White Bean Chili

I've been on a real soup-kick lately.

When I said I wanted to make white bean chili, the first thing my husband said was, "gross!" Like anything I make is bad!

OK, some of the stuff I've made is bad.

After some exaggerated pouting, I mentioned the key: "If I put bacon in it, will you try it?" I was pretty much going to make it either way. But the bacon did the trick.

I'm glad got mixed up and I didn't call it white bean soup. That just doesn't sound good at all.


In fact, I'll be the first to admit that just doesn't look very appetizing at all. I even made the picture smaller, just in case you're perusing my blog over dinner or during your lunch break. Sorry about that.

I like having chunks in my soup, so I didn't puree the whole thing down to smooth. And really, heavy cream? But either way, this was a great soup. I don't have white beans often, so the flavor was really unique. The bacon made it a little salty and a little crispy. And yes, we both liked it!

So when you make it, just close your eyes. Although I promise it looks less gross in real life.

Roasted Garlic & Potato Soup

January is, without a doubt, diet month.

I'm not about to go on a diet. But I like light soups, and I like potatoes, and garlic. I won't begrudge a recipe for being moderately healthy, either.

There is a Nordstrom's down the street. No clue if it has a cafe. But if it did, and they were serving roasted garlic and potato soup, I might be down for stopping in.


One of the nice things about soup is that they can be as low involvement as you want them to be. Yes, chopping potatoes is sort of time consuming. But using pre-chopped garlic and dehydrated onion flakes really gets things going fast.

OK, I'm a little embarrassed that I admitted to use onion flakes. But they were on sale. In a really big tub. Not. helping.

I didn't have any thyme. Or a rind of parmesan. Or chives. So between that and the onion flakes, I have a pretty lame kitchen. I did have some parsley to garnish the top. And after hearing all kinds of horrors about people putting hot soup into their blender and it exploding everywhere, I'm really happy to have an immersion blender too!

This really was as good as the author expounds. It's light and not overly garlicky, even though there's a lot to it.

Nope, no Nordstrom's cafe at my local mall. They don't post prices on their menu though, so it's probably just as well.

Salmon & Polenta Dinner

There's all kinds of good about this particular dinner.


Baked salmon? Awesome. One of these days, I'd like to try making salmon en papillote. One of these days. But I digress.

Black beans? Awesome. Years ago I would have never gone anywhere near black beans. Now I'm all for my quickie side. These were extra spicy.

Fried polenta? Awesome!! If corn and french fries got together, this would be their tasty baby. When I first moved to California, this was one of the things I would make. I don't remember where I heard about it. Whenever I make "cornmeal mush," as the recipe goes on the canister, there's always a lot left over. After a day in the refrigerator, it's perfect for frying. And goes amazing with extra spicy black beans.

Chicken & Ratatouille Dinner

There you have it. That's lemon pepper seasoning on the chicken, and the ratatouille recipe was actually one where you boil it in a pot. Baked is way better, but the pot is quicker.

Yay winter squash!