Simple Soup

Let's face it these days I am all about short cuts!  I need quick and easy meals without sacrificing nutrition.  Soups are a great way to eat healthy, and can be super quick.  I love soup...all kinds and varieties too!  I love making a good soup from scratch, but sometimes I need something that takes no thought and is put together for me.  I just LOVE soup starter kits!  A week or so ago I had purchased this Split Pea starter and decided I would make it tonight for dinner.  If you haven't used one before it contains all the seasonings and base ingredients you need for your soup.  This one called for an additional 3/4 cup cubed ham (I found this super lean and very yummy ham steak) and an onion diced.  All I had to do was rinse the split peas, add water to my soup pot, and begin boiling.  I hadn't made a split pea soup before and after a few minutes of boiling I had to skim the foam off of the top.  This utensil worked quite well for that! 

Once it was boiling all I had to do was add the seasoning and base packets, ham, onion and simmer!  Easy "peasy" (haha!).  It was very delicious, and something I could work in to my afternoon while looking after my little monkeys.  I have tried several different soup starters and this is another of our family favorites.  I actually started making this one when I was in college!      

So this got me to thinking...are there any quick starters or soup bases you like to use?  I would love for you to share! 

In a Pinch

I was baking some sweets for my sweet soldier the other day and found myself in a little bit of a pinch.  I had already baked one batch of Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (the recipe listed on the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter chips package...one of his favorites), and  ran out of vanilla.  I bake a lot and usually have extra in my cabinet, but I haven't exactly been on top of things lately.  I really wanted to bake a second batch of cookies...Ultimate Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies (a Paula Deen recipe I got from my boss when I worked at a scrapbook store our first year in Clarksville). 

What was I to do?  It was snowing outside and my sweet little guys were down for a nap.  I really didn't want to go next door either...so I used my trusty sidekick...the AMAZING IPhone!  I seriously don't know what I ever did without one!  Anyway, I found out that you can substitute maple syrup teaspoon for teaspoon for vanilla extract.  I was a little skeptical, but it totally worked and I really could not tell the difference.  I also ran into another issue...rock hard brown sugar.  I remembered that you can heat up hardened brown sugar in the microwave and it will soften.  It worked like a charm! 

So a doomed batch of cookies turned out very yummy in the end, and I have to say my perseverance and intuition had me feeling pretty FABULOUS!  I also just love how therapeutic cooking is for me.  I always feel so relaxed afterward.  Especially when I have good music playing in the background...I sort of get lost in what I am doing.  Such a good feeling these days when my days are so full.  Here is the recipe for Paula's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies, and I hope you'll remember these tips when you are in a pinch!

Paula's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

Taken from Paula Deen's "Chocolate Celebration"

1 1/2 c butter, softened

3/4 c sugar

1 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

4 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 8oz pkg toffee bits

1 12oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars.  Beat at medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Beat in Vanilla.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined.  Beat in toffee bits and chocolate chips.  Drop cookies by heaping tablespoons (I actually use a cookie scoop to ensure each cookie is the same size), about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1 or 2 minutes.  Remove to rack to cool completely.

Ready to send to my hubby in Afghanistan... I spruced my containers up a bit for Valentine's day.  I know he'll think they're fabulous! 

  

Here We Go

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to begin this new blogging endeavor!  This is something I have wanted to begin for quite some time now.  Although I am excited, it doesn't come without a bit of nervousness.  I have been planning and designing this blog for a couple of weeks now, trying to get up the nerve to write my first post and share.  I was so pumped when I began a few weeks ago, and then doubt began to set in.  What if no one reads it?  What if I sound stupid?  Can I really write things people want to read?  But...I decided to go for it!  What's it going to hurt, right?  So here we go! 

I am a self-proclaimed Martha Stewart.  I want to do it all, all the time.  I long to make every meal from scratch with fresh veggies and herbs from my garden, sew my own table linens, whip up some invitations and decorations, and host get togethers once a week.  But the reality is that this isn't possible.  I mean really?!  Does the woman ever sleep?  (Or have a life for that matter)  The truth is that we can't do everything.  We have to learn to do what we can when we can and learn to let things go.  This has been a big accomplishment for me this year.  With a deployed husband and brand new baby boys I have definitely learned to let things go (I have also discovered  A LOT of things about myself this year...but that's for another post).  Things are not always pretty around here and I am quite certain there are days that I have totally forgotten to brush my teeth.  It all works out because I do what I can when I can.  I've learned that I can still be fabulous even if I don't do everything.  I in no way, shape or form consider myself truly fabulous, but I sure wish I was.  I am no different than any other wife or mother out there simply wishing to do everything "right".  I have decided being fabulous is a state of mind, you are what you eat kind of thing.  Anyone can achieve fabulousness.

Now, I know I just criticized Martha for trying to do everything and I have to say...I'm a bit guilty of trying to do it all.  I dabble in just about anything related to the home and crafting.  This blog is mine, and so it will be just like me...all over the place.  Not in a bad way, but in the sense that I plan on sharing a whole host of random tidbits.  I hope to share household tips, recipes, encouragements, crafty projects, decorating projects and sometimes just my thoughts.  I hope you'll join in the fun as I strive to be Domestically Fabulous!