Pizza and PJs

I cashed in some vouchers for free pizza crusts a while back and stashed them in my freezer. Its nice to have a back up plan for those days when I dont feel like cooking anything extravagant (it happens sometimes)

My Meg (who is working with me right now to develop a cooler alias) suggested a girls night in… Netflix and pizza. As you know, when Meg and I hangout- we eat well. like, really well.

With her promise of bringing beer, i defrosted the pizza crusts and went shopping for toppings.

For Meg:

Cheese

For Mo:

Cheese, olives, caramelized onions, peppers, and mushrooms.

For a while I used pre-shredded cheese because I lacked the gadgets necessary to produce shredded anything… but I was a good girl this year:

And there is a DEFINITE different in fresh shredded cheese vs. pre-shredded. All the moisture in the cheese was still intact and it made for an ooey gooey melty cheesy pizza.

I used my emergency jarred marinara sauce on the pizza which comes in handy on days like these.

Divas Pizza, before 8 minutes in the oven at 425*

Meg’s Cheesy pizza, before the oven lovin.

Mine, after! Loooovin the veggie goodness.

Megs CHEESY, Ridonculously gooey pizza. Seriously, pre-shredded cheese just became retarded lol.

We served ourselves some slices…

And watched a bloody movie on Netflix. Best Girls Night ever!

Whats your ideal night in? Chips and dip? Board Games? Horror stories?

Quiche "Lorraine"

Holy Hell!

Its Friday already! The train was super duper empty today… and as i sat in my seat I kind of cringed at the thought of the disturbing video I saw on Gothamist yesterday. – be warned- Its not suitable for work… or my blog. lol.

So now that my fridge is fully stocked, I am overwhelmed with the possibilities of yummy things to cook up. I’m bored of pantry cleaning and I’m bored of take out. What I really wanted, even though i had a fully stocked fridge was Quiche. And not just any Quiche; Quiche Lorraine from Balthazar’s. Instead of going out and trekking to SoHo for some quiche, i decided to look for a recipe to make on my own.

I mean, I make fritatta every now and then… Quiche couldn’t be THAT much different.

I found a recipe for quiche Lorraine and didn’t have everything i needed but i decided to make a few tweaks…

Ingredients

1 roll of crescent dough

4 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1.5 cups of milk

1 cup of shredded swiss

1/2 an onion

12 strips of turkey bacon

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

I could have really kicked myself for giving the Dude his grater back… i ended up dicing the block of cheese that i had and fighting Cheese Eater who kept reaching into the kitchen to grab slabs of swiss that I set aside. Cheese Eater should really be careful when I have a knife in my hands… just sayin‘.

Next, I diced up a 1/2 onion and caramelized it in a little bit of butter (everything is better in butter)

And set up my electric griddle to crisp up some turkey bacon

At this point, cheese eater had to leave the apartment because the aroma of bacon was just too much to bear. Feeling generous, i set aside a slice of bacon for him… but since he left- Mickey got it. I gave it a rough chop… should have made the pieces smaller though.

Next I pressed a roll of crescent dough into a pie pan and made sure the entire surface was covered…

Then i layered my onions, bacon, and swiss.

In a medium sized bowl, beat your eggs, milk, sugar, pepper, and salt and pour over the bacon and cheese.

Bake at 425 for 15 mins, then lower it to 300 for 25- 30 mins. Because i used skim milk, this took longer to set. Its ready when the center doesnt jiggle… and the top is golden brown.

like so!

I divvied up the slices, to make 8 lovely portions for Breakfast, Lunch, or Brunch… Froze half and took the rest to work for lunches. : )

It was no Quiche Lorraine from Balthazar’s but it was damn good. (and damn cheap to make!)

Radiator Pasta with Sausage and Kale

Happy Monday.
Fall is definitely making its way…I took a long walk through Forest Park with Mickey around 4 and when we were making our way back around 6 there was an amazing silence in the woods. The sky had darkened slightly letting you know that the sun is making its way down and every creature in the forest had stood still. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I was walking listening to my iPod and actually turned it off to bask in the silence. If i werent such a chicken shit, i’d stay in the forest till it got dark just to enjoy the silence for a little longer.
But after a 4 mile walk- you get hungry. And i could think of only one thing that would be amazing in my belly…
Carbs. Radiator pasta to be exact. I love fun shaped pasta- i love pasta over all but the fun shapes enhance my dining experience. Because im 5. I aldo added some kale, turkey sausage and peppers to the party.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, julienned
1 lb of sausage with casings removed (i used turkey sausage)
1 lb of pasta (i used radiatorre)
1 head of kale (trimmed of spine and stem and cut into pieces)
1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
parmesan cheese
Start off by dicing onions and slicing peppers into julienne strips. Saute the onion and pepper for 5-7 minutes with a little olive oil and crumble in 1 pound of turkey sausage with the casings removed.

Using a spoon (or whatever is easier) break the sausage up as its cooking to make it crumble. When the sausage is cooked, add a head of kale (ripped into pieces with the stems and spines removed)

Allow the kale to wilt. Should take about 5 minutes. At this point, I would say add a little salt if needed but I nixed the salt in favor of a palmful of parmigianno reggiano cheese.

I then added a 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes and allowed the mixture to simmer for 20 mins…or until the sauce thickened. While the sauce is thickening, cook the pasta till its al dente.

Serve yourself a healthy portion of pasta and several spoonfuls of sausage junk.

Mad good yo. Mad good.

Today marks the start of the Project Food Blog Star Voting… If you would like to vote for me, please click here. Please note that you can log in to FoodBuzz with your facebook or twitter ID and if you have neither, you can register.

Project Food Blog: Focaccia

Project Food Blog? Yeah, I entered
At first it sounded really awesome.
Like, “wow, imagine if I made it passed the first round?” and then i set up my profile and realized I’d actually have to DO stuff to make people think I would make a great contestant.
In truth, I am but a little fish in a big pond… And there are so many bloggers, AKA the big fish, out there that I LOVE and know they will survive several rounds in this contest… but I think I have my own special little things that set me apart from others and will at least get me passed the first round.
(its a long shot but what have i got to lose?)
I’m an every day cook.

I’ve had a passion for cooking ever since I was little.

Hell, I remember setting up my teddy bears at the dining table and teaching them how to make a Turkey sandwich at the age of 7 after spending a day with grannie watching Julia Child on tv.

And I remember the first batch of pancakes I ever made when I was 9. They couldn’t just be regular pancakes either. They had to be banana pancakes. Hideous, still runny and MESSY banana pancakes that my father ate (and lived to tell the tale). The passion has always been there.

I’ve always made the every day stuff and one day I just felt like challenging myself to do something different.

Making bread.

I didnt start my bread making projects until about 2 years ago, when i started this blog. My bread making?…Never a strong point in my cooking. EVER.

But I love a challenge!

I would always make a loaf, hate it and say I was done with it… then hate myself more for almost giving up and would get back in there and try it all over again.

I stared at the Focaccia recipe.

I read it over several times. Psyching myself up for this momentous task.

“I can do this. i can DO this!”

I have a bread maker… that might be cheating.

But i’ve ruined plenty of doughs in the bread maker before…so there is SOME skill required i’m sure.

I manned up.

And I prepped that dough cycle.

3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast, 1 cup warm water, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar.

Set it and prayed for the best.

While my dough was being kneaded I prepped the topping.

1 onion thinly sliced, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 cup of sliced black olives, 1.5 tbsp dried oregano, and a sprinkle of sea salt (i nixed the feta cheese it called for…but it TOTALLY didn’t need it)

Paper thin, sliced onions. Or as close to paper thin as I could slice…i am quite clumsy- cant risk losing my digits!

Caramelize the onions in the olive oil. When they are done, set them aside.

In a greased 9 x 13 baking pan, arrange your dough and make dimples in it with your fingers. Cover the dough with a tea towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 30 mins or until its doubled in size.

I used my microwave…i like to think its a quicker method- but one must never rush rising dough…

Preheat the oven to 400*.

When its done rising, spread your onions (and oniony oil), olives, oregano and salt over the fluffy dough and re-dimple the surface with your fingers.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until edges are golden brown.

How about that for the average cook?

For the cook that always messes up bread.

This focaccia smelled DIVINE.

It looked fantastic.

and when it cooled for a few minutes, i impatiently served myself a slice. Took a bite…

and cried.

It was the best thing I have ever made in the bread category to date.

Persistence is key.

Sometimes you gotta make a few mistakes to get it right… And after 4 slices of this bread on a rainy sunday, i packed up the leftovers and promised them to someone – because left on my own with this bread – it would have ended ugly.

So this is my hopeful entry. The entry that shows what kind of blogger I am and what sets me apart from the others…

THE POLLS ARE OFFICIALLY OPEN! CAST YOUR VOTES HERE

Snobby Joes

A while back, My good friend Lauren was doing a series on Lentils and a giveaway. I participated in a survery for a chance to win a buttload of lentils. Sadly, i did not win. But a few weeks later I got a small envelope filled with a cup of green lentils! I may not have been a winner but I definitely didnt come out empty handed.
When I thought about the lentils, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do with them and they are too awesome to just sit in the bag… Thats when i thought about my early adventures in the kitchen. I could NEVER make a sloppy joe. NEVER. My ex would scratch his head and wonder how i can make tomato sauce from scratch and not make his favorite childhood dish of sloppy joes…My sauce would always taste sweet and off putting and never like the kind we used to go ape shit for in middle school.
And I found a recipe for Snobby Joes. All the flavor of a Sloppy Joe but way better because instead of ground meat, we are using: LENTILS!
I’m gonna let ya’ll know right now- It was GOOD…

To start, You’ll need:

1 cup of dry lentils (+ 4 cups of water to boil)

1 bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1 tsp mustard

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

3 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tsp salt

Boil the lentils in 4 cups of water for 20- 25 minutes or until they are soft.

While the lentils are boiling, prep you garlic, onion and pepper.

(pretty colors!) With about 10 minutes or so left on the lentils…

Saute pepper and onion for 8 minutes in a medium sauce pot over Medium heat.Then add the garlic and let cook for two mins, also over a medium heat.

When the lentils are done, drain them and add them to the pot with the peppers and onions. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder and salt.

(try not to Fog up your lense) Let the mixture cook (stirring occassionally) for about 10 mins on a lower heat and then add mustard and maple syrup and allow to heat through. Taste. Plate. Serve on the bread or bun of your choice ( i chose Arnold Sandwich thins – Thanks FoodBuzz!)

It would be a really good time to show you what a snobby joe looks like on some bread… but in my excitement over this huge success, i kinda just went for it.

Nostalgic. Healthy. Yummy. and EASY!

And for those on a budget, this was really affordable! One cup of lentils in this recipe made 6 hefty portions of the snobby stuff.
I believe with my whole heart that this recipe will complete you. Filling a nostalgic void and also taking a healthy approach to a childhood favorite. Betcha the kids wont be able to tell its good for them!

…all i need now are some tater tots…

P.S.

Highlights from the Bachlorette party…. the PG stuff…

Tower of pee pee cupcakes.

Cuppycakes.

Holding the Bride To Be’s tiara while she… had fun. 🙂

Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions: Take 5 Cookbook

In case you missed it: My final thoughts on BlogHer and Pics of Swag.

Now that I’m back to reality, I am SO ready for a homecooked meal. Sure, it was nice to always have something available to eat at the conference but I seriously missed being in my hot ass kitchen, chopping and sauteeing like i have been… and I had a new recipe to try out.
Courtesy of the Take 5 Weight Watchers Cookbook.
I chose this one because everything the recipe called for was already in stock! The only thing extra that I added was some herbed rice that I made in my lovely steamer. I tweaked the recipe to only make ONE serving.

I started with 3 1 oz chicken breasts that i marinated with chopped onions, 1 tsp of dried rosemary, sea salt and pepper.

i put it in a ziploc baggie in the fridge while i prepped my other elements.

More onions. I sliced 1 medium sized spanish onion and set it in a pan with a little butter and let it caramelize for 12 minutes- stirring frequently. When Onions start to caramelize, add 2 tbspn of balsamic vinager, 2 tbspn of water, and a spinkle of rosemary to the pan.

And let them make sweet caramelized onion love together.

I let them simmer for 5- 8 minutes. Or until most liquid is absorbed.

I steamed a batch of italian and sundried tomato rice… and got a steam burn. Dammit! I set the rice aside to cool off a little. And removed the cooked onions from the pan. I added a little olive oil to the pan and placed the chicken breasts in the pan to cook…

and left some of the marinade on it. When the chicken was cooked, i plated.

Rice and balsamic chicken with caramelized onions.

This was good ya’ll. Mad Good.

I modified the recipe so that I could make ONE portion instead of the 4 portions the recipe called for… Try it! Its easy!

Hittin’ the Road Pt 3

After our Water Ices from Rita’s we did some serious… and I mean SERIOUS shopping. It was hot like Whoa and we had that AC blasting! After hitting PetSmart, Walmart, Sears, Best Buy, Spencers, and Ollie’s we headed to Sam’s Club for a car battery. We knew in advance that the battery was on the fritz but while on a gas run the car decided it was done. Luckily we were walking distance from Sam’s club.
We did some MORE shopping in Sam’s Club and when we were done we had to wait a while before the car would be ready. After about an hour we got sick of staring at this:
Because it looks REALLY REALLY GOOD. And my cousin said “Dude, its DISGUSTING!” and In our family that means its really freakin good… we’re weird that way. But when we say something is disgusting with disdain… its disgustingly GOOD. Lord, please let nothing edible be really disgusting… cuz the Food Snob fam might think its a green light to eat it!

Vanilla soft serve (though I tell myself its fro yo) with raspberry syrup. Great Googa Mooga. this baby was deelish. We (aka MOM) bought 3 and we all dove in.

I shared mine with this tiny diva. She kept telling me to bring the “juice” to the top. I was glad to because it was saturated with syrup… and I dont need that much sugar. Not pictured is the puddle of water that made its way to my cousins pants… little diva spilled water on a picnic bench and her momma sat right on it… thats when the boredom giggles commenced.

“Tia, take my picture!”

“Mine too!”

And just so you know, there may be a lot of pics below but no where near as many as i had originally taken… but i cant explain my family and their cookiness without giving examples to back it up.

The Food Snob pose.

The Eating Machine Pose.

Another Hour into waiting for the car:

I can only explain this expression by having you refer to the massive quantity of raspberry syrup little diva consumed. CRAZED!

don’t ask. Just laugh.

This is the Evil Lunch Lady… If you’re wondering where the hairnet came from… i bought it at spencers. One because its retro and two becuase it was a buck… im a sucker for sales.

BORED!

We heard our name called and was to let us know they were working on the car. A million hours later. Dude, I look like im gonna cry but I was about to crack up from holding the sad face.

They cracked up shortly after… and Wouldn’t you know it! the car was fixed right after this pick. We only stood in sams club for a million hours! yay! time to go home and make dinner!

Cuzzo started chopping peppers and onions…

cuz we were gonna have italian sausage and peppers.

mmmmm. Love this smell! I let them cook for a long while. they were getting caramelized!

Mom was on time out cuz she kept telling me what to do… Mom, have you seen the blog? I know my kitchen. JK. She was just taking a break (on the time out stool)…but i like the idea of her being on time out.

To ensure a juicy and crispy sausage (TWSS) we boiled them for a few minutes so the innards cooked up evenly. and to help them cook faster without losing their juiciness…

Peppers and onions, check!

Crisping of the sausages, check!

Dad taking a break, Check.

Stuff face. CHECK! Go back for seconds CHECK!

the sausage and peppers reminded of the kind from the NY street fairs- only from a CLEANER kitchen! MMM.

whats your favorite Street food?

Happy Birthday Cow Girl!

Happy Birthday 21st (plus a few more) Tracey! You dont look a day over 18!
I told you yesterday there was an EPIC cheat coming up… a calorie fest of epic proportions… and this is it.
This is where I take my month of hard work and succumb to the aromas of smoked ribs and fresh bread. This is where I throw all my will power out of the window…
And this is where they make the birthday girl sit on a saddle and yell YEHAW at her. Yep, Im for SURE not in New York anymore. AS you can see from the photo above, the good looks run in the family. Lookin’ good Tre’… and remember that i love you dearly before you tell your husband that you are going to kill me. Surely, you had to know that if i snapped a pic of you it was likely to end up on this lovely blog.
We went to Texas Roadhouse… on a saturday night. And so did every one else. The wait with a reservation was 45 minutes.

But they had peanuts for snackage while we waited.

I wish i can say thats the number of peanuts I consumed but the truth is that this is probably what was left AFTER i snacked…

And I felt really bad for the kid that had to clean this mess up! The peanuts there are endless! That huge barrel is full of peanuts, when you get seated, you get a small bucket of peanuts, next to your table is another barrel of peanuts… everywhere!!!

When we were seated we were given two baskets of fresh bread. I have a serious weakness for fresh bread and had a roll… (plus one more)

With whipped cinnamon sugar butter. Seriously Roadhouse- you’re killing me! And when we finished our 2 baskets…why did two more come out?

This is not New York so there were no calorie stats on the menu. But guessing by the contents of hte menu, even the salads were gonna start at or around 1000 calories. After a quick text from Mari… who said I am entitled to ONE cheat… I went for the half slab of ribs.

I ordered a drink. Strawberry Margarita. There are no margaritas on the planet of New York that can match up to the margaritas in 5 Burro Cafe… but everyone was having one so i went for it. BAD idea. We are definitely not in New York; where the drinks are strong and the and margaritas taste good. This margarita was so WEAK. It tasted like strawberry puree.. and it wasnt just mine. My parents ordered a Grey goose martini that tasted like pure water. Roadhouse, do you water down your alcohol??? shame on you! I returned my drink and went for this:

A Jamaican cowboy. i have no idea what is in it but its mighty fruity tasting and i could have chugged this on an empty stomach and not feel a single buzz…I cant wait to get my margarita at 5 burro cafe!

Mom and tre got a caesar salad to start and I had to have a bite… I really liked the dressing. I ordered a mammoth half slab of ribs. Meaty slow cooked ribs. They were fantastic. I also ordered mashed potatoes with brown gravy to go with it. The taters were heavenly.

in an effort to have ONE green veggie in my meal i opted for the green beans… that came smothered in bacon and onions. DAMN. I tasted them- they were okay but my heart was set on fresh sauteed green beans.

Surprisingly, i didnt eat everything on my plate- my hard work is definitely paying off! But I still have to see if my calorie fest has an effect on the scale this week! Wish me luck!

Birthday Saddle anyone???

I have Legs again!

I never lost my legs… but I really really really wish I could temporarily remove mand go about my life until they stop hurting- then put them back on again. I was really killin’ it in the fitness realm and the ONE day i was left to workout on my own I KILLED myself. Then to make matters worse I resumed my workout schedule with Mari on top of my already sore thighs… and then yesterday i could barely walk.
And I know what you’re gonna say..”its a good pain”… yea… HELL NO. The good pain was two days ago. Yesterdays pain felt like my muscles were packing up and leaving my body. Every step i took felt like my legs were going to buckle from under me. I was upset too because It was my last chance workout at the gym before my long MLK weekend in my cousins house.
I went to the drug store and picked up some Epsom Salt and tylenol for muscle aches and pain. When i got home, i walked the dog…SLOWLY lol. and after my soak and a long stretching session I am happy to say i am feeling 85% better! I have that GOOD PAIN now that tells me I worked hard but not to the point where i over did it. And that tylenol is a GODSEND.
yesterdays eats.
I had a cup of POM Kiwi. Pom is too strong for me so i dilute it. Gotta get in those antioxidants! woot! Each sip was accompanied by a painful attempt to straighten my legs.

Needing a break from my oats I had a yummy bowl of puffins peanut butter cereal. I beleive the puffin on the box is the cutest friggin thing ever (aside from Mickey) and this cereal is delectable! Best part is the peanut buttery milk at the end. SLURP!

random midday munchies. I am sort of over the lara”bites”. I like a granola texture better than this “chewy” and raw kinda taste… My gala apple was sensational but it really needed a mini babybel light. Nothing better than apples and cheese!

For lunch I had a sandwich and cup of chicken broth- which was wonderful for this cold weather.

When I got home I was sooo hungry for dinner and really wanted to be bad:

BUT i didn’t eat this. This is an old pic. (mari, did you have a heart attack thinking i cheated?) I wont lie, I really really wanted to go nuts last night but I stuck to my regimen.

I grilled some onions on my really old, needs to be thrown away grill pan.

Placed two 2 oz chicken breasts lightly seasoned with salt and pepper on a screaming hot grill pan while the onions carmelized. In a seperate not pictured pan, I sauteed a giant portobello mushroom.

i saw this done on Simply Delicioso a few years ago and when I need a quick fix, its my go-to option. carmelized onions on a grilled chicken breast! YUM! and its been so long sicne I have had a portobello mushroom- i forgot how good and filling they are!

I beleive now that my overeating was done out of boredom. For the past 2 weeks I went home, and worked out right away and by the time i was done it would be time for dinner (and also kind of late) so all i would have time to do is eat and relax a little. For the sake of my legs I skipped the work out and saw that I was fighting this urge to snack- its amazing to realize!
My craving killer last night was a huge mug of Hot Chai tea!

So, to those of you that are getting healthy this year or who cook healthily on a regular basis… what are you comfort HEALTHY dinners? and what tips do you have to combat the snack attack???

SOPA TUSCANA!

When I returned from my cousin’s house after the Holidays i was craving that sopa tuscana that she made. The soup made with sausage and potatoes brings me back to the one of two times i ever went to the Olive Garden. (because apparently you don’t learn lessons the first time around- I despise Huge restaurant chains like Olive Garden because a lot of what makes food special is tradition and that homemade touch. I just feel a lot of it gets lost in being a Chain…. i digress) The first time i went to Olive Garden was with my cousin a few years ago when the endless soup and salad fad was all the rage. We went there for lunch and the unlimited soup and salad was included with the meal (jeez louise); I ordered chicken parm and when asked about my soup my cousin said sopa tuscana because it was really good. It was a cloudy broth that had chunks of soft potatoes, carmelized onions, crumbled sausage and a smoky bacon taste. I had 3 bowls and brought my chicken parm home (which is where i discovered my hatred for Olive Garden and they horrid sauces).
Well, My cousin made this soup over Christmas break and it was even better than I remembered it. I helped with the prep and figured I could play around with this recipe on my own.
And here are the goods!
2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp flour, 1 lb of smoked bacon (i used turkey), 1 med sized onion, 6 cups of chicken broth, 6 potatoes sliced into rounds, 1 lb of sausage (sweet or hot), 1 bunch of kale (washed, trimmed, and cut into large pieces)

I washed my kale and ripped the leaves into chunks, discarding the stem and ugly pieces. i set them in a colander to drip dry until i was ready for them.

I roughly diced an onion and sauteed it in a pan with a light drizzle of olive oil.

Roughly diced up some smokey turkey bacon…and added them to the onions. Sautee until the bacon slightly crisps and the onions carmelize.

Get a large pot out and add all your chicken broth to the pot. Start to heat the broth since we now have to cook potatoes in there.

After scrubbing some yukon gold potatoes, I sliced them into rounds and added them to the now simmering chicken broth. I leave the skin on because i loves it… but if it grosses you out you can peel them.

Add you bacon and onions to the chicken broth and potatoes and get ready to cook the sausage. I was looking for the giant tube of jimmy dean sausage filling but I couldnt find any. If you find it, that would be ideal but if not, grab a lb of sausage, take them out of the casing and cook them up on the stove top using your cooking utensil to break them up into bits.

MMMM. Sausage crumbles. Do not taste them crumbles as you cook them. they are more addicitng than they appear.

Once the sausage is cooked…

Add it to the pot of other yummy stuff. Season to your liking. I added some italion seasoning, granulated garlic, salt and lots of cracked black pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add all of your kale… don’t worry- it will wilt down and turn into something gorgeous.

OH YEA! thats the stuff! We’re almost done! take a small bowl and put a few tablespoons of the broth in the bowl. add the milk and flour and whisk till there are no lumps. this is our thickening agent in our yummy soup. If you want to experience the full effect of this soup, omit the flour and milk and add 1/4 cup of heavy cream… However, with it being a new year and damn near everyone is on a diet I figured i would lighten this up just a little! once the mixture is lump free pour it into the soup and give it a giant stir. Soup is ready when potatoes are fork tender and kale is soft.

Have a big bowl wearing a warm snuggie and get that cozy feeling (hell, i know I needed it with all this FRIGID weather!)

And look at all those leftovers. Its gonna be a SOUPY week for me!

My version of the soup was a bit more “peppery” than my cousins. the addition of garlic powder made the flavors a lot bolder in the soup- with all the smokiness from the bacon- it could be ommitted and still taste amazing.

My apartment still smells like bacon and onions but thats not such a terrible thing…. unless someone comes over unaware that i made a bacon and onion based soup and thinks i need a shower…