Recipe #5 - Creamy Tuscan Bean & Chicken Soup

This is by far my favorite recipe to date.  I'll be adding this to the family recipe book that I compile.  Everyone except my finickyest eater really liked the soup.

I did unwittingly make a minor modification - the recipe calls for two cans of Cream of Celery soup.  I thought I bought two, but my pantry says otherwise.  So, I used one can Cream of Celery and one Can Cream of Chicken.  I thought this worked out really well.  The celery taste was present but not overwhelming.  Also, I didn't add as much spinach as is called for.  My men don't like spinach so I chopped it up pretty fine and only added about a third.  It added some really nice color, but didn't change the taste.

Isn't it pretty?  This is something I would serve to company as well as a quick dish for family.

Sprinkle a little cheese on here and it's good to go!

Recipe #3 - Savory Pot Roast

Thursdays are our co-op days, so I always like to try and put something in the crockpot and have a delicious meal ready when we get home.  Last night we tried out the pot roast recipe.  Everyone really liked it.  I think it was a little too fatty - if I do it again, I might drain a lot of the liquid off half way through so that that the fats breakdown more.  I went with a chuck pot roast this time.  May try the round roast next time.  The veggies were delicious!

It's not the prettiest meal out there, but it sure did taste good!

I do have to mention I was sabbotaged last night!  Well, my diet was...  My hubby loves me and knows that Wednesday was a tough day, so he decided to make me my favorite dessert while we were at TKD.  Sweet potatoe pie!  Oh my goodness!  I could eat an entire pie at one sitting!  Diet?  What Diet?

Now that's a thing of beauty! 

Dinner for a Week - Trying Out My New Cookbook

A dear friend sent me two cookbooks recently - Campbell's and Hershey's.  Yum!  I decided I needed to testdrive several of the Campbell's recipes this week.  We've been in an "eat-out" slump with our busy schedules.  I want some home cooking! 

So, here are the recipes I'm going to try out.  Almost all of these can be made using healthy or reduced calorie/fat ingredients, so I'm hoping I can enjoy them right along with the family.  Making two separate dinners is getting old quick!  Additionally, what I love about this cookbook is that most of the ingredients are what I already have on hand!  Yay!  Nothing too fancy or exotic - just normal pantry supplies.  Love it!

I tried to pick a mixture of flavors - chicken, roast beef, pork, etc.  I'm not sure the order I'll cook these in.  It will depend on what we are doing that evening.  Care to try some of these with me?  Each title is a link to the recipe.  Enjoy!

Hearty Sausage and Rice Casserole

Roast Pork with Green Apples and Golden Squash

Quick and Tangy Roast Beef Sandwiches

Savory Pot Roast

Easy Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Creamy Tuscan Bean & Chicken Soup

Say Mmm Review

Say Mmm

http://www.saymmm.com/index.php

Cost: Free for basic site, $3/month for Say Mmm Plus (grocery price and calorie tracking)

I have created a recipe book for my close and extended family. I refer to it often as it is a compilation of all of our favorite meals. This is my go-to for making my family happy on week nights.

I wanted to try Say Mmm because it offers and opportunity for even greater organization. Not only would my recipes be online, but I would be able to choose the items I needed to buy for them at the grocery store. In addition, if I were ambitious, I could plan out our weekly meals in advance including sides and desserts. (I’m rarely that ambitious…)

The setup is fairly intuitive. In addition, the site offers excellent tutorial videos throughout. I began by entering in some of our favorite recipes. They can easily be copied and pasted in or you can link to them if they are online.

I was hoping I would be able to click and add items I needed to the grocery list. However, it makes sense that that wouldn’t work since each ingredient isn’t entered in individually. They do make it easy to bring up a recipe and type in the ingredients you want to add to your list. In addition, they have common linked common items that you can quickly add.

The grocery list is well organized and a big help when shopping. The Say Mmm Plus allows you to track prices and label which stores you will be shopping at for the items.

On the front end, the setup takes a fair bit of work. You have to get all your recipes loaded in in order to use them. However, once that is done. The flexibility of planning your weekly menu, calling up your recipes, and selecting grocery items is nice.

It you are big into coupons or checking the ads for prices, Say Mmm Plus can be a big help. Coupon links are part of the site in addition to the ability to track prices. For the conscientious shopper, this site can become a real asset.

***  I was given free access to this site by Say Mmm for my honest review through MamaBuzz.