#1027 Sunday cooking

I haven't been very energetic today. I was up early, but then went back to sleep for an hour or so. That felt good. Osi and I went for a short walk; we are both out of shape! Mostly I've been puttering around the house, watching sports on TV and reading. (I finished two books this weekend!)

On Sunday I like to do some cooking that will last through the week. I kept it simple today. I made a couple of loaves of banana bread. There is a recipe that I found online that has become my go-to banana bread recipe. It's from shockinglydelicious.com and it's the Old School Sour Cream Banana Bread recipe. I almost have it memorized. I like to add a little cinnamon and some mini chocolate chips to my bread because T likes the chocolate and I like the hint of cinnamon. The texture of the bread is always perfect, tender and sweet and the crust is crunchy and delicious. I don't use the sugar on top of the bread as described in the recipe, but I bet that would be yummy.

Tonight I also made one of my favorite easy soup recipes that I call 5 Cans and a Cup. I learned the recipe at Weight Watchers. Here's what's in it:

A can of black beans, drained & rinsed
A can of corn, drained
A can of refried beans
A can of chicken broth
A can of chicken breast
A cup of salsa

I like to add onions to it, and I have also been known to add a can of diced green chilis. When I add the onion, I saute the onion in a bit of oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper along with some cumin, chili powder and dried cilantro. Then I add all of the ingredients and let it simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes I like to serve it over some steamed brown rice - that makes for an super-filling meal. Sometimes I'll grate a little cheddar cheese over it and crumple up some tortilla chips for a little crunch. I like to put a little hot sauce on mine; MT likes to put in a little sour cream.

The recipe makes a lot of soup. I had a bowl of the soup for dinner tonight, then I filled up three bowls with some soup and some rice, so I have three meals there for lunch or a quick dinner next week. There was enough that I was able to fill a quart size freezer bag, too. I put that in the freezer and I will easily get about four bowls of soup from that at a later date.

Making a big batch of something and putting it in the freezer for another day (or three) has been awesome for me. I'm about due for another trip to Costco, so I'll be looking in my Don't Panic cookbook for some new recipes to soon.

I hope you had a great weekend. It was a beautiful fall day here with crisp temperatures in the mid 50s and a bright blue sky. The leaves are starting to turn and it's just gorgeous. I love fall!