I will feature an inexpensive, kid-friendly, & healthy meal that my family enjoyed during the week here on this page. Enjoy!
Baked Potato and Leek Soup
Creamy, cheesy, hearty, veggie packed, restaurant worthy meal in a bowl. But sooooo NOT figure friendly. I'm sure you could make slimmer variations with skim milk and fat-free stuff, but it probably won't taste as good as this one! Potato soup is my all-time favorite and this recipe is the best one I've made. It is super easy and perfect for cold snowy days.
~ingredients~
~preparation~
Heat oven to 350* and bake the potatoes for 1 hr
While the poatoes bake, prep all veggies and other ingredients
When the potatoes are done, rough chop leaving their skins on and set aside.
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot or Dutch oven with a little vegetable oil.
Turn heat to medium high
Add all diced veggies (except potatoes) and Salt & Pepper & the Thyme, and stir occasionally until just softened
Remove veggies from pot and set aside.
Cook the bacon in the pot
Drain on paper towels and crumble and set aside.
Add flour and make a roue
Whisk in milk slowly until all flour is dissolved and the liquid is thick
Season with Salt and Pepper
Add shredded cheese and stir until melted
Add sour cream and chicken stock and mix well
Return veggies to the pot along with the rough chopped baked potatoes and the crumbled bacon
and stir.
Let simmer on low until ready to serve.
Top with reserved scallions, bacon, and shredded cheese (optional)
Serve with crusty bread or a multi-grain flatbread like in my picture.
Ham & Bean Soup with Cheesy Cornbread
Traditional Ham & Bean soup with a side of sweet and cheesy corn bread is one of my all time favorite meals. It is super easy and perfect for cold snowy days. The ham we got ofr Christmas did not have a bone so this recipe is for the boneless ham. This makes a TON so have your large stock pot ready. While I was making it Ryan kept sniffing and saying how good it smelled. Then he kept asking if it was done yet. The best part is the kids LOVED it!
~ingredients~
~preparation~
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with a little vegetable oil.
Turn heat to medium high
Add diced carrots, celery, onions, garlic and stir occasionally until just softened
Add a few dashes of Salt and Pepper and the Thyme, stir
Add the diced ham and beans, stir
Add the stock and as much water as you need to fill the pot as much as you'd like
Once it come up to a boil, Reduce heat and simmer until the cornbread is ready.
Cheesy Cornbread
Baked Potato and Leek Soup
Creamy, cheesy, hearty, veggie packed, restaurant worthy meal in a bowl. But sooooo NOT figure friendly. I'm sure you could make slimmer variations with skim milk and fat-free stuff, but it probably won't taste as good as this one! Potato soup is my all-time favorite and this recipe is the best one I've made. It is super easy and perfect for cold snowy days.
~ingredients~
10 medium Potatoes (baked for 1 hr. at 350* and then rough chopped with skins on - do this first and bake while prepping all the other veggies and start to cook the soup)
1 large Carrot, peeled and shredded
1 stalk of Celery, diced
1/2 large Mayan/Sweet Onion, diced
2 Scallions, diced (Reserve a small amount for topping)
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
3 large Leeks, sliced (slice first then rinse in a bowl to wash away the sand, leeks float and sand sinks, drain/dry on paper towels)
Salt & Pepper
A tablespoon of dried crushed Thyme (I eyeball this by pouring some in my palm and crushing it)
1 lb of Bacon (Reserve a small amount for topping)
4 tbsp of Butter
1/4 cup Flour
4 cups Milk
1 container Sour Cream
1 bag of shredded Cheese (I used Sargento's Double Cheddar) (Reserve a small amount for topping)
1 Box of Chicken Stock or Broth
1 large Carrot, peeled and shredded
1 stalk of Celery, diced
1/2 large Mayan/Sweet Onion, diced
2 Scallions, diced (Reserve a small amount for topping)
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
3 large Leeks, sliced (slice first then rinse in a bowl to wash away the sand, leeks float and sand sinks, drain/dry on paper towels)
Salt & Pepper
A tablespoon of dried crushed Thyme (I eyeball this by pouring some in my palm and crushing it)
1 lb of Bacon (Reserve a small amount for topping)
4 tbsp of Butter
1/4 cup Flour
4 cups Milk
1 container Sour Cream
1 bag of shredded Cheese (I used Sargento's Double Cheddar) (Reserve a small amount for topping)
1 Box of Chicken Stock or Broth
~preparation~
Heat oven to 350* and bake the potatoes for 1 hr
While the poatoes bake, prep all veggies and other ingredients
When the potatoes are done, rough chop leaving their skins on and set aside.
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot or Dutch oven with a little vegetable oil.
Turn heat to medium high
Add all diced veggies (except potatoes) and Salt & Pepper & the Thyme, and stir occasionally until just softened
Remove veggies from pot and set aside.
Cook the bacon in the pot
Drain on paper towels and crumble and set aside.
Drain most of the grease but leave the browned bits
Add butter and melt, scrapping up the bits from the bottom of the panAdd flour and make a roue
Whisk in milk slowly until all flour is dissolved and the liquid is thick
Season with Salt and Pepper
Add shredded cheese and stir until melted
Add sour cream and chicken stock and mix well
Return veggies to the pot along with the rough chopped baked potatoes and the crumbled bacon
and stir.
Let simmer on low until ready to serve.
Top with reserved scallions, bacon, and shredded cheese (optional)
Serve with crusty bread or a multi-grain flatbread like in my picture.
Ham & Bean Soup with Cheesy Cornbread
Traditional Ham & Bean soup with a side of sweet and cheesy corn bread is one of my all time favorite meals. It is super easy and perfect for cold snowy days. The ham we got ofr Christmas did not have a bone so this recipe is for the boneless ham. This makes a TON so have your large stock pot ready. While I was making it Ryan kept sniffing and saying how good it smelled. Then he kept asking if it was done yet. The best part is the kids LOVED it!
~ingredients~
Ham & Bean Soup
4 large Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large Mayan/Sweet Onion, diced
4 large Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large Mayan/Sweet Onion, diced
3 Pieces of Celery + all the tender leafy center pieces, diced (the leafy centers add tons of flavor)
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
A tablespoon of dried crushed Thyme (I eyeball this by pouring some in my palm and crushing it)
4 cups of diced ham (I diced & froze the leftovers from Christmas then thawed the night before I made this)
3-4 can of Cannellini Beans, rinsed
1-2 Boxes of Chicken Stock or Broth
4-8 Cups of Water
Salt & Pepper
A tablespoon of dried crushed Thyme (I eyeball this by pouring some in my palm and crushing it)
4 cups of diced ham (I diced & froze the leftovers from Christmas then thawed the night before I made this)
3-4 can of Cannellini Beans, rinsed
1-2 Boxes of Chicken Stock or Broth
4-8 Cups of Water
~preparation~
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with a little vegetable oil.
Turn heat to medium high
Add diced carrots, celery, onions, garlic and stir occasionally until just softened
Add a few dashes of Salt and Pepper and the Thyme, stir
Add the diced ham and beans, stir
Add the stock and as much water as you need to fill the pot as much as you'd like
Once it come up to a boil, Reduce heat and simmer until the cornbread is ready.
Cheesy Cornbread
3 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread mix
3 Eggs
1 cup of Milk
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of shredded cheese
Butter (optional topping)
~preparation~
Preheat oven to 400*
Grease the bottoms and sides of a cake pan or muffin tins
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until just incorporated and moistened.
Pour the mix into the pan and top with shredded cheese
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
Top with butter
Big Daddy's Turkey Noodle Soup
This recipe is courtesy of Big Daddy who made this for lunch today. He does not typically cook (ever) so I was quite impressed. This was perfect to get rid of some of our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. And the kids LOVED it!
~ingredients~
4 Cups of Water
~preparation~
In a large saucepan, boil the water and add the soup mix along with all of the other ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer until warmed. Insanely easy.
~enjoy~
Mom's Fried Zucchini & Onions
This recipe is courtesy of Big Daddy who made this for lunch today. He does not typically cook (ever) so I was quite impressed. This was perfect to get rid of some of our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. And the kids LOVED it!
~ingredients~
4 Cups of Water
2 package of Lipton Noodle Os instant soup mix
2 Cups of Chopped Turkey
1 small box of frozen peas
Dash of Garlic Powder & Pepper
~preparation~
In a large saucepan, boil the water and add the soup mix along with all of the other ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer until warmed. Insanely easy.
~ingredients~
Vegetable Oil - enough to coat the bottom of the pan
1 large sweet onion, sliced in thick rings
1 large Zucchini sliced about 1/8" thick rounds
2-4 eggs
1/2-1 cup of flour
Salt & Pepper
~preparation~
Slice Veggies
Crack & beat eggs in a bowl (I like to use pie plates for this)
Add Flour seasoned heavily with salt & pepper to another bowl
Put a layer of paper towels on a plate
In a large, heavy bottomed pan, pour in the oil to about 1/8"- 1/4" deep & heat on medium high to high
Make a line of "stations" near your stove in this order: Veggies, Egg wash bowl with a fork, Flour bowl with a fork, Pan on burner with a turner, Paper towel lined plate (make sure you don't get this plate too close to the burner of you will have a fire on your hands!)
Be sure to have a wet towel or your sink and a dry towel at the ready because your fingers are gonna get gunked up!
Dip a handful of veggies into the egg wash, then coat with flour and add to the hot oil.
Fry until golden brown on each side then place on the paper towel lined plate to soak up any extra oil
You will have to do this in batches as you don't want to overcrowd your pan
You may need to add more oil occasionally and you may need to adjust the heat accordingly
Repeat until all veggies are cooked
My mom & I enjoy our platefuls of these crispy/soft & breaded veggies with a good amount of ketchup!
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