Soup Season

I will be so sad when soup season is over this year.  I know the time is coming but, as I say that, Nashville is predicted to have an inch or so of snow in the next couple of days so maybe we have a little longer! 

Soups have been a saving grace in our house for the past few months because they're generally easy, provide lots of leftovers and are relatively healthy.  I love making a huge pot of soup on Sunday afternoon, knowing that it means I don't have to cook at least one other night during the week.    

We have a roster of a few favorites, like a spinach bisque recipe to mimic the soup at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, The Landmark, in my hometown of Galesburg.  Although the original recipe contains chicken base, we modified it to a vegetarian version that tastes almost as good.  We're always looking for new favorites to add to the list and this corn chowder was easy (especially for me as all I contributed was buying the ingredients; my mom did the cooking!) and tasty.  

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder 

(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

3 (15 ounce) cans cream-style corn 
3 (15.25 ounce) cans whole-kernel corn 
1 (16 ounce) package frozen diced hash brown potatoes 
2 tablespoons butter 
1 16 ounce package frozen mirepoix vegetables
2 red peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped  

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped  
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups low fat milk 

1. Pour cream-style corn and whole-kernel corn in a slow cooker set to Low; add hash browns and stir.
2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir all vegetables and peppers in the melted butter until all vegetables are tender, about 10  minutes. Stir vegetable mixture into slow cooker; top with half-and-half and milk.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 hours.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Healthy muffins are another staple in our house, not just for Sophie but for all of us.  Jason is a Vitamix smoothie chef extraordinaire, whipping up nutritious and delicious smoothies with frozen fruit, kale, spinach, almond milk and other treats almost every day.  Sometimes we need a little more substance and muffins usually do the trick.  

We made these coconut sunbutter muffins, adapted from Daily Garnish, on Sunday to last us through the week. Turns out, my pantry was not stocked like I thought it was, and I was out of coconut.  I added a small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead and the substitution seemed to work.  We're not gluten-free, so I also modified the recipe to replace the various GF flours with whole wheat flour.  They were really good!

The muffins turn green as they cool down because of the chemical reaction between baking soda and sunbutter, and that made for an interesting conversation with Sophie.  

Photo courtesy of Daily Garnish

My grandmother is still in the hospital and has had a lot of ups and downs this week.  She may not be able to move back to her memory care facility because of some setbacks, but it's still up in the air whether she can build back some of those things in a short-term skilled care setting or if it's time for her to move to a long-term care facility.  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers these past two weeks for her. 

If there are two people in the world who always make me smile, they're Sophie and Jason.  I have the best little family and I love them so.  Last weekend, we took Sophie to Radnor Lake to walk the Lake Trail, and she had the best time spotting chipmunks, squirrels, turkey, birds, ducks and more.  Every stage of her life has been fun and crazy, but I think two is my favorite so far.  She is hilarious and charming and maddening sometimes, and there's no one I would rather spend time with. 

Radnor Lake

I hope you have a great weekend with the ones you love!