Tonight's Dinner - Broccoli Soup

I spent my Saturday cleaning and restocking the fridge.  It was pretty easy - the old baby was getting pretty empty thanks to a week and a half of no rides to the grocery store.  (I can't wait until I'm driving again...)

Sunday was a cool day here in the San Jose Valley - cloudy and cold - but after spending the day before running (okay, hobbling) around Costco, Trader Joe's, and the Asian market, I was too tired and sore to do anything but the basics.  I'm glad I didn't - I got some bad news that afternoon (really really bad rent increase) and I was in no mood to cook never mind eat much that night.  I swear...this economic mess is going to either give me a mental breakdown or make me super skinny.


I stayed up late last night, trying to figure out a battle plan, crashed for six hours or so of crappy sleep, and got up this morning in a slightly better mood so I decided to do some serious cooking.  Tonight is Paleo-friendly Curried Cream of Broccoli Soup from NomNomPaleo, using up the more "interesting" vegetables from the crisper and some of the broccoli I froze months ago. 

My Soup at Noon - Notice the Frozen Blocks of Broccoli?

I do plan to make a few changes - I don't think I have any curry powder (I'll have to go digging into the back of the spice cupboard) but I do have some Gharma Masala which I think will add some zing to the soup.  I also plan to toss in some heavy whipping cream along with the coconut milk to help with the creaminess.  I'll also add in a bag of diced cooked chicken to help increase the protein, which will make it a complete meal for m.

I started the soup around lunchtime and will let the veggies "brew" all afternoon, tossing in the "cream", and blending it down right before we serve it.  Considering that my stew pot is completely full right now, I think I'll be eating this for a few days.  ;-)

(BTW: if you know of anyone that's looking for a freelance writer or virtual assistant, please have them contact me.  I need to extend my client base to cover the $147 increase in my rent.  *sigh* )

Sweet Freedom!!! (and Tonight's Dinner)

I'm FREE!!!  Finally!  

Of course, this doesn't mean that I tap danced my way out of the doctor's office.  My ankle and leg are very stiff and yesterday, it was so swollen, my moms were comparing my toes to "little pink sausages".  (Yeah, real funny, people...real funny!) 

This morning, my leg was still swollen but not as bad as yesterday and as the day goes by, the swelling continues to slowly go down.  I still can't walk on it but I can put my weight on it which is a start.  PT starts next week.  Won't that be fun?  LOL

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Tonight's Dinner - Stove-Top Zucchini and Ground Beef Skillet

Super easy and super cheap right now, while zucs / summer squash are on sale.  Of course, I don't use spaghetti sauce but rather just toss in a can of stewed tomatoes.  Yum!

Tongiht's Dinner - Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Chicken Soup

My mom woke Saturday morning with a nasty toothache.  After hemming and hawing about it for a couple hours, I called a friend and asked her to take my mom to the Urgent Care at the hospital.  They returned a couple hours later with antibiotics and instructions to see her dentist in two weeks.  Ever since then, Mom's been feeling under the weather.  Pain and infection will do that to you, right?

She woke this morning feeling blah again so I decided to make my special cure: Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Chicken Soup.  Yum!

So, what's in Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Chicken Soup?  Well, the name says it all.  I make this when I need to clean out the fridge and use up some of the more "interesting looking" veggies.  Today's soup includes onions, garlic, celery, carrots, squash, and cabbage, along with chicken meat and broth.

UPDATE ON ME: There's a rumor that I might get my cast off tomorrow.  Do me a favor and think good thoughts for me - I want...no, I NEED this damn thing off.  I miss walking.  I miss cooking without having to stand on one foot.  I took a spill while cooking last week - I just sort of sat down on the floor - and ever since then, I've been wary about doing too much.  I mean, my balance isn't great on my best days.  LOL

Green Tomato Bonanza!

Source

A friend came by my place this morning with a plastic grocery bag full green tomatoes, straight from her garden.  Being one who can't stand wasting food, I spent the rest of the day washing, sorting, and processing tomatoes.

• The larger, more ripe specimens (ones that were the hue of the one in the pic) were placed in my front window to finish ripening.
• The small dark green ones were turned into Green Tomato Relish (Thanks to Lauren for the suggestion when I put the all-call out on our Facebook page).  This was a HUGE hit - my mother was scooping it up by the spoonful during dinner.
• The slightly larger green ones are sitting in a bowl on my counter.  I call that bowl "limbo" - if they're still green when we run out of relish, then I'll make more relish.  If they're rippening, they'll be added to the window sill to finish off.

That's one of the things that's saved me a lot of money when it comes to our food budget - I make it my goal to not waste a bit.  (Nor do I turn away free produce ... but that's another story! ;-)  )

Tonight's Dinner - Spanish Tortilla

Tonight's dinner was a favorite of mine - Spanish Tortilla.  I usually use these moment to clean out the fridge, making one of my famous "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" tortillas, but not tonight.  Tonight was a simple one with potatoes (yes, we eat potatoes - deal), onions, and carrots.  Yum!  Everyone was quite happy...even the 4-year-old known as Mr. I Hate Eggs!

(I would have posted a picture here but my kids were starving and there were rumors of a revolt coming if I didn't serve Right That Instant!)

Cooking with a cast on my leg is a....well, let's just say challenge.  I've learned to take everything I need out of the fridge at one time so I don't have to keep making trips back and forth across the kitchen for supplies. At least with my kitchen, everything else is in arms reach of my main work area.

The first week I was on dinner duty, I kept to simple meals (burgers, stir-fries, microwave-steamed veggies, etc) but this last week, I've branched out.  I mean, you can only eat so many burger patties before you start going insane, right?  Yesterday, I made Potato Latkes (What can I say? I was craving potato!).  A few days before, we enjoyed Taco Chicken Salad (minus the chips)...and let's not forget last week's extravagance - French Onion Soup!  YUM!

Of course, by the time dinner is over, my foot is swollen and complaining but I think a good dinner is well worth the pain....  ;-)