Three Bean Escarole Soup

Guess what I did on Friday?!?!

I went to my first professional baseball game at the new Yankee Stadium! My mom said that she thinks I saw a game at the Red Sox stadium when I was in elementary school but I don't remember so I'm not counting it.

My friend, Michelle (ya know, my fellow baking friend), got free tickets and invited me. I was so excited to get out of New Paltz and do something fun. We knew that it was supposed to be cold so we had a couple adult beverages before we went in to create a little liquor blanket. It was the perfect idea because I stayed nice and toasty until about the 6th inning.

I also enjoyed a classic baseball meal of a philly cheesesteak and cheese fries.  You only live once, right? Plus, how could I say no to fries served with a cute little fork? I couldn't. And we may have stopped at Denny's on the way home where I may have consumed a slice of peanut butter pie and half of a waffle drenched in syrup.

Other than the cold, I had a really great time! I still know little to nothing about baseball. I tried to pay attention to Michelle's explanations and concentrate but my previously mentioned liquor blanket also affected my attention span. But I suppose I can officially consider myself a Yankee fan, which gives me a wonderful opportunity to do some shopping :)  I promise I'll make an effort to actually learn something about the game/the team so I'm not THAT girl in the pink Jeter jersey who says things like "Uuummm, is it the last quarter yet?". And anyone that knows me, knows I would never buy a pink sports jersey. That's an abomination.

us before the game. Michelle let me borrow a hat so I would fit in. And you all know how I feel about being Irish... <3

first train ticket!

taking some selfies on the train :)

me outside of the stadium!

stadium bathroom. yeah, this happened.

go Yankees!

in our seats

in front of the field.

chilly and sleepy on the way home

 I'm a huge baby about being cold. I think my bones are actually still aching from how cold I was by the end. My stomach also needed a huge detox from all of the garbage that I threw in it. So I decided to make up a batch of this soup. It's basically a meatless version of my greens and beans soup. The ingredients are simple but it has a great taste from the garlic and the tomato sauce. So make up a batch of this soup if you're looking for a warm and light dinner option! I like to serve it with the crustiest, garlicy-est, heartiest piece of whole wheat bread that I can find. Enjoy :)

Escarole, 3 Bean, and Roasted Garlic Soup (6 servings – 246 calories) adapted from Cooking Light

• ½ of a head of garlic
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cups chopped escarole (about 1 pound)
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pink beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese (for serving)

1. Mince and sautee half of a head of garlic and 1/4 cup Great Northern beans. Mash with a fork until pastelike. Stir in thyme and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in at the bottom of a large stock pot over medium heat. Add escarole to pan; cook 3 minutes or until escarole wilts, stirring frequently. Add remaining Great Northern beans, broth, and next 4 ingredients (through pink beans). Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until escarole is tender. Stir in garlic mixture; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. 
3. Serve and sprinkle with cheese.

mmmm garlic bean paste

my delicious detox.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Minestrone

My mother hates fall squash.

Therefore, we never ate it when I was growing up. My grandmother has always made butternut squash once a year on Thanksgiving and it looked like baby food so I refused to try it. Plus, why eat that when I could eat more carbs? I've mentioned my obsession with carbs before, right? And sugar, and peanut butter, and cheese, and anything with lots of calories? Yep.

Because of my love of food and blogging, this year, I decided to try it...

WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG?!?! I fell in love. Sweet. Savory. Nutty. Cinnamon-y. Heaven. Lesson learned: Try anything and everything regardless of what it looks like or what people say about it. The worst that can happen is that you don't like. But if you never try it, you could be missing out on something wonderful and a ton of awesome recipes! I don't know how I survived a fall/winter without it.  Never again. So I decided to give this recipe for a squash based soup a try.

This soup was delicious. It does involve a lot of chopping. In fact, I got a blister on my thumb. But that's probably because I was using a super small and crappy knife to cut a large butternut squash. Not smart. Once you get past chopping all of the veggies, the soup is so simple to put together. You basically just dump it all together in crockpot and turn it on.

The pasta is totally optional. I used squash pasta because I love the color, the extra serving of veggies, the cute tiny shape, and that it compliments the "I-am-the-newest-squash-fanatic" theme. I cooked it separately and just added it to my bowl of soup. The next couple times I ate it, I left the pasta out for a lighter meal. For me, the beans make the soup hearty enough and I'd rather eat my carbs with a crusty piece of bread for dipping!

This soup freezes pretty well. The only issue is that the squash chunks don't hold up well. I was sort of disappointed at first. But then I gave it a quick stir and the squash completely disintegrated and created a creamy broth! I think it was a totally pleasant mistake. Love when that happens :)

Butternut Squash and Spinach Minestrone

• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf, dried
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can white beans
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch of bag of spinach
• 1 cup small pasta, cooked (optional)
• parmesan cheese, for topping

1. Combine all ingredients except spinach and pasta in the bowl of a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. Twenty minutes before eating, add the spinach to the crockpot and cover again. Just before serving, remove bay leaf.
3. Ladle soup into bowls. Add pasta, if desired. Top with parmesan cheese.

Try the pasta! I'm sure you'll love it. It also comes in a spinach and a tomato variety.

How fresh and fabulous does that look?

Greens and Beans Soup

We always make this soup for Christmas so it reminds me of family, fun, and a cozy home.

It's really easy to throw together so we make two whole slow cookers full of it. And it goes very quickly. I think the simplicity of flavors is the main appeal to this recipe. The large escarole leaves and white beans make up the filling components of the soup while the sausage and garlic give a wonderful flavor to the broth. We all top the soup with a healthy portion of parmesan cheese, which thickens the broth and adds a flavor that is a perfect compliment to the garlic and the spice from the sausage.

If you're not a huge fan of garlic, this soup probably isn't for you because the flavor is very pronounced. I think the soup would be very bland without the garlic so I wouldn't recommend leaving it out or decreasing the quantity. If you don't love spicy food, you can substitute the hot sausage for sweet Italian sausage.

As I mentioned previously, this recipe makes about two full slow cookers of soup so feel free to cut the recipe in half. But don't be afraid to have a ton of leftovers. This soup tastes better after it sits for a couple days because it seems to get more garlic-y (I'm Italian... there's no such thing as too much garlic).  It also freezes well!


This is the perfect soup for the cold busy nights that I know everyone is experiencing after the holidays :)

Greens and Beans Soup

• 3 heads of escarole
• salt and pepper
• 1 head of garlic
• 3 pounds of hot sausage (or sweet, if you prefer)
• 6 cans of Great Northern or Cannellini beans, 4 drained and 2 with liquid
• parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Wash the heads of escarole. Cut into 1 inch strips. Place the escarole in a large, tall pasta pot.
2. Fill the pot with water to the top of the escarole. Heat on medium until the escarole has wilted. 
3. Mince the garlic. Saute the garlic and hot sausage in a frying pan until cooked through and browned.
4. Drain most of the liquid from the sausage and add the garlic and sausage mixture to the pot with the escarole.
5. Add the 4 cans of drained beans and the 2 cans of beans with liquid to the pot. 
6. Simmer for about 20 minutes to let the flavors come together. 

**If you do not have a pot large enough, simply split the ingredients into multiple pots. Just be sure to keep the ingredients in all of the pots equal so they have the same flavor.