Minestrone Soup Recipe

Vegetable Minestrone Soup with a hunk of buttered bread

I am watching my calories and am always looking for good meals that are low in calories. I found this really good recipe and only changed a few minor things to accommodate our taste buds. The family just loves this minestrone. I only include Cannellini beans and forget the kidney beans. We don't like those. Hope you enjoy! You can add meat like sausage, bacon, or other fatty full flavored meat if you really need the meat but it's really not necessary. The soup is pretty hearty without meat.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion, diced

2 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped

2 Large stalks Celery, peeled and chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Pound Fresh Spinach

1 Large Potato, peeled and cubed

1 Fresh Rosemary Sprig

1 14 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes in their juice

1 Can Cannellini beans (white Kidney beans), drained and rinsed

4 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Ounce piece of Parmesan Cheese Rind (Just get the wedge of Parmesan cheese next time and instead of dumping the rind keep it for your soup. It will keep in the freezer until you are ready to use)

1/4 Cup Dried Macaroni Pasta

Look how happy the soup is in that pot. Look closely and you can see the cheese rind just perking away giving it's nice salty flavor to the soup!

Directions:

Heat Olive Oil in a large pot. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion is translucent, add garlic and stir. Add spinach and potato to the mixture. Saute until the spinach wilts. Add Chicken Broth, rosemary sprig, and tomato's to the mixture and stir. Add Parmesan Rind and pasta to soup and let simmer until potato's and pasta are cooked. Add beans and cook until soup thickens. Remove Parmesan Rind and Rosemary stem and serve.

We eat with crunchy sourdough bread and butter with a nice green salad.

Serves 6, 221 Calories Per serving using myfitnesspal.com

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

Breaking Paradigmes

Hello My Wonderful Friends,

I am admitting to being in a rut. It snuck up on us. I don't even know when we officially reached rut status. However, we did. Complete and absolute rut! Last night hubby and I were talking and preparing for our little trip today and we realized it will be 2 years in August of this year since we have taken a vacation, and mini breaks are non-existent let alone day trips. Um, yeah, rut. We so need a change!

We talk about going places but lately we have been house bound. Enter 4th Grade Mission Reports. Thankfully Elena was assigned a Mission Report so we talked and deliberated on where to go. We couldn't decide between San Diego or Santa Barbara. San Diego has a Mission none of us has been to and then afterwards we could have gone to the Balboa Park, listen to the Spreckles Organ, Gone to the Botanical Gardens and hang out. It's one of our favorite places. Or we could have gone to Santa Barbara, to Stearns Wharf, and the zoo. Both wonderful days spent. I'll admit. I love Santa Barbara and if I had the money I would so live there!

Santa Barbara was our destination choice. Our plan: Wake up, pack a lunch and leave by 10am to drive up the coast to beautiful Santa Barbara. Spend some time at the mission, eat lunch, then head to the zoo. End our day at Stearns Wharf. Sounds like a good plan hu?

We had the lunch and kids packed in the car and left a little after 10am. When we left the winds were blowing and they were hot-hot-hot! Didn't look like it was going to be a good day for our neighborhood. Oh well, good thing we weren't hanging out here!

Our drive was an easy one. Super Bowl Sunday and hardly anyone on the road. The drive up the Coast Road was so wonderful. The sky was so blue and the water looked like glass. Everything was green and lush not like our arid climate. Cresting the hill and seeing all that green farmland with the ocean behind it is an instant relaxer for me. Camarillo, Ventura, Carpinteria, and 2 1/2 hours later we arrive in Santa Barbara. Aaaaaaah!

We decided to drive the long way around to the Mission, just sight seeing on our way up the hill. I love those cute little houses, they look so homey and seem to fit the landscaping. One of these days it would be nice to own one of those homes.

We pull into the Mission driveway, find our parking space and took a stroll around the grounds of the Mission. We spent about an hour checking everything out before we even set one foot into the Mission itself.  It's amazing how beautiful the Mission looked with the blue sky as it's backdrop. The day was a perfect 75 degrees with a slight breeze and we easily reduced our pace to leisure. Once on the grounds we inspected the front fountain and tried to count the fish swimming in the water. Unfortunately they were unhelpful as they wouldn't stay still for us. Either way we were entertained watching them swim.

A little later we returned to the truck and grabbed our picnic, found a nice shade tree, shook out our blankets and indulged in our repast of sandwiches, oranges, chips, and homemade trail mix. I don't know exactly how much time we spent under that tree but we weren't really in a hurry. Sated on Turkey sandwiches we later re-packed what remained of our lunch, returned the ice chest to the truck and entered the Mission for our tour.

We spent a good amount of time at the mission when we left it was after 4pm and we realized we really could not visit the zoo and enjoy it. A quick change of plans and we were headed to Stearns Wharf one of our favorite past times. Being that it was Sunday, Santa Barbara typically hosts Art in the Park and sure enough the artists were set up all along the avenue. Some of that artwork is Ka-razy! But the kids weren't in the mood to look at art so we walked on. At Stearns Wharf we poked our heads into shops here and there and just really enjoyed the afternoon. As all things come to an end it was now time to head back to the truck and head home.

We really needed to spend some quality family time together just the four of us. It's been so long since we have connected on that level. Elena said it was the best day in a really long time. We decided we really don't need to spend a lot of money entertaining ourselves. All we have to do is pack a lunch and head on out. We took 148 pictures today. A good portion of them were for Elena's report on the Santa Barbara Mission, the rest were of us enjoying our day together. Who knows where we will be next weekend but it's now time to start planning that little trip, pack a lunch, and just go!

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

How To Make Tea Party Hats/MOPS Challenge

OK. So in a previous post I had indicated my MOPS table got together and we made hats for our Tea & Testimony. Sure we could have bought them. After all the Kentucky Derby is soon and appropriate hats are readily available. We could have individually purchased our hats and shown up on our designated date wearing them; but where is the bonding? Where is the fellowship? Where is the spirit? Where are the memories?

MOPS is what you make of it and why do things half way? Why sell ourselves short? Why take away bonding opportunities and time spent with friends? So we put 4 dates on our calendars. Day 1: Day for us to individually go shopping for our hats. Day 2: Day for us to get together to go shopping for ribbons, bows, butterflies, feathers, and whatnot's. Day 3: Assembly Day. Day 4: Tea & Testimony Day.

Day 1 is pretty obvious. Most of us went to Michaels to purchase our straw hats and other little findings and fixings. However, not everything was purchased. Day 2 is a day where some of us were able to take a trip down to Long Beach and go to this warehouse where they sold all sorts of ribbons and bows, tulle, and the like for very reasonable prices. Come on, lunch, and shopping with the girls, Good fun! Day 3 is our assembly day. Hot glue guns, and all assembly pieces in hand we gather for a morning of eating, gabbing, crafting, and laughter...[I have an awesome table]. Day 4 we show up proudly wearing our individually designed hats to Tea & Testimony.

Again, sure they could be purchased. But take a look at mine. See those peacock feathers? Those peacock feathers came from Beth's peacocks. Yes, her real live peacocks. No she didn't chase a bird around and pluck it of its handsome plumage. they drop feathers now and again and she's collected them. Those feathers are special to me because they came from Beth's birds. OK, I'm a sentimental schmuck. We've already established that.

The hot pink tulle I wouldn't of thought to use without the girls suggesting it to me for the pop! The feather boa...the butterfly...all were purchased but we all laughed and played and had a good time building our hats. So my hat is special to me because not only did I make it, which to be honest was a lot of fun. Disregard the hot glue fingers one gets when playing with hot glue, we had a great time. The memories we shared as a table will stay with us.

I don't know about your table but my table is very involved. We meet for breakfast. Playdates. Movies with the kids. MNO's. All outside of the pre-arranged MOPS functions. We are INVESTED with each other. If you aren't then you should try a few get togethers.

So my challenge to you, if you should choose to accept it, is to get more involved with your table. So what if not everyone can attend. So what if its just two or three of  you that show. Get together and have fun ladies! I mean that's why you're hear right? To find commonality with your peers. To build friendships? How you gonna do that unless you work at it? Invite! Invite! Invite! Learn to say yes sometimes!

Go shopping. Meet for coffee or lunch. Go to the movies together. Take the kids to the park. Go to Disneyland together. Do a movie night at home. Have a slumber party. Get your nails did. Have a game night. Scrapbook. Sew. Bake. Start a cooking club. Take a special class at the gym together. Hike. Go to the SPA. Find something most of you can agree on and jump in! You're reward for accepting this challenge? Genuine friendships that last.

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa