"Souper" Friday

Yesterday was the sixth week of "Souper Friday" - an attempt to make meal planning more fun with a planned soup supper every Friday. Last night I made Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I looked at the recipes in the Holmes Family Cookbook, and found a recipe on-line that got good reviews and then made up my own mixture. It turned out pretty good. So far during the Souper Friday run we've had Turkish Rice soup, Salmon Chowder, French Onion Soup, Potato Soup, Beef and Vegetable Stew and now Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Most weeks I've made some sort of hot bread as an accompaniment and I find I'm actually looking forward and planning Friday supper with some enthusiasm. - And that's a good thing.

After supper we went to the Pampered Chef party that Catherine was hosting and Valerie was the representative. They did a good job and Valerie cooked a pizza with chicken, Alfredo sauce and spinach that was delicious. I think I'll make it for Tim for supper tonight. Jane and Neal are here this weekend so I don't have to worry about if Mom can eat it or not.

One of Catherine's gifts for hosting the party was the seasonal cookbook that Pampered Chef puts out to utilize their products. She had each of the guests write a cooking tip inside and mine was to remember that recipes are only a starting point when you are cooking - you should make each dish your own, using what you like and have on hand. I think that's why I like making soup - I can personalize it any way I like. Sometimes that's a good thing.