Sunday's Soup

My favorite time of the year has arrived. I absolutely LOVE fall, the beautiful colors, the cool crisp temps, and the first fire of the season in the fireplace. For me, it's magical. 

I took Gracie out yesterday to one of our favorite places, the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park, IL. If you live in the Chicagoland area, I think the nature center is a wonderful place to visit. There are about 4 miles of easy hiking trails, and it makes for such a wonderful escape. It was our first trip to the nature center since saying goodbye to Little Bit. So our trip was a little bitter sweet. But, as we walked along, I couldn't help but think about the joy that this place brought to Little Bit.  

A few pictures from our walk;

The pond makes me want to go home and read a little from Emerson.

Such lovely trails that offer a mystical aspect to the walk.

A beautiful burst of color. Just as I started to take the picture, a bee flew into the flower. Look closely and you'll see him working away.

Now, truth be told, I love a bowl of soup any time of the year, but I especially enjoy soup now, it just warms the soul. At least my soul :) And what is better than coming home to the smell of a wonderful pot of soup? 

I especially enjoy making soups in my crockpot, and even better when they are kind of a dump everything in the pot and go on about your day kind of a recipe. This recipe from Pinch of Yum really popped out at me and I'm so glad it did. Not only is it easy to make, it tastes great and it's so very good for you. 

I followed the recipe exactly as written and I loved it. This is a soup that you can make up, enjoy, and then freeze in small batches for lunches or an easy dinner.  

As you can see, you literally throw everything into the crockpot.

Before adding the kale, the recipe instructs you to take out some of the soup and puree to add a creamy aspect to the soup. Don't skip this step. 

The pureed soup is added back to the pot, the kale and parsley added and given time to cook at bit more, and then the soup is ready to serve.

 I did add a little cayenne pepper my bowl of soup. Next time around, the only changes I would make is to add in the cayenne as well as a couple of bay leaves while the soup cooks. 

If you give the soup a try, I hope you enjoy it. I think it's the perfect recipe to kick off the fall weather :)

Enjoy,

Rhonda