Thursday, August 28, 2014

Roasted cherry Tomato Soup

Summer is winding down and if you have tomato plants like me, then you are trying your best to consume them all, preserve them all, or just give them all to your neighbors and chickens (sharing is caring). I discovered this delicious soup a few years back and I make it every summer! Last year I really got into freezer cooking and froze a bunch, it tastes just as amazing as the first day I made it! I even got comments like, "this was frozen, no way!" Yes I am a huge believer in my freezer, I freeze pounds and pounds of summer berries for the months ahead. We go blueberry picking a few times every summer and while I skipped this year, blueberries tend to get us (the husband & I) into friendly arguments;) My husband is a pretty good blueberry picker, "hey babe, you will not believe how many I got today"...please say 25 pounds..."50!!" His excitement is wonderful however processing that much before they all go bad can be nearly impossible! I need more baking sheets and another freezer! So we normally get in a little battle but it's a friendly one and it's all for the love of having delicious and safe berries in our freezer for the family all year long:) Here are a few pictures of years past in the blueberry field...


 This is my precious little one just weeks old!! He had no idea he was there...






We missed the season all together somehow when he was 1, but here he is 2 years old...oh I miss his adorable curly locks!!! Him & sweet Koco in the blueberry field!


This year we started a new tradition Raspberry picking, on top of buying from the local fruit stand. The berries are delicious!! My husband picked them here for his summer job growing up. 


Then the wild blackberry picking, these never make it in the freezer, they are always gone the day we pick them and we end up with purple fingers;) I go on a long walk around our house and we make a stop and I pick a small bag full for my sweet little one to munch on the rest of the walk back, it gives him something fun to look forward too and he loves to help:)!!


Before I got sidetracked with my berries, I was mentioning freezer cooking! Canning  I am not much of a fan of, but freezer cooking count me in!! It saved me so many times this past year when I was not in the mood to cook and would much rather have gone out, which in turn saved us money. Also for those busy days when dinner was the last thing you had time for! 


For storing this soup in the freezer I use these plastic food storage containers I saw on none other then the amazing Pioneer Woman's Blog. She is fantastic and is the reason I am in love with freezer cooking, my family may not be as big, but big or small its worth the extra time to always double something you can freeze and preserve those summer gardens! I found this soup from the wonderful ladies over at Our Best Bites, they always have amazing recipes on using up your gardens harvest. 


You want to start out by roasting 3 cups of fresh corn kernels, 2 heaping cups fresh cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic, drizzled with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper @ 400 degrees for 15-20 min.


While the Veggies are roasting away chop up your onion and drain your peppers.


Your tomatoes will be bursting and everything will look and smell delicious.


After all your ingredients are in and have simmered for 20 min, you can either use an immersion blender, transfer to your blender, or food processor. I prefer the immersion blender, saves time of transfer and the immersion blender is faster clean-up (I am all about finding easier ways to get those dishes clean)!


Here is your soup pureed to perfection and ready to eat! It is so simple, so tasty, and filling! I always just taste it and then put it in the freezer. I find it hard to eat hot soup for dinner after a hot day. One batch will fill two containers for the freezer. Enjoy it hot that day or take it out on a cold fall/winter day heat it over the stove and serve it up with a Grilled Cheese!!! YUM!!! Enjoy:)


Roasted Sweet Corn and Tomato Soup
From Our Best Bites

3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 cobs)
2 heaping cups cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, any color, diced
8 ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
32 ounces chicken broth (4 cups)
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
optional: chopped cilantro
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place corn, tomatoes, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Gently toss with hands and then arrange in an even, flat layer.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tomatoes are crinkled and burst.
While vegetables are roasting, heat a stock pot to medium high heat on stove top.  Add remaining one teaspoon olive oil and diced onion.  Saute about 5 minutes, or until tender.  Add roasted bell peppers, chicken broth, smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder.  Add a 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper. (you can taste later and add more if need be.)
When corn and tomatoes are done roasting, add them to the pot, making sure to scrape off all of the bits on the pan.  Bring soup to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to stand blender and puree until smooth. Top with extra corn or some chopped cilantro.  Serve and Enjoy!!! 

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Hello...I'm Back!!! Fabric Garland & Wreath

Hi friends...I had no intention of taking the entire summer away from the blog but it just happened. Summer around here is pretty busy, we have two big gardens and other vegetables growing around the property. We are finally going to build another garden just for my husbands pumpkins:) I really enjoy my hanging baskets and all the other planters I fill and miracle grow like to crazy to make them as huge and abundant with flowers as possible! Somewhere in the mix of the parties we hosted, birthdays we celebrated, pool time we enjoyed with this amazing summer heat, doing my actual work for my husbands office,and just enjoying life with my little family, big family, and friends it slipped away! To be completely honest we do not eat too many exciting things come summer. We are basically eating what we grow and my poor husband is extremely ready for some hearty fall food;) I do throw in man food throughout the week since I am out numbered in my family but I could eat Chicken, Kale, and tomatoes for days. 


We started of our summer with going on our first trip without our handsome Lil man to celebrate my Lil sister/best friends 21 birthday VEGAS style. Here he is the first night excited to have a sleepover at Aunt Jen's and then in the morning of the day we were coming home, waiting for our car to arrive. He actually watched our plane on the computer screen and they searched google maps to try and find us, he is too precious. He thought he lost me...I am not sure I can ever leave him that long again!!!


This was the first day we arrived and the birthday girl is in the middle! We always said we would go to Vegas for her 21st birthday and so blessed we were able to celebrate her and enjoy it Vegas style and we even won! It was a wonderful vacation! 


A few days after we got back I co-hosted a wonderful couples baby shower in honor of our dear friends! 


Today I am sharing with you a new party decoration that I may be a little obsessed with! My neighbor & good friend introduced these to me last year when she made a super cute one for her daughters first birthday and ever since I can't get enough of them! If you head over to Little Miss Momma you will find the perfect tutorial on how to make the perfect addition for your next party. Above is the fabric garland I made for my dear friends Couple Shower I co-hosted in June, she recently had her beautiful and precious twins, Brynlee & Bronson and they are perfect!! This is such a great idea for baby showers, I highly suggest coordinating your shower colors with the baby/babies room colors. You never know if the mama to be will love them enough to use them as decor in the room. In my case she did and I was blessed I could add a little extra love to their ADORABLE room! I made the above garland using 1/2 yard of each fabric color.


2 weeks later we threw our annual 4th of July party, it is a huge block party with a pig roast, pretty epic firework show, friends, days of fun, and a much needed 14 hours of recovery sleep:) Each year I make something new to add to my decor. Of course I continued my obsession with some more fabric garland. In the two above photos I used 1 yard of each color so the garland would hang a little longer. My Lil sister in the photo above with me is my go to party helper, she is such an amazing helper and I am so blessed she willingly volunteers her time to help me get ready!!


This garland is using 1/2 yard fabric piece. It is much shorter but it works perfect in the right location:)


 I make a wreath for my Sons birthday every year and I hang it on his door until his birthday the next year. In the years past I have always made a balloon wreath, but this year to go along with my new obsession I made this fabric wreath!! Head over too Southern Priss Designs and follow her super easy tutorial! I made a square one and I need to get started on a Seattle Seahawk themed one since football season is upon us and we are World Champions here in Seattle...SEAHAWKS. 



 My son has always had a love for trains. One of his favorite lunch spots we frequent after his haircut is a Pizza place right by the train tracks, so he can eat his favorite Cheese Pizza and watch trains go by. This past year we discovered Dinosaur Train on PBS and he fell in Love, I let him pick between 2 choices for his party theme and he choose Dinosaur train! It was tons of fun to put together, I love party planning, I get it can be a little over the top at times, but its my thing and I really enjoy doing it! He would be happy with just a chocolate cake and his friends but its fun to go all out and be creative:) 


I found the perfect party favor on Etsy from Abigails Hands, she was so wonderful to work with and did an amazing job!! I think I may be seeing some little ones as dinosaurs for Halloween this year!!!

This summer has been amazing and while its not over yet with school a week and a half away I am prepping myself for my little man to start his first day of Pre-K!! While at moments I am ready and moments I could break down, he is going to LOVE it!! One thing is for sure he is ready, he talks about it every day and tells random people he is going to school tomorrow;) While I will have more time to do office work, workout, and do my blog...I am sure going to miss the lazy cuddle watch TV together mornings, I have been so beyond blessed to be able to stay at home with him and create all these wonderful memories and routines, I have cherished them and wish he could stay little forever. But here is to the next step in motherhood and who knows, maybe next year we become a homeschooling family...

I will be back this week with some wonderful recipes to help you use up all those garden tomatoes and zucchini you may have growing as abundant as I do;)