Sunday, December 6, 2009

comfort food

The past week was quite busy. Not in a totally overwhelming way, it just felt like it was Monday one minute and Friday the next. It just flew. Our meals were less than stellar and I think we had grilled cheeses twice for dinner. Shameful! :) So by Sunday I was dying for veggies galore. I tried out Erin's version of my grandmother, Jewel's, salmon croquettes (super simple and delish!), the Simple Cauliflower recipe from 101 Cookbooks (everyone loved it), and a spicy roasted red/pepper and tomato soup (can we say three bowls for Rollin?!). Seems like I wasn't the only one craving the vegetables.

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Salmon Croquettes
1 can salmon (wild)
1 egg
breadcrumbs
seasonings you choose

Spicy Tomato Soup
I roasted a red pepper, onion and three cloves of garlic. Then I pureed them in the food processor along with one small can of Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes with Chipotle Peppers and one small can of Trader Joe's fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis. Not sure why I used two different kinds other than I like to experiment. Then I added a few cups of chicken broth, some smoky paprika, salt and pepper, and about 1/4 cup half and half (it would have been totally fine without this). Drizzled some olive oil on it at the end. I think this is one of my favorite tomato soups I've ever made. I loved how smoky it was. I also made croutons because I'm just so nice. haha.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

That looks like such a good meal Ashley! I love 101 Cookbooks, she thinks of the best stuff. When I'm home, we definitely should get our families together again for a big dinner!

Colleen said...

Yummy! And so easy, I will have to try it! I love all your advent ideas. Maybe next year we can give them a try too. I am always looking for fun ways to bring Christmas "home" and those seem so fun! The frog post was great too! I love Rollin's face and Nina's smile in the picture before they both got to hold it...priceless! It's good to know that the craziness happens in perfect homes like yours too ;)!

Jimmy and Jennifer said...

Is that the pan-fried cauliflower with garlic and sea salt and you finish it with a little grated parmesan? I made it about a week ago and my five-year-old cleaned his plate and asked for seconds! Love it! :-) Hope your chickies are doing well. Ours are laying less now that the days are so short. Happy Christmastime! -Jenn

Amber Marie said...

honestly, i just love that you had grilled cheese two nights this week. i feel a tad better about my mothering abilities (or lack thereof!) :)

ashley said...

Jennifer, Yes! It's that recipe. Another friend of mine said her girls loved it so I finally gave it a try. Simple and delicious, just like all her recipes. That Heidi is seriously talented with food.I am drooling over those ginger cookies with dark chocolate shavings. Kind of afraid to make them though because I might eat them all.

I was totally thinking about you the other day...wondering about your chickens. Ours slowed a bit as well, but we turned the lights on at night so they are picking back up. The days are REALLY short up here right now.

Great to hear from you!

Erin said...

Glad you enjoyed them! Wow, I've missed a lot of posts...you've been busy! Love all the cute, fun ideas!