We've been staying pretty busy around here with our new addition. I've been tearing through my freezer stash of pre-prepped meals, but this week I felt like getting back in the kitchen and doing some cooking. There is something very grounding to me about standing in front of my cutting board chopping away. I'm also realistic that with a toddler and newborn my kitchen time is going to be limited so I thought a nice way to ease back in would be a soup. I love soups; I don't care if it's 100oF outside, there is something so comforting about a big bowl of soup. My husband and I went back and forth about what to call this because while it certainly isn't chili, it really has the flavor of chili. You could add some black beans to this and I think it would pass. This recipe was born out of the random items we had in our fridge and pantry so feel free to play around with the ingredients. Enjoy!
When we had our son two years ago I did a lot of planning. I researched low toxicity baby gear, compiled lists of baby items parents said they used most, and made sure we had every possible thing we needed for when baby got here; down to nail clippers, emergency infant Advil, and this little thing that vibrated on his chest and made him chill out when he got his diaper changed. The one thing I didn't do was plan for my post partum time. I think the sum of my food prep was making banana bread, which we devoured at the hospital, and some mothers milk tea. Even though in all my research I read that you should freeze or arrange some meals, I somehow, either in ignorance or denial, just ignored the advice. We didn't starve but we ate pretty terrible for the first month. I had some family come by and make a few meals but it was mostly ordering out or me eating protein thin mints all day until my husband came home and cooked. Well lesson learned! This time around I have a full freezer and a plan. To get everything made in about a week I simply made the meal for dinner and doubled the recipe to freeze some. It was especially great with the deserts because we got a little desert every night!
