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Things are pretty crazy around here right now as I'm sure it is everywhere else. Somewhere between schedules, fitness, and seasonal changes, I seem to have gotten lost and have little to no spare time. With cooler weather starting to roll in, the light changing, and the days getting shorter, I'm all the more ready for fall and the peace and comfort that comes with it. Bring it on.
What puts you more in the mood for fall than a nice warm bowl of soup? Not just any soup though, but cheesy wonderful soup! This broccoli cheese soup is comfort food at it's finest. It's so easy to toss together, tastes amazing, and is full of vegetables. That's right, full of vegetables...
Skinny Summer Jalapeño Corn Chowder (Crock Pot)
I know it's summer, and who could possibly want hot soup when it's 100 degrees outside... but, sometimes you just have to roll ahead with seasonal produce while you can. It's all about corn right now in central Texas, so I wanted to make something a little different that would stand out and make that corn shine.
This corn chowder actually reminds me quite a lot of a loaded baked potato soup, just with a lot less potato and a lot more sweet corn flavor. I got some red potatoes, jalapeño, and chives in my local produce box this week, plus I had some bacon stashed away in my fridge. All of those things instantly made me think to make my twist on on this corn soup...
Read MoreHealthified Spicy & Smoky Tomato Soup
It's sweltering here right now. I'm not quite sure how I've made it past the brutal Texas summers in the past, since this year is mild so far by comparison. Usually by now we're well into the 100's for many days in a row and you could literally fry and egg on the concrete. Even so, it's hot out. 90+ degrees lately and all the humidity you can stand. We actually had 100% humidity the other day. I think I'm officially growing gills this year due to the rains and humidity together.
Gills or no gills, I've officially banned the stove until late August or Early October.
Okay, okay, except for another birthday/party or two that I'll be making desserts for.
While the oven is out of commission until cooler weather arrives, my stove top, grill and crock pots have their work cut out for them. Even though it summer, I was really in the mood for some tomato soup; so I went to work coming up with a summer inspired variation of a winter staple in my home...
Read MoreSkinny Chicken Wonton Soup
It's time for another take-out fake-out!
I'm pretty obsessed with wonton soup. There's this place just a few blocks away from my house that has a killer one, and thankfully it's a chicken wonton soup. Oddly enough, I've found that it's sort of hard to find a chicken wonton soup as most wontons out there are stuffed with some sort of seafood or another, which just isn't my... cup of soup. Hah!
The thing is, over the past few years I've become increasingly skeptical of take-out and fast food. I tend to have a hard time eating things of which I'm not sure 100% what's it in or who's prepared it. This fear was ever more prevalent after our recent 6+ hour power outage which got me thinking... Do those places of through their refrigeration units like I do to toss out perishables in that situation? I sort of doubt it.
Either way, I wanted some chicken wonton soup this week and I'm not about to brave the take-out ventures for a good while yet. So what's a girl to do?...
Read MoreSkinny Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup
Oh, man - I've survived the great storm and flood of 2015 here in Austin! Not everyone was as fortunate as us. We had a 6+ hour power outage, multiple trees blown over, and several fences that were ripped apart by 70 mph straight-line winds here in my immediate neighborhood. At one point many places were evacuated to ground level central rooms, and I was ready to jump into the closet under my stairs with my grandmother and daughter at a seconds notice when we were under a tornado warning. Scary stuff!
Our wonderful lake is thriving off all the recent rain, which is one great thing that has come out of all this crazy weather here lately; going up from 37% full to 63% full!
Of course, as I was watching the weather on the news during the most recent storm, I was taking my mind off things as best I could by cooking. What goes better with a stormy day than a nice warm bowl of soup?...
Read MoreCrock Pot Irish Beef Stew & Cheddar Herb Dumplings
I'm an Irish girl, what can I say? If I can find an excuse to cook with bourbon and beer, I'll find it! The idea for this dish actually came from my love of St. Patrick's Day and also my love of these Healthified Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings, which I made a bit over a year ago and many many times since then.
I basically took the same structure of the Chicken & Dumpling recipe and made it into a hearty Irish inspired Beef & Dumpling recipe instead. This stew is packed full of bold flavor and lots and lots of chunky beef and vegetables. I promise, you won't feel like you're eating anything healthified, but you are. It's definitely a meal in a bowl.
Who knew that Beef & Dumplings would just as awesome as Chicken & Dumplings?
I wasn't sure this would work out, but in the end I'm extremely happy that I tempted the fates with this one...
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