Hello blog world! I can't believe how long our break turned out to be. I got married in November to Sheena's brother and have been working hard to create our new home together. Sheena also mentioned in her last post that she is expecting. There are so many exciting things happening in our family!

This is a simple recipe that I love. It originally came from my Mother-in-Law on a family vacation. I decided to make it today because I needed a break from dinners that messed up my whole kitchen. I also needed to use up some V-8 juice in my quest to use up stuff in our house.

Taco Soup

1 Pound Ground Beef
1 Onion, chopped
2 Quarts of Tomato Juice
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
1 Can Corn
1 Can Kidney Beans
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I usually don't use all of this since there is so much salt in the taco seasoning)
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

Brown the ground beef and onion. Add cooked meat and onion mixture to your crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients to crock pot, turn to low, and let sit until warm about 4 hours.

Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Yes that was easy :)

I saw this post last week on Picky Palate for Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup. I had planned to make pulled pork sandwiches for dinner on Sunday night but this soup kept tugging at my mind. I finally gave in and left the pork in the freezer so I could make a big batch of soup for my husband and I. All I have to say is WOW!

The soup was so good and tasted amazingly fresh. We especially loved the cilantro. I know there are many people, including my Dad, who don't care for cilantro but in this recipe it just added so much.

I am sorry to say that I didn't take a picture of it but if you visit the link above there is a nice picture that is much better than anything I could have taken.

Put this in your menu plan and you will not be disappointed.

I have had Chicken Noodle Soup on my menu plan for weeks now! Tonight I finally made it for dinner. I feel proud of myself for getting to it for once. What accomplishment! This recipe comes from Swanson. I tore it out of Family Circle back in October 2008. I make it more often than most of my recipes because it is a nice comfort food that is good for you. Tonight I made my own noodles to put in it which I don't normally do. They were a little thick so next time I need to roll them thinner. It was good though. A nice end to a busy day.

Swanson Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Onion Soup
2 Cups Roasted Chicken Cut into Strips
2 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
8 Cups Chicken Broth
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper (I used quite a bit more than this but we love pepper in soup)
2 Medium Carrots, sliced
2 Stalks Celery, sliced (left this out because I didn't have any on hand)
3/4 Cups Uncooked Pasta

Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to brown stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until the onions are tender and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Remove the skillet from the heat.


Heat the broth, black pepper, carrots and celery in a 4 quart saucepan over medium high heat to a boil. Stir the pasta and chicken in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the onions and serve immediately.


This is me making pasta. Do you ever make pasta from scratch?? Do you have a great recipe I should try? This recipe was from Bob's Red Mill.

We made it back from our weekend trip today both feeling like we needed a detox meal after all the junk we ate on vacation. To start with, our hotel offered free breakfast and free cookies in the evening. Who can pass up warm chocolate chip cookies? Not me that is for sure.

Anyway back to the topic of tonight our detox dinner. What I decided to make was a version of Minestrone soup from a recipe that I tore out of the Oregonian February 27, 2007. I have never made it before which means it has been sitting around waiting to be made for over 2 years! It was time.

All I can say is this is a keeper! So very very good and light.

Minestrone (adapted to what I had in my fridge)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Medium onion
8 Baby carrots, thinly sliced
1 Green pepper, diced
2 Cloves garlic minced
1 Medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pieces
1 Teaspoon dried basil
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
6 Cups beef broth
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 19 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 Ounces small pasta
Grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, pepper, and garlic. Cook stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in zucchini and basil.

Add tomatoes and their juice and broth to cover vegetables by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender and soup has thickened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in beans and pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls. Garnish with cheese and eat!