I Never Knew It Was a Real Thing- Meatless Monday

Who knew?  I always called this "I didn't set any meat out to thaw insert day of the week." However, yesterday was Monday and I found myself without defrosted meat for dinner.  Sure enough, I came across a post about Meatless Monday, which dates back to World War I as the government encouraged families to reduce consumption of staples in order to aid the war effort. I learn something new every single day!

Nowadays, there are the simple ways to solve this dilemma, such as eating cereal for dinner, but we already discussed here why boxed cereal isn't that great for you, right?  

My go-to meatless dinner meals are either eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Last night, with a lonely stalk of celery in the fridge, one sad looking carrot and a quarter of an onion (yes, I need to go shopping), it became a no-brainer to make some delicious homemade tomato soup.  Trust me, you can definitely wow with some homemade soup even with this simple meal, and no one realizes you made it due to lack of food in the house.  And, don't you dare reach for that tinny can of Campbell's... Though, on a side note, when I was pregnant with The Boy, I used to salivate remembering the taste of that canned tomato soup.  I think I broke down a few times.  

Homemade Tomato Soup 

30 minutes to mealtime

Fills 3-4 smaller bowls (double it if you have tomato soup slurpers and not just dippers at home)

Roughly chopped stalk of celery

Roughly chopped carrot

Roughly chopped quarter of an onion

2 cloves of garlic 

1 cup Pomi finely chopped boxed tomatoes (why to never purchase canned tomatoes)

1 cup broth (veggie or chicken)

1 cup whole milk

basil

salt

pepper

Heat a couple of tablespoons of butter in a pot.  Drop in the celery, carrot, onion and garlic.  Saute until veggies are softened.  Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.  You can make your grilled cheese sandwiches while the soup is simmering... When the sandwiches are finished, pop them on a plate and cover with the pan's lid to keep them hot and gooey until dipping time.  Turn the heat off the soup and add the milk and seasoning to taste.  With a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy.  Dip away!

Homemade bread is always a welcome addition to grilled cheese.  

Sure to bring a chorus of "yum" from around the table, and no one will even miss the meat.  

Time to fly,

Liz 

*And my fighter pilot husband would insist I add STS after all of the "meat" words.