The easiest thing to do for lunch prep for lunches throughout my week is to make a big batch of soup and a salad which is super easy a finished within 1 hour for the whole week. This rustic chicken chowder is packed full of chicken and healthy vegetables. The half and half can be substituted for milk for something healthier or heavy cream for a richer and creamer soup. The vegetables can be substitute for others to fit your personal tastes. Check out the Recipe below in post.

As the weather here in Minnesota keeps dumping more and more snow, it makes me want to hide inside and have some great comfort food. This  crockpot shredded pork chili is a great alternative to the standard beef chili. The best part of this recipe is that each spoonful had tender chunks of pork. You can easily  add jalapeno in place of the green chilies if you like to have a bit more spice to the chili. Check out the recipe below.

For Superbowl Sunday, instead of ordering the number one food for the day, pizza I decided to make a big batch of beef stew.  Beef stew to me is one of those meals that makes you feel all warm inside and with the freezing cold temperatures here, it was a perfect fit. This recipe has all of the classic ingredients with a few changes that I have adapted over the years. Please check out the recipe below and feel free to leave comments below if you have tried my recipe.

As we are in  a week of record cold here in Minnesota, along with most of the rest of the country, there is no better time for some great soup to keep us warm. This ham and corn chowder is not like the typical classic version, it is packed with vegetables along with the ham and corn. It is a great hearty soup the is packed with flavor and color that brightens up any lunch or dinner but is healthier with milk in place of cream. Check out the recipe below.

Beef barley soup is a great flavor soup and is normally made my cooking beef low and slow until it is very tender. This beef meatball and barley soup will give you a similar flavor without the long cook time and still packed with all of the great ingredients that are normally found in the soup. Check out the recipe below.

As it snows here in Minnesota, there is nothing better then sitting inside having a bowl of soup keeping warm. Southwestern Chicken and Bean Soup is a great change to the normal chili and is simple to prepare and packed with flavor from the spices and fresh vegetables. Most of the ingredients I had in my cupboard and it can be made in as quick as 30 minutes, but the longer it cooks the better the flavor just like most soups out there. This is a great recipe to use up leftover chicken or the turkey from your holidays.

As we approach Thanksgiving tomorrow we might need a easy meal that is hearty but packed with healthy vegetables and will make you feel less guilty stuffing yourself through the holiday season. This recipe is a very easy and hearty minestrone soup and in my option the best tasting minestrone soup out there.

Growing up in Minnesota there is nothing like the classic soup of chicken wild rice on a day that is cold to make you feel warm inside. Why not combine two of my favorite classic soups into one with this version of creamy chicken wild rice and dumpling. soup This recipe is a bit healthier without all of the heavy cream that is normally in the chicken wild rice but replaced with nice pillow like dumplings that make up for it for sure. If you are gluten free you can easy replace the flour for a gluten free option like rice flour.

This recipe is very simple to make, this recipe can be easily made withing the 45 minutes i mention below in the recipe if needed and only needs a few ingredients that are extremely easy to find anywhere around.

Add butter and saute the onion, carrots, celery and chicken until slightly tender and the chicken is cooked . Add the flour and spices, let cook for 2-3 minutes making sure all flour is mixed in.

Stir in the chicken broth and milk. Let the soup come to a boil and thicken. Add the cooked rice to the soup, cover the pot with a lid and allow mixture to simmer.

Add the dumplings by dropping a tablespoonful on top of the simmering soup.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes,  serve the soup warm.