Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Hi ya!  Happy first of November!  Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but we've had rain for the past 9 days straight.  Whenever I feel like complaining about that I remind myself that we're fortunate where I live that we only got the "tail end" of Hurricane Sandy.  My heart goes out to all who has suffered serious losses....

The culmination of dark skies and damp temps have had me craving comfort foods something serious.  Usually I pull something out of the freezer for dinner in the morning but forgot to yesterday with the chaos of getting costumes & make up on for the kids.  All day at work I was mentally going through my food stock trying for figure out what to make for dinner that was fairly quick, yet hardy.  My mind kept going back to the potatoes I hadn't used yet and before I knew it, a recipe was brewing in my head!

Now, I'm positive I'm not the first person to come up with a potato soup recipe like this, but I thought I'd share how I made it seeing as it was a HUGE hit with the fam!  In fact, there was barely a cup leftover when all was said and done.  That, my friends, is a successful meal at my house!  :)

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

* 4 slices of bacon, chopped
* 2 lbs of potatoes (I used a bag of mini white potatoes, skin on)
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 tsp crushed garlic
* 1 Tbsp dried thyme
* 4 cups broth (I used homemade chicken stock)
* 2 cups milk (I used 2%, but feel free to use what ever is in your fridge)
* salt & pepper to taste
* 1 tbsp chili powder
* 2 cup grated cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup of chopped chives

Directions

1.  In a large pot, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.  Set aside.

2.  Add onion & garlic to bacon drippings and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

3.  Add the potatoes, thyme, chili powder, salt & pepper.  Cook for 10 mins letting the potatoes brown slightly.

4.  Add the broth.  It should cover your potatoes.  Let boil, reduce heat and cook until soft.

5.  Hit up the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth, or, if you prefer, a bit chunky.  Add some water if you find it's too thick.

6.  Stir the milk in and bring back to temperature.  Don't let it boil as the milk may separate on you.

7.  Serve with bacon pieces, cheddar cheese & chives.

8.  ENJOY!!

What is your favourite fall/winter comfort meal?

Remember to check out the pa Krista's Kraving's Facebook page.  I post lots of neat things there!!  :)

Bye for now!!

Four Meals In, One Out

Hi everybody!  How did your week go?  I see that some of you have snow already!  YUCK!  I sure feel for you.  I haven’t seen any white flakes yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long now.  Did anyone attend a Halloween party this weekend?  My kids are excited for the “big” day tomorrow.  I’ll be spending part of this evening getting their costumes ready for school tomorrow.  Noah’s class is having a little party and Sarah (being in grade 7) will be going to an afternoon dance at the school. 
I wanted to make sure I popped by to post last week’s meals.  Can I just day that I’m SO glad I got back into planning dinner for the week?  It’s one less thing to worry about each night when I get home.  Two thumbs up, for sure!  So Monday was soup & grilled cheese night.  I made the broth in my crock pot using the chicken bones that I have from our beer butt/roasted chickens so all I had to do when I came home from work was strain it into a pot, add a can of diced tomatoes (with the juice) and chicken from the bones.  Instead of grilled cheese I toasted a slice of rice bread for dipping.
On Tuesday I had the time to roast a chicken which is a rarity through the week at this house!  I also made peas and quinoa to go with it: Can I just say that it’s getting dark so much sooner lately?  Good thing next Saturday we change the clocks!  On Wednesday I grilled turkey sausage with bell peppers and onions.  I also sautéed mushrooms, garlic and Mache as another side.  Quinoa made another appearance on my plate while the fam ate mac n cheese with theirs. Thursday was another busy night so I dug into the freezer for some pulled pork that I had made in the crock pot previously and froze without sauce.  I just warmed it in a pan with a bit of broth and hickory flavoured BBQ sauce.  It was delicious served over a toasted rice bun smeared with avocado hummus: We went out with friends for dinner on Friday, but no pictures.  It was a real informal meal of burgers and salad.  Perfect for the end of a busy week!  Some of the leftovers were eaten as is within the next few days while some were transformed a bit.  I used some of the roasted chicken to make an awesome sandwich with vegetable antipasto, Mache and cassata cheese…. Some of the (sauce less)  pulled pork went back into a sandwich with roasted red pepper, basil pesto and mozzarella cheese: Delicious!!  On Saturday we went to Subway for lunch.  It’s the first time I’ve been since going (mostly) gluten free.  I went with a turkey sub in salad form which ended up being fabulous!
And lastly, tonight’s dinner.  I baked salmon fillets and served them with brown rice and mixed veggies:
A lovely Sunday dinner, even though it’s not pot roast!  HAHA!  Check out next weeks plan over on my facebook page……
Have a great week, everyone….
Bye for now!!

Alarm Free

Happy Sunday, all!  Has everyone been enjoying a great weekend?  Mine’s been more low key than usual which is just fine by me.  Yesterday and today I actually got to wake up naturally, read; NO ALARM!  I seriously can’t remember the last time I was able to go to bed without setting my alarm.  It’s not even that I sleep late, it’s just SO nice wake up on my own, ya know?? 
It’s definitely been a lot cooler lately, this weekend in particular.  Only 6*C right now!  I was hoping to go another few weeks before starting the furnace up, but we cracked yesterday and started it up.  I’ve also been using the oven as a heat source.  Yesterday after groceries but before Noah’s hockey game I baked another batch of granola from Quinoa 365:
I love that this makes such a massive amount (7 cups) of granola!  And we all like it, so it never goes to waste.   Sarah helped me out with another recipe from the book: She seems to be developing a real interest in the kitchen, so I let her do most of it for me.  I only had strawberry jam so we used that instead and the bars turned out GREAT! The quinoa flour *almost* makes it taste like there’s peanut butter in the crust.  Noah actually thought this and I didn’t try to change his mind.  ;)
Breakfast yesterday was a big stack of pumpkin pancakes topped with blueberries; How absolutely delicious does that look?  I could go for another stack right now!  HAHA  I had one rice tortilla left in the fridge so I decided to fill it with some eggs.  I cooked a big handful of spinach, added some turkey deli meat (GF) then poured in about a 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters. When it was just about set I added some goat gouda w/ chilles: Then wrapped it up!
I don’t know that I’m too fond of the rice wraps.  They taste fine, but tend to get awful hard which in turn makes them crack.  Hmm….For dinner I made a BIG batch of homemade butternut squash soup which was served with plain Greek yogurt and grated mozzarella: Soup just never photographs well, does it?  I had some toasted rice bread on the side for dipping.  YUM! 
Sarah is trying out for a volleyball team here in town so a few tryouts have been taking place. 
I know; just what we need right?  Another competitive sport in the house!  But I firmly believe in giving my kids every opportunity out there that they show an interest in.  This may make for a busy life right now, but when you think of it, at 12, I really don’t have many more years left with her before she leaves for school and what such so it’s a small price to pay. 
Let’s see….not much more to report.  The gluten free thang is still going well.  Like I’ve said before; I’m sure there is still some gluten in my diet, but the bulk of it has been removed and I’ve been feeling better.  It’s really only been 7ish weeks and I was told to give it at least 4 months to *really* see results, so I’m gonna stick with it for the time being.  On that note, I have a delicious salad waiting for me to eat for lunch!  Talk soon!
Bye for now!!!

A Few Different Things

Ola!  I’ve got a few things to “talk” about in today’s post so I hope you enjoy it!  I want to start with a recipe for wonderful espresso chocolate chip muffins a la Kelsey. This girl makes some seriously amazing muffins based on her favourite cafe’s delights.  I halved the recipe for this one and still got 6 great big muffins: DD and I have been enjoying them as morning snacks this week.  We finished them off today and I think a tear or two were shed! Next up is a super simple butternut squash soup recipe that I made on Sunday with a freshly picked squash from my garden:
Butternut Squash Soup
-1 butternut squash, chopped
-1 large onion, wedged
-2 cloves garlic
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp dried oregano
-salt & pepper to taste
-3 cups stock of your choice (I used homemade turkey stock)
-1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used unsweetened almond breeze)
*preheat oven to 400 deg
*put squash, onion, garlic and spices in a big bowl
*add olive oil and toss to coat well
*roast for 45 minutes
*add veggies and any “juices” to a soup pot along with stock
*bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes
*puree until you get your desired consistency (I used a hand blender)
*stir in milk and heat through
*serve with a dollop of sour cream/Greek yogurt/quark This soup is smooth, silky and filling.  Especially with the quark I used that insisted on sinking to the bottom! 
Now on to something totally unrelated to food; dry shampoo.  Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about this stuff!  I was pretty curious about it so I decided to find out what the rave was all about.  Here’s what I learnt:
“Powdered shampoos are designed to work without water. They are typically based on powders such as starch, silca or talc, and are intended to physically absorb excess sebum from the hair before being brushed out. Those with dark hair may prefer to use brown powders such as cocoa or carob powder.”
(source)
You can buy some really fancy, and sometimes costly, dry shampoos such as these brands:

(source)
OR…you can use what I’ve always used in “emergency” situations (which is also WAY cheaper!):
 
Good ole baby powder!  Now, I like to wash my hair every other day.  Any longer than that and I start getting greasy where my hair parts naturally and where it usually ends up tucked behind my ears.  There are times on the weekend, say, where I don’t have time to give it a wash.  Those are the days that I pull out the baby powder to sprinkle on my “problem” areas.  Just a bit will do and once it’s blended and brushed through you’re left with clean looking, un-greasy hair for the day.  This works especially well when sporting a ponytail. So tell me, have you ever used dry shampoo or baby powder?  What do you like/dislike about either or??  
Now on to some of the yummy food I’ve been eating! Oats.  Was there ever any doubt??  LOL  Lots of fantastic tasting fruit.
I ate this stir fry yesterday.  It was put together using stuff from the fridge such as brown rice, broccoli, raisins and chicken with fig balsamic dressing.  The sweet potato was tonight because I wanted something on the small side so as not to have an overly full belly for Pilates.
And lastly, because I forgot to post about it Sunday,  I made sure to stick Operation Beautiful notes in each and every bathroom I encountered in each tournament city.  These are 2 of them!  
So how’s that for an extremely random post?  I’m trying to keep things a little less “structured” because I feel my posts have been a little lack lustre lately.  Let me know whether you love (or hate) this format.  Your input is important to me, loves!!
Bye for now!!

Home Reno Bug

How was your day? It was wet again here. The grass and weeds like the rain, at least! I’m kinda getting tired of it! Being stuck inside more often than not lately I’ve been pondering some more home renos seeing as I’m so pleased with how our bathroom turned out. Namely, I’d like to rip the carpet out of the rec room and put down hardwood. It’s much easier to clean with 3 cats! I’d also like to replace the vanity in the downstairs bathroom because the sink that’s there now is a pedestal one and there’s no storage space for unsightly items such as toilet paper. *wink* Not sure if I’ll get my hubby on board with these grand plans, though! I also want to mention that I’ve once again been given an opportunity to review a new product with you through CSN Stores! I can’t wait!

Breakfast was Jessica inspired today!
Dorset cereal, USVAB, strawberries & blueberries. Delicious! The only problem was that I started getting hungry sooner than usual. I think upping the amount of cereal will take care of that.

Morning snack was a piece of whole grain bread with blackberry/peach jam on top:
I decided not to go to the gym today. My shoulders are really tight from Pilates and I just felt like chilling at home. It’s nice that I have that option. I also treated myself to the weekly staff lunch. Once a week we have the opportunity to order lunch in. The caterer sets the “menu” and it is always $6.00 which includes the entrée and a dessert. I’ve done this twice before but it’s been some time since the options caught my eye. When they posted a veggie wrap, chicken rice soup and a triple chocolate cookie, I was all over it!
The soup was fabulous! Look at all the goods in it!
The only thing that would have made it a smidge better was brown rice instead of white. The wrap was jammed packed with veggies and goat cheese:
I didn’t care at all for the pasty white wrap that stuck to my teeth so I chucked it and just ate the delicious filling. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to say how much I liked the cookie!!
I actually ate it late in the afternoon. ;)

Dinner was 1-2-3 tonight as it was cooking all day in my crock pot. I had some cubed pork tenderloin that I prepped Monday night for this meal knowing that it was to be a rainy day. Along with the pork I added a can of tomato sauce, chickpeas, flava beans, potatoes and garlic. When I went home at lunch the house smelled like a restaurant! I had bought some Pillsbury biscuits over the weekend with a coupon I had so I made those for us to clean our bowls with!

My portion was served over a bed of cole slaw mix to bulk it up. This was superb. The meat fell apart with a fork and the sauce was rich and flavourful. Truly the perfect rainy day comfort meal. I also ate an almond quinoa muffin as a sweet end, but figured I’d save you having to look at another picture. ;)

It’s 8:30 and DD and I just rolled in from swimming lessons. I’ve made a vanilla chai to sip while watching SYTYCD and have some sweet cherries ready in case I feel like snacking. Before you leave the blog, please consider sponsoring us on our walk…..3 sleeps left!! I hope you’re all having a great evening!

Bye for now!!

A Souper Day

I slept much better last night, but feel worse today. Not horrible or anything, just worse than yesterday. AGH! I did manage to get out of bed on time this morning, though! I even got some supper in the crock pot before leaving! But first was breakie:
-2/3 cup water
-1/3 cup Quaker oats
-cinnamon
-peaches & blueberries
-kefir
Combo made in heaven. It’s true!

I drank a lot of this today…
Not sure if it really helped, but it sure didn’t hurt any either!

I finally remembered to take a picture of the second necklace that I bought a few weeks ago. I’m pretty sure I forgot to, anyways!

This is not typical of what I would normally buy, but for $3.99, I knew I could make it work! ;)

I wasn’t feeling spunky enough for a run or anything along those lines today, but a nice walk was more than doable. Before heading over to the gym I ate one of the bars that Cassie sent me:
It was good. It reminded me of the Nature’s Valley Dark Chocolate granola bars only a bit denser.

So I walked at 4mph with a 7% incline today. I thought (think) my calories count looked pretty high so I checked the settings on my Polar to make sure they didn’t get wonky again, but everything was set OK. I did do some talking while walking and I guess my heart was working a little harder due to this cold…..I dunno.

Time: 45 minutes
Avg Hr: 146
Max Hr: 167
Calories Torched: 497
Distance: 3 miles

Yesterday before I leaving worked I stopped in the kitchen to grab something just in time for them to bring loads of meeting leftovers in. SCORE! I grabbed a wrap for the kid’s lunches and a soup for myself. That is what I ate for lunch today. It was a thick beef vegetable type of soup so before heating it I added a good ½ cup of water to loosen it up some:
I also toasted an Ezekiel English muffin and spread a little butter on it.
Made for a great dipper! I also ate some fruit later on in the day.

Most of the honeydew got pitched. I’m kinda over honeydew lately.

Dinner had to be early and fast tonight because DS had an out of town hockey game and had to leave at 5p. DD and I stayed back to get to Pilate’s. I pulled out my trusty crock pot and filled it with chicken bones that I always have on hand. (Whenever I make chicken of any kind, I save the bones in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer). Then I topped the insert off with cold water and set it to low. I guess it was on a good 9 hours. When I got home I strained it, brought it back to a boil, added ravioli for the fam and brown rice for me (in another pot), added a can of mixed veggies and we were good to go!

I made grilled cheese for the fam and a grilled goat cheese brie, mortadella on an Arnold Thin for me. I did them up on the George Foreman and they were perfect!!

DD and I are settled in to watch The Biggest Loser. Glad to see it’s finally back on! I just had this little Lara Bar for a snack:

I find these minis the perfect snack size, BTW! And and just know sipping on a cup of decaf. I’ve got my fingers crossed that DS’s team won. Guess I’ll find out soon enough!

Don’t forget, you can ask me anything right here!

Bye for now!!