Taco Soup (easiest recipe ever)

This is one of my go-to recipes. It's easy, quick, healthier, freezes beautifully, I always have the ingredients on hand, and everyone likes it. It's one of my safe bets when I am taking someone dinner or have guests. Toddler-approved, as well. And it's versatile. Throw in whatever you want. I have a friend who throws in a packet of ranch seasoning, another who adds green chilies. It's pretty foolproof.

Taco Soup

-Tomato juice (I either do a 59 oz can from Winco's store brand or the 64 oz plastic container in the juice aisle of any store)
-3 cans any beans (I invariably do 1 black and 1 kidney, and then I do 1 light bean such as pinto or great northern)
-Corn (eyeball it)
-Taco seasoning (about a packet's worth, if you have a container it's about 3 heaping tablespoons)

Throw it all in the crockpot for 5 hours.

(Or heat it on the stove, which takes about a half hour. I prefer crockpot, because who doesn't?)

Top with cheese, or whatever you choose! Some people like it with chips or sour cream.

I make some meals that call for, say, 6 oz tomato juice, leaving me with a lot of tomato juice left over. When that happens, I just grab a freezer bag and dump the remaining tomato juice into it along with the other ingredients for taco soup. Then I freeze it and when the time comes to eat it, I throw it in the crockpot for about 8 hours. It freezes exceptionally well. I always have a bag or two of it in the freezer as a backup meal for a crazy day, or if I'm asked to bring dinner to a neighbor who is sick or just had a baby. Sometimes I divvy it up into small containers or freezer bags so I can pull one out for my toddler's lunch.

*If you're a meat-eater, you can throw in half a pound to a pound of ground turkey or ground beef, but cook it on the stove first. The first time I served it to someone without meat, though, they said it was good enough that they didn't even notice the lack of meat. *Fist pump.*

Vegetarian Skillet Nachos (Easy, easy, easy)

This quick and easy dinner is perfect when you're craving The Junk but still want a healthy twist.

Make it once and you'll never forget how. It's simple.

And it takes mere minutes to make.

This is a recipe of eyeballing. No exact amounts. Just eyeball it. And don't roll your eyeballs at me. It'll turn out yummy, I promise.

*Chop up some zucchini and green pepper, saute in a tbs olive oil. Add one can chili beans (don't drain) and half cup any salsa. Let it simmer a little, then pour it all into a bowl, wipe out the pan, put tortilla chips in the pan, pour mixture back in over the chips, add sliced or diced olives and cheese, cover just until cheese melts. Serve with extra chips on the side.

Done!

You can even save time by skipping the part where you dump out the mixture and wipe out the pan. I call it the fancy way (chips in) and the un-fancy way (chips out). Those tiny veggies are hidden well from picky toddler eyes, too.

(If eyeballing is nacho thing: I usually do one zucchini, maybe half a green pepper. You can throw in some yellow squash, too, if you want.)

*If you have a chopper, this will be a cinch. If you don't have a chopper, it'll still be easy, but I feel bad for you. You need a chopper, in general. It's a must. I used to have a little human whining at me and tugging at my pant legs while I slaved away chopping vegetables for dinner and now it takes seconds...sometimes only one second since I now have an electric chopper (after my hand chopper was taken apart by a well-meaning husband who was trying to get it properly cleaned, a husband who is handsome enough and wonderful enough that we don't complain at him for such things). 

Creamy Potato & Leek Soup + Pear Pomegranate Salad with Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette

This is one of our favorite dinners. The recipes come from Our Best Bites: Savoring the Seasons. We LOVE Our Best Bites. Their original cookbook is my favorite, but Savoring the Seasons is fun because it...goes by the seasons (spoiler alert). Winter is just about over, so I thought I'd throw in my favorites from the winter section of the book. The soup calls for ham but I omit and it works out wonderfully because the ham made it too salty anyway.

Potato & Leek Soup

4-5 medium leeks -It says you need about 2 cups chopped and my four leeks were WAY too much. I only used two. It depends on the size of the leek, but you can get an idea by knowing you'll only use the white part. Also, I LOVE LEEKS. They have a mild onion flavor, but I like them better than onions.

3 tbs butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 2-3 medium), diced into 1/2 inch cubes. -You want to go with gold potatoes (if not Yukon, some other gold potato) because they add a really nice creamy texture to the soup and pair beautifully with the leeks.
4 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

3/4 cup cream 

1-2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I suppose you could substitute the dried stuff, but using the fresh stuff actually makes a difference in this particular recipe)

1. Slice ends off leeks just above the root and discard. Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Starting at the white end, slice the leeks crosswise (as you would slice a green onion) in 1/4 inch slices. Stop slicing when the leaves turn from pale green to dark green and discard the remaining part of the leek. Place sliced leeks (about 2 cups) in a bowl of cold water and stir with fingers to loosen layers and remove any dirt. Drain and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add leeks, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until leeks are wilted and fragrant. Add potatoes, broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cover pot. Simmer on medium-low heat about 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Mash slightly with the back of a spoon to break them up. Add ham and simmer 5 more minutes. Add cream, parsley, and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Heat until warmed through. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Pear Pomegranate Salad

1/2 cup chopped pecans (we didn't do these)

1/4 cup sugar (also didn't do this)

1 head romaine lettuce

1 14 oz bag baby spinach

seeds from 1 pomegranate (about 1 cup)

2 ripe pears that are still a little firm

Juice of one lime (we just squirted some lime juice)

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

1. Spray sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. (didn't do this part.)

2. Combine pecans and sugar in a small nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and coats the nuts (about 15 minutes). Place on the prepared foil and set aside. (didn't do this.)

3. Toss together lettuce, spinach, pomegranate seeds, pears, lime juice, and cheese, adding the candied pecans (didn't do them) right before serving. Drizzle sweet red wine vinaigrette over the salad and serve immediately.

Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1-2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (I just use the minced stuff in liquid)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I just use regular salt)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (I just use regular pepper)

1/2 cup canola oil

Combine vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender and process on high. Lower speed, and while blender is running, add oil in a steady stream. Dressing may be stored in refrigerator about 2-3 weeks. Shake well before serving.

The soup is one of my favorites. It's not the same as Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden (that has kale and sausage) but I feel like they could be fraternal twins. Not the same, but the potato and leek soup will satisfy my Zuppa Toscana cravings when they're out of control.

The salad doesn't need to be high-maintenance. Generally we just throw together lettuce, spinach, pear, feta, lime juice, the vinaigrette, and if we have pomegranate we'll add that. If we don't have pear or pomegranate, chopped apple will do. Basically, the combination of the red wine vinaigrette with feta and some sort of fruit is so winning, you can't lose. When I have a batch of that dressing in my fridge, I will eat salad for every meal.

You can even make all of these separately. I just happen to like the soup and the salad together. If you have rolls or breadsticks to dip in the soup, even better. The first time I made this, we stuck to the recipes exactly (except for the sugared pecans) and we felt like we were eating at a restaurant. Enjoy!

(Sorry no photos this time.)

Ok fine. Since you pouted and all:

(One of those photos you keep around to bug people with because it's so obnoxious. And it's the only photo I can think of wherein I am cooking.)

(And sorry for the weird background stuff. I...don't really know how to blog prettily. But I can cook and spin a mean pun, so there's that.)