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intentional living, little by little

No.239: 40 Days of Lenten Soups // Part Three

Easter is almost here and I’m so ready!  Below are the soups from the last two weeks of Lent and what we plan to eat on the last few days of Holy Week:

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Whenever a new baby is about to be born in our family, we always go out for a special dinner as a last hurrah to the current crew and to build anticipation for the arrival.  With the new puppy coming on Friday, we continued our tradition and went out for pizza!

Friday: Lucy arrives! Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Saturday (Week 93): in the thick of new puppy craziness, Mark and I had frozen taquitos and the kids had hotdogs (so random)

Fifth Sunday of Lent: grilled chicken Caesar salads

Monday: leftovers

Wednesday: picked up burgers while in town for a vet appointment


Friday: we had a late snack of greek yogurt, granola and frozen blueberries and totally ruined our appetite for dinner

Saturday (Week 94): Beefy Tomato Soup

Palm Sunday: leftovers


Holy Thursday: leftovers

Holy Saturday (Week 95): White Chicken Chili

Easter!

No.238: A New Adventure

Introducing the newest member of the family…

LUCY
About her name: We couldn’t get a ginger Labrador puppy without naming her after our favorite show, I Love Lucy!  I also love that her name means “light” – she has definitely already been a ray of sunshine for a lonely little boy around here.
We’re taking it one day at a time and learning as we go.  Here’s to a brand new adventure in puppy raising!   

No.237: 40 Days of Lenten Soups // Part Two

As we round the corner onto the Lenten home stretch, we’re still (mostly) going strong on soup dinners.  So many lessons learned already!  On the days where we’re just “not in the mood” for soup or we don’t want to eat leftovers again or we just want to chew something (hah!), we’re reminded how fortunate we are to have food to eat at all.  We’re able to return to gratitude for our daily bread.  Who knew forty days of soup could expose and help sanctify our selfishness?     

Below are the soups we tried for the middle two weeks:

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Tomato Soup & grilled cheese sandwiches

Friday: Ditalini Spinach Soup

INGREDIENTS // 2T. olive oil, 1 cup each of onions, carrots and celery (all diced), 3 cloves minced garlic, 6 cups chicken broth, 15oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 1.5 cups ditalini, 1/2tsp. thyme, 1/4tsp. oregano, 4 cups spinach, salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS // Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until soft.  Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute another 4 minutes or so.  Add broth, tomatoes, ditalini, thyme, and oregano.  Stir, then bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 11-13 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.  Stir in spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with a little Parmesan cheese on top.  (I also poured in a little half & half to make it creamier, but it’s not necessary.)

Saturday (Week 91): leftovers

Third Sunday of Lent: pizza

Monday: Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana (thank you for recommendations, Nicole!)

Wednesday: Meatball Soup

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: after a busy day away from home, I hit a wall and just had take-and-bake cheese pizzas 

Saturday (Week 92): burgers on the grill with kettle chips

Fourth Sunday of Lent: White Chicken Lasagna Soup

Monday: leftovers

No.236: TBR Tuesday // Let’s Try This Again!

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Because I changed my Lenten plans at the last minute, March’s TBR was a bust!  For the rest of Lent, I’ll be reading mostly religious-themed books, but I’ll add in one fiction to look forward to after Easter.  Here’s what I’ve picked out to read in April:

Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen // I’m about halfway through Archbishop Sheen’s Life of Christ and loving it.  The chapters are short enough to be manageable, but boy, do they pack a punch.  Can’t wait to read to the end.  (Here‘s my Lenten reading plan if you’re interested.)

The Louder Song by Aubrey Sampson // I stumbled on this book on Instagram and since it’s a topic that I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately, I thought I’d give it a shot.


Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis // One of those books I’ve always wanted to read.


Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hilter by Mark Riebling // I bought this book for my husband, but I’m grabbing it to read first!


My Life in France by Julia Child // My Life in France was on my TBR list last month and I did manage to read about 50 pages.  Love imagining Julia Child’s voice coming through.

The Likeness by Tana French // After Easter, I can’t wait to dive into this mystery!


Do you make a monthly TBR list?  What’s on yours for April?

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