From Scratch...Tortilla Soup

Last night I made tortilla soup from scratch and good lord was it good! Luckily, I made a HUGE pot and now separated into 3 ziplock bags in the freezer for future meals! AWESOME! It is super easy to make and it is seriously really good. Normally, Markus hates soup...I mean he really despises soup...but this one, he just gobbles up! Score!

So, the recipe so that you can make this yourself!

2 tbs. olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 can green chilies (if you can't get green chilies, then use a jalapeno seeded and cut small)
1 or 2 cans of corn, drained (it depends on how corny you want it)
1 or 2 cans of kidney or black beans (again, depends on how beany you want it)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken broth
3 chicken breasts, whole

Extras:
sour cream
tortilla chips
cheese

Saute the onions in the olive oil in a really big soup pot.
When the onions are golden-ish, add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Add in everything else and bring to a boil.
Boil for about 15 minutes, then take out the WHOLE chicken breasts and cut into chunks or shred...whichever you prefer.
Add the chicken back to soup and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Serve! You can add in some sour cream and cheese...I do...then I crumble up some tortilla chips and put them in there too, or I use the soup as a dip, or I do both! :)

I hope you like this recipe! It is pretty simple, especially if you get everything chopped up before you start cooking...then it goes real fast!

From scratch...

I was a bit shocked to learn today that my lovely cousin Kira was planning on using ready mashed potatoes for her Thanksgiving dinner she is hosting. At first she just told me that she's doing mashed potatoes, the turkey and the cherry pie...I asked her if she was making them all from scratch (well, obviously the turkey will be bought...but her husband will be brining it.). I was a bit shocked to learn that she was just going to use ready mashed potatoes...luckily she will be making the pie crust for the cherry pie, and just a canned filling. I am sure this is the case with loads of families this holiday season though, not just with my cousin...besides, I believe I convinced her to make her potatoes from scratch...and then she'll also be a believer that mashed potatoes from scratch are super easy and the way to go!

This got me to thinking about how we (as a people in general, not just my husband and I) are eating. How is it that we have come so far in evolution, but insist on powdered mashed potatoes? Well, it is probably because we have come so far in evolution that we used these quick canned meals, ready meals...you name it. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Maggi Fix (a packet of powdered sauces that help out meals) and I use them often during the week. But this is a holiday! I wonder how many other American families are going to used pre-made things instead of trying their hand at making them from scratch?

I used to be of the thought that if it is in a can, dammit I am using it since it is simple! But seriously, making things from scratch is also pretty simple! Mashed potatoes, for example, are one of the simplest things you can do. Peel, cut into chunks, boil until tender, drain, mash with butter, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder (or real garlic) and onion powder. If you have a pressure cooker, then it makes things go a whole lot faster!

Before moving over here, I would make dinner by calling the local take-out. Now, that really isn't an option, plus, it is my opinion that Germans are more about cooking a meal and sitting down at the table as a family rather than in front of the boob-tube. Because of this, I have re-discovered my love of cooking and if I could, I would cook from scratch every day instead of using Maggi Fixes, but alas, with an almost 10 week old, this isn't really that possible. I try to at least make dinner from scratch at least 4 times a week, and so far, it works out pretty well. Tonight, for example, we are having tortilla soup. Yes, this requires canned stuff, but it is all canned veggies. I think veggies in a can are pretty good, especially since you can't really find sweet corn at the ready here in Germany!

So, this is the challenge to myself for the coming months/year. I am going to make at least 4 meals from scratch each week and post about at least one of on the blog. There might not be time to get around to posting about all of them, but nonetheless, this is the challenge to myself.

To start, I'll be making tortilla soup. You can play along with or just read about this little adventure...This week should be pretty easy considering I'm making loads of stuff for our Thanksgiving feast on Saturday... :)

New Pics...round 2

Of course there would be more pics! I couldn't stop at just 5!

New Pics of Amelia

Well, duh! What did you think? I'd go a couple of days without posting a pic (or 10) of the cutest little baby girl on the planet? Ok, ok...that has happened before, but today she was smiling just so much! I absolutely LOVE that she is smiling so much! She is such a precious little pea, I just can't stand it! So, here you go...your Amelia-fill for the day :)

A video!

I'm trying my hand at posting a video to this thing...and a better muse to use than Amelia! She's in her chair chillin. She loves it! She kicks her feet and her little hanging toys move and she laughs...pretty cute! I sound like an idiot, so mute your computer if you'd like...no seriously... :)

Going out

Last night Markus and I went to a birthday party for Markus' cousins. This was a pretty special birthday too. They are triplets and were celebrating their 90th birthday...get it? I thought it was cute. It was loads of fun, and we were there without Amelia...for the first time ever. She was chillin' with Oma and Opa. I had pumped, which was a good thing, since she got a bit hungry while we were away.

So, the party. It was great fun. Seeing some people that I haven't seen in a while, and meeting some new people. It was nice. I'm a bit hoarse from talking so much. I even had a beer and a half. That was nice...and yes, I was a bit tipsy. I got to watch Johannes and Tobi kick some ass at fussball (or kicker for you German folks). That is always fun. They get so serious and they have this stance...I really wish I had my camera on me last night so that I could have documented this.

All in all, loads of fun...but there was one thing on my mind all night. Yup, that's right...Amelia. This was the first time that I left her at Oma and Opa's for an extended period of time. Yeah, I got my hair cut last Friday and she chilled with Oma...but that was only about 45 minutes. And I have left her at home with Markus while I went to the store and that was maybe an hour and a half....This time it was a whole 4 hours.

I know, I know. Having some time without her around is nice...but I really missed her. This was the longest I've been away from her since the first night when she had to be under observation for 12ish hours. We got to the party at about 8pm, and at around midnight, I couldn't take it anymore...I had to get back to my little girl. I think all moms who leave their kids for the first time can totally understand this. I am sure it will get a bit easier as she gets older, but right now, at only 9 weeks, it is pretty hard to leave her. She is just my precious little pea and I want to be there for everything! :) We'll see how the next time goes...

Amelia's getting stronger

Well, obviously. She is getting older, but it is always awesome to see just how strong she is getting! Yesterday on her 2 month birthday, we were over at my in-laws, as we are every Wednesday. Amelia absolutely loves baby massage. I usually do this while we're over there since they have a wood burning stove in the living room and we can do the massage on the couch....much more comfy than on the changing table with the heat lamp on. So, we heated up the living room with the wood burning stove to the point where Marianne and I were sweating bullets, but Amelia was pretty comfy, considering she needed to be naked! She knows what is coming and starts smiling and giggling and it is pretty darn cute! When she's laying on her back, she is kicking her legs and moving her arms, basically being one happy kiddo. When she's on her tummy, she is just wanting to crawl. She tucks her knees up under her and then pushes with her toes (I've got some pics of that, but since it shows her completely naked, I'm a bit reluctant to post them since anyone can see the blog). Then she also like to lift up her head...and really high. It is so great to see...and below are some of the pics from the massage session :)

"I love baby massage!"

"Hey mommy! Look at me!"

And, of course, Charlie wanted to get in on the fun. He decided to nap by the fire...