Saved by soup.

TMJ is not fun my friends, not fun. I'm not sure about all the technical stuff, but for me it means that eating a mini muffin nearly causes tears. We will be having soup the next few days. My husband really loves some soups, but he thinks soup should be relegated to the cold weather season and suffers in silence the rest of the year when I make soup. Those of you who don't live in the south are thinking, "Well, October IS cold weather season, so that's good." Let me explain, when you live on the gulf coast "winter", as it is loosely dubbed, consists of 1 1/2 months of weather that makes you think, "Hmm, maybe I'll wear pants instead of shorts today." I MISS SNOW. (griping over now). So tonight I'm making minestrone. It's hearty enough for my hubby and anything I can't eat without actually chewing I can just leave out of my bowl. Cooked carrots are soft right?=) Want the recipe?


This soup lends itself really well to using up whatever random things are in your pantry or leftovers from the fridge. I like mine a little soupy, but if you don't just use less stock or more stuff. Tonight, mine looks something like this......

8 cups chicken stock/broth
one bay leaf
some sage
some rosemary
a little thyme

The last of the Italian meatball from the freezer (but sweet Italian sausage is SO good in this-& I hate sausage
                                But if you use a raw meat, cook it in your soup pan first with the herbs & a little EVOO)
an onion, diced bc my 3-year old hates onions but this way he won't know they're there
a couple of carrots, peeled & chopped
a couple of celery ribs, chopped
a can of stewed tomatoes
a couple of cups of cooked beans (tonight I'm using up leftovers; a mix of light red kidney, cannelloni, great
                                                      northern and garbanzo)
a can of green beans
a cup of frozen corn
a little pepper
a cup-ish of pasta (pretty much any smaller pasta will work here; macaroni, rigatoni, farfalle, fiori, fusili...etc.)

Throw it all in a pot-except the pasta-& bring to a boil. Lower the temp and simmer till you're ready to eat. Add the pasta about 7 minutes before you're ready to eat ( it will still cook even in your bowl as long as the soup is hot, so you don't want to overdo it and have soggy pasta).