That's Good Soup!

My wife and I both really like soup, so one of the things I am trying to do is cook more soup for our meals. Soups are typically healthy and really good on cold Iowa winter nights. In the last 2 weeks, I have tried 2 different recipes, both with great results. I got both recipes from allrecipes.com and I did very little modification. However, I will share the recipes as I made them and provide links to the originals if you so desire.

Baked Potato Soup:
6 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups chicken broth
3 baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/3 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Dried Parsley to taste

Directions: In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings (or 1 tablespoon olive oil if you don't want to use bacon drippings). Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, bacon, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with cheese and parsley.

I accidentally doubled the pepper, which everybody liked. But it did add heat. Next time I make it I'm going to go with the amount of pepper called for and then add additional pepper at the table. This only made enough for 3 adults and 2 kids, so if you want leftovers, scale it up a bit. We used a sharp cheddar cheese to garnish.

Tuscan Soup:
6 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
4 potatoes, cubed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Brown Sausage. Add chopped onion and red pepper flakes, and cook until onions are tender.
2. Place meat in a large pot; add stock and potatoes. Boil until potato is cooked (20-25 mins).
Add spinach. Continue boiling until spinach is lightly cooked (5 mins).
3. Remove soup from heat, stir in evaporated milk, and season with pepper to taste.

I garnished this at the table with Parmesan cheese, which was really nice. This is better than the Zupa Tuscana soup at Olive Garden, and really simple. We had enough leftovers for 4 additional bowls...fed 2 adults and 2 kids.

I think some type of white bean in this would be really good if you feel like adding more to it. Though, with the potatoes and sausage, it was a hearty soup.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Book Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files

I needed a Percy Jackson fix over Christmas break. One morning, the boys and I were up and everyone else was still sleeping. So, we went to Donutland for breakfast and then to Barnes & Noble to browse. While browsing, I stumbled across "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files." I decided to splurge and buy it, since I must read all things Percy Jackson.

This book takes place between books 4 and 5 in the Percy Jackson series, and is a collection of 3 short stories and interviews with some various Demigods, including Percy and Annabeth. Each of the short stories features Percy on some type of mini-quest with another Demigod (remember Demigods have a human parent and a Greek god as a parent). The short stories are classic Percy Jackson, told from the first person, with lots of heroics and humor. Great stuff!

The interviews with the Demigods are also hilarious. Rick Riordan does such a great job writing these characters. I can't wait for more books...if only someone would invent time travel so I could go forward and read the rest of the books in the "Heroes of Olympus" series. Alas, we don't have a Delorean, or a flux capacitor. But if we did...88 mph here we come baby!

Author's Note: If you don't understand the time travel references I just made, I feel pity for you.

Anway, back to the book...if you are in need of a Percy Jackson fix, pick up a copy of "The Demigod Files". It's a quick read and you won't be disappointed.

A Much Needed Break

Today is my last day of my Christmas break. I'm fortunate enough to work at a company that shuts down from a day or two before Christmas to a day or three after New Year's Day. This year, I was off from Dec. 24th through today (Jan. 3rd). I feel really refreshed, and frankly, I could easily continue this break, but the expenses of the family/house say otherwise.

I spent this break doing some cooking, watching a lot of football and movies, and trying to spend time with the family. We got some new Wii games for Christmas, so we've spent time doing that. We also played some board games, and got outside when we could. Our break did include on ER visit when the kids collided on the trampoline. That resulted in 2 staples to close a wound on my youngest kid's head. He's okay, and is enjoying the extra attention.

I think the most refreshing thing of this time off was the break I took from the world. I didn't worry about work, and I didn't worry about what was going on in the world. I haven't really watched any news, other than ESPN and the local weather, and I feel great about it. The 24 hour news cycle is all about bad news and making us worry...it's no wonder not watching or reading any for 10 days is refreshing. If I didn't feel a responsibility to be informed, it would be easy to never read or watch any news again.

Tomorrow, it's back to the real world. Hopefully I'll still have my job come this time next year so I can get another much needed break.

Movie Review: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

This DC animated film should have been called, "The Rise of Supergirl" but that wouldn't have gotten me to watch it, so in a shrewd bit of marketing, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" was chosen as the title. Don't get me wrong, Superman and Batman are both in the movie, and they play major roles, but this movie is really about Supergirl deciding to be Supergirl.

When a meteor strikes the river in Gotham City, Batman investigates, and discovers Supergirl(a.k.a Kara Zor-El). She has no control of her powers and she is scared. So Batman, being awesome, uses Kryptonite to subdue her. Shortly after Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman get Kara into training to control her powers, she is kidnapped by Darkseid and taken to Apocalypse. For those who don't know, Darkseid is the nearly all-powerful leader of the planet Apocalypse and an arch enemy of Superman. Now, it's up to the 3 heroes, with the help of Barta (a former soldier of Darkseid), to go to Apocalypse and rescue Kara.

This is a 4 star movie. I really liked it, even though I was a bit misled by the title. There were some really cool moments, including Batman playing a game of chicken with Darkseid and winning. The voice casting was perfect. Kevin Conroy is back as Batman and Tim Daly voices Superman. Usually Michael Ironside voices Darkseid, but in this movie, Andre Braugher provided the vocal talents for Darkseid and it worked.

Overall, good stuff. I've really enjoyed these DC animated features that have been rolling out over the last 2 years or so. I hope DC continues to make these movies and I hope that Netflix keeps putting them on Instant Watch.