"Love you and bye"

This afternoon, as I was working with my cheerleaders, I got a couple of texts from my mother:

Going on the damn roller coaster, should have had another glass of wine. 


Love you and bye.


I exploded into laughter and had to share with one of my students, Gertrude (name changed to protect the innocent), who laughed and called my mom cute. I agreed. (By the way, a few minutes later, I got another text that said, "Loved it...went twice." Go figure.)


Yesterday, after some fog delays, my parents flew down from the Bay Area to spend some time at Disneyland, hence the roller coaster (California Screamin') this afternoon. We invited them to dinner this evening, so after work and almost an hour drive home, I hustled out for a quick run and then got started on dinner.

Scout was thrilled to see Pops!

Dinner ended up tasting delicious and being just enough for all of us. I'm not sure my dad was too excited about the idea of "just" soup, zucchini, and garlic bread for dinner (he's more the steak-and-potatoes type), but he managed to hide his feelings well and even claimed to like it. This turkey soup is a great way to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers!

Turkey Soup
Serves 4

Turkey soup with croutons

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 5 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 6 cups turkey broth, preferably homemade 
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup milk

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. In a food processor (or by hand), chop the onion and add to the pot. Next chop the carrot, celery, and garlic together. Add to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes. 

Add the turkey broth, water, and spices. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer for at least 30 minutes. Right before serving, add the milk. 

We served the soup with homemade sourdough croutons, garlic bread, and roasted zucchini.

Homemade sourdough croutons - here's the recipe

Super Quick Garlic Bread

Serves 4

• 4 slices bread (anything from whole wheat to sourdough)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2-3 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oven or toaster oven (on "bake") to 375 degrees. Spread the olive oil or butter on each piece of bread; then lightly sprinkle the garlic powder and cheese onto each slice. Place the bread, seasoned side up, on a cookie sheet or piece of foil. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the toast is golden brown. You can punch it up to broil if you want a little extra crispiness in your bread.

Roasted Zucchini

Serves 4, as a side

Roasted zucchini - I think even my brother would like it!

• 4 small zucchini squash
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roughly chop the zucchini into 3/4" pieces. Toss the zucchini, olive oil, salt, and pepper on a cookie sheet. Bake the zucchini, covered with foil, for 5 minutes; then uncover for another 5-7 minutes. The zucchini is ready when a fork comes out easily and the squash is lightly browned. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. 

This whole meal felt light and tasted delicious. It was so wonderful to see my parents, as it always is. After dinner, we headed to our favorite local frozen yogurt shop, Twist. For four of us, we spent less than eight dollars! And I was not shy with my toppings. My creation involved cake batter and butterscotch yogurts with Heath bar, chocolate chips, fudge... Have I mentioned I have a bit of a sweet tooth? We all got a kick out of Mom sneaking back up to the counter to ask the lady for a few more free samples and returning with the world's tiniest cup of yogurt for "everyone to share." She really is cute. :-)

Tiny dessert, anyone?

I'm especially excited because I get to see my whole family in just three days. Sadly, Terry won't be joining me for my mini-trip up north, but it'll be great to see my parents, my brother, and my future sister-in-law. There's a brother-sister dinner planned for Saturday night; we're teaming up to prepare something yummy for the gang! Just wish my hubby would be there, too. 

In other news, we have finally booked all our Europe details for our upcoming Christmas trip! We decided on Paris and London. If you have must-see/must-eat/must-do recommendations, please let us know! Comment below or e-mail me at abetterlifewithburgers@gmail.com. We love traveling with friends' recommendations!