No, I’m not trying out a new standup comedy routine. Meal planning and grocery shopping is just one of those chores that can get overwhelming. We’ve all been there. End of the day, no energy to shuffle through the aisles, trying to figure out something to feed your beloved family that insists on eating at least three times a day. It’s enough to make a person weep.

On a recent weekday, I just couldn’t face the trek to the store, so I pulled together bits and bobs that I had in the fridge that needed to be used up and threw them together into a soup. Surprisingly, my “kitchen sink soup” was a hit. Of course, everyone will have different things in their fridge, but this is a good outline that you can fill in with whatever you might have on hand.

Kitchen Sink Soup

Ingredients

• Vegetables – I used carrots, celery, an onion, half a bulb of fennel leftover from something else, a leek, about 3 cloves of garlic, and some spinach that was on its last leg. If you have some tomato puree, diced tomatoes, or even tomato sauce, you can use it.
• Olive oil to sauté the vegetables
• Broth or stock – I had some low-sodium chicken broth, but you can use what you have on hand. If you don’t have broth, you can use water. If you have a bit of wine left over (I know, I know), you can bunge that in there.
• Beans, pasta, or grains – I had a bag of frozen tortellini, so I used that
• Leftover meat – We didn’t have any leftover meat the first time I made this, but since then, I’ve used leftover roasted chicken, grilled pork tenderloin, sauteed shrimp, and country ham.
• Herbs – You can use fresh or dried, whatever you have. I had a bit of fresh parsley and a few sprigs of leftover rosemary and thyme, as well as a couple of bay leaves. I’ve since used dried fine herbes and Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste – I season as I go. When I’m sautéing the vegetables, I season them. I taste the soup as it’s cooking and season as needed. If you just add salt and pepper at the end, your dish (whatever you’re making) will be tasteless because the individual components won’t be seasoned, and you’ll need to add a lot more salt to compensate.
• Garnishes – We had some leftover pesto, and it was delicious dolloped on the soup. I also made some croutons out of stale bread. You can top it with grated cheese, more herbs, a drizzle of sour cream that’s been thinned with milk, or a splash of good olive oil.

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the vegetables until softened, about 5 minutes. If you’re using tomato puree, diced tomatoes, or tomato sauce, throw it in now and cook for a minute or two.

Add your cooking liquid and herbs and bring to a simmer. If you’re using pasta, beans, or grains, add them now and cook according to the package directions. If you’re using a filled pasta like tortellini or ravioli, wait until you’re ready to serve as they don’t take long to cook and if you overcook them, they disintegrate.

To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish as you wish.

I know this isn’t a “real” recipe; it’s merely a guideline that you tailor to your family’s tastes and what you have in your fridge.

The post Healthy Waists, Healthy Wallets: Kitchen Sink Soup first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

Wait. The slow cooker? That’s only for winter, right? No, my friends. It is not.

When you stop and think about it, it’s really the perfect way to cook in the summer. You put ingredients in it, you turn it on low, and you walk away. It doesn’t heat up the kitchen like the stove or oven. You don’t have to stand over it. You just wait, and voila! Dinner is ready!

I’ve included some of our family’s favorite summer slow cooker recipes. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Summery Greek-Inspired Chicken

This is a favorite at our house. We use chicken thighs as they don’t dry out, and they have more flavor than most commercially available chicken breasts. It’s delicious and healthy (don’t tell the kids!) and easy.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small red onion, halved and sliced into half moons
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried dill
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 8-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 12-ounce jar roasted marinated red peppers, drained and sliced
1 cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
1 3-ounce jar capers, drained
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon, sliced
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 block feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of a six-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with the smashed garlic, sliced red onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and dill. Layer the grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, peppers, olives, and lemon slices over the chicken. Pour the lemon juice and chicken broth over everything and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid and drizzle the chicken with olive oil and crumbled feta. Replace the lid and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over rice, orzo, couscous, pasta, or just with some lovely bread to sop up all the juices. Serves 4 to 6 people.

Thai-Inspired Corn Chowder

We love Thai flavors in our house, and this is a great chowder that uses Thai flavors with summer produce.

A basket of sweet corn, three ears partially husked

Ingredients

6 ears corn, husked and kernels removed
1 pound baby golden potatoes, halved
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, lightly pounded
2 to 4 Thai chile peppers*
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup canned coconut milk
Chopped cilantro, Thai basil, and/or mint to garnish

*Depending on your heat tolerance, you can either slice the chile peppers, leaving in or removing the seeds and ribs (the source of most of the heat), or you can just throw them in whole to get the flavor of the chiles without much of the heat.

Directions

Place the corn, potatoes, onion, garlic, lemongrass, and chiles in the bottom of a six-quart crockpot. Add in the chicken or vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper. Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid, remove the lemongrass stalks, give everything a good stir, and add in the lime juice, fish sauce, and coconut milk and stir again. Replace the lid and let cook for another 30 minutes on LOW. To serve, scoop into bowls and garnish with cilantro, Thai basil, and/or mint. Serves 4 to 6.

Slow Cooker Summer Squash and Pasta

Pasta in a slow cooker? Yes! This is a delicious summer meal and is ridiculously healthy. It’s super easy, so it’s one of my go-to meals when I don’t want to cook.

Just picked tomato and squashes on the white structured background. Just harvested vegetables. Top view.

Ingredients

1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce (I always look for no sugars added sauces)
1 pound shaped pasta (I use whole grain ziti, penne, or cavatappi)
1 zucchini, halved and sliced into half moons
1 yellow summer squash, halved and sliced into half moons
1 small yellow onion, halved and sliced into half moons
2 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup cottage cheese (please don’t use the fat free stuff)
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 8-ounce bag shredded Italian cheeses
1 bunch basil, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped

Directions

Combine the pasta sauce, pasta, zucchini, summer squash, onion, garlic, cottage cheese, Italian herbs, and salt and pepper in a six-quart slow cooker. Cook on LOW for about 2 hours. Check occasionally, and if it’s looking a little dry, add in some water, chicken or vegetable broth, or dry white wine.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid, give it a good stir, and add in the shredded Italian cheeses and basil. Replace the lid and cook for about another 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

The post Summery Slow Cooker Meals for Blazing Hot Days first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

It’s gotten strangely chilly out there, folks. In our house, chilly weather is soup weather. So I’ve pulled together three of our family favorites, guaranteed to warm you up. These all make enough for four hungry eaters with enough for leftovers because soup only gets better the next day!

Caldo Verde

This Portuguese soup is just what you need on a chilly night – hearty, filling, and EASY.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 5 large waxy potatoes (red or gold), peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 bunches kale or 1 bunch each kale and some other greens (collards, turnip, mustard…), rinsed well, woody stems removed, and chopped
• 8 ounces smoked sausage, thinly sliced (if you can find Portuguese chouriço or linguiça, get it, but kielbasa or smoked sausage works just fine)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot sauce and/or vinegar, if desired

Directions

In a large stockpot over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add in the potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are well-cooked. Add in the greens and kielbasa and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and/or vinegar. Serve this with a good loaf of warm bread, and let the wind blow outside – you’ll be warm and cozy inside! Serve 4 with leftovers.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I love this soup. It’s the quintessence of fall to me. Fortunately, my family likes it, too!

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced OR 4 bags of diced butternut squash (soooo much easier on a busy night!)
• 1 large shallot, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon canola or avocado oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ bunch fresh sage, leaves removed and thinly sliced
• 1/8 ground nutmeg
• A couple of dashes of hot sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. On a baking sheet, toss the butternut squash with the shallot and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and roast for about 25 minutes, or until the squash is getting brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes

If using a regular blender, scrape the squash and shallot into the blender, add in the cream and broth and puree. Don’t use the lid to cover the blender because the heat from the vegetables will blow the lid right off! Cover the blender with a clean kitchen towel instead. Once pureed, pour into a large stockpot.  If using an immersion blender, scrape the squash and shallots into a large stockpot, add the cream and broth, and puree.

Bring the soup to a simmer and add in the sage, nutmeg, and hot sauce. Allow the soup to simmer gently for about 20 minutes to incorporate the flavors. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve. This serves 4 with some leftovers.

A Pot o’ Beans, Slow Cooker-Style

My kids love this warm, hearty soup, and it’s ridiculously easy.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of dried pinto beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, or white beans
• 1 ham hock or 6 ounces of salt pork, smoked bacon, or leftover ham (if you have the ham bone, use it!)
• 8 cups water
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 4 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot sauce and vinegar, to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients except salt, hot sauce, and vinegar in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Before serving, season with salt and pepper. Allow diners to season their bowls o’ beans with hot sauce and vinegar as they like. Serve this with a cast iron skillet of cornbread or over rice. Serves 4 with leftovers.

The post Three Soups to Warm the Soul first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.