Featured Foodie Friday: My Naturally Frugal Family
I don’t know about you, but here in Colorado it has been snowy, snowy, snowy. This past Tuesday was in the negatives in Boulder! With winter in full effect, I find myself constantly wanting soup. If this is how you feel as well, you are in luck! This week we have Rachel from My Naturally Frugal Family guest posting with us. She has a delicious, simple soup that you can whip up quickly for those cold nights. With that, please welcome Rachel:
Vegetable Noodle Soup from My Naturally Frugal Family
Zucchini Pepper-Jack Cheese Soup
BRR!! I never thought I would see the day that I would want to get away from the cold. This snow in Boulder has dropped the temperature in my house to below 60 and I am freezing! If you are feeling the cold of the winter coming, this is the perfect recipe for you. I saw a recipe for zucchini cheese soup a while back on Cinnamon Girl Recipes and was so excited to find another clever way to use up my zucchini.
Roasted Peach & Tomato Gazpacho
For those of you who don’t know, I am currently in a small town in Southern Italy called Spongano. I am taking classes at a cooking school in a CASTLE! The weather has been great and the food has been delicious. I will be posting a couple of things about my trip soon, but for now I want to share this delicious gazpacho recipe that I made before I left.
Zucchini & Eggplant Stew
I feel like I need to apologize for this post if you don’t like zucchini or eggplant, but I just can’t seem to use it all up! It is seriously like the magical vegetable combination that just keeps returning after you take it out of your fridge. If you have partial zucchinis and eggplants leftover from other dishes, this is a great way to put them to use and eliminate wasting them. Once again, please bear with me; I have felt like I have eaten zucchini and/or eggplant for every meal (even at work!) for the last month!
Sun-Dried Tomato, Flank Steak & White Bean Stew
I feel the need to start this post by saying that this was supposed to be a recipe for Mexican Posole. Of course, I had a bit of trouble with the one ingredient needed to make an actual posole- the hominy. I have heard many people say that they usually used canned hominy, but I decided to use dry hominy since that was what was in the pantry. Recalling my artichoke disaster, I am noticing a trend that apparently canned food works better for a lot of things. Luckily, I had a feeling the dry hominy would take a long time to cook and decided to cook it separately, rather than cooking it in the stew. I must have refilled the pot with water at least four times, but the hominy still wasn’t getting soft. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I had to improvise from there. I decided that white kidney beans would be a good substitute for the hominy, since they kind of have a similar texture.
Throwback Thursday: Green Chile Chicken Corn Chowder
The title of this Throwback Thursday recipe may have some of your running for the door because it is a soup. Also, I know it may be hot where some of you are, but that doesn’t mean you have to cut out hot food! I know you will have a chilly night when you are craving a delicious soup and this recipe is going to hit the spot. It is a spicy, cheesy chicken corn chowder that is just the kind of heat you want in the summer time.
This soup is packed with green chiles, red peppers, onion, cheese, chicken and potatoes. If you are not one for spicy food you can simply just leave out the green chiles and cayenne pepper. This soup goes perfectly with the Ciabatta Bread from last Thursday’s throwback recipe. Dig in!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Potatoes have been one of my favorites since I can remember. They were also my first “vegetable”. I also love how versatile potatoes are. You can really put whatever you want into your potatoes and they will, most likely, still be good.
I know that it may not be cold where most of you are, unless you are in Colorado I hear it is still snowing!, but I would suggest turning up your AC and still making this soup because it is just too delicious not to. If you have never had a loaded baked potato soup before, you need to. It is all of the goodness of a baked potato made into a creamy and delicious soup.
Throwback Thursday: Wonton Soup
There are a few classic things that I feel like every cook needs to try at some point, even if you just cook at home for fun. Wontons are one of those things. I personally think they are kind of a hassle, but they are a good thing to know how to make and will expand your culinary skills. This week’s throwback recipe is from the first time I ever made wontons, for a wonton soup.
This soup is light and healthy. It is great if you are feeling a bit under the weather or if you simply want a refreshing lunch on a cold day. The fried wontons give the soup a nice crunch if fried properly. I usually struggle with frying things since I don’t have a thermometer and don’t fry things that often. It’s important to fry the wontons at the right temperature or else they will burn (too hot) or get soggy (too cool). Enjoy!
Throwback Thursday: French Onion Cheesesteak Sandwich
I am a huge fan of French onion soup. I love making it homemade because it is so easy, plus I think mine tastes better than most bought ones. This week’s throwback recipe is one of my random creations, there might already be a recipe for this but I thought I was pretty dang smart for creating this.
One day, after a long day of snowboarding, I was craving French onion soup but I was starving and wanted more substance to it. I came up with this French-Philly hybrid sandwich. It was absolutely delicious, but super messy! You will definitely want napkins handy while eating this bad boy.
On a side note, I am leaving for South Africa today!! I am going to still try to post recipes that I made before I left, but they might not be as frequent. I am also going to have a few foodie friends post guest posts to help satisfy your cravings while I am gone. Also, keep an eye out for posts about my food adventures in Cape Town; I heard you can eat alligator there!
Creamy Garlic Seafood Soup
The second I thought spring had arrived, we got a huge snow storm. I guess that’s Colorado for you… With the cold weather back, I decided to make another new soup. Once again, Cooking Light magazine has provided me with another delicious recipe. I love avocado, but I had never thought of putting it in my soup before! Using skim milk in this recipe makes it healthier, but you can always use heavy whipping cream if you prefer… see I can do comfort food and healthy at the same time! 😉
