good cooking vibes

I'm constantly re-prioritizing. Adding something needed, taking away something less so. And the better I get at it, the less I do. One thing though always remains constant - cook dinner. I haven't figured out how to knock this one down the list very far. I like to cook, I even think I might love it if I could do it on my own schedule, with an unlimited grocery budget and someone to mop the kitchen floor when I'm through. I'll even do the dishes if I don't have to mop the dreaded floor. But back to reality where I do have to rush to get dinner done for hungry, grumpy kids, stick to a grocery budget and mop that dreaded floor.

The best part of cooking dinner every night is thumbing through my recipe collection. I love, love, love to connect with old friends, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, roommates, cousins and neighbors by way of the recipes they have shared with me. Some of my most prized recipes are the handwritten ones my grandma sent me to college with. I have cookbooks from all the wards I've lived in and I love to remember the people I served with as I flip through those pages. I have recipes from a dinner co-op group. We were all young student families and stretching our newly found homemaking skills. We swapped very unsophisticated, very cheap meals that we were pretty proud of. I have family cookbooks and recipes from a cooking club I belonged to in Salt Lake City. Over the years, some of my best recipes have come from my old college roommates, despite the fact that all we ate when we lived together was ice cream.

Pulling out a recipe from a dear one is almost as good as a phone call to catch up, maybe even better, since the kids screaming at my feet don't disturb my reminiscing and I can send up my love and good wishes for them without having to disclose how rambunctious my children are behaving.

But, I have a hole in my recipe collection. It is the large part of my life that belongs to the Pelo family. I have a few here and there but really I need more so that I can send good cooking vibes from my kitchen to yours. Tonight it is cold and I made two new soups that I loved. I don't have the apron but I wanted to share. They were both fast and easy - honest. I made them at the same time and we loved them both.

Black Bean Soup

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

1 bay leaf
Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup.

Place soup in a blender. Puree soup until completely smooth.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges. Makes about 8 C soup.

Quick & Easy Tortellini Soup

I think this recipe could be very flexible. It makes a smallish batch, so double it if you have more than 4 mouths to feed. I'm sure a variety of veggies would work - squash and onions would be yummy to add.

1 C water

14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2)

1 can chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

2 C frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots

2 C cheese tortellini

Bring water, tomatoes, broth and spices to boil. Add veggies and tortellini. Return to boil and cook til veggies are tender (5-6 minutes).