Summer Harvest Soup

I made this soup last summer, but for some reason never got around to posting about it. From last year to this year I have slowly been getting into Freezer cooking or once a month cooking, using monthly menu plans, and couponing. I'm hoping this year I can combine all of these to help save time and money for our family. This soup is great because it doesn't involve the oven at all. I got the recipe from Once a Month Mom who provides monthly menus but she got this recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking which is a great site for crock pot meals.

Cook Time: 6-8 hours                                  Serves: 8

Ingredients: 

4 cups chicken broth (vegetable stock is fine!)
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
1 cup water
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 zucchini, washed well and sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
2 yellow summer squash, washed well and sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/3 cup dry white Cannellini beans (this doesn't sound like a lot, but they swell!)
1/2 cup pasta (to add 20 minutes before serving)
salt and pepper to taste
garnish with Parmesan and Romano cheeses

Directions: 

Wash squashes well, and slice in rounds. Place into slow cooker

Add diced onion and tomato wedges

 Rinse your beans in hot water, and add to cooker

 Add broth

Add pasta sauce

Add water

Stir in Italian seasoning.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until beans have reached desired tenderness. 

20 minutes before serving, stir in raw pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan and Romano cheese.

If you are doing Freezer cooking you will need 2, gallon freezer bags. Let the soup cool place in the bags and freeze flat(Make sure to label the bags before you put the soup in). To serve: reheat in slow cooker, microwave, or stove top until heated through. 

Expecting a Blessing

I was checking the Better After blog today and she was featuring one of the many charities that she hears from. This one is a family that has decided to adopt. I have often thought about adopting and we have talked about it some as a family. Future Mama and her story was very interesting and I found that I want to continue following her blog and her one less story.

Check out the feature here on Better After or follow Future Mama's Blog at Expecting a Blessing

Two Weeks Post Surgery

So it has been almost two weeks since I had surgery on my hip. They went in to repair what they thought was a possible tear in the labrum of my hip. What they found was that the labrum was detached so it was anchored to reattach it, they shaved down some extra bone on my pelvis that was causing problems with the labrum. They also did a release on the iliopsoas tendon because it was too tight. I will be on crutches for another 2-3 weeks and begin rehab this week. The relaxation part has been nice. I've been able to read many books for fun which I haven't had much time to do recently. The bad part is I'm pretty helpless to do much of anything on my own. Thankfully my husband has been wonderful with all this juggling class, car work, and both mine and his dad's surgeries.

Post Surgery

We were told to arrive at the hospital at 7am Monday, June 13. Of course since we were all nervous we ended up getting there at 6:30 am. About 7 I was taken to the prep area and waited and waited and waited and waited. Every so often someone would come in; a nurse to cleanse the are, put the stockings for circulation on, put in the IV, anesthesiologist came, and my orthopedic. Finally about 10:30-11 the nurse antithesis came in as well as second nurse to take me to surgery. They gave me a liquid in the IV that immediately knocked me out. That was a weird feeling. I don't remember anything else until I woke up fully in the recovery room.

Not knowing how I would do with anesthesia, they were prepared with anti nausea medicine. Turns out, I needed it.

Now I am at home resting, sleeping off and on.

Pepperoni Pizza Soup

I tried a new soup today: Pepperoni Pizza Soup in a bread bowl. The bread I had available was just a kaiser roll, so it was a little too absorbent. Overall though it turned out really well, especially since less than 5 minutes after I was done we lost power at the house. I didn't get to take any pictures, but I definitely will next time.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/pepperoni-pizza-soup-recipe/index.html