I’ll be honest. Cooking this week was hard. Maybe it’s because my son is home from college, which means the dynamic of the dinner table is different. Most of the foods in my freezer are packaged for three people not four. Our routine is also different. Now add in the fact that it’s the holidays and all the associated extra cooking and shopping. Plus my younger son is home from school as well. This means cooking three meals a day for four people plus holiday baking. The dishwasher is used twice a day plus washing pots and pans, blenders, mixers, and food processors.
What’s a cook to do? My answer was to focus on easy-to-fix meals that are low calorie to try and compensate for some of the calories in the cookies and candies. Wednesday after running errands and returning just in time for lunch, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were requested for lunch. In just thirty minutes I was able to make a homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. How? I have a well-stocked pantry and a fast and easy recipe for tomato soup. Yes, I should have done better job of menu planning, but it’s been fun having the family in the kitchen helping me cook. Hopefully my sons are learning how easy cooking can be.
One night this week my college son made Enchiladas for our family dinner while I pressed the Springerle. Again, pantry ingredients saved the day. Chicken, tortillas, and canned salsa and beans. All things easily stocked in a college apartment kitchen. And this is a fast recipe.
I was tempted to only include holiday recipes this week, but this Spicy tomato soup is too simple and good not to include. Have a bowl of this soup and enjoy that cookie guilt free.
Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!
Other new recipes for the week
