???

This is fantastic.

A portable food-masher for baby food. Hysterical.



I saw this on CBB and couldn't resist adding it to my collection of blogable baby things. When I went to their website, however, it piqued my interest. Juvenile Solutions, not a wonderfully pretty name like some baby sites, at first glance has a lot of baby-feeding accessories. I saw among other things the baby food masher, freezer containers for food, and (brace yourself) a cow-themed dining set. Priceless. I wonder if hubs would think I'm crazy if I buy it now...after all, I already have the diaper bag.

Pasta from Roma

My sister recently spent some time overseas as part of a semester abroad program, and brought me back some pasta. I got a nice apron too, with all different kinds of pasta on it.

I told her I'd make the pasta and take pictures of it and put it online - and I believe she actually came over and had some of this particular dish.

So, a couple months late, here you go!