Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The First Recipe- Lunch, and Possibly Dinner Later?

After a long morning of playing outside, Jacob and I are hungry. Crisp fall weather makes me crave warm soup. Jacob has had cereal, a pancake, and a fruit smoothie so far this morning. No vegetables. What should we have for lunch? Vegetable Soup! I don't have too many groceries in the house, so here is what I have created:
Minestrone Soup
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 cups diced baby carrots
2"x2" Parmesan cheese rind (This adds a rich creaminess to the broth. You will remove it prior to serving.)
bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups small pasta shells
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Heat butter and oil in a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Add diced onion and saute until golden and soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute, stirring. Add tomatoes, veggie broth, carrots, Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Add frozen peas and pasta. Increase heat to med high and boil for 6 minutes. Add chopped spinach and cook 1 minute. Remove Parmesan rind and bay leaf. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Jacob seemed to enjoy the soup and is now napping peacefully. We have enough soup left over to have for dinner tonight.

6 comments:

  1. Shannon...I just love this idea. Can't wait to read more! What is a cheese rind?
    Kim Funk

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  2. A cheese rind is the waxy outer layer that is on the outer rim of some cheeses that you buy in a round or a wedge. I buy a huge hunk of Parmesan at Sam's that comes with the rind still on. If you don't buy Parmesan like this, you can just add some shredded cheese to the soup while cooking.

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  3. It should be noted that I was pretty enthusiastic about the soup when we had it for dinner. It was really, really good.

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  4. Fun idea, Shannon. I'll keep checking back to see what else you've come up with.

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  5. Great idea Shannon! I will be checking back often. :)

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