Corn Soup

While watching the Food Network, my wife found a recipe that she and the boys just love. They call it corn soup but there is more in it than that. We love it because it can be a quick, cheap and tasty meal.

We have a fruit/vegetable stand just a few minuets from our house. Everything is always fresh and the prices are better than at our local grocery store. Unless we are in a pinch, we always buy our produce from there. Yesterday, we popped in just to pick up some collards and noticed that he had some white corn for a decent price. This time of year isn't really the corn season so it was a nice find.

Here's how we make our soup:

4 small onions
4 medium zucchinis
6 ears of corn
2 small red bell peppers
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup any type of milk, cream or half and half

Cut up all but the corn. Try to cut everything the same size so it cooks evenly. Then cut the corn off the cob. Put the onions in the pot first with some butter to soften. You can use however much butter you would like or skip it and use any type of oil. We like the flavor of the butter sometimes, but when we are trying to be healthy we skip the butter and use a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once the onions have started to soften slightly add 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic, the chopped zucchinis and peppers. Stir in some dried basil, pepper and salt...all to taste. Once the vegetables have started to soften add the corn. Cook for a few minuets and than add the liquids. Now, just cook until the corn softens and the flavors combine.

You can do any variation of this soup. It's great with plum tomatoes instead of red bell peppers too. In fact, when the fruit stand is out of the peppers we use tomatoes. Red bell peppers at the grocery store cost an arm and a leg! If you are looking to do a low fat version then leave out the milk. Instead, put a cup of the corn in a blender before adding it to the soup. It will help thicken it up without the extra calories.

This soup has become one of our favorites. I sure hope you like it too! Let me know how you change it to suit your tastes and family.

3-Minute Apple Cobbler

Check this out! This is the perfect kind of dessert to let you kids make. Fast and easy. Plus, most people have these ingredients on hand.

What You Need

6 NILLA Wafers

1/4 cup  applesauce

1 Tbsp. thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Dash  ground cinnamon

Make It

PLACE wafers in microwaveable bowl; top with applesauce.

MICROWAVE on HIGH 15 sec. or until hot. Cool 1 min.

TOP with COOL WHIP; sprinkle with cinnamon.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Prepare using COOL WHIP French Vanilla Whipped Topping

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Quick Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

If your week has been anything like mine, than there is no time for cooking. It has been crazy around here! Cold, illnesses, bills...ugh! Tonight, I need a fast supper but full of warmth. (It is getting into the twenty's again!)It is definitely a chicken noodle soup night. Sure, I could just open a can, add water and heat. Or, I could heat up some chicken stock and mix in my own ingredients. To me that sounds better.

This is what I did:
-defrosted one bottle of chick stock, put in pot with 2-3 cups water
-cut up a small onion, heated in a pot with butter and fresh garlic
-brought to a boil and added egg noodles
-cut up left over chicken and added to pot
-added half a bag of frozen mixed carrot and peas
-used dry basil, salt and pepper..all added to taste

All this only took about 15 minuets, from start to finish. I know exactly what ingredients are in my soup and how much salt was added. These are ingredients we almost always have on hand too. But even if I hadn't had the peas and carrots I could have added green beans and corn. Anything really.

While I was cooking it I thought I needed to come share it with you. So, if you will excuse me, it is time to eat!