It's all in the ingredients.

I love to eat! In my family, gatherings revolve around the meal. It is all about the planning, preparation, and togetherness of the food. Phone calls and emails are sent before getting together to plan the menu. Though I love trying new recipes, they have to be simple at this stage in my life. There's no time to spend hours in the kitchen. :)

For two nights now, I've actually made what I consider to be tasty dinners. I rarely am organized enough to plan the meal and buy the ingredients in advance, nor have the time and energy to come home after a full day of work and prepare a home-cooked meal. (Sound familar, anyone?) This week seems to be an exception, which I'm excited about and proud of! Both meals have been VERY simple, but delicious. It's amazing what quality ingredients can do in a recipe, especially when that recipe calls for minimal ingredients. The fresh flavors really shine through in these simple recipes!

Ok, well the first meal doesn't really take a recipe. Tortillas, ground beef with a little seasoning, store-bought fresh salsa, plain yogurt, and cilantro...you guessed it, tacos! You may think I'm crazy to be proud of this, but it was executed well with planning, buying, and assembling ingredients. ;)

Tonight I made black bean soup. Dried beans that I soaked and cooked, the cooking water from the beans, chicken raised the old-fashion farm way (free-range, eats all the leftovers from the kitchen...I have a hook-up from a friend at work!), chicken broth made from the gizzards of said chicken, same fresh salsa from the tacos, frozen corn, sauteed onions, a little chili powder, topped with sharp cheddar (which I almost always use because it provides more flavor with less cheese - and Claire loves it!) and lots of the same ole fresh cilantro from the tacos. (Doubling up ingredients = smart planning when you're cooking for three.) SO good! Considering the amount of ingredients, I was worried it would be bland. I was pleasantly surprised and owe the tasty goodness of the soup to the wonderful ingredients. Very happy about these recent tasty meals! It feels so good to provide nutritious and delicious meals for Matt and Claire!! :)

Side notes:

Matt eats everything I make now, without complaining! He has no idea what this does for my soul. Most of the food he actually likes, too. :)

I highly recommend making this soup for yourself and your family - the recipe is at http://www.cookinglight.com/ when you search for instant black bean soup. I changed it a little based on what I had on hand.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the soup dished up - the presentation was fabulous with the cheddar and cilantro. :)

I will not, however, leave you without a picture. Claire is ALL OVER lately! She also loves books. She doesn't necessarily sit still to listen to a whole story, but she does like to look at, sit on, and turn the pages of books. :) She's talking up a storm in this picture!

(It's annoying me how the picture is not centered between the two side notes and I can't get a space between the last side note and this note, but it's almost 11:00 and way past my bed time...so I guess I'll have to deal with it.)