September Means Soup

One of the wonderful things about the return of Fall is adding homemade soup back into my menus. Even though it is still in the 80s and 90s here in Southern Indiana, my tastebuds are ready for heart, healthy soups.  So last night I made one of my new favorites from this TOH cookbook.  I love Comfort Food and I love healthy food.  Win-Win!

I tried this recipe a few weeks ago and my somewhat picky 14 year old son, gobbled it down. It was a winner! 

See the '5' I gave the recipe in the margin?  I rate new recipes and books that I read with a 1-5 with 5 being a definite make again or read again.  :) This recipe is simple and fairly quick.  You can't see the last couple of sentences of the directions, so I'll give them to you here.  You mix the flour and the remaining cup of milk into a smooth consistency and add to the soup, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes to thicken.  Then add the cheese and let it melt.  Done!
I used frozen broccoli, fresh carrots, onions, and celery, and a can of little whole potatoes that I sliced (add canned potatoes near the end since they are pre-cooked).  I used grated cheddar cheese instead of Velveeta.  This recipe is very versatile...use what you have.  And a bonus...it is meatless, yet still hearty!  

Makes about 6 large bowls of soup.  It fed the three of us (2nds for my husband) and will be a lunch for 2 out of the leftovers.

I added a cucumber-feta cheese salad and a whole grain roll.  Dinner is done!

I got this cookbook on Amazon, slightly used.  Highly recommend.  Lots of photos and we've really enjoyed every recipe I've made from here!

Happy September!

Blessings,
Donna

Linked To:  2805, My Romantic Home, At the Picket Fence,

Slow Cooker Soup, Homemade Bread, and Grandma's Spice Tins

Thursday was a chilly day and I had to work that afternoon. So I decided to put Slow Cooker Tomato Soup in the crockpot for dinner. It's a Weight Watcher's recipe and is 0 points! I layered in fresh spinach leaves, 2 sliced carrots, 2 celery stems sliced, 28 ounces of stewed tomatoes that I gave a whirl to in the blender first, 4 cups of chicken broth, a chopped onion, and some basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Set it on high for about 5 hours.Of course homemade soup begs to be accompanied by homemade bread. Oh how I L O V E homemade bread. Today's bread du jour was French Bread with a cup of whole wheat flour added for nutrition. I make the dough in my bread maker, then divide it into 3 cute little artisan loaves to rise and bake in the oven.
And here are the warm little cuties...I take a stick of butter and rub over the hot crust just til the crust is soft and buttery. And since there were 3 loaves, I wrapped up 1 loaf to give to a neighbor I had not yet met on our street.
The soup smelled like Italian goodness when we walked in the door after work. Even my 12 year old son ate it cheerfully and said it was 'not too bad.' THAT'S a complement about homemade soup from a 12 year old boy. : ) We ate the leftovers today, but I added 1/2 pound of ground beef and it was even tastier. Plus more filling.
In other news, autumn seems to have arrived in the past week here in Indiana. Yippee! We even finally had some rain on Friday. So needed. So I've started to decorate for fall just a bit. This past weekend I inherited my sweet Grandma's antique spice tins and bottles. So here are some of them on my sweet little window-ledge-scape in the kitchen.
And I put the others here on my oak china hutch by my vintage Betty Crocker cookbook. I love all things vintage and really think I should have been born in the '30s. :)
So that is what is happening at my house lately...what about yours? Enjoy your weekend!