I just finished catching up on my Grey’s Anatomy shows on my DVR. Holy crap. I can always count on that show to get me crying for about an hour. It is absolutely fantastic. Every now and then you need a good cry. You know what I mean?!
Is anyone a fan of GA? Did you see the musical episode? Thoughts? My only thought, besides aw-kward, is that Callie is amazing. True.
This Sunday I got to work making my meals for the week and I decided that I was desperately in need of some white bean and kale soup. Every time I see it at Au Bon Pain (similar to Panera) I get all excited and shell out $4+ for a small little bowl of it. I have kale. I have white beans. SOUP!
Well, I thought I had white beans. It seems that Project Eat What You Have was quite successful and I managed to chow down on several cans of white beans over the past few weeks without even realizing it. So here is my Bean and Kale Soup, AGAHM style.
In the mix (makes 8 cups):
-1 tbsp olive oil
-6-8 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 white onion, chopped
-4 cups kale, raw and chopped (or I just pull the leaves off the stems)
-4 cups vegetable stock
-1 15oz. can of black beans, rinsed
-1 15 oz. can of pinto beans, rinsed
-4 plum tomatoes, chopped
-Salt & Pepper to taste
*I also added in a good shaking of Italian Herb Garlic Gold Nuggets*
*In a big pot, heat up olive oil. Add garlic and onion. Saute for several minutes. Add kale and let it wilt. Stir occasionally.
*Add 3 cups of the broth, 1 cup black beans, 1 cup pinto beans, tomato, and S&P. Simmer for 5 minutes.
*While the soup is simmering, blend together the rest of the beans and broth in a blender until smooth. Add the mixture to the soup and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 12-15 minutes.
I added a bit of shredded parm and smiled to myself. I love when things turn out right!
Hello lovely lovely beans. You will always be my favorite food. ALWAYS.
In other news, a few weeks ago I posted about my old lady hands and dry cuticles. A few of you mentioned in the comments (and Tweeted me!) that I should give Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream a try. I found some on my next trip to Target and have been using it religiously. I’m happy to report that I’m seeing some significant improvements. It seems I’ll always have old lady hands but not nearly as dry cuticles.
Can you see the difference or am I crazy?! Tell me I’m not crazy.
Hope you all had a great weekend! I started the week off on a good food and I’m continuing by getting into bed a little earlier than usual. The Mutt is begging for a nuzzle and I am all so happy to oblige. 
If you find you don’t have one of the main ingredients when trying to make a recipe, do you just improvise or run to the store for what you need?
I usually run to the store! I like what I like and I want what I what I want!
See ya on Wednesday with a book club recap, a book review and other bloggy fun!
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Sometimes I will improvise depending on the ingredient (ie. subsituting a veggie or milk for cream) but with a main ingredient, I always run to the store.
I love Grey’s Anatomy. I have watched it since the beginning and it’s one of those shows that I will never give up on. I thought the musical episode was kind of strange, but I didn’t hate it like a lot of other people did. I do think however that they should have picked a different episode to do it for, Callie possibly losing her life and/or the baby is way too dramatic to have people awkwardly singing around her I think.
I thought there was just too much going on at once. I didn’t hate the singing and I thought they did a good job incorporating the music into the show, but I can’t hear with all the talking AND singing.
That soup looks delicious! I’m trying to make my way through my pantry/freezer too. It’s tough!
Isn’t it?! Sometimes I pick something out the of the pantry and wonder why the heck I bought it in the first place.
That soup looks great – I love adding kale where I can! I’m like you ~ I like what I like and I will make a trip to the store to get the one ingredient I need. Your cuticles are definitely looking better – I love Burt’s Bees products, especially their lip balms and tints (& they’re animal friendly which is important to me)!
Thank you from the cuticles! I’m so much happier with them.
Kale—delish! One of the best things I learned to love in the last year or so.
What kind of camera do you use? Your pics are beautiful!
Thank you! I just use a point -n- shoot. A Canon PowerShot Digital Elph. http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Stabilized-2-7-Inch-Silver/dp/B0035FZJKI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302023633&sr=8-1
The soup looks delish! I gotta try it.
I have the same problem with my cuticles. I think I need to head over to the drug store and pick up some of that cream
Bea
I was prepared w the box of tissues when I watched that episode of Grey’s. Hubs was also out of the house and I could do the sob/whine/bawl combo whole heartedly.
Now you just have to make sure a certain short furry fellow doesn’t try to eat the tin of the cuticle stuff!
That soup looks so hearty and delicious! And I definitely see the difference after putting on the cuticle cream… you’re inspiring me to find something for my cuticles, I have very dry ones to.
Unless I need something for baking, then no pajama pants can stop me from running to the store!
I usually just make do with what I have, can’t be bothered to run out if I have something at home
I’m guilty of running out and buying the ingredient (in most situations)! But sometimes I can improvise… if I don’t think it will compromise the final product or what I’m aiming for too much.
Nails look great!
Thanks for the cuticle tip. I bought some of the cuticle cream and giving it a try.