Groomed and Fed

On Thursday I groomed the yard, swept the porch, steps and driveway clean. I bagged leaves, pulled weeds and trimmed some bushes. It was only a drop in the ocean compared to what remains to be done, but I feel good that I got so much accomplished before I pooped out. The bad news is that there are still tons of leaves in the trees. The backyard is still covered and the back deck has a couple of inches of leaves on it as well.

Rachel spent Thursday night and the day Friday with me while her hubby was away on business. I got lots of sweet baby time and I got to finally see him sign his first word....more. More food, more fun, more milk. Priceless.

On Friday we clipped coupons and went to the grocery store together. By combining coupons with buy one, get one free offers I saved $46 and some change on my total bill....thanks to my saving guru Rachel.

One of my goals for the weekend was to do some cooking. I wanted to get some meals put up in the freezer and some REAL food cooked for myself. I'm sick of eating fast food and frozen meals. At the end of the day, I had 10 meals in the freezer and 6 in the fridge. I also sent 4 bowls of food home with Rachel.

One of the recipes was something new, Summer Squash Soup. I altered it a little to suit my taste. Altogether, it took about 35 or 40 minutes for prep and cooking.

1 tbs olive oil
1 pound yellow squash, sliced 1/2 inch thick (I used 4 large squash)
2 ears corn, corn removed from cob. Cut cobs in half and set aside. (I used 4 ears because that is what came in the package I bought)
3 large shallots, chopped ( I substituted large green onions)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh jalapeno chile, chopped (if you don't like the heat, try a banana pepper instead, the fresh jalapeno I used didn't add any heat, I removed the seeds...for more kick I'd use 2 fresh instead of just one)
1/4 tsp ground cumin (since I love cumin I used about 2 tsp or more...suit your own taste)
2-1/2 cups water or broth (I used 1 cup low sodium chicken broth and 1 1/2 cups of water)
Italian parsley sprigs for garnish (I used cilantro instead)

In a 5-quart heavy kettle, heat oil over moderate heat and saute all ingredients (including cobs) except water or broth for five minutes. Stir in water or broth and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Discard cobs. In a blender, puree mixture in batches until smooth. Note that a food processor doesn't make the mixture smooth enough! Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I added a dab of reduced fat sour cream and some grated cheddar cheese) Without the sour cream and cheese the soup was a bit too sweet for my taste...with it the soup was delicious.

If desired, garnish with sour cream and fresh Italian parsley sprigs. (I used cilantro) It made 4 servings.

Now, I'm off to clean out my closets. Then it's back to work tomorrow...... : (