One Year Ago: Chicken Salad with Avocado Dressing
Two Years Ago: Pumpkin Spice Granola and Spicy Asian Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
Three Years Ago: Pumpkin Roll and Pepperoni Polenta Pizza
Four Years Ago: Amaretto Chunk Cookies and Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Five Years Ago: Tropical Bran Bread

Since Brecken's been born, I'm discovering that I'm looking for meals that have two important qualities: ease of preparation and heartiness. I think the need for ease of preparation goes without saying. Not only does my sweet little girl require a lot of my time and attention (that I gladly give her, even at 2am...), but there are days that I'm too much of a zombie to do anything real complicated in the kitchen, no matter how much caffeine I've consumed that day!
I need hearty meals because 1. Breastfeeding makes me insanely hungry, so I'm looking for ways to fill up without constantly turning to the endless supply of candy that has mysteriously shown up in my cabinet and 2. There are times I get caught up with Brecken and go longer than I normally do with food. I told my mom I never believed moms who said they either didn't have time to eat or simply forgot to eat, but now I'm seeing how that can become entirely possible. Granted, I don't really forget about food (see #1), but I definitely get wrapped up in feeding or changing or cuddling Brecken, making 'stick to your ribs' meals all the more necessary! 

This slow cooker lentil soup takes care of both needs. There's a bit of chopping on the front-end, but then it's just a dump-it-and-forget-about-it-recipe. Furthermore, lentils are a powerhouse when it comes to filling my belly! Wins all around! Serve with a hunk of crusty bread and you've got yourself a meal!

One Year Ago: Portobello Pineapple Burgers and Fries with Teriyaki Ketchup and Grilled Steak & Vegetable Salad with Chipotle Chimichurri Dressing
Two Years Ago: Sesame Soy Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Vegetables, and Edamame and Home Wine Kitchen review
Three Years Ago: Citrus Salad with Ginger Yogurt and Pumpkin Penne
Four Years Ago: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars and Steel Cut Oatmeal

Butternut Squash Soup with Greens and Bacon

The relationship between weather and soup in our house is as follows: the colder the temperature, the more soup made in our kitchen. Given that this has been one of the worst winters I can remember, there has been a lot of soup eating here in recent months. We're enjoying a lot of our past favorites, but I've also had fun discovering new soups (maybe the only upside of this dreadful weather?!).
Butternut squash isn't a stranger to our soups. We love the curried butternut squash soup and butternut squash and kale minestrone, and now this one! The squash is actually cooked and pureed, serving as the brothy base which is then chunked up with beans, veggies, and chunks of bacon. The finished soup is full of texture, flavor, and, most importantly, warmth!

































P.S. Did you win the Smart Balance giveaway? Winner announced here!
One Year Ago: Zesty White Bean Burgers and Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
Two Years Ago: Buffalo Wing Hummus and Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Three Years Ago: Best of 2011-Five Bistro and Cranberry, Almond, Orange Biscotti
Four Years Ago: Apple Cheddar Turkey Burgers and Schulz's Guacamole Salad

Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili

Okay, I know the pictures don't really do this chili justice. Honestly, some foods are just hard to photograph in general. Then when you throw in a terribly amateur (if even that) food photographer, you just kind of have to roll with the punches. Take my word for it though. Even though the photos depict a bowl of slop, it's really really good slop! I particularly liked this soup because it's a "dump it and forget it" recipe. There's maybe 10 minutes of chopping, but no sautéing or browning or anything stove-related before it all goes into the slow cooker.
Despite its title, I didn't find the jalapeño portion of the soup to be particularly strong. In fact, I would've liked more spice and will likely add an extra pepper or two (or at least the seeds) next time! Serve with a salad and bread (as you can see, we're fond of pretzel rolls!) and you have yourself a nearly stress-free dinner!


One Year Ago: Chopped Winter Squash with Butternut Squash, Apple, and Feta and Chocolate Mint Cookie Sandwiches
Two Years Ago: Devil's Food Fudge Cookies and Baked Pasta with Broccoli, Ham, and Cheesy Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
Three Years Ago: Homemade Samoa Bars and Fluffernutter Cookies
Four Years Ago: Chipotle Stuffed Chicken and Sugar Cookie Bars

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Several weeks ago I found myself with a ton of random ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. I was determined to find a way to combine them into a meal, without requiring a trip to the grocery store. We can call it nesting, but truth is I'd be set on not letting anything go to waste whether or not pregnancy was a factor. 
A few google searches, and I was able to combine most of the ingredients into a soup based on another I'd found online. I didn't originally intend on blogging it--my sole mission here was simply to use up the lentils and open container of broth and random sweet potatoes on the counter, but then Ryan and I actually loved the soup. I figured some of you might have a few of these ingredients on hand and since we're deep in the throes of soup season, it didn't hurt to share.

This soup was thick and hearty, but boasting tons of healthfulness from all star ingredients like lentils, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin. My poultry seasoning blend had a bit of a kick to it, which gave great flavor to a rather blank canvas of soup, so I recommend seasoning it with something you really like the taste of! 

One Year Ago: Meyer Lemon Rosemary Scones and Mexican Polenta Stacks
Two Years Ago: Banana Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bread and Chocolate Liqueur Ice Cream
Three Years Ago: Garlic and Sundried Tomato Hummus and Creamy Peanut Butter Dip
Four Years Ago: Whole Wheat Beer Bread and Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries

Beef and Bean Chili

One Year Ago: Slow Cooker White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale, and Zucchini
Two Years Ago: Slow Cooker Chicken and Barley Stew and Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Bacon
Three Years Ago: Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls and Chicken Sausage and Apple Strata
Four Years Ago: Gingerbread Pancakes and Bay Scallops Gremolata

Emeril's Tomato Soup

As I described in my cookbookedition of Odds & Ends a few weeks ago, I’ve had a recent influx of new cookbooks to review and enjoy. I was particularly excited about Emeril’s Cooking with Power because even though I don’t have a pressure cooker or a deep fryer, I’m always looking for new ways to use my slow cooker.

I’ve made a few different tomato soup recipes over the years because if there’s anything that screams comfort food, it’s tomato soup and grilled cheese. When I saw Emeril had a tomato soup that could be made in my crockpot, I couldn’t wait to give it a try! The book recommends serving this as a first course at a dinner party, a suggestion I don’t at all disagree with. While tomato soup is often considered simple and homely, this version is made fancy with homemade croutons and a freshly made basil oil. I wasn’t serving for company and was more interested in packing it for lunch, so I skipped the basil oil (recipe included below still!) but did make the homemade croutons.

The soup manages to be spicy and hearty, and I can see why it would be a good inclusion at a dinner party. Me? I was just happy to take it for lunch, even though throwing together a grilled cheese in the middle of the day wasn’t possible!

One Year Ago: Peppermint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies and Cranberry, Pear, Walnut Salad with Manchego
Two Years Ago: Christmas Cookies Galore and Crunchy Peanut Butter Mix
Three Years Ago: Cranberry Coffee Cake and Chocolate Mint Puddles
Four Years Ago: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Fall Vegetable Soup

I’ve started to think about how our lives are going to change when Baby McLaury makes his or her debut in three (!!!) months and I know that cooking is one area that’s going to need some adjustments. It’s not unusual for me to spend an entire weekend cooped up in my kitchen, knocking out more than half a dozen recipes and washing quadruple the amount of dishes, only to then gear up for cooking three or four weeknights. I have a feeling our eating is going to get a lot simpler and quicker, at least for awhile.
Thankfully I’m already pretty good about planning our meals and making efficient use of my time. And thankfully, we love leftovers! Meals like this soup, paired with a simple sandwich, are probably going to be even more of the norm for us. I’m okay with that—this soup was healthy, satisfying, and easy to make ahead of time. If reheating leftovers thrilled me this time around, I envision I’ll only be all the more thrilled when it allows me more time with my new baby come February!

(For the record, yes this soup is unashamedly green and might scream too healthy for some of you…I promise you can’t taste all of the greens in there. It reminded me more of a broccoli potato soup than anything else, and you can easily throw in plenty of extra cheese!)

One Year Ago: Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach, and Ricotta Sandwich and Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars
Two Years Ago: A Very MARRY Pizza Party and Salmon & White Bean Salad
Three Years Ago: Pomegranate Spinach Salad with Turkey and Persimmons and Loaded Turkey, Vegetable, and Wild Rice Soup

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

One Year Ago: Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheddar Chowder
Two Years Ago: Turkey Tacos and Waldorf Tuna Salad
Three Years Ago: 10 Lessons Learned at the Foodbuzz Festival and Kale & Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Four Years Ago: Crockpot Salsa Chicken and Cilantro Lime Hummus

Kale, White Bean, and Potato Stew

One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Applesauce and Cauliflower Penne Puttanesca
Two Years Ago: Autumn Chopped Salad and Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Havarti Croutons
Three Years Ago: Oreo and White Chocolate Brownies and Pumpkin Granola Bars
Four Years Ago: Stuffed Acorn Squash and Marshmallow Muffins

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! Instead of sharing a chocolaty treat, I'm sharing something else I love-soup! A while ago a local St. Louis reader emailed me and mentioned that she'd been to Mosaic and fallen in love with their vanilla butternut squash soup and was hoping I could recreate it. Funnily enough, our friends had also visited Mosaic and mentioned how good the soup was. Disclaimer: I did attempt to recreate this soup with no real knowledge of the soup. I have not tried Mosaic's vanilla butternut squash soup and all I know is that it was simple and sweet. 
I decided to start with one of my favorite sweet potato soup recipes, which is not only simple, but uses Greek yogurt instead of cream to both lighten it and add protein. Something tells me Mosaic does not use Greek yogurt, but I went with it anyway! My version includes a combination of plain and vanilla Chobani, to give it a bit of vanilla taste without overwhelming the soup. I also scraped the seeds from one vanilla bean into the soup to give it an extra boost of pure vanilla flavor. I roasted the butternut squash first to bring out the natural sweetness of the squash, which complements the vanilla.

Again, not knowing what the original version tastes like, I can't claim this is a true copycat recipe. That being said, I still declared it a winner! It's definitely on the sweeter side and the taste of the vanilla really comes through. Much like Mosaic serves theres in small portions, this would make a lovely first course soup or a great lunch when paired with salad and a baguette. Reader Julie, I hope you enjoy!

One Year Ago: Homemade Whole Wheat English Muffins
Two Years Ago: Carrot Spice Muffins
Three Years Ago: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

A few weeks ago I asked you guys for some help coming up with an Alexia-inspired recipe. My readers (of course!) delivered with some awesome suggestions. I honestly had a tough time deciding which suggestion to make and so don't be surprised if your idea is still brought to life sometime on The Sweets Life. I love hearing from my creative readers!
However, one idea that really stuck out to me was Laura's (also known as Food Snob STL) who suggested a play on chili fries--using black bean chili and sweet potato fries. Maybe it was my well-known love for the sweet potato black bean combo (Exhibits A, B, and C). Maybe it was because the Super Bowl was nearing and I had "game day" food on the brain. Whatever it was, I couldn't get the chili fries out of my mind!
We did indeed end up eating this on Sunday during the Super Bowl. I made a slow cooker black bean chili the day before so all we had to do was throw some Alexia sweet potato fries in the oven, reheat the chili, and top with lots of cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. I can confidently say I'd take this over regular chili fries any day! Ryan told me they were his favorite chili fries ever (I think they were my first chili fries ever), and the rest of our friends proved they agreed when we returned home with minimal leftovers. The black bean chili is thick and spicy, and probably my favorite black bean soup or chili I've ever made. When combined with the crispy fries and toppings, it's a (somewhat?) healthier version of the original.
Break out the napkins and forks, this gets a little messy! Thank you Laura for the awesome idea (and email me your address at natalie@thesweetslife.com so that Alexia can send you a prize pack!)--I think we've found ourselves a new favorite football food!

One Year Ago: Recipes for World Nutella Day
Two Years Ago: Cheddar and Sage Crackers
Three Years Ago: Crockpot Lentil Soup

This is a recipe to pass along to your neighbor who insists they can't cook. Or your brother, who's looking for an easy, inexpensive meal for him and his college buddies. Or you, because you don't have time for a labor intensive meal but you're trying to avoid hitting the drive-thru.

The point is, you can't go wrong with this recipe. You can handle it, so long as you can handle opening and dumping a bunch of cans and browning some turkey. You can pay for it, because it's going to feed a lot more people for a lot less than a trip to McDonalds will. You can't screw it up, and my experience making it is testament to that.
I got this recipe from my friend Amanda, who actually passed it along to our friend Maggie. Maggie had made it a few times for us and I finally asked for the recipe. Though I've posted the original recipe below, let it be known that I forgot the tomato sauce, subbed jalapeño salsa for the diced tomatoes, added a bunch of spices in place of the taco seasoning, and used frozen corn instead of a can. You'd have never known I strayed from the original recipe...and I guarantee you can do the same! Add black beans, eliminate the meat (or double it!), or throw your favorite salsa in there. I promise you'll end up with a hearty, comforting batch of soup that you'll find yourself making again and again. As for the name, it's a heated debate whether this is taco soup or a chili, so I decided to settle the debate and compromise, dubbing it "taco chili"!

One Year Ago: Wilted Greens and Roasted Sweet Potato Winter Salad
Two Years Ago: Cranberry, Pistachio, and Ginger Blondie Cake
Three Years Ago: Ten Minute Tomato Soup

I've found that, while on business travel, I can usually eat pretty close to how I normally eat--relatively healthy with a bit of indulgence. There are usually enough options at business conferences that I can put together a healthy meal--oatmeal and fruit for breakfast instead of pastries and sausage, or salad and some chicken or fish for lunch instead of pasta and steak. The problem lies with the sheer amount of food available. An hour and a half after breakfast you're breaking for a snack, where there are granola bars and trail mix available. Soon there's lunch and before you know it, the brownies and candy bars are put out for afternoon snack. Cap the day off with a rich dinner and a few glasses of wine and regardless of how balanced you tried to eat, you still feel a little lethargic from eating all. day. long. 
After a week away, I was more than ready for something a little lighter. This soup was just the thing! I made a big batch last weekend and we enjoyed it for lunches most of the week. I consider it the cold-weather version of my favorite shredded vegetable detox salad! The pesto I made and froze over the summer is coming in handy. The scoop I added to the soup added a brightness and a freshness to remind me that healthy food doesn't have to be boring. Served with homemade rolls on the side, this was just the thing to help me recover from my week of thrice-daily desserts and multiple glasses of wine!

Sometimes you're looking for a healthy meal that doesn't taste healthy at all. And then sometimes you're craving a healthy meal that tastes as healthy as it is, maybe to remind your tastebuds that cookies for dinner isn't acceptable, or at least to help justify those cookies you plan to eat after dinner. This slow cooker stew is healthy, and tastes healthy. Don't get me wrong, it's not in a bad way at all. In fact, I felt so good eating this I didn't mind eating it for dinner two days in a row, and then lunch on the third day!
Lentils are never particularly pretty, especially when cooked until soft in your slow cooker. But throw some cilantro on top of your bowl of stew and dig in--it's packed full of vitamins and minerals from the vegetables and protein, fiber, and iron from the lentils! 

One Year Ago: Barley Stuffed Acorn Squash
Two Years Ago: Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini
Three Years Ago: Orange French Toast with Challah