Italian Vegetable and Chorizo Soup

It was just cool enough to bring out one of my favorite soup recipes. We are still hanging out in the high 60's to low 70's which makes for enjoyable weather during the day and then dips down just enough at night so I can break out my flannels! :)



  

I make a big batch of this and freeze it in individual ziplock containers so Kevin and I can take them in our lunch. It makes for a great lunch on those chilly afternoons ~ and it's quick and easy. Gotta like that!

Italian Vegetable and Chorizo Soup

{double batch recipe}

2 cups baby carrots sliced

2 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced

1 large white onion roughly diced

8~10 handfuls of chopped kale

6-8 garlic cloves minced

4 medium tomatoes roughly chopped

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce

8 cups chicken broth

1 pound {give or take} chorizo sausage

2 tsp thyme

1 tsp pepper

pinch of salt

parmesan cheese

1/2 box of ditalini pasta cooked according to directions on box. I've also used orzo which is very good.*I don't add my pasta directly to the soup as it will absorb the liquid over time turning it into more of a stew consistency. 

Remove sausage from casing and crumble into soup pot. Cook over medium high heat until thoroughly cook. Remove from pot when done and set aside. To absorb some of the fat, I lay it on a couple layers of paper towel.

Using some of the remaining fat in the soup pot, add onions, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms. Saute for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add the fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cook until well combined.

Toss in the thyme, salt and pepper.

Let soup simmer for at least 20 minutes.

I add the kale about 5 minutes before serving since I prefer it  just slightly cooked. If you prefer yours to be softer, add it to the soup sooner.

Ladle a small about of pasta and soup into bowls and grate on a little parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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Change of Seasons

I know, I know, it's officially fall but I'm just not ready to accept this minor seasonal detail.

Remember when you were a child and everything was the best because you were young and carefree? Well, I had one of those summers. It was the best! 

I've been really bad about posting so I'll have to do a highlight of the season. Our summer was filled with fun times, great friends and family ~ a recipe for the best summer ever! :)

We spent a fabulous day at the Americas Cup Series. It was a gorgeous day. The weather was absolutely perfect! There was a light breeze, it was sunny and low humidity. It was so nice to have a laid back day with Kevin.

*I learned the hard way of the importance of good {as in not the cute and fun ones} sunglasses after spending the entire day in hazy sun reflecting off the water. I burned my retinas and am still paying for this many weeks later!*

We celebrated holidays and many special times. 

My sweet son surprised me with a package of Lilly goodies.  It was filled with all the important essentials for days at the beach! Yup, I raised him right :)

I'm going to miss dinners on the patio with fresh farmer's market goodies. Not to mention my favorite summer sipper ~ ruby red grapefruit margaritas. 



We were so fortunate to spend lots of time with good friends {welcome baby Graham} attended local events, and got away for a great vacation compliments of my husband planning.



Best of all, was the time I spent with my family! I love them tons. If only they didn't live so far away.  Nicholas wasn't exactly "feeling" like photos after his day of golfing {and they say girls are the emotional ones ~ Ha!}


The weather hasn't made too big of a shift towards fall yet so I'm trying to hold on to the warm sunshine filled days and ignore the reports that we are in for a cold snowy winter. 

Yes, denial is my best friend! :)

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Change Of Plans

Our weekend calendar was packed full of fun as of Friday night. 

Saturday morning arrived and wiped it clean.

~Beach and boating were cancelled~
~Sailing slipped away~

~Golf with friends was minus one~

~Dinner at friends home postponed~

~Labor Day cookout put on the back burner~

I headed off to our local market to join the holiday shoppers. My cart items definitely weren't like the others! 

One of us {husband} is celebrating the long weekend with a nasty case of stomach flu. 

Poor guy!

While I'm a little disappointed that we are missing the last few days of summer fun, I'm taking full advantage of the time to work a few projects. 

I stayed up way too late last night to finish The Kitchen House. 
It was a great read!

Happy Labor Day!

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Celebrating Us

Today is our special day ...

I feel so fortunate to fill my days and share my life with this magnificent man !




My guy is ...

loving
kind
compassionate 
funny
thoughtful
patient  
hardworking
considerate
humorous
intelligent
serious
practical
silly
romantic
helpful
creative
sensitive

My sweet husband surprised me with an early anniversary celebration while we were in San Francisco earlier this month. Our accommodations during our stay were fabulous. To add to the excitement he researched and made reservations at an amazing restaurant with such a touching sentiment.

He is so sweet and romantic!







We had an incredible evening and it was topped off with an unexpected appearance from Hubert Keller!





Yep, he's a keeper! ;)


Happy Anniversary Sweetie! 
I'm looking forward to spending many more loving years together.

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Going Home

It doesn't matter how old you are, going home is a peaceful and comforting trip.

My entire family is in Michigan. Well, with the exception of one cousin. He didn't get very far though, he and his family live in Illinois. I'm the adventurer of our family ... moved all the way to the east coast! :)



Is it wrong that one of the highlights of my trip were the gas prices? I snapped this with my phone and sent it to my friends in Connecticut. I can't tell you the last time {if ever} we paid such low gas prices. Not only were they all jealous of my bargain, they asked me to bring some home to them :) 


I probably haven't shared this before but I am gifted. Not necessarily in a good way, but gifted nonetheless. We call it L****(insert last name) Law. If there is a way for something odd or extreme to go wrong, it will happen to me. Nope, I've never ever prospered from this gift. 


Upon arrival to my brother's home he informed me that the compressor in his central air had just bit the dust. No problem, it's only 98 and humid! Michigan was in the middle of a heat wave and it wasn't due to break in the near future. 

Are you catching on to my so called "gift?" UGH! 

I had a continuous "glow" my entire visit ... it wasn't pretty.



Like the fan? :) It was a cool 95!

My brother Henry, with his two girls Mia and Molly, my son Nicholas, and me.  Kelly was taking the photo and Will was off spending the night with a friend {who had air conditioning ... I almost invited myself to join the fun}





Fresh seafood isn't readily available in Michigan so I brought a New England feast home. We had lobsters, mussels, and oysters. I really, really, really don't like oysters.  However, my brother roasted them on the grill, drained them, and then put a little sauteed garlic and butter on them and served them in the half shell. They were amazing!

These sweet little ladies are my cousin's children. I spend a delightful day in Belleville with my Aunt and a few cousins. This is the worst part of living so far away ... I miss out on all the little things in life that add up to so much! Little Francesca {being held by her big sister Sophia) was born two weeks before I came to town. She is a total sweetheart at a whopping 6lbs at 16 days old ~ I was afraid she would break in my arms :)  

The last photo cracks me up! Out of nowhere came this adorable little firefighter. My cousin Michael, her daddy, is a fireman so she comes by the costume naturally.  I felt very safe knowing she was there to rescue us at a moments notice!

Nicholas was on his way out of town but made the time to stop in for a brief visit. This was completely his idea. No pressure or prompting from his mom!  I love that family is important to him and makes the time to connect even when he's on a tight schedule. 

Please take note pf my stellar photography skills ... put the subjects in direct sunlight so they have to squint!  

Nonetheless, I still like the photo of Nicholas and my Aunt Rose. After my mom passed away she quietly stepped into my life offering support even when I didn't know I need it ~ bless her!

My cousin Jackie and I {love the squinting!} Can you believe she just had a baby?! It was great to catch up with her. We are working on a girls trip out here next summer. I'm already giddy with excitement! My husband may need to find a place to stay with all the estrogen! Ha.




One afternoon we went to the farmer's market for some fresh dinner items. I love the faces on my brother and Mia!  Clearly she is begging and he is giving the infamous NO :)  I'm not sure where the rest of the family wandered off to. 

Our dinner was amazing with fresh veggies, meat, cheeses, and fruit! I miss having the market in my backyard.

I will miss these girlies SO much. During my visit we did crafts, hung out at the MAC and University Club, cooked, shopped and lunched! My favorite time together was late at night when we all climbed into my bed and just talked! 

Mia, the oldest, is not only bright but an amazing soccer player. She has such grace and beauty both inside and out. What I love most about her is that she is completely unaware of her gifts.  Miss Molly makes the most out of each and every day. She has a natural talent of spinning the negative into a positive. We could all learn a lesson from her. Will wanted no part of photos. He ducked and dived and in the end rode off with his friends. No worries, we'll get him in photos next time when he isn't expecting it! :)

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Friday Night Favorite

I am so far behind in posting and catching up with you!


It's been a busy, but fun, summer so far. Rather than trying to "catch up," I'm just going to start from this point and work backwards.


So, here we go ...




We love pizza on the grill and caesar salad so this is the best of both worlds! 


There is something about the ability to linger a littler longer over dinner on a Friday night ... and enjoy a second glass of wine ;)





I don't measure ingredients when it comes to making pizza. It's all done by sight and how hungry we are.


I make my own pizza dough but store bought works just as well.


Tonight's toppings ~
*grilled chicken {marinade at bottom}
*garlic and herb cheese spread
* parmesan cheese
*fontina cheese
*chopped romaine lettuce
*olive oil with pepper flakes



Heat your grill to a low temperature.


Brush olive oil on the grill to prevent sticking ~ don't skip or you'll be scrapping your dinner off ~ not very eye appealing or tasty!


Stretch out your dough to desired thickness {the thinner side works best} and place on grill. Grill only until slightly browned and flip over carefully ~ mine had a little accident along the way. Oops.





Now you're ready to load on the goodies!


*brush on a very thin layer of olive oil
*spread on the garlic and herb cheese
*sprinkle on the fontina
*layer the grilled chicken




Put the lid down and wait for the cheese to melt {yummy!} and the pizza dough to finish baking. 


Don't venture far the grill at this point because you don't want it to burn.



Pull the pizza off the grill, top it with the caesar salad {I dress mine before I take it out to the grill} and sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese.




Come and get it hot off the grill!


I promise you'll love this ... call me when it's ready; I'll be right over!


Salad dressing


* 2 {or more if you really like garlic ~ we do!} garlic cloves grated
* 1 juicy lemon ~ you could use two if they aren't providing enough
* 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
* 1 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste ~ this is the deal breaker for the dressing so don't skip
* 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
* 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil


* 1 large or a couple small heads of romaine lettuce


This recipe makes more dressing than you'll need for the pizza so you'll have enough to enjoy for a couple of days.




Chicken marinade
Adapted from Wolfgang Puck


* 2 large chicken breasts {use 1 for the pizza and save the other to put on salads for lunch}
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 2 large jalapeno peppers seed and finely chopped {I used hot peppers from my garden this time}
* 3 cloves garlic finely chopped {use less if you'd like}
* 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
* pinch of kosher salt


Marinate for at least 1 1/2 hours so it has time to absorb the flavors.


I've used this marinade for chicken skewers as well.

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It All Began with Ina

It all began with Ina ...


Her holiday email arrived in my box. The recipe looked good but I was really craving something more southwestern like without all the cheese and added calories ... I know what you're thinking, this statement surprises even myself as the words appear on the screen! What? No cheese or loaded calories??


Anyway ...


I decided to keep going with the cabbage idea and add a few other goodies I had on hand. The beauty of my so called salad is that you can add to or take away with whatever you're in the mood for at the moment. As I was going through the frig I stumbled on of my favorite ingredients ... cilantro! If I could figure out how to grow larger cilantro leaves, I'd make a salad of it each and every day. Yes, I like it that much!




Once I found my stash from the farmers market, the evening meal took a turn. 

Salad ~
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
3 whole green onions thinly sliced
3/4 snap peas blanched and then cut on a diagonal
2 green peppers from my garden {slightly spicy}
large handful of cilantro {surprise, surprise!}


Dressing ~
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/8 cup light mayo
1 large lime juiced
1 large lime zest
1/2 jalapeno
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 heaping tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
pinch of salt


Toss the salad ingredients, mix together the dressing and combine!





I was planning to grill the basic burger but since I had a featured guest ingredient, I felt the need to share the wealth and use it in everything I was preparing.

The burgers went from plain jane to south of the border! Our toppings included my second favorite ingredient ... avocado! I don't know why I haven't thought of putting all this together before. It was delicious! I used an easy sauce of salsa verde mixed with light sour cream in place of ketchup and mustard.





Burgers ~
93% lean ground beef
cumin, chipotle pepper, chili pepper, garlic power, a little salt and pepper
garlic gouda cheese stuffed in the middle {I needed a little dairy :)}

Dinner is served!


I wonder if my husband has any idea he consumed an entire cilantro plant this evening?! ;)

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