Weekend Pics + Last Minute Soup

Hi there... I hope you had a great long weekend! I had a GREAT few days off. I had a wonderful time with my family and I think I am about 5 pounds heavier. It was well worth it though...

So my Thanksgiving pics (that you will see after the jump) might look a bit different from the pics you may see on other blogs. I love beautifully decorated Thanksgiving gatherings, but we don't get super fancy for Thanksgiving. No decorated table, no candles, nothing like that. The food is always served buffet style and everyone just grabs a seat around the kitchen table or around the island in the kitchen. Super simple. So I don't have photos of a pretty Thanksgiving table. Except for this photo, I didn't take any pics of the food once it was prepared. I was just ready to dig in! 

But I do have the recipe for that tasty soup that my mom put together in all of 5 minutes the day after Thanksgiving...

Just a few pics of my mom preparing the food and flowers in her garden. Some of those berries now have a home in the garland on my mantle and in my Christmas tree...

Oh and that cool lookin' guy is my brother... I just love him. 

So for the recipe. My mom made with our leftover turkey and I would be crazy not to share it with you...

1 onion, chopped

1 cup celery

2 cans kernel corn, drained

2 cans green beans, drained

1 can Italian tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

Cayenne pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 cups shredded leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Add all of the ingredients into a crock pot. Simmer on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2 hours. You can certainly make this in a big pot on the stove and just heat it up. I would saute the onions and celery first before adding the remaining ingredients if you cooked it that way. You can also substitute fresh vegetables for the canned vegetables. 

It doesn't get any easier than that for an amazing tasting soup!

I hope your week is off to a great start!