Tomato Basil Soup

     Happy Happy Monday!!  I hope everyone's weekend was tons of fun!  Mine was a great time I went to my friend Ryan's Coast Guard Ship!  I never thought it would interest me as much as it did.  The ship was enormous and the quarters are so compact.  They fit sleeping quarters, bathrooms, dinning/cafeteria halls, and work stations all inside this boat.  It was a maze getting through three levels of the ship.  Here are some pics I gathered.

Pic 1: Jeff and Ryan at the dock. You can see the ship in the background.
Pic 2: The door we enter (like a submarine :)
Pic 3: Me in front of the huge gun!
Pic 4: Inside
Pic 5: Sleeping quarters; there are 3 beds there!
Pic 6: Jeff (right) Ryan (left) in the TV room

     As you can tell in the pics it has been a little overcast and gloomy here.  Whenever it is cloudy and rainy I crave soup.  So...  I made some tomato basil soup with cheese crackers.  The hubby had a grilled cheese with his, as pictured.

     This tomato soup was incredibly easy to make.  And most likely you have all the ingredients in your house already.  The added basil brings added life to the tomatoes.  I loved, loved loved this soup!  It was so good I could not stop eating it.  Which isn't a bad thing the entire pot that feeds 8 is only 371 calories!  It is just amazing!   My hubs was admit that he does not like tomato soup!  Yet when he tried this he went back for seconds and said it was DELICIOUS!  Because the soup is blended down, there are no chunks of tomato.  It almost is like eating a tasty marinara sauce :)

     I topped the soup with cheese crackers I made.  This was such a perfect soup I will be making it all the time!

Let me know how you enjoy it in the comments.  I love hearing when people have tried a recipe!
xoxo

Cheese Crackers.  SO simple

Healthy Tidbits:  Very low in Sat. Fat. No cholesterol.  High in Dietary Fiber, Manganese, Magnesium, Potassium, Thiamin and Vit. E.  Very High in Iron, Vit. A, B6 & C.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola Bars

     I have a special treat today Loves!  Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola Bars!  Mmmm... I love PB&J, and thought what a fabulous combo to put into a granola bar!  This worked out extraordinarily! I love making my own granola bars because I like to be the one who decides what ingredients are put into it.  These my friends have quinoa, oats, flax seed, peanuts, peanut butter, my homemade Strawberry Jam, and dehydrated strawberries!  Whew these are beauties!

     These take about an hour to make including making the jam from scratch and letting them set up in the fridge.  You can make these on a Sunday and have a healthy protein filled snack for the entire week!  Try them they do not disappoint!  Especially if you love PB&J these taste just like that but rolled up into a quick and convenient bar to travel with.    

      OOOOO... Ahhhhh... Gotta love the close up shot.  These are chewy granola bars. I suppose you could bake them to make them more crunchy.

      Yesterday I took my little pups to the park and took these granola bars with me as a snack.  Yes, I needed a snack these dogs love to be outside for hours!! Especially when it is a beautiful sunny 75 degree day!  Here are some pics of the pups enjoying the day.  

Photo Lucy the Puggle, Layla the black mix, and photo bomb friend Ryan W.

Healthy Tidbits:  No Cholesterol, low in Sodium, High in Dietary Fiber, High in Manganese and Protein.

Baked Arancini

      Today's Menu, Arancini.  (Are-an-chee-knee).  Have you ever had these Italian rice balls of goodness?  If not then I am glad you are here reading this.  You must make these!

     Normally arancini is a rice ball coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried.  Oh not here at SKINNY supper.  No deep frying allowed! hahaha.  To lighten up this Italian favorite I used brown rice and quinoa and baked them instead of frying.  Let me tell all of you these still came out fantastic!

     Arancini can be made with anything you like.  I made spinach, walnut and porcini mushroom arancini.  Traditionally arancini are made with ground meat and peas.  But, be creative and use anything you love.  I had leftover dehydrated porcini mushrooms that I had used in my Salisbury Steak, so I thought that would pair perfectly with spinach and walnuts! Stuff these quinoa balls with a little light mozzarella and bake them until crispy and golden and you have a delicious dinner that everyone will gobble up!

      Serve arancini with some homemade red sauce.  I also paired with Pear Gorgonzola Salad on the side.

     Beautiful quinoa and brown rice balls coated in almond meal not breadcrumbs!

     Weekend View of what I did.
 Saturday evening I went to my friend Matt's house and he cooked us all dinner.  So sweet of him.  Then on Sunday we rode bikes to SOWA market here in Boston.  SOWA market is where people can sell organic produce or things (t-shirts, jewelry, furniture) they have made.  Sort of like the website Etsy but in person you can shop. Also there was about 20 food trucks there.  It was fun trying all the different truck creations.  Friends, sunshine and good food all weekend!  It was sorta perfect!

Healthy Tidbits:  High in Manganese, Vitamin B6 and C. Low in Sodium.