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I Wouldn’t Mind Having This Soup 3 Times A Week

When I was little, I remember my parents teaching us that it’s the simple things in life that really matter.

Whether it was about a day trip in the summer, or an ordinary meal at home, they wanted us to be grateful for what we had instead of wanting to have something bigger, better or more expensive. Come to think of it, everyone in our large family were the same way. No matter what kind of jobs they had, or if they were able to live in a big house, or were driving a high-end car, everyone always remembered where they came from and what it took for them to get where they were now.

Whenever we had a get-together with all the aunts, uncles and cousins, it would be a potluck type of thing. And there were no fancy meals! It was all home-cooked, plain and simple ingredients, and absolutely delicious. We were all genuinely excited about all the familiar dishes that our grandmother used to make for us. Really, just the simple things and all the memories that came along with them.

For some reason, the pure simplicity of this butternut squash soup made me think of all that again.

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Quick Tip: Use low-sodium chicken stock for a healthier option.

Oatmeal Is So Last Season!

You know what I love most about working from home? Breakfast. I feel very lucky because I usually have time to enjoy a peaceful breakfast instead of rushing out the door with just a cup of coffee in my hand.

I used to be that person who had to get up at times that most people would consider “the middle of the night”. I’d jump out of bed, make the coffee, brush my teeth and possibly grab and apple that I would later on eat in the car. I never had time for breakfast because I had such a long commute, and I wanted to spend the extra 30 minutes sleeping instead of rushing around in the kitchen.

Now that I do get to enjoy breakfast, I try to make it special for my family, too. My husband used to be the one who had to take care of the kids’ morning routines, so it wasn’t exactly a serene time of day for him, either…

These days I get up early, willingly, and try to come up with new breakfast ideas every day. Sometimes it’s homemade granola, sometimes a fruit salad, but the whole family enjoys breakfast casseroles the most. This recipe is one of our favorites!

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Quick Tip: Halve the ingredients if you’re making this for a crowd.

This chowder will cure all the worries in the world.

We have a friend who has made it his life’s mission to never miss a barbecue day during the summer. That means he wants to make every single summer dinner outside, on the grill, rain or shine.

There’s nothing wrong with that and I really admire his dedication, but I have to say I probably wouldn’t be able to do the same. I just can’t make myself stand by the grill if it rains, and that’s why I always have a “Plan B” for dinner, just in case.

We’ve had surprisingly many rainy days this summer, where I live, so I’ve been going through my rainy day recipe box a lot lately. It’s filled with soups, stews, crock pot meals and other things that make you will warm and cozy, when it’s thundering outside.

I wonder if anyone else has collected recipes for this purpose, or if I’m the only one? Anyway, this is the recipe I chose from that box earlier this week. It turned out amazing!

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Quick Tip: This recipe makes 8, 1-cup, servings.

These savory flavors will make your mouth water.

My father was very old-school when it came to food. He didn’t think much of all the modern dishes, let alone exotic flavors from different cultures.

Instead, he was a big fan of everything you could describe old-fashioned, comforting, Southern and familiar. And I completely understand why. It’s these dishes that brought up so many of us – they’re filled with flavors of home and love, they’re easy to make and will not break the bank if you happen to be saving your money for something special.

This fried cabbage meal was once of my Dad’s all-time favorites. I swear, he could have eaten this seven days a week and still crave for it the next day! This is what my mother always made when he had had a rough day at work, and it always made him smile.

I’m so glad my children have grown to love this dish, too. It is one of our dinner rotation staples, and I’d like to keep it that way! Will this fried cabbage meal be in your dinner rotation, too?

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Quick Tip: Omit the tomatoes, if preferred.

For All You Pasta Lovers Out There – This Stuff Is To Die For

A friend of mine tried a low-carb diet for a while. She lasted for about a week and then she said she would never do anything that silly again.

She didn’t mean the diet was silly, but she said she should have known from the beginning she would never be able to live without carbs. For her it wasn’t about bread – she told me she could probably go on for a whole year without even having one slice. But she couldn’t bare the thought of not eating pasta for weeks.

I knew exactly what she was talking about… I love pasta and I am pretty much making a pasta dish every other day. I do understand the health benefits of eating less carbs, but what can I say? It is just too good!

This Italian chicken pasta is one of my new favorites. I tried it for the first time last week, and I’m already making it again tonight. This time I’m choosing wisely and using low-fat cream cheese. Yum! I can’t wait for dinner!

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Quick Tip: Use your favorite pasta noodles for this!

If This Doesn’t Make You Go For Seconds, There’s Something Wrong With Your Taste Buds

My sister has a big garden – well, some might even call it gigantic. She and her family love growing their own vegetables but at some point they got a little carried away! Before we knew it they were growing enough veggies for all their loved ones, too, and after a while they started selling some of the excess to friends and neighbors. It is a win-win situation for everyone; they really love what they’re doing, they get a bit of extra income for it – and the rest of us get to enjoy super scrumptious veggies!

You really can tell the difference between high quality, homegrown vegetables and the overproduced ones you get from the grocery store. My picky eaters wouldn’t eat anything with veggies, but when my sister started bringing them in, everything changed.

We really enjoy making vegetables dishes now! This veggie casserole is one of our favorites. It’s actually a side dish but it’s so tasty that we often serve it as the main dish! I guarantee your whole family will love this casserole and it will become a staple in your dinner routine!

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Quick Tip: If you’re adding more vegetables and especially if you’re using a deep oven dish rather than a shallow one, you can also add a little bit of cream.

The Way To A Man’s Heart? This Recipe, Right Here

Here’s a one pot meal ya’ll are going to love! I always enjoy stews like this – first of all, because they’re so extremely tasty. And second, because the cleanup is a breeze!

I honestly think it’s a blessing for everyone when you don’t have to bring out all your pots and pans to feed your family. As you let all of the ingredients simmer together in one dish, it makes the flavors even more delightful and you won’t need to add anything fancy. In fact, you’ll probably have most of these ingredients at hand, right now!

This stew is a great way to add some veggies into your picky eater’s diet. My little one does not like celery at all, but he never complains when I serve this for dinner. I honestly think all the flavors have combined so nicely that he doesn’t even realize there’s celery in it! But, of course, you could omit that if you’re not a fan.

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Quick Tip: Omit the red wine, if you’d like.