Quick & Easy Tomato Soup

Pre-Puree

2 medium onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 cups of chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 tablespoons olive oil 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the diced onions. Saute until nearly done. Add the diced garlic. Continue to saute until the garlic and onions are both golden. 

Add the chicken broth, the 4 cans of tomatoes (with juice!) and the dried basil. 

Let simmer until the flavors have melded well. 10-15 minutes. Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Puree it. Immersion Blender, Blender, food processor. Whatever tools you have. Blend it until Smooth. 

Enjoy. 

Creamy Chicken Tomato Spinach Stew

8-10 frozen chicken thighs
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp dried basil
1-2 tsp granulated garlic
4 tbsp dried minced onion
2 - 14 oz. can of coconut milk, lite
2 - 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and juice
1 - 14 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups of chicken broth
1 - 6 oz. can of tomato paste
6 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1 - 1.5 cups of left over spaghetti sauce (optional but I always seem to have some around. Or you could use some from a jarred sauce)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Add everything to the crockpot. Cool on high for 4-6 hours or low for 9ish.

Take the chicken back out, remove the skin if it has skin, shred the chicken and pour it back in.

You can eat this as a soup or our preferred method is a scoop of rice, a little shredded cheese, and a lot of the stew on top of that.

Delicious! Way more delicious than you would think. Next time I think I'm going to add a cup or so of really finely shredded carrots.

Interview with Hannah

Hannah - 2 years 10.5 months old

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"don't get in leah's makeup"

2. What makes mom happy?
"by giving kisses!"

3. What makes mom sad?
"by don't giving kisses"

4. What does your mom do to make you laugh?
"Make silly faces!"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"When you were a baby you were supposed to have a toy" (She looked so serious I decided not to push that any further)

6. How old is your mom?
"I don't know. Twenty ten? And I'm two. How old ARE YOU?"

7. How tall is your mom?
"You're short down here but I'm shorter down here." (all with hand motions)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"Put make up on" (huh? I do that maybe once a week probably less lol)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"Look for me" (haha)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"opening candy!" (I am pretty awesome at opening candy....)

11. What is your mom really good at?
"going to bed" (I totally rock that. She's right.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"not eating sushi" (Truth.)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
"to take care of us & my tiny bum"

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
 "Shrimp" (It's crab & sushi but shrimp is a high up there.)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"putting make up on" (I'm sensing a theme here...)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"a woodpecker" (huh. who knew.)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"watch Diego!"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"our skin looks the same"

19. How are you and your mom different?
"You have boobies" (nice)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"you give me hugs"

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
"giving him hugs!"

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"Sushi Hut!" (She means Tokyo Bowl. I never have figured out why she calls it Sushi Hut!)