Souper Skinny Bitch Soup. Cheezy Cream of Broccoli

I have to admit, I knew this would not be a family favorite as I started chopping broccoli and dicing onions. Cheezy Cream of Broccoli Soup is on SBK page 54. I was sooooo jonesing for some comfort food, that this just seemed to fit the bill. The Skinny Bitches' comment on the bottom of the page says "So Friggin' Good" and they are right. Yum-a-licous! I'm happy that by boys weren't interested, because that means I own the whole pot! I have lunch for a week! Sweet! Now, you can't make this soup without thinking about Saturday Night Live. There is a great skit from the '90s where Dana Carvey is singing at the piano and add-libbing a song that becomes about "choppin' broccoli". Yes, really. It goes something like, "She went to the store . . . she bought some - - - broccoli . . . she brought it hoooooome . . . She's choppin' broccoli . . .choppin' broccoli . . . choppin b - r - oc - co - liiiiiiiii." It just got funnier and funnier as it went. It was so funny, when I was a counselor at Camp Susquehannock for Girls we acted out the song and threw broccoli into the audience. Anyway, this soup doesn't actually take that much choppin'. Rough cut 1/2 an onion and 2 large heads of broccoli and you are done. After a little cooking, you let the blender do the work, and soon you have a warm, comforting, filling soup. Husband wouldn't eat it because he doesn't like cheesey soups. "It isn't cheese, it is dairy-free" didn't change his mind. Boys wouldn't try it because they followed in dad's uncooperative footsteps. One spoonful would have turned them into soup lovers! I loved it! It is satisfying, soothing, and healthy. It re-heat very well. It travels to a middle school and sits in a communal refrigerator very well. It smells good and students who enter your classroom after lunch will say "what smells so good?" Penny pinching: This is a cheap pot of soup. The 6 oz. of vegan cheddar are the most expensive ingredient. Vegan cheese comes shredded in 2 cup quantities, 1 oz slices, or 10 oz. blocks. You can find vegan cheese at Healthy U and Wegmans. Getting Off Topic: One benefit of shopping at Healthy U is their wide assortment of cookbooks and resources. You can find a bookshelf or two filled with cookbooks that suit your specific need: celiac and gluten free, dairy free, raw food, vegan diet . . . you name it they have it or they will order it for you. They also carry a great magazine I can't find anywhere else, called Clean Eating. Check it out! Meal Idea: This soup can be made into a dinner by adding a loaf of bread and a tossed salad, or crostini topped with a tomato relish of some kind. Slurp and enjoy! I think the Skinny Bitches are on to something with this yummy soup.

OMW, Skinny Bitches rock the Pad Thai

I didn't want to start cooking with the International Bitch section of the SBK (starts of page 85), because I was afraid I would knock out those recipes and lose interest in the rest of the book. I don't know why, but I like all things ethnic food! Yum, ethnic food is my fave part of cultural diffusion! Thank you immigration! Maybe there should be a statue of Betty Crocker standing next to the Statue of Liberty. She could have a wooden spoon in one hand and a mandolin (the slicer not the musical instrument) in the other. She could have an inscription that says "send me your chefs, your traditional recipes, your spices, your dumplings, your stuffed sandwiches . . ."

Anyway, I consider it a treat that I allowed myself into the International Bitch department. I've been a good girl, so I get a treat.

I decided to venture into international waters with the recipe on SBK page 92, Pad Thai. If you ever dine in a Thai restaurant with my husband, this is what he will order, along with a Mai Tai. Why not? It has more complex flavors than American fare, but it isn't off-putting or too daring for the average palette. So, I figured it might be a family-friendly meal.

This recipe does require a trip to the market. A fresh lime and garden mint are towards the bottom of the ingredient list, but don't skip them, they are part of that complexity I was talking about. They also finish the dish with some zing and freshness.

You will also need scallions, red onion and bean sprouts from the produce department. Don't get all flaky and grab alfalfa sprouts. We are not making a hummus wrap here, we are making Pad Thai, so look for the thicker, white spouts that are clearly marked Bean Spouts, or check out the ingredients list and make sure it lists types of beans like Mung. (Or go completely bananas and buy a sprouting jar and sprout your own! Yup, it's easy. Buy a jug at Healthy U, and you get beans to start with and easy directions to follow. This appeals to the control freak in me!)

The protein in this vegan dish is tofu. I cut my cubes small so that I could stir them around in the pan and get a nice brown crust on all sides of the cubes. This adds color and texture to the tofu.

Finally, you may have to acquire some new staples to create this dish. If you haven't already purchased mirin (Japanese Rice Wine), Sriracha (Asian Chili Sauce, or tamari (soy sauce) you can justify it for this recipe. Trust me, you'll be making this again and again, so invest now.

The great thing about Thai cooking is that rice noodles cook up so fast! And, they aren't like wheat noodles that stick together when they sit in a pot for awhile. Rice noodles are happy to swim around in a bowl while you assemble the sauce and the ingredients to whom they are about to be wed.

The directions for this dish are straight forward and clearly written. I would expect nothing less from the Skinny Bitches.

After whisking the sauce and stir-frying the ingredients I was excited to end up with a gorgeous pan full of glossy rice noodles and heaven-scented Thai seasonings! Wow! It even looked like it looks in a restaurant! So, it only seemed natural that I would dish it up, sprinkle chopped roasted peanuts, and give each serving a healthy squeeze of lime wedge -- tah dah!

Results? I loved it! Back off people, it's mine, all mine! Alas, being a mom means sharing, so I shared. Husband loved it, too! Of course he pushed aside the scallions, but everything else disappeared off his plate and into his belly. 14 year old refused to try it. (Next day, he begged for a taste of leftovers and then ate the rest - which I was planning to have for lunch for the next several days.) 10 year old ate a small bowl, but wasn't very hungry due to snack time foodfest. Isn't that always the way?

Penny pinching: If you have the pantry items, this is a cheap meal. Rice noodles are cheap. Tofu is $1.99/lb. Bean sprouts are $1.99/lb. Herbs can come right out of the garden (or off the window sill now that it is frost-fear-weather).

Entertaining: I would definitely serve this dish to company! There isn't much not to like. There isn't much that can go wrong. It's safe and everyone likes a homemade dish that they usually have to order in a restaurant! Go for it!