It's more than apparent that we LOVE soup. One of our favorites is Ramen... Not that hard MSG stuff that comes in a pack of 100 for a dollar. You know, the kind that keeps college undergraduate dreams alive... No. We mean real Ramen.

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish. It still has crinkly noodly brothy awesomeness but with a more rich and healthy flavor.

Ramen comes in a variety of ways. There are so many options for your palate. Choose between a miso or soy sauce flavored broth. Add meat: sliced pork, fatty pork, boiled egg (soaked in soy sauce).

Then the veggies: cabbage, broccoli, seaweed (wakame), bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, corn, nori sheets...Add a pat of butter to make it creamy.

Ramen is an awesome comfort food. We left full and with enough leftovers for a snack for all of us later. It reheats well and the noodles don't get soggy like rice noodles do.

Most Ramen places we've been to (that are delicious) are small. Some seat as few as 20 people... Yes. But it's worth it! Get there early and get ready to have an amazingly delicious soup experience.

Jell-o is a fun and quick activity that is a lot of fun for kids.  They love mixing the 3 simple ingredients and they LOVE looking forward to the cold snack that awaits them after all of their "hard work". 

It's always good to have a quick back-up meal...
One of our favorite, very quick dinner options is pasta!  We've gotten it down to a science.  We can be finished in 20 minutes and have made the sauce from scratch.  

Chunky Monkey Waffles (version 1)

We have so many variations on this awesome theme! We love Krusteaz waffle and pancake mix and we love that we can be creative with add ins.

Ingredients:

Krusteaz waffle mix

Banana

Coconut

Flaxseed

Cinnamon

Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Follow the instructions on the Krusteaz box. (We often make the 2-3 portion because we don't eat a lot.)

Add ins:

The way you measure the add ins

2-3 and 4-5 = 1 banana, 3tsp cinnamon, 1/4 c Chocolate Chips, 3Tbs coconut flakes, 3Tbs flaxseed

8-10 = double the above!

Goes great with mint or chamomile tea, enjoy! We recommend a "syrupless" experience or just butter. These waffles are sooooo delicious!

I think my middle child made me sick. 
She has a fever and I have a sore throat. 
HONEY SHOTS!!!!!

Recipe:

3 Tbs Honey 
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ginger
1/3 c lemon juice
1/3 c whiskey (optional)

Today we made soup in 25 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

1/2 onion

1/4 celery stalk

2 cloves garlic

4 baby carrots

1/2 c red pepper/tomato soup

1-2 c water

Fresh Basil

Thyme

Black pepper & salt

Red pepper flakes

Boil everything but the 1/2 c soup for 15 minutes (sweet potatoes & carrots should be tender).

Mix soup & boiled contents into blender

Blend to your desired consistency

I put it to simmer for 3-5 more minutes to ensure it was all together.