Okay, so I am a very seasonal cooker...salads, pastas, and lighter meals during the summer...and lots of soups, stews, and crock pot dishes during the winter...I must admit that I am so excited for the cooler weather so that I can start serving up soup!! Here are a few of the soup recipes that we have eaten regularly for a few years now...
Southwestern Chicken Soup1 12oz jar salsa Verde
3 cups cooked chicken pieces (rotisserie or leftovers work well)
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
2 green onions, chopped
Sour cream and tortilla chips if desired
Empty the salsa into a large saucepan. Cook 2 minutes over medium heat and then add chicken, beans, broth, cumin. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Top each bowl with green onions, sour cream, and chips.
I serve this with cornbread. I also add an additional can of beans to make it heartier.
Beef and Barley Soup
1 lb beef tenderloin roast ( I use whatever meat is on sale that week) cut into ¾ inch cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cups chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 TBSP minced garlic
6 cups beef stock/broth
½ cup tomato puree (or whatever tom. product you have on hand – puree, sauce, etc )
¼ dry red wine
1 tsp crushed thyme
Salt/pepper to taste
1 cup quick cooking barley
Fresh parsley and basil if desired
In a 4 quart pan, brown half of the meat in hot oil over medium high heat. Remove meat from pan. Add remaining meat, carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until meat is brown and onion is tender. Return all meat to pan.
Stir in beef stock, tomato puree, wine, thyme, salt, pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in barley. Reduce heat. Cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until meat/veggies are tender. Stir in parsley and basil.
The wine in this gives lots of flavor and its very filling. Hamburger Soup1 ½ lbs ground beef
2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
Salt/pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder to taste
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can condensed tomato soup
3 cups water
Beef bouillon (a cube)
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook until evenly browned. Drain and set aside.
Place potatoes in a layer to cover the bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle celery over potatoes. Cover with ground beef. Add remaining veggies and seasonings. Mix together the soup, water, and bouillon and pour over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
I may have posted this one before...not sure....but its really good and manly!!
I love to try some of your favorite soup recipes as well!
The church where the kids go to school had their fall festival / trunk or treat this afternoon. Brent was out of town so I surprised the kids and took them when they woke up from naps. (I hadn't mentioned it to them earlier in case I was too worn out to take them or in case they napped really long...) Avery was really excited because she remembers Halloween from last year but Griffin didn't get excited until the word CANDY was mentioned!!! He definitely inherited my sweet tooth!
spiderman and cinderella
in griffin's words, "this is Bwyce - he's my best fwiend."
Griffin loved his costume. He pointed to the puffy part and told me "here's my bones!" I told them they aren't bones, they are his muscles....so he flexed for everyone he saw!
here are some of our friends that we met there...
It was very much like an old-school fall festival - bean bag toss, cake walk, bounce house, "fishing game," face painting, etc. The kids enjoyed their time and I was thrilled to have them occupied all afternoon!
of course, there were 3 
just getting started
dirt + water = griffin heaven
pure joy!
look at this rock!
mommy and sissy
avery and katelyn burying themselves in corn!
love this pic of griffin - he is always such the observer.
my littlest man!
