Recipe Roundup: Taco Soup

Hey Everyone! This is Summer from Summer Scraps and I am so excited to share one of my favorite soup recipes with all of you today. My Taco soup is the soup I fall back on when I have a busy day but need something really satisfying. Something so super simple to make that I don't have to worry about messing it up or how long it will take to make.

Taco Soup Recipe

Ingredients needed:

• 1 pound of hamburger
• 1 Jalapeno pepper, diced into teeny tiny pieces
• 1 - 14.5 oz can hominy or corn - I just love any recipe where I can add hominy
• 1 - 14.5 oz can Kidney beans
• 2 - 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning mix
• 1 small jar of salsa con queso cheese dip
• Serve with shredded cheese and chips

Brown the hamburger and drain any grease. Mix in the taco seasoning then add the jalapeno, canned vegetables and beans. Mix and heat to boiling. Once it start to boil reduce to a simmer for at least 10 minutes. A few mintues before serving add the cheese dip and stir it in. Serve with some cheese on top. We also like to have some chips for dipping. Do you like Taco Soup? You will have to give this one a try and let me know what you think.

 I would love for you to come on over and visit me on my blog Summer Scraps or follow me on pinterest! This week I am sharing my Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Bars and my Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad!

If you are interested in being part of the next Recipe Roundup send me an email. 

For past Recipe Roundups go here.  

Recipe Roundup: Favorite Soups

Today I want to share a few of the favorite soups that have been shared on this blog over the years.

From left to right

Turkey, Rice and Kale Soup by Raia's Recipes
Chicken Tomatilla Soup by Armelle
South Western Chicken Soup by Sweetie Pie Style
Market Street Clam Chowder

Recipe Round Up: Pasta Fagioli Soup

Today's recipe is Pasta Fagioli Soup by Sherri from Luv a Bargain. You can find more yummy recipes on her blog along with bargains, crafts, and more!

INGREDIENTS
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 oz of white wine
4 cups of chicken broth (I use low-sodium)
1 29 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 14 oz can of Northern White Beans (I use low-sodium)
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
8 strips of Bacon, cooked and crumbled – (I buy the boxed version most of the time of convenience)  You can use turkey bacon too.
1/2 cup of pepperoni,  cut into little pieces – (You could use turkey pepperoni as well)
1 lb box of Ditalini pasta

DIRECTIONS
Cook Bacon and set aside.  Then crumble when cool.
In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender.
Turn off heat.  Add cooking wine, chicken broth, tomatoes and seasonings listed.
Bring to a boil.
Add beans, cheese, bacon and pepperoni.
Stir and simmer for 30 minutes.

If you are interested in being part of the next Recipe Roundup send me an email. 

For past Recipe Roundups go here. 

Recipe Roundup: Tortellini Spinach and Tomato Soup

Hi there, Whatever Dee Dee Wants readers! I'm so excited to be here with you today sharing one of our family's favorite cold weather recipes... Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup. It's sure to warm up the tummies and put smiles on everyone's faces.

I'm Nici and you can find me over at Posed Perfection where I share simple, delicious recipes, easy-to-duplicate craft projects and whatever is on my heart for the day. I am thrilled to be here with you today sharing one of my absolute favorite soup recipes. 

                                                         

  

Most soups that I make end up being a mixture of whatever leftover meat I have in the fridge combined with a few pantry items and some frozen veggies... kind of a last ditch effort to clear out the leftovers... and save some money. This soup, however, is an actual recipe I was given many years ago. This Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup is so incredibly easy, quick to make, and filling.

Here's what you need: butter, garlic, chicken broth, cheese tortellini, fresh spinach, canned petite diced tomatoes, grated Parmesan cheese.

Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup

1-2 Tbsp. butter
3 tsp. minced garlic
1 32 oz. carton Chicken Broth
6 oz fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
14 oz. can diced tomatoes (with juice)
3-4 oz. fresh spinach, washed, stemmed, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes for frozen, less if using fresh. Stir this occasionally. Add canned tomatoes with juice, reduce heat to simmer and cook until pasta is tender. Coarsely chop the spinach and add to the soup, stirring to incorporate.  Cook until spinach is wilted, one to two minutes. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

Thanks so much to DeeDee for letting me be a part of her Recipe Roundup! I'd love for you to stop by Posed Perfection to see some of my other family-friendly recipes and projects! You can connect with me in these places too:  Facebook  >>>  Pinterest  >>> Google+ >>> Twitter
Nici Higby

If you are interested in being part of the next Recipe Roundup send me an email. 

No Sew Felt Valetine Mail Bag

Hi! Today I am over Summer Scraps sharing this tutorial on making a no sew felt valentine mail bag.
Hop on over and check it out! 

DIY Tic Tac Toe

Brody loves painting so we decided to paint some rocks to use for our own tic tac toe game. They are perfect to bring inside and play during the cold winter months but we also love playing with them outside when it's warm.

I don't think there is any need to explain how we made our tic tac toe rocks other than we used acrylic paint and outside we use chalk to draw the tic tac toe board and inside we took an old tray and put washi tape on it for the board.

The Results Are In

We got our results back from our twin DNA testing. Sadie and Samantha are identical twins!

I am actually kind of shocked about this. Because the girls had their own amniotic sacs and placentas I was told they were more than likely fraternal twins. This means the twins separated very early!

Reading List

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life—something like his old life—exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return—not enough fuel to get him home—following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face—in the people he meets, and in himself—is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.

I really enjoyed this book! It was engaging and had great characters.


This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
 The death of Judd Foxman's father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd's wife, Jen, whose affair with his radio- shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva-and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: she's pregnant.

I really wanted to like this book but I found it to be crude with no merit. I felt like it was far fetched and the idea of the book was much better than the actual writing. 

Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene
Every day of the year, every day of the war, the Canteen—staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers—was open from five a.m. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. Astonishingly, this remote plains community of only 12,000 people provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended.

This true story is amazing! The book, not so much. The stories of the people who worked at and for the Canteen during the second World War were interesting but I found the book fell short of what it could have been. 


What have you been reading?

Rhodes Hearty Breakfast Bake

Today I am over at the Rhodes Blog showing you how to make this Hearty Breakfast Bake. Head over there to check it out. While you are there check out some of the other amazing Rhodes recipes. I am dying to make the Cinnamon and Sugar Pull Apart Loaf and of course the Baked Reuben Braid is a favorite of mine.

Brody Got Glasses! And A Little About Amblyopia

Sadie and Sammy wanted Brody's glasses so we gave them sunglasses instead.

We recently found out that Brody has Amblyopia. It basically means that one of his eyes is strong (20/20 vision) and the other eye is not (20/100 vision). The eye with poor vision then "turns off" and becomes amblyopic, more commonly called lazy eye. This kind of lazy eye is actually hard to recognize because with both eyes open Brody didn't even realize the one eye was blurry. Also, his eyes are not crossed or misaligned.That is why it is SO important to have your kids eyes checked regularly at their annual wellness visits.


How do you fix Amblyopia?
The good news is, that we caught this early! If we would have found this out a few years down the road there wouldn't be a whole lot we could do to fix this problem. Because Brody is so young his ophthalmologist believes we can get Brody's amblyopic eye to 20/25. He will start out by wearing glasses to help strengthen the weak eye and then will most likely have to wear an eye patch over the strong eye to also help strengthen the weak eye.

Brody was so excited to get glasses and he even thinks wearing an eye patch will be cool. He will only have to wear it a few hours a day but he wants to make sure it's during school so the other kids can see. Funny kid!

Amblyopia can be inherited so if you have any relation that has it make sure to have your children checked, even if it is a distant relation. The visual system is usually fully developed by nine years old and usually can not be changed so make sure your kids are getting a visual screening at their annual wellness visits.