Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Normal?

Is this normal?  Because lately I am starting to think that things don't happen in our house like they do in others.

My middle mini lost a tooth last night.  I am certain that losing a tooth is normal for a 7 year old.  But this is how the whole thing unfolded....

Mr. McGhee and the boy minis were snuggled up in my bed reading a book before bedtime.  My middle mini was laying there, listening, and playing with his loose tooth.  Apparently this book is so hilarious, that at one point, my middle mini laughed so hard, he lost his tooth!

Upon hearing that her brother had lost his tooth, my tiny mini went into full-on panic mode, screaming in terror because the tooth fairy was going to be coming that night.   So, I started consoling her and was doing my best to calm her down, wavering between losing my patience with her and understanding her fears.....because, I agree, the whole fairy coming into your room while you're sleeping thing is sort of freaky.

At this point, the boy minis were laughing hysterically at the flying tooth AND their hysterical sister.  I finally calmed her down and convinced her she is safe because we will leave the tooth on the back deck OUTSIDE of the house with a note on the door that says this......



Normal?

So, now I have this shaggy-looking adorable mini that despite missing 3 front teeth still needs to bed fed.


The first thought I had was grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I shared this tomato soup recipe back in January, but it is definitely worth a re-share.  I got this recipe from Our Best Bites, which I can honestly say I love every recipe from them that I have tried!

Creamy Tomato Soup (makes about 3-4 cups)
  • 1 T reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes, or olive oil
  • 1 C chopped onion
  • ¾ C shredded carrot
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tbs dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2/3 C sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
  • 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 14 oz chicken broth
  • 3 oz reduced fat cream cheese
  • optional: 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Optional: Parmesan cheese and fresh basil for garnish (not optional in my opinion...but this is the way recipe was written). 

1. Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often.

2. Add sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil.(If you’re adding red pepper flakes, add them now)

3. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover pan and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Place soup in a blender (do this in 2 batches if necessary). Add cream cheese. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape, but place a paper towel over opening in blender lid to avoid spills. Process for a few minutes until smooth. You could also add cream cheese directly to the pot and use an immersion blender to combine.
 
5. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and then divide soup among bowls. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese and a fresh basil leaf if desired.

Here's my soup simmering away.  


And here's how you blend it using a blender.  Make sure you take the top off of the lid and cover with a papertowel.  If you don't, the pressure will build up from the steam from the hot soup and pop the lid off while you are blending.  




And here it is all blended.  Delish.

We will eat our tomato soup with grilled cheese.  The minis will probably have plain grilled cheese on Great Harvest honey wheat bread with muenster and cheddar cheese.  Mr. McGhee and I will probably get all fancy and add pesto and avocado to ours.

And hopefully all of our teeth will stay put where they belong for the evening, so we can get back to "normal".