Soupz On

We went to Breckenridge a few weeks ago, and as always one of my favorite things to do was eat at some really great restaurants. We had some good Chinese, Italian and some awesome burgers. But my favorite place I discovered on the last day was called Soupz On. They had about half a dozen different freshly made soups, a few different salads and some amazing sandwiches. I came home wishing that I had a Soupz On in Alamosa.

Then it occurred to me that I have a cookbook full of Soup, Salad, and Sandwich recipes. I pored through the recipes and they all looked good to me, so I have decided to make one or two of these recipes each week. So far we've have a few of the soups, a couple of the salads and one of the sandwiches. Nathan tells me that I'm a structural person, so I like to go through the book in order, suspending judgment until we have at least tried it.

I find that it's often easy to get stuck in a rut. We all have our tried and true recipes, mostly because they are easy or we know the kids will eat them without complaining. After a while though it's nice to have some change.

Some of the kids are enjoying this change and learning about different flavor combinations....and some of them are trying to choke it down. Poor Andrew had quite a time last night with Creamy Tomato Soup. It's actually entertaining to watch, when they aren't ticking me off with their reactions. I finally told them that I don't want to hear just how gross that it is or what ingredients they hate in this particular meal. I figure they're old enough to eat what they are served.

I have really enjoyed the variety, and at the end of each new meal, Nathan and I rank it 1-5 stars, so we can keep track of the recipes that are keepers. Tonight Nicole informed me that she really liked this chicken (we were having steak).

Our favorite new recipe so far was an Italian soup. The title was not very promising and was definitely one I would have skipped past, but it tasted much better than it sounded:

Spicy Zucchini Soup (from Home-Style Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches) 1 lb. Italian sausage 3 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained (I just used a jar of my canned tomatoes) 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth (I used boullion to make broth) 2 pounds zucchini, diced 2 medium green peppers, diced 2 cups thinly sliced celery 1 cup chopped onion 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 3 cups cooked macaroni (I used Farfalle or Bow Tie noodles because I like them better) In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, brown and crumble sausage; drain. Add tomatoes, broth, zucchini, green peppers, celery, onion and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Add pasta; heat through.
(I actually sauted the onions and celery with the sausage, because I don't like crunchy onions too much)

This tasted like pizza in a soup minus the cheese, but also felt healthier with all that zucchini. All four kids liked it, which was a miracle. Who knows what else will come from this 300 recipe cookbook. I feel a little like Julie and Julia with my little endeavor, only down a few notches. (or a few hundred notches).