Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I posted a while ago about making some roasted red pepper soup (whose recipe I found on Joyful Abode), and it was so good, that I have since made it again…so I thought I’d share some pictures. :)

(I’m not going to re-post the recipe, I will just send you to Joyful Abode where you can see how to roast the peppers and make the soup.  I just want to inspire you to go there and actually do it!)

Here are peppers (orange and red) I roasted a day or two before and put in the fridge in some olive oil:

Here’s the soup beginnings…butter, onions, garlic, and roasted red (and orange in my case) peppers:

After everything’s been added (there’s some broth and basil) and simmered, I blend it with an immersion blender:

Then add some cream (which could really be optional, I’ll bet), and soup’s done!

I couldn’t get a good picture of the soup in a bowl (and I should have garnished it…isn’t that what all the pros do?) so I hope this picture makes you want to make and eat it:

(I did put some cheese on top and it was already starting to melt in…)

Since this winter seems never-ending, a good bowl of soup is in order, right? :)

Healthy Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Lately, work and life has kept me pretty busy, so some DIY projects (like this and this) are just temporarily on hold.  But, in the spirit of trying to become healthier, I have been cooking up a storm…making your own healthy meals is just another form of DIY, right?

As I was exploring the internet for new recipes, I came across this gem of a blog: Chocolate Covered Katie.

It is full of healthy, delicious desserts. That’s right. I said desserts.

So far I’ve tried her cookie dough dip (sooo delicious) and her deep dish cookie pie.

Photos from Chocolate Covered Katie

So far, those desserts were both so easy! Combine everything in a food processor and go!

Yes, those are chickpeas! Don’t tell anyone what’s in the dessert and they will never guess! These desserts really are so good!

Here’s my deep dish cookie pie:

I forgot to get pictures of it all sliced up and styled because we ate it too fast! I brought some to work and nobody believed it was chickpeas or “healthy”!

And a lot of her recipes are vegan (or mostly vegan!) – even if you’re not vegan or have no interest in becoming one, it means no raw eggs in the cookie dough dip! Which means you can finally eat all the cookie dough you want without feeling guilty. :)

Have you found any good new blogs lately? Any new food adventures? I’ve got a few more to share, too!

Cole’s Birthday Party!

I want to share a few pictures from Cole’s birthday party!

There was a LOT going on – and a LOT of friends and family over to celebrate, so I didn’t get as many pictures of the little guy in his various outfits as I would have liked. I’m sure his parents got plenty, and I’ll get some from them sometime. :) But here are a few good ones:

Cole got a new Radio Flyer wagon that he rode in with his cousins:

And he posed for me during his little meal after most people left:

What a cutie. He looks so good in his sock monkey bib. :)

His mom, Cassie, had some great decorating details. The house was full of paper lanterns and balloons.

She painted some letters in coordinating colors to spell out his name.

And my “happy birthday” bunting/banner was much larger than expected! But it hung across a big wall in their living room nicely.

Here’s another angle, because I know you were dying for it.

There you have it!

Happy 1st Birthay, Cole!

(If I get any more pictures of him in his shirts, I will share them!) :)

The New AeroGarden is Here!

My new Aerogarden is here, and I couldn’t get it out of the box and set up fast enough last night!

So far, I’ve planted it with one pod of flowers, leaving the other two empty. My idea is to get those little flowers started (with the light nice and low to them) so I can transplant them into the other AeroGarden – in the hole left by my dead cilantro.  Then start a whole new garden in there!

Let’s see if this germination/transplantation experiment works. :)

Here are my two AeroGardens side by side:

I’ve trimmed down the basil a lot, and I can’t wait to trim it down some more, so I can lower the light a little (to help the new flowers when they get transplanted there!) and hopefully encourage some new basil growth.  But I am trying to wait! I don’t want to get over zealous here. :)

Also, AeroGarden suggests you change the grow light bulb every six months. I’ve had my first Aerogarden for over a year and hadn’t changed the bulb yet. I ordered new bulbs along with my new garden and changed the bulb last nigh. What a difference!

The old light bulb:

And the new light bulb:

I’m glad I changed it.  Especially with the shiny new AeroGarden sitting next to it. Oh yeah, and to help the plants, too. :) :) :)

I’m excited to watch these babies grow, again! I will keep you updated. :)

Oh yes, Potato Soup

So I did get around to making Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Potato Soup.

It was delicious.

And easy.

And wonderful.

(Image via Pioneer Woman: Perfect Potato Soup)

I’ve been experimenting with healthy recipes and/or recipes from scratch – you know, where I know what every ingredient is because I put them in myself. No monosodium poisonate here!

So I made this soup and it was delicious, and I don’t think it was actually that bad for us! There was some milk and a little bit of half and half, but mostly it was vegetables and potatoes and yum.

And because she’s the Pioneer Woman, and referenced hobbits in her post, I made Brian watch some hobbits with me (in the form of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which will probably result in our watching the other two Lord of the Rings movies) (which have nothing on the books, of course).

                         Thanks Pinterest for always having a picture of what I need.

Any hobbits, potatoes, or soups in your life lately?

Aerogarden Update

I haven’t updated you on the Aerogarden lately, because generally everything’s going swimmingly. My two basil plants are huge and so productive! (The one on the right is the first basil plant I ever planted – so it’s been living for over a year now!)

I keep pruning it, so it’s nice and bushy – but I have lots of small leaves instead of a few nice big leaves.  I’m working on figuring that out. (I’m thinking another bowl washing is in order.)

And my cilantro has died. :(  It’s never really taken off in this planting like it did the first time.  Not that I’m an Aerogarden expert, but so far, in my two rounds of planting, I have not gotten cilantro and basil to grow successfully together. First, my cilantro was doing amazing, but my basil wasn’t. And now it’s vice versa. Womp womp. :(

So, I’m doing what any normal girl would do, and I’m getting a second Aerogarden! :) Mwhaha! They’re on sale now, and really I’ve been wanting another one, because I love this thing so much. :)

I had planned on growing lettuce, but I’ve been getting it cheap at a local produce market, and one of my friends said it’s easy to grow outside, so I think this second Aerogarden will consist of parley and cilantro.

And flowers!

Flowers may not be the most “useful” thing to plant in an Aerogarden, but I’m sort of excited to have some pretty color mixed into my gardens. As I discover new herbs I like, I will attempt to grow them as well, of course, but flowers in the meantime seems pretty fun. :)

I hope you’re excited to join me on the next Aerogarden journey! :) :) :)

So, are you going to get yourself an Aerogarden now? :) Or just stick with pots in the window? :)

Happy March!

I think everyone’s naming their post today “Happy March!”

Well, it IS happy! Spring is on its way and I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see if the things I planted in the fall will grow. (I also planted a lot of daffodil and crocus bulbs, as well as more wildflower seeds!)  Never mind all the snow that’s been falling today…

In the meantime, my little nephew, Cole, just turned one!  We’re going to head to his birthday party tomorrow, and I hope to get some cute pictures of him and all the things I’ve been creating for him. :)  I’ve been sharing some previews on Facebook, so here are a few more now.  His party is going to be sock monkey themed, so I made some shirts and bibs…

(letters cut out on the Cricut. Fabric from here.)

(embroidery from here! I adjusted the smile and ears a little bit.) :)

And a big ol’ paper banner/bunting that says “Happy 1st Birthday Cole!” on it!  I printed it all out on the computer (thank you, Microsoft Publisher), then my amazing friend Jessica cut it all out and strung it on some jute twine for me.  It’s too big to take a picture of until we hang it at the party, but here’s a preview:

:) :) :)

I am so excited about it!

And “trying to be healthy” news, I bought a juicer on clearance at Aldi for $19.99.  I know there are nicer ones, but for the price, I couldn’t help but give this one a try…just to see how we like it.  I made my first glass of juice with a Granny Smith apple and a cucumber. It was pretty good! So, now I’m hoping to add fresh juice to our nutritional arsenal.

Any juicing or baby-present making on your agenda? Are you excited for spring (even though it’s snowing?)