SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!

There was a time in my life - not so long ago either - when a SNOW DAY ruined me.  

Today, the call came in that the schools would have an early dismissal.  

I was actually EXCITED and JOYful!  No after school activities taxiing kids around to coordinate, all evening classes canceled (and I let that go because it usually bothers me to cancel classes) and it didn't freak me out that the pigs kids were coming home.

WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!??????

Yes - the "smart device" has become my new BFF.  

You see - the 3 little pigs each have a version of one now.    And they spend a LOT of quiet time with their noses stuck in them.  Reminiscent of the Gameboy era some of you may recall a bit ago...

So call me Bad Mom?  I don't give a crap.  Call me anything you want.  I-do-not-care.  I LOVE the quiet of the smart device!!!!  My kids are happy, I'm happy, no one is yelling, the snow is softly falling, the house is cozy with the fire blazing and the smell of not one but TWO soups simmering on the stove.  Soon, the Hub will be home and we will curl up in front of the fire for a little catch up on Dexter and Downton.  LOL- kind of an oxymoran if you know both those shows...  Hey - a little yin and yang in your life is good.

Speaking of soup, here's what I made today.

I have this great soup recipe that I love, but turns out I did not have zucchini or chick peas in the house.  So I modified.  It's delicious and you need to try it!  Here's the original recipe.  Great stuff if you have all the ingredients.  Try it either way!

Vegetable and Bean Soup with Pesto

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans (ceci or chick peas)
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, cannellini, drained
6 cups chicken stock, available in paper containers on soup aisle
1 cup small, thin egg noodles for soup, any brand
1 box frozen chopped green beans

Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add onion, potato and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 or 6 minutes alone, stirring frequently, then add the canned beans and the chicken stock. Cover the pot and bring the soup up to a boil.

When the soup is at a boil, remove the lid. Stir in the noodles and green beans and reduce heat to low. Simmer soup an additional 5 to 6 minutes then remove it from the heat.
Scrape the pesto into a small bowl. Add a ladle of the soup broth to thin the pesto, then add the pesto to the soup. Stir to combine and serve soup immediately.

Only I changed it up by replacing the zucchini with cabbage chopped fine and replaced the chick peas with organic kale chopped in tiny bits.  I added a whole jalapeno pepper practically pulverized, with my handy dandy Pampered Chef chopper that I ADORE and I omitted the noodles.  DELISH!

I also was texting with my client and friend Kathy who I am food coaching and she asked me if she could have cream of tomato soup today.  I told her yes but hopefully not Campbells!  She told me she could do a quickie homemade.  Perfect.  Now gimmee the recipe!!!  

And she kind of did.  Well actually, she made it up on the fly but I made it and it's yummy.  I too, modified again and love it!






Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup

1 onion diced fine
olive oil
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, roughly pureed in the blender
4 cups of chicken broth (I use Better Than Broth Organic paste)
1-2 cups of Raw milk

I sauteed the onion in the oil.  Added the tomatoes and broth, salt and pepper to taste.  Brought it to a boil.  Turned it off and added the raw milk.  YUM!  I think I will add some frozen peas just before I serve it.

So there you have it.  A cozy SNOW DAY at my house.  I am off to catch JOY in front of the fire reading my latest book, The Forgotten by David Balducci.  It's really caught my attention.  Love that!  

Happy SNOW!