Curried Potato & Pea Soup

I found this recipe in a magazine at my MIL's house. We made it last night and it was delicious! I had it for breakfast and it was even better! I only made a few minor adjustments that I note:

Curried Potato & Pea Soup
makes 4 cups - 40 mins

Sweat in 2 Tbps unsalted butter
-8 oz yellow potatoes, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced

Stir in
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- pinch of red pepper flakes

Add
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp sugar
-1 cup frozen peas
- Juice of 1/2 a lime (or two small)
- salt to taste

My changes were that we added extra potatoes and BEFORE adding the peas, we took the immersion blender and made the soup a bit chunkier. We didn't blend all of it, but enough to give it more body. Add the peas after that if you don't want them blended. Enjoy!

Harvest Soup

Another fun and delicious fall soup!
Ingredients:

1 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (about3 1/2 cups)
2 medium apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups chicken broth (I used my left-over veggie broth)

Directions:
in a big pot, heat oil on medium. Add carrots, celery, and onions. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender and brown.  Add squash, apples, and broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly

Puree soup in blender or food processor, and in a couple batches if needed. Add pepper and croutons (we skipped the croutons)

Recipe from: some parenting magazine....I forget which one

Sweet Potato Lentil Stew

A good fall meal. I've never tasted anything quite like it. Give it a try!

Ingredients
-1/4 cup safflower oil
-1 medium onion, diced
-2 small tomatoes, diced
-1 tsp fresh minced ginger
-1 1/2 tsp turmeric
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp ground coriander
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/8 tsp cayenne
fine sea salt
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 cubes
7 cups vegetable broth*
1 cup brown lentils

Heat oil over medium heat in large deep pot. Add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and ginger and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and a small pinch of salt. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Add sweet potatoes, broth, and lentils. Stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes or until lentils and potatoes are soft.

*Veggie Broth - Amateur Style

Take carrots, celery, and onions and chop them. Throw in a big pot full of water then add 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for a couple hours. Strain and use. Freeze remaining broth.

Recipe from: The Kind Diet

Comfort in a Bowl

I made this soup the other day to take to my friends house. She had a baby about a month ago (her fourth) so I wanted to bring her a dinner. I made her a big pot of this chili one evening and put it in the fridge to chill overnight so the flavors could get to know each other and marry.
I tried a little bit of this soup to make sure it tasted okay, then ended up serving myself up a whole bowlful because it was so good.
Then, circumstances made it impossible for me to visit her on the day I had planned, so now I have a whole pot of soup to enjoy. Next week when I try to visit again, I will have to make it again - but that's okay, because it is pretty fast and easy-peasy. It is so delicious and oh - so- comforting!

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 (18.75 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 bag frozen corn

1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat

1 (15 ounce) can white beans

1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft.
2. Stir in broth, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta e Fagioli (with carne)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground turkey (optional)
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• splash of red wine
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 pound seashell pasta (or macaroni or whatever)

Directions

1. Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
2. Add ground turkey and stir occasionally until browned. Stir in the tomato paste until blended.
3. Add undrained tomatoes, undrained cannellini beans, chicken broth, oregano, basil and pepper to Dutch oven and bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil for approximately 1 minute and then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
4. Add pasta to Dutch oven and simmer approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately and enjoy.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit (above is the tweaked recipe). It's one of those recipes that you can really play with and add or take away what you don't have. The most traditional form of this soup is just beans and pasta with some tomatoes and herbs, but sometimes even the tomatoes are optional. I added the ground turkey, because I had that I needed to use up, but if you leave it out it would be a perfect Friday meal. I also added 1/4 cup or so of red wine after I stirred in the tomato paste and it really added to the flavor. It was a really delish and filling dinner. All of my finicky eaters gobbled it up.

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

I got this recipe from RealSimple, and it was quick and easy and really good. I have never cooked with leeks before, and I really liked the flavor they gave to the soup. In the magazine the recipe is actually called "Shrimp and Corn chowder with fennel," but I couldn't find fennel at the store, so I left it out. I also added a cup of chicken broth because it didn't seem to have enough liquid. It still turned out great.

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 leeks (white and light green parts), chopped

2 tbsp a.p. flour

1 8oz. bottle clam juice

3 cups milk

3-4 potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (I didn't bother to peel them)

3/4 lb. med. cooked peeled and deveined shrimp

1 10oz pkg. frozen corn

2 tbsp. parsley, chopped

1 lemon, squeezed

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over med. heat. Add the leeks and season with s&p and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender; stir in the flour

Add the clam juice, milk and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occastionally, for 12 minutes or so. Stir in the shrim and corn and cook until the potatoes are tender and the shrimp and corn are heated through, 3-5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice.

(Image and recipe courtesy of RealSimple.com)

T. G. I. Friday's Broccoli-Cheese Soup

I received a copy-cat cookbook from a lady at work for Christmas, and I couldn't wait to use it. My husband had been asking for a broccoli-cheese soup for about a month now. This one is super easy and quick! It's definitely a keeper in our house. YUM!

Ingredients
4 cups water
2 cups potato, peeled and diced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup diced onion
2-10oz. packages frozen chopped broccoli
2-10.75oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1 pound Velveeta, cubed

Directions
1. Combine the water, potato, bouillon cubes, onion and broccoli in a large heave saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until the potato and broccoli are tender.

2. Add the canned soup and the cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted and smooth. Simmer for 15 minutes; the soup should thicken.

Amazing Soup!

I wasn't going to post this recipe yet when I first tasted it. At first, I thought that I wanted to mess around with it a bit more, make it a bit better. But then I had three cups for lunch. And a bowl for breakfast. And it's the first thing I went for as a snack today. So I decided it must be pretty good as is. I got the recipe here. And the following is how I made it, pretty similar. If you like beans, this stuff is absolutely amazing. Dip a French baguette in it and you almost feel like you're treating yourself to Panera.

Pureed Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ cup bacon bits (the original calls for ham or bacon slices)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 – 1 1/2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili
pepper to taste
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes

2 - 14.5 oz cans black beans

Cook onion and bacon in small amount of oil. Add garlic, then water and bouillon cube (or broth) and spices. Puree tomatoes and beans in blender and add to soup. Bring to boil and simmer about 5 minutes. Serve with French bread. (I'm sure it'd be great with sour cream or cheese and tortilla chips as originally suggested.)

Next time I may try puree just 3/4 of the beans and smashing the rest to make it a bit thicker...or maybe I'll just put a little bit less water. Regardless it's delicious!!!!!!!!!

Tortilla Soup

This is from California Herb Cookery, which is the cookbook put out by The Ranch House in Ojai, CA. My husband worked there for a time, and it remains one of our favorite restaurants.

He's been missing this soup ever since we moved away, and although we've been back often, they never seem to be serving the soup on the evening we're having dinner there! So I've decided to finally give it a try, and surprise, surprise, it was easier than I'd feared. I assembled the soup during Eddie's morning nap, and, since he is afraid of the blender, I will have to blend it after Matt gets home and can play with the baby while I'm making horrifying noises in the kitchen. :)

Saute until clear:

2 onions, chopped fine
4 ounces butter
2 teaspoons garlic, minced.

In a separate pan, simmer until tender, not mushy:
6 zucchini, coarsely chopped
2 quarts chicken broth

Then add:
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
10 corn tortillas

Combine all the above ingredients and blend until smooth, adding:
Salt to taste
Hot sauce to desired zip.

Serve hot with;
Chopped tomatoes
Sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips

And it's a GREAT use for ALL. THAT. ZUCCHINI that people are giving away these days! :P

Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup

I was kind of looking for something new and I came across this great soup recipe on The Recipe Girl. This is a great and simple soup. I'm really starting to love fresh cilantro, so this was right up my alley. My husband even said this might have to become a regular meal for us. It has a little spice to it, but it's not too spicy. The good thing about this recipe is you can control the heat. The serving size is perfect for a small family, but it could easily be double if you have guests.

½ tsp ground cumin
One 15.5-ounce can navy beans, rinsed and drained
One 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes
One 14-ounce can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 whole chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, finely chopped**
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about ½ pound)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Partially mash tomatoes and beans with a potato masher. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in oil. Place 1¼ cups soup in each of four bowls. Top each serving with 2 Tablespoons sour cream and 1 Tablespoon cilantro.

Servings: 4

** I used 2 chiles and the soup just had a little heat, for me anyways. Next time I'm using 3 maybe 4. The can of chiles has at least 6 in it, so it's not like you're paying more for more heat.

New England Clam Chowder

INGREDIENTS:
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 cup half-and-half*
2 (6 ounce) cans minced clams; one drained, and one not
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I didn't do this)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels, reserving the bacon fat in the pan, crumble and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan with the bacon fat, saute the onion and potatoes until onions are tender and translucent. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well to coat.
3. Pour in the clam juice and the juice of one of the clam cans, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
4. In a separate small saucepan, make a roux by melting a 1/2 stick of butter and cooking the flour in it for about 5-7 minutes. Wisk the half-and-half in with the roux. Let it thinken, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the half-and-half roux mixture, minced clams and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish with the parsley and crumbled bacon.

*Instead of using half and half, I used heavy whipping cream, and it was really good.

Herbed Potato Soup

I got this recipe from all recipes. I think it's probably the best base recipe, you can build this up so much.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Place potatoes and water in a large saucepan; cook over medium heat until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, saute onion butter until tender.
3. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme, rosemary, and pepper. *
4. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.**
5. Add potatoes with cooking liquid; heat through.

SERVINGS: 5

*I cooked the flour for about 2 minutes before adding the liquid.

** I cooked this more than 2 minutes, basically until the potatoes were done (about 10 minutes).

Note: I added about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes with all the herbs. It gave it a little heat, but oh so good. I could also see putting cubbed precooked ham in as well.

Soup!

This is my first ever homemade beef soup. And it was the easiest meal I've ever made and quite tasty, too! Recipe from my Fix It and Forget It daily calendar.

Frances' Hearty Vegetable Soup

1 lb round steak, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes

3 cups water

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 onions, sliced

3 celery ribs, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 beef bouillon cubes

1/2 t dried basil

1/2 t dried oregano

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 1/2 cups frozen veggies of your choice (suggested: peas, green beans, and corn)

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high about 6 hours (I only did 4 hours on low - so obviously timing is variable).

2. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 2 more hours or until meat and veggies are tender (I cranked the heat up to high from low and cooked about 3-4 hours, I think).

Pumpkin

I decided to try some new pumpkin recipes to celebrate Fall. My friend Katy told me that Australians think Americans are weird because we tend to only eat pumpkin for dessert. I LOVE pumpkin pie, so I decided to try some other recipes...

Both were fantastic. I don't have a blender, so I couldn't do the last step of blending the soup. But it was still good.

Pumpkin Risotto
Preparation - 10 min | Cooking - 30 min | Yields - 6

Ingredients:

• 4 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 teaspoons MAGGI Instant Chicken Flavor Bouillon
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup (1.5 ounces) shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine water, wine and bouillon in large measuring cup; set aside.

Heat oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in rice; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and thyme.

Stir in 1 cup broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium; continue adding broth mixture, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more broth. Rice should be tender but firm to the bite and mixture should be creamy. This should take 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in cheese and butter until melted. Season with pepper.

Variation (I didn't do this): For Pumpkin Mushroom Risotto, add 4 cups (about 12 ounces) wild mushrooms (mixture of shiitake, oyster and crimini) with the onion and garlic and proceed with recipe.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Preparation - 10 min | Cooking - 25 min | Yields - 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
• 1 can (14 1/2 fluid ounces) chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) Evaporated Milk
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sugar; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft. Add broth, water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, evaporated milk and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer mixture to food processor or blender (in batches, if necessary); process until smooth. Return to saucepan. Serve warm.

More Vegetable From the Farmer Goodness

Matt and I tossed around the idea of getting a CSA box this year, but we either got lazy about signing up or just plain forgot, I don't remember which! It turns out to be a good thing, though, since we have several friends who are also "just us two" who DID sign up for boxes, and they ALWAYS have WAY too much stuff. Which they then give to us! :) We've been having fun roasting squash with butter and brown sugar, stuffing bell peppers with hummus, and, when at our wit's end with a pile of slightly tired veggies staring at us, making "wilted vegetable soup"!

I just turned off the burner under my latest creation: 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped, 1 onion, diced, 1 bunch "teenage" celery, chopped, all sauteed together in 2 tbs butter until onions are tender. Add a few pinches of flour, stir until veggies brown up a bit. Toss into 3 c. water and 3 c. veggie stock with 3 chopped carrots, a handful of chopped bok choy stalks, and a cup of brown rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally for a half an hour, or until rice is just tender. Turn off heat and add the rest of the bunch of spinach that didn't make it into salads, and VOILA: Wilted Vegetable Soup with Brown Rice! This one will go into the freezer for post-baby meals!

:)

Beef Vegetable Soup

After advertising my Beef Veggie Soup on my regular blog and getting a couple of requests for the recipe, here it is! (Seriously nothing special. Basically just a bunch of canned veggies in beef broth.)

These are approximate amounts of what I use when I make a regular pot for dinner and a few leftovers. If I want to make enough for dinner and a good amount to freeze, I "double" everything and omit the potatoes because potatoes don't freeze well.

-A couple cups of water in a big pot
-1 pkg. of stew meat (I cut mine into smaller chunks so it seems like it's more meat. I'm cheap.)
-a handful of baby carrots cut up into slices or chunks
-one small onion, or half of a big onion, chopped into small pieces
-a handful of potatoes, peeled and chopped into big pieces (Especially if you plan to simmer your soup all day, you want the potato chunks a little thicker, otherwise they will boil away.)

Get all that stuff chopped and in the pot while the water is starting to boil. Along with all those things I add
-a good helping of salt.

Now the canned stuff... (dump the whole can of everything--don't drain!)

-1 can of lima beans (half cans are cheaper and if you don't particularly like beans, that's the way to go.)
-1 can cut green beans
-1 can petite diced tomatoes (sometimes I use two cans because I like tomatoey soups, but I drain the second can.)
-1 can whole-kernel corn (sometimes I use only 2/3 or 1/2 the can)

Bring it all to a boil and add
-2 cubes of beef boullion.

I don't typically add spices to my veggie soups. I have some general Greek seasoning that I sometimes toss in, and I have some Tony's Creole seasoning that I used in this batch. But really, salt and pepper (I don't even always use pepper) are enough.

Get it boiling nicely, then simmer for some hours until the carrots and potatoes are soft.

The end!

SOUP!

I was craving soup on this cold and rainy day. We had a baked chicken last night, and I didn't know what to do with it. But, I threw some stuff together and made a great chicken tortilla soup for tonight. I don't know if the kids will eat it, heaven forbid stuff "mix" on their plate, but it is pretty darn tasty. Hope you all try it and like it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis (rotel)
1 10z can diced tomatoes
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
2 cans chicken broth (4 cups)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
10 oz. frozen sweet corn

Mix all ingredients in the crockpot and simmer all day. Crush up some tortilla chips and put in a bowl. Pour soup on top. Top with shredded mexican blend cheese and any other toppings you like.

My Introductory Post

I am so excited to be a new member here in the Barefoot Kitchen! With the weather here lately, I am MORE than happy to eschew shoes and socks while puttering around.
But I know that there are others out there still enjoying the winter weather, and maybe wouldn’t mind another soup recipe to keep them warm!

Potato Leek Soup, with Zucchini

Preparations:

Trim 2 leeks, slice the usable parts and wash them.
Slice 2 Stalks of Celery.
Wash, score (peel strips off of; don’t peel entirely) and slice 1 ½ pounds zucchini.
Wash, peel and slice 1 carrot.
Wash, peel and slice 1 potato.
Chop 2 tbs parsley
Prepare 2 chicken* stock cubes/packets in 3 ½ c. water

Assembly:

Heat 2 tbs margarine or butter or oil (your preference) in a non-stick saucepan. Add the vegetables, except the parsley, and stir fry. Cover pan and cook over medium for five minutes. Add the water/stock, and a dash or two of pepper, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in the parsley.

Allow to cool enough so that you can puree vegetables and liquid in a food processor. Return the puree to the saucepan, and add ½ c. plain yogurt**. Reheat gently, making sure not to boil.

Serve warm with a dash of cream.


I made this, along with two other creamy, veggie, nutritious soups, as a “Yay, you’re pregnant! (You must be starving, here, here’s some soup!)” gift for a friend. I allowed all three soups to cool completely, and then poured them into little canning jars (single servings! Convenient!) with pretty ribbon around them. Next, I’ll write out all three recipes on cute little cards and basket the whole thing up to deliver to her tomorrow!


(The Potato-Leek Soup is the one with the red ribbon. The others are Creamy Broccoli and Carrot Ginger.)







*Although this soup IS supposed to be served warm, I thought it might be kind of refreshing for me today as a chilled soup…and if I make it again this summer, to serve as a cold soup, I will use vegetable stock instead of the chicken, because cold soup made with chicken stock is a little…chicken-y. You know?

**Here’s where we get all substitute-y, because I forgot to buy plain yogurt: ½ c. sour cream went into MY batch!

Homemade Chicken Soup

My inner chef has been quite ambitious lately. It all started when I made Regis' roast chicken the other night. My friend Jamie told me to save the carcass and make chicken broth with it, which I've never done; I usually save the bones for awhile, never get around to making the broth, and then throw them out. So this time I decided to go for it. I used Ina Garten's recipe for chicken broth from one of her cookbooks, but scaled it down by two-thirds because hers called for three whole chickens, and I just had one.

So now I had all this broth. I've now made two big dinners and still have some leftover. Let me tell you, it is SO GOOD. It tastes amazing. Mom says it's because it's still got all the fat in it, which Swanson's takes out before they put it in a can. That may be, but I have to say it was worth the little bit of trouble it took to make this to get these results.

I decided to make Chicken soup, which seemed logical. I had all the stuff except the egg noodles,

and I was too lazy to go to the store, so I thought I'd try making some from scratch. Makes sense, right? It actually was pretty easy and it was really cheap. Here's the recipe I used:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2tbsp. milk

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Beat egg and milk in another little bowl or a measuring cup. Make a little well in the middle and pour in the egg and milk.

Stir until it becomes a stiff dough.

Roll it out onto a floured surface until it's really really thin. I read online somewhere that if it's too elastic-y you can let it rest for 20 minutes to relax the gluten.

Then, cut it into little strips. (I had trouble getting the dough to get thin enough, and I ended up pressing each noodle flat individually. I didn't make that many, so it didn't take too long to do this. I would stress that the thinner the noodle, the better.)

Let the noodles rest and dry on paper towels for about 45 minutes. Drop them in your simmering soup and allow them to cook for about 8-10 minutes. (I put the noodles in after my veggies had simmered and cooked, and before I put in the cooked chicken pieces.)

Here's the final product. It was quite delectable. Definitely worth the little bit of extra effort!

Potato Soup

I cannot believe that I haven't posted this recipe yet...I guess because when we started this blog it was too hot for soup. That is not the case today. As the snow continues to fall up here in Chicago-land, I deemed it the perfect day for soup. Especially this super simple, delicious soup from our childhood.

Potato Soup
6-7 Idaho potatoes, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3-4 buillion cubes, chicken or vegetable
1/2 stick butter
1 can evaporated milk
optional: cheese, bacon

1. Put first four ingredients in a slow cooker, fill with water until just covered. Place butter on top. Cook on low all day or until potatoes are tender. Add canned milk just before serving. Place in blender or food processor and puree. Top with grated cheese and/or bacon bits, if desired.

Recipe credit: my mom

This truly is a great slow cooker recipe for someone working outside the home because it really can cook all day, even 12 hours and it's still going to taste great!