Winter Warmers: Week 2

Vegetable Soup

Cheeseburger Macaroni (no box!)

Hi friends! January is moving right along! That’s good, one step closer to spring! No surprise, I’m behind posting again. C’est la vie. For week 2, I made a couple of very yummy options that gave me leftovers FOR DAYS! I live with someone who isn’t a fan of leftovers. His loss, more for me!

First up was some delicious vegetable soup! I did not use a recipe. Honestly this is my favorite way to cook. Throw a bunch of stuff in, make it yummy, and voila! I sautéed a chopped yellow onion and a couple of cloves of garlic in olive oil until the onion was softened. Then I added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and let it brown for a minute, then added in some Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes, chopped carrot, chopped green cabbage, red pepper, broccoli, a 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, and 4 cups of vegetable broth. I broke up the tomatoes with the spoon and then let the firmer veggies cook down and soften for about half an hour. After that I added in two small chopped zucchini and a can of drained cannellini beans. Then I just let it simmer until the zucchini was cooked. Somewhere in the middle of all that I salted and peppered to taste, and added in about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. That’s my secret (well, was my secret) ingredient for anything tomato based. It gives it a very rich flavor. I grated a little fresh parmesan over the soup for serving and we ate it with some crusty bread toasted in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. This wasn’t only a warmer, but healthy too! YUM!

Next up for the week was homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni. My friend Katie posted this last year on Facebook, it’s a Pinterest winner for sure! It’s even better than the stuff that comes out of the box, not only because it tastes better, but because there’s not a bunch of preservatives and who knows what in it. It goes in the Instant Pot so it’s done in a flash. And did I mention the leftovers? Yummo and I didn’t have to cook lunch for the next two days! The link to the recipe is below. I do substitute 1/2 a teaspoon of the regular paprika with smoked paprika, I like the flavor.

Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

I hope you’re staying safe and warm, and finding something delicious!

Cheers! ~ Jen