Onion Potato Soup

I just couldn't go one more day without blogging. It's been since October.

OCTOBER.

Black Bean Cakes

Berry Cream Ice

I'm not really sure what to call this...

... all I know is that I love it. And it was one of those happy accidents that sometimes happen in the kitchen. 

Magical White Bean Soup Revisited

I mentioned this soup back in mid-November, but it's so good I think it deserves it's own page.

It's PHENOMENAL.

With just vegetables, a touch of oil, and white beans, it's flavorful, satisfying, vegan and gluten free, and did I mention that it's seriously yummy?

It's kicked up a few notches when you stir in a spoonful of home made vinaigrette and give it a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  You don't need to do much to it.  When we had friends over for dinner back in November, we had bowls of parmesan, prosciutto, and chopped rosemary as well as a little pitcher of vinaigrette on the table for everyone to top as they pleased.  It went over splendidly.

I found this recipe in the book Bread & Wine  
by Shauna Niequist.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  Not only is it a fabulous read, full of stories about life and love, family and friendship, almost every chapter has a killer recipe at the end.  Every single thing I've made from this book has been the best thing I've ever made.  

If you're looking for a hearty, delicious, feel-good meal, try this soup.  You will NOT be sorry.

Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Wraps

I don't know about you, but I overdid it yesterday.  Yep.

I made a lot of delicious food but I didn't take any pictures of it because I was excited to be with my family after a stressful week before Christmas.

My normally dependable schedule for preparing my church's Christmas Pageant was thrown out the window when I discovered that all of our angel costumes were missing.  I called my mom to come out and help me look because moms always seem to have super powers when it comes to finding stuff.  Nope.  They were totally gone.

I didn't panic because I knew I had bins of white sheets and fabric, an old pattern for the costumes we already had, and a pretty decent knowledge of sewing.  As with so many things involving kids and scheduling, it was not smooth sailing.  Even with a costume for each angel at rehearsal, we didn't have enough when it was show time, but luckily a light beige tunic made a great substitute.  The pageant went off with out any major glitches and the kids were adorable.  In the end, a good time was has by all.  Success!

When it came time to finally kick back with my family, I relaxed and enjoyed everything Christmas had to offer, including Santa's cookies, fresh blueberry muffins, and (for some reason) the cheese ball puffs that were set around the room in big bowls just begging to be thrown in the air and caught in your mouth.

Today, with my pants feeling a little tight and my energy a tad lower than usual, I am ready to get back on track.  I genuinely like eating healthy foods that taste good and make me feel good.

Lunch today was really simple.  Pulled from one of my favorite cookbooks, it's a simple sandwich idea that you can whip up in minutes.  It's light, flavorful, filling, and you feel good about eating it.

Tonight, I'm going to make a big ol' pot of Magical White Bean Soup.  Without any fixin's it's a delicious gluten-free and vegan soup that fills you up without letting you down.

Rosemary & Walnut Oven-Fried Chicken

It's always a weird experience to make something a few times and then go back to the recipe and find you've been doing it wrong, or have been missing a big step each time.  I'm having that experience right now, except that every time I have made this recipe it's been delicious!

This is a super busy time of year and like a lot of people, I like having recipes on hand that are totally delicious, crowd pleasing, easy, and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about.  This one is awesome.  

Yes, this is another recipe from Cooking Light Magazine.  More specifically, it's by a woman named Laraine Perri, who when googled turns up all kinds of delicious results from some pretty major publications.  I plan to really explore some of her recipes later because if this one dish can be so good when I leave out steps, I'm excited to see what else of hers I can cook incorrectly yet deliciously.