5 From the Weekend

Here we are the start of a new week once again, and Christmas is only 14 days away!  Now that my friends is hard to believe!  December is flying by that is for sure.  I feel like this weekend went by in a flash.  One minute I was relaxing on the couch watching a movie and in the blink of an eye it was Sunday night, and I was prepping for another work day.  I wish the work week could fly by like weekends do!

Anyways here are 5 highlights from my lightening fast weekend!

1- I know I am a little behind on the times, but this past Friday I finally saw The Help!

I loved the movie.  While the movie didn't follow the book exactly I thought the producers did a wonderful job of captivating the message behind the book.  There were times I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, and other times I laughed so hard my stomach hurt (seeing Hilly's face after eating the pie)! 

2- Another thing I am also late to the game on this one folks... Skinny Jeans!  I finally broke down and bought my first pair of skinny jeans on Saturday.  I was just so sick of having baggy knees when I would tuck normal straight leg jeans into boots!

I bought a pair of the Dark Wash Always Skinny jeans from Gap!

3- Partying for this lovely ladies birthday!

4- Fresh baked Zucchini Muffins enjoyed warm out of the oven, these muffins reminded me so much of my childhood!  Love them!

Recipe found here!

5- And lastly a big bowl of soup to take off the winter chill!

Recipe found Here (next time I am adding quinoa)!

How was your weekend?  

A Rainy Day Calls for Soup

Today was a rainy and gloomy day here in Minnesota, and on those types of days the only thing I really want to do is curl up in a blanket and be lazy.  And you know what that is exactly what Mark and I did.  Minus running to the gym, and to have my bridesmaids dress fixed I spent all day in the house!  It was glorious!  Mark rented a few movies for us and we curled up on the couch with bowls of mac and cheese.  Yes I said Mac and Cheese, I decided I wanted to try the Annie's Organic Version of  Shells and Cheese.

I have to say I was not that impressed, it was a little bland!  However I enjoyed it old like I did when I was little with peas, carrots and well I had to add some garlic to liven it up! Not sure if I will buy it again!

Have any of you ever seen the movie Limitless?  With Bradley Cooper?  Thats what Mark and I watched today it was a bit odd!  Non the less it killed some time!  Along with searching for the perfect rainy day soup to make!  Tortilla Soup seemed to be the soup of the day in the blog world, and as soon as I saw all the wonderful recipes my mouth started watering.  I knew tortilla soup was what I wanted for dinner, and it wasn't hard to convince Mark or my mom into the soup for dinner either!  However on looking in the pantry I saw the house lacked a few key ingredients... let the recipe search begin!  I found this recipe for Salsa Chicken Soup on Taste of Homes website, added bonus we had all the ingredients!  Another added bonus the soup is a one pot dinner, and super easy to make.  I added some extra veggies for bulk and some beans because to me a tortilla salsa soup needs beans!!

Here is what you need:

Adapted from this Taste Of Home Recipe

1 Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth 

1-3/4 Cup Water

1 Cup Salsa of your choice 

1/2 Pound Chicken Cubed

1 Cup Corn 

Chili Powder, Garlic and Cilantro 

1 Can Black Beans 

Cheese and Limes for Garnish 

1 Medium Red Pepper

1/2 Medium Onion 

For Crispy Tortilla Strips 

5-6 Tortillas

Olive Oil Cooking Spray 

Salt, Pepper and Garlic

What you do:

In a soup pot combine Water, Chicken Broth spices and Chicken.  I also added my Onions and Peppers in this step (they were not originally in the recipe).  Bring to a boil and cover for 5 minutes.

Next add your Corn

and your Salsa.

Return the lid to the pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through!

While I was waiting for the chicken to cook Mark and I focused on the Tortilla Strips.  He cut the tortillas into thin strips, sprayed them with cooking spray and seasoned them. Place them in a 300 degree oven and broil them until crispy!  I don't have an exact time I simply just watched them till the reached the crispness I wanted!

Time to serve!

The perfect dinner for a rainy day!  Tonights soup was a bit on the hot side, I used hot salsa.  Milk was definitely the perfect compliment to a spicy  dinner!

I am off or a friendly game of Sorry!  

Enjoy and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!