Simple Thirty-Minute Stovetop Vegetable Soup

Let's face it - most of us indulge a little too much during the holidays. Whether it's Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter, temptation in the form of potatoes, gravy, butter, pies, rolls, cakes, candies and carbs galore hit us from every angle. So, it's often nice to have some recipes in our arsenal that are quick to whip up and ones that fall a little more into the "healthful" category to make in the days that follow (ya know, once we've devoured all of the leftovers). This soup is one such recipe.

It's adapted from a Trisha Yearwood recipe that she featured awhile back on her cooking show. I was immediately drawn to it because it seemed incredibly easy to make, used just a handful of ingredients, was totally uncomplicated and wasn't a heavy, cream-based soup. Basically, some chicken broth, tomatoes, diced potatoes, garlic, onions, frozen veggies and seasoning come together on the stovetop in like, twenty-five minutes.

This soup is a great one to experiment with since the flavor profile is pretty basic. The recipe as written is awesome. But, if you'd like to play around with different herbs or seasonings, the sky really is the limit. I encourage you to maybe try it as-written, then go from there the next go-round. (I've used a slight sprinkling of Mrs. Dash's Original Blend seasoning a couple of times in this soup ... and have really come to love it that way.)

What you will find is that this is light and refreshing. Yes, as odd as it sounds, this soup is refreshing (as much as a soup can be, I suppose). It isn't heavy at all and due to the quick cooking time, the vegetables don't become mushy as often happens with longer-cooked soups.

In my house, we love this soup served with saltine crackers and a little shaved Parmesan on top just prior to serving.

Yields 6 servings.

Roasted Potatoes with Smoked Sausage & Green Beans

 

This is such a simple dinner recipe.  It does take a little patience during the baking time, but the prep and assembly of this dish is incredibly quick (and easy). It's perfect for a weekend meal ... especially during the cooler months when you don't mind the oven being on for a bit.  And, this is one of those dishes that will fill your home with fabulous aromas during cooking.

 

I usually prefer green beans crisp-tender, but I really enjoy the way the beans (and onions) gets caramelized and deeply roasted in this dish.  I add in a little fresh herbs in addition to the Italian dressing called for in the recipe, but it is still amazing without the herbs if you don't happen to have them on hand.  (The sausage and Italian dressing do a wonderful job of seasoning everything on their own - the herbs just add a little something special.)

Serves 4 - 6.

To find out the nutritional info for this recipe, you can visit my post of this dish on My Recipe Magic.  Click the "Nutrition" tab at the top of the post.

Slow Cooker All-In-One Italian Pork Tenderloin Dinner

We got hit with a bit of a winter storm here in Michigan in the afternoon on Tuesday. Knowing in the morning that the weatherman was mentioning possible power outages later in the day, I knew that I didn't want to have to worry about trying to make dinner without any power. So, I got out the slow cooker and got a pork tenderloin going quite early in the morning to ensure that dinner would be cooked and ready should power go out anytime after the storm hit. And, the awesome part ... all of the components of our dinner came together right in the slow cooker together.

Seriously, it takes like, maybe fifteen minutes in the morning to get this going. Grab your slow cooker. Toss in a small pork tenderloin {no need to sear first}, throw in some chunks of potatoes, pour on an Italian Parmesan vinaigrette and - partway through cooking - lay a foil packet of seasoned whole green beans on top. So simple. So delicious. And, clean-up is a breeze after dinner.

NOTE:  You could easily substitute 4 or 5 chicken breasts for the pork tenderloin in this recipe.  Also, if you didn't want your potatoes in with the Italian Parmesan vinaigrette, you could package those up separately in foil, too, with a little olive oil (or butter) and some seasoning.

Serves 4 - 6.