Oh how I love getting scared!

Nightmare on 13th. If you haven't been there you should. It's so good--and it actually lasts long enough to make it worth your money. This time of the year is seriously so fun!  So many awesome holidays to look forward to. I get so excited it's kind of out of control. I almost bought my Christmas Tree already...but I decided I'd better hold off and finish enjoying Halloween first. I don't want to be one of those people that jumps the gun and starts listening to Christmas music the first day of November...ha. 

Far too much Garlic

Remember that soup I posted about? Well if you ever decide to make it I would go WAY easier on the garlic than the recipe states.  I couldn't get the taste of garlic out of my mouth and my apartment still smells super potently of garlic and I made it SUNDAY. Ew. 

Here in the Gubler home we eat a lot of...

Cereal.  Ya Cereal.  I always justify not cooking because we have time restraints, or I'm really tired, or the ever popular "I'll cook when I'm a mommy."  Well enough is enough.  I'm done with excuses. There will always be a special spot in my heart (eh-hem...stomach) for cereal but I've decided to get a bit more "wifey" and domestic and start cooking some yummy recipes.  So far all I've made are desserts... But who can resist peach cobbler and apple cinnamon bread pudding??? I'll work on making some REAL food next.  I'm quite excited about some of the DELICIOUS looking recipies I've found so far.  The first one I want to try is this little number:



Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
Calories: 215.7 • Fat: 0.7 g • Protein: 8.7 g • Carb: 42.0 g • Fiber: 6.7 g  

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)
• 3 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach
• 2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)
• extra parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender.

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parmesan cheese.

This is also great with mini turkey meatballs, or even some sauteed crumbled turkey sausage. 


You can find this any many other delicous sounding recipies at skinnytaste.com.
Mmm... This soup sounds hearty, full of vegtables and just plain wonderful. Plus is has pasta in it which will give me my carb fix.  Ha. Wish me luck:).  Happy cooking!