These are a few of my favorite things {right now}

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, by Ina Garten. Worth every minute of preparation, and please consider adding a cup of heavy cream and a healthy amount of freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese just before serving. In my opinion, that knocks it out of the park. This soup freezes well.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breasts

2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can corn (rinsed and drained)

2 cans mexican stewed tomatoes (Del Monte brand)

1 can tomato sauce

1 jar salsa

1 small can green chilies, if you like a little kick

*Throw all ingredients, in that order, into the crock pot. Cook on high 4-6 hours, then pull chicken and tomatoes out and shred / chop. Return to soup and stir well. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and crushed lime flavored tortilla chips on the side. Another fabulous freezer soup. We always make simple Monterey Jack quesadillas on the side.

Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash, by Ina Garten. Even the kids ate it. I plan on pureeing the leftovers into soup by blending them with 1/2 a sauteed onion in thyme and butter, plus 5 cups of chicken broth.

Apple Juice on the stovetop with a handful of mulling spices thrown in. Bonus: the way my house smells afterward.

Pumpkin Pie (the easy / cheat version, using Libby's Canned Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix that requires only eggs and evaporated milk and a pie crust!). Good enough for us. One can made 2 pies for me yesterday, and since that is twice as much pie as I really wanted, we will no doubt be having pumpkin milkshakes on Sunday night with whatever isn't eaten this weekend.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken. My very own recipe (!), after many tweaks and tries to get it right. It's perfection, according to my husband (love him). I made Ina Garten's version this past week and he said it didn't hold a candle to mine. I don't think it stands a chance against my mother-in-law's famous lemon chicken recipe, but 1) who's competing?! and 2) it's a version that works for us when we are far from New Jersey. :)

3 breasts chicken

1 egg

salt, pepper

1 C italian bread crumbs

olive oil

3-6 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 C white wine

2 t oregano

juice from 1 lemon

1 1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 lb egg noodles, cooked and tossed in as much butter and parmesan cheese as you can stand.

*Bowl 1: mix egg, s + p together. Bowl 2: bread crumbs. Cover the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven with olive oil and heat over med-hi heat. Sprinkle garlic into the skillet. Slice each chicken breast longways into 3 pieces. Dip into bowl 1, then dredge through bowl 2. Lay chicken on top of garlic in skillet. Brown all sides of chicken until lightly golden and try to only turn them once. Pour white wine over chicken and simmer for a minute. Add oregano, lemon juice, and broth. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and very tender, nearly falling apart to the touch. Serve chicken on top of egg noodles and pour pan juices over all.

Real Hot Chocolate, by Hershey's. Grab a container of unsweetened Hershey's Cocoa Powder in the baking aisle, and check the side for the hot chocolate recipe. It's A-MAZING! And very rich, you may want to thin it out at the end with a little more milk like we do.

Happy eating!