My mom's homemade tomato soup is really delicious! Along with the tomatoes, it uses some butter and flour (as a thickener) and some seasonings. That recipe is the one she still uses for canning, and the one I used as well, with the many bushels of tomatoes we would get in Ohio!

This year, with only a few store-bought tomatoes on hand and a household of busy little ones, I've made homemade tomato soup a lot simpler. Fresh tomatoes (washed and chopped and that's it -- not peeled or anything else!), a few chopped veggies, cooked and then blended until smooth.

The hot smooth tomato soup is a delicious dinner side dish (I like to serve with grilled cheese and a salad!) or a simple lunch. Although, when I eat this for lunch, I get hungry before too long. Tomatoes, onions, celery and carrots aren't exactly high calorie. ;)

The two tomato soup recipes:

My Mom's Homemade Tomato Soup -- rich and delicious

Fresh Tomato Soup -- my simple fat-free tomato soup

Related:

Gina's kitchen tip this week was about thickening tomato sauces.

We always cooked the tomatoes and then let them rest in a fine mesh strainer to remove the excess water to make thick pizza sauce. For some reason, adding cans of tomato paste gives the sauce an odd flavor in my opinion... and thickening can be a real pain when you're doing a 20-quart canner full of tomatoes. Draining was our solution!

Do you have a favorite way to make/season tomato soup?

Ever roll out your dough or pie crust on a "lightly floured surface" and end up with excess flour on your dough? It's hard to get enough flour to avoid sticking to the counter but not end up with patches of dry flour left on the dough.

Use a pastry brush to brush away the extra flour! A brush with "real" bristles works better than this silicone brush, but that's all I have right now... and it works a lot better than trying to use my fingers!

Related:

How to deal with sticky pizza dough

How to roll dough into circles

What you might want to make with your dough:

Sour Cream Apple Pie

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Turning impromptu cooking into a recipe (Alea)
2. 10 uses for an icing decorator (Tara)
3. "Summer kitchen" (Esther)
4. Freezing bacon (Gwen)
5. Keeping recipes clean while cooking (Laura)
6. Canning pickled beans
7. Sift whole wheat flour (Barb)
8. Homemade cream soup variations
9. Using up extra breading/flour (Rachel)
10. Tips for homemade tomato sauces (Gina)
11. Perfectly cut brownies (Rebecca)

Renelle asks,

Based on your review, plus many other favorable reviews of the Cuisinart MultiClad Pro cookware, I purchased a set. My question is: Is it safe to use metal utensils with this set? I have used pro-quality stainless steel utensils with my Belgique for years, and those pots and pans still look and perform great. Why does Cuisinart only recommend plastic, nylon or wooden utensils with this cookware set if it's supposed to rival All-Clad? Is it just so the cookware will continue to look brand new?

Yes, it is safe to use metal utensils on the Cuisinart MultiClad Pro cookware! Metal utensils are not harmful to the cookware's performance, but Joshua and I made the decision to only use wooden, nylon, or silicone utensils on our cookware to keep it looking like-new with no scratches (however small they may be)! :)

From my Cuisinart Use and Care Guide that came with our cookware:

What about metal utensils?

We recommend using plastic or wooden utensils with your Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Cookware. You may prefer using metal utensils. These may scratch the cooking surface, but will in no way impair the performance of your Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Cookware.

More info from the guide: DO NOT use steel wool or metal pads for cleaning. Using a hand mixer with metal beaters is fine, but may leave scratches like using metal utensils will. Stacking pans or crowding in the cupboards can also cause scratches (again, only cosmetic).

Whole Wheat Berry Pancakes (using blender for wheat)

I saw on here a few times about a grain mill and homemade bread making.  I am interested in a grain mill. Can you share your wonderful expertise?
-- Debbie

I have used this homemade wheat bread recipe extensively and there are a lot of info and notes in that recipe! :) We have a WonderMill grain mill and have been very satisfied with it. This post has more grain mill information, from when we were researching and deciding what to purchase.

As you will read, there are different kinds of grain mills. The WonderMill is not an emergency-preparedness item, as it uses electricity, but it is one of the top two micronizer/impact mills (the other one being the NutriMill).

This post answers the question, "How do I get started with whole grain flours?!" and lists some considerations and tips for beginners (baking or milling at home). Let me know if you have any more specific questions on this topic! :)

Emily asks,

When you buy food in such large bulk, how do you store it?

I like to use glass jars for food storage (in my cupboards) and plastic buckets for storing larger quantities (these sit on the floor in my dining area and bedroom!). The buckets were obtained at grocery store delis (see that link for more info).

Really, I think the key to buying in bulk is to buy things that are nutritious and that we like to eat. It is amazing how quickly the food disappears when it's something we all like and eat a lot. :)

From Renee:

I'm new at this freezing meals for dinners later but I love the idea so I'm going to try it. When you freeze your dinners are they already cooked or just made up and then when you want them cook them? All the ones I've read about sound like they are going to be really great!!

Most of the freezer dinners I've liked best were assembled and then frozen (not baked first). I have then baked them after thawing, or baked them frozen at a lower temperature (300 degrees or so) for a much longer time (a couple hours perhaps).

In my post about freezer meals, I note after each recipe link whether I had frozen it baked or unbaked. :)

On the weekend, I branch out from cooking-related posts and write about my family, answer reader questions, or just blog about what's on my mind! If you have a question or topic you'd like me to tackle, send it my way! :)

From my inbox:

I often feel like my circumstances are not ideal and it gets me down. I know your living situation is not what your dream living situation would be (this is something I struggle with). And maybe other things? Because you seem happy and content, I thought you could share more on that subject! If I can get my eyes on some good reading to help me bloom where I am planted... well, I just devour it!

I would love to write about this topic! Thanks for asking! :) You are right that I am usually happy and content, but I do still struggle at times with feeling like a failure and not being content with my life. I have to remind myself that as long as I am giving my best right now (laying aside past sins or mistakes) I am not a failure in God's eyes! He has placed us where we are and we're trying to live by faith.

A few short years ago I was not dreaming of living in a 2-bedroom apartment with 4 kids! It's easy to look around and feel like my children deserve "more", but... what is "more"? We have everything we need, and well beyond that. "Things" will NEVER bring lasting joy or contentment! We have "enough" -- and enough is enough.

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8 ESV)

Those verses are such a great reminder to me. Here are some of the ways I've found to build contentment and happiness in life:

1. Build and/or maintain a relationship with YHWH, our Creator. Meditating on Scripture and spending time in prayer uplifts my weary spirit and helps adjust my focus. There's just no substitute! I'm blessed with a husband who prays with me each evening, and I pray with the children in the mornings during our Bible time. We seek to be "real" in front of our children and do not pretend that we are perfect as parents or people. They must respect us as their parents, but as humans we are sinners saved by grace. :)

2. Build relationships with others, starting with your family. Take your focus off YOU and off LIFE and focus on others. How often do we neglect what is right in front of us, gazing at what we do not have? Money can not buy time or love, so spend your time wisely, investing in those you love. Your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings -- whoever is near you, give to them. Laugh with them! You will forget the "stuff" of life because JOY doesn't care if there are holes in your carpet or if your teeth are crooked.

3. Enjoy life's little things. We may not have a lot of "big" things but surely there are some luxuries, even small ones, we enjoy. Some of those luxuries for me are a hot cup of tea, music, a good book, and sunshine! Take time to rest and enjoy the simpler things. For me, I have to remind myself to slow down and not skip the "little" stuff like reading a book to my children, putting on music, or getting out in the sunshine!

4. Thank God for your health. Not everyone is blessed in this area as we are. Joshua and I are both pretty healthy and so are our children. Being able to get up each day, pain-free, is an amazing blessing! Being able to walk, run, smile, see the sunshine, and hear lovely sounds -- wow! :)

5. Ban depression. I do tend to get "down" fairly easily, I think, unless I am actively working against that tendency. Getting exercise, eating well, and DOING things are what seem to help me (along with the things listed in this post, as well). Depression is an awful, slippery downward spiral where I can't even see things as they are. It steals happiness and joy! Being honest with my husband about where I am emotionally and then taking steps to pull out of it are essential.

6. Spend time and resources on others. Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive. I list this one last, but really, it's so important! Along with giving to those we see in need around us, we also sponsor a child through Compassion International. (You can read more about Compassion International on their website.) Our family has done this for over a year and our child, Peter, is such an awesome sweet blessing to all of us! We are able to exchange letters and photos with him and the boys draw pictures and send him stickers, post cards, etc. We pray for him as a family.

Seeing someone who has so little compared to us just really, really brings it all into perspective! I can't describe it, really. Go read Ashleigh's post "From Afar". And then pray about being able to bless a child with financial support, love, and prayer.

Related:

Tips for pulling out of a slump

It's Happy and Sad. (about moving, and life)

Things YHWH has been teaching me (from 4 years ago)

Contentment in All Circumstances by Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking

I love salads and pasta -- two things my husband tolerates but doesn't love. ;) In our quest for healthy weight loss, we've had salads regularly -- usually for lunches. I have, however, planned a few main-dish salads for our dinners, and packed a lunch for Joshua that didn't include a salad for that day. :)

This Apple Harvest Chicken Salad is a really great main dish salad! I created this salad based on one sold at Red Robin restaurants by the same name. Red Robin sells a plate of this salad for over $10 -- plus tax and a tip! You can easily make this beautiful salad at home.

Lettuce (I used Romaine because it's a good balance of cheap, healthy, and yummy!), red onions, glazed walnuts, fresh apple slices, and crumbled bleu cheese, tossed together with a homemade dressing and served with a grilled chicken breast on top -- YUM!! Most of this salad can be made ahead and tossed together at the last minute.

Remember the Maple-Glazed Walnuts I shared about earlier this week? Well, this salad is one of the many ways you can use those walnuts -- besides just gobbling them all up as soon as they come off the stove, of course. ;)

I love how "copycat" recipes make me feel all happy inside! :) I did buy bleu cheese (at Costco, of course) especially for this recipe and a few others -- which will be coming as I have time to make and photograph them. :) Bleu cheese isn't cheap but a little goes a long way! I think feta cheese would make a good substitute for the bleu cheese if you wished to use something different.

Weight-loss encouragement:

Food Budgeting: Spending my calories wisely!

Healthy snacks, moderated

More Mouth-waterin' Eye-pleasin' Salads from this summer:

Greek Orzo Spinach Salad

Maple Rosemary Bean Salad

Olive Garden Salad and Dressing

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

Strawberry Spinach Salad

From my inbox, Kristen writes:

I was reading some of your interview questions, and noticed you said you didn't always cook. I am not all that domestic... I CAN cook, but I don't really and I would like to start doing more. I am currently living in the Philippines where there is an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies but not a lot of other things easy to get from the store. I was wondering if you have any suggestions, or easy recipes to get started on better cooking for the family?

First -- I think it's wonderful that you want to serve your family by cooking more! Sometimes making healthy meals can be a tedious and thankless job, but yet it's one of the best ways to serve our families. (I'm so glad that Joshua appreciates my cooking! It makes it that much easier.) :)

Salads! If you have fresh fruits and veggies, there is lots that you can do in the realm of salads! Homemade salad dressings can also be simple (scroll down here for my salad dressing recipes) and you can also experiment with creating your own salads. (My Southwest Chicken Salad was one such experiment... and it's delish!)

Fresh veggies are also good roasted on a cookie sheet in the oven, or grilled.

I get inspired to try new things by reading cooking blogs or magazines. I especially like trying others' family favorites that are relatively simple (not too many ingredients that I don't already have on hand). That's one of the reasons I love food blogs -- it means someone else, at home, is making those recipes -- not just professional chefs writing for a magazine. I also love seeing photos of the recipes I want to try -- another score for food blogs! :) The Pioneer Woman's site, Tasty Kitchen, is just bursting with inspiration! (I easily get overwhelmed browsing there, since I want to make, like, everything I see!!)

AllRecipes.com has an ingredient search, which is helpful when I have several foods to use and am curious as to whether anyone else has ever paired them together before. :)

For easy recipes, I find casseroles to be excellent "learning" meals. You can start well in advance of dinner time, and bake in the oven when the time comes. :)

Easy healthy things to start cooking: We LOVE cooked pinto beans! With rice! :) Homemade pancakes are an easy breakfast that even my kids can help me make. Actually, breakfast recipes in general are often easy to prepare from scratch, and if you supplement fresh fruit or veggies on the side, "breakfast" makes a wholesome "dinner"! :) Soups are also easy and healthy (and usually frugal too).

Taco salad and homemade pizza are two of our favorite meals, and both are fairly simple. The first time for making something new is always the hardest. :) I've written some cooking tips for achieving good results in the kitchen, so check that out if you still lack confidence!

This search brings up all of my recipes that I call "easy". There are some really yummy ones, and I have photos of everything so you can visualize the final result and quickly decide if it's something you might want to try or not! :)

Happy smiles and full, healthy tummies are the rewards for cooking healthy from-scratch meals and I think once you get started trying new things, you'll keep finding things to try! (Like breads. There is just endless variety and things you can do!)

What are your favorite easy healthy meals to serve to your family? I'm sure I haven't covered everything here! And I'm always ready to try a new recipe! ;)

Removing countertop stains

Want to get away from commercial products but aren't sure where to turn beyond your box of baking soda? Here are easy recipes for 5 household products! Sometimes baking soda is enough... and sometimes you need something more. These are all recipes I have tried and used extensively -- with my honest opinion of them. :)

1. Homemade scouring powder. This takes just a minute to mix and works great. I haven't bought commercial scouring powder since trying this homemade version several years ago. If you use scouring powder, this one is worth making (unless you can get it for free somehow!). :)

2. Homemade laundry detergent. You knew this one was coming, right? :) Now, for my confession. Ever since we moved across-country almost 2 years ago, I have just used laundry soap powder in a big bucket from Costco. It's around $14 and my first bucket (which was actually a gift from my in-laws when we moved here!) lasted us 12 months! I use less than the recommended amount and it works great. No storing supplies to make my own. And for $1.20 a month? I do like 20+ loads of laundry every month!!

Three more:

I first made these Maple Glazed Walnuts last week. For some reason, making glazed walnuts seemed daunting to me. Doing something for the first time often is, I find. But as usual, I found that this was easier than I expected and totally worth the time to make!

These Maple Glazed Walnuts take just a few minutes to make (and disappear almost as quickly!). The nuts are tossed with a little butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup in a pan on the stove and turn into a deliciously sweet walnut snack or salad topper. (I'll be sharing a salad recipe using these walnuts in the next couple of days.)

The first time I made Maple Glazed Walnuts, the children and I ate them almost before they had even cooled. Really, if you love walnuts or cinnamon or even just LIKE walnuts you will love these Maple Glazed Walnuts! I only like (not love) nuts but I couldn't stop eating these! Maybe I just love maple syrup... ;)

I got all my ingredients for this recipe at Costco. (Is that a surprise?) :) A 3-pound bag of walnut halves and pieces is $13.69, and that is about 12 cups of walnuts. I also get maple syrup at Costco for about $13/quart. I used to use honey as a sweetener in cooking, but now I really prefer maple syrup for savory dishes like stir fry, salads, etc. It has a light sweet flavor that we prefer over honey's stronger flavor. (I do still use honey in my wheat bread, challah, honey mustard salad dressing, and some other recipes.)

Some of my more recent recipes that use maple syrup are Maple Rosemary Bean Salad (a delicious salad created by a friend), Balsamic Maple Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower, and the dressing for my Strawberry Spinach Salad.

What are your favorite ways to use maple syrup outside the normal breakfast uses? :)

More recipes using nuts (I didn't realize I had so many!) :)

I snapped a quick picture before we headed out the door to a potluck, so I could share this kitchen tip!

When traveling with food, sometimes the lid is a little too loose for comfort. Solve this problem by using rubber bands to secure the lid! (Obviously, if you are transporting a really hot dish this won't work.)

These rubber bands were actually saved from some asparagus we got earlier this spring. They're big and strong and since we love asparagus (on sale) I have a big handful of rubber bands to use around the house! :)

Related:

Transporting cheesecakes made easy

Meal, delivered (ideas/menu for making a meal for others)

Meal, delivered -- Take 2 :)

Water bottles that don't leak

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Drying herbs in a paper bag (Alea)
2. Spicing up potatoes (Rachel)
3. 10 things to make in a springform pan (Tara)
4. Mixing quick breads/muffins
5. Dryer sheets to clean pans (Christine)
6. Use for plastic bread bag ties (Michelle)
7. Breading tip (Kolfinna

On the weekend, I branch out from cooking-related posts and write about my family, answer reader questions, or just blog about what's on my mind! If you have a question or topic you'd like me to tackle, send it my way! :)

Rebecca writes: 

I'm a fan of your blog and have been following it for some time now. My family is soon moving from Kansas to Tacoma, WA and we couldn't be more excited. I have heard a lot though that the area has a much higher cost of living than Kansas. I was wondering if you would have any west coast tips for this Kansas girl.

This site has great charts and statistics for various areas! I especially love looking at weather charts. :)

We've found that housing prices are the biggest difference from living in Ohio. We moved from renting a 2-bedroom house with a garage and yard in Ohio to renting a 2-bedroom apartment north of Seattle and our rent almost doubled!

We've read (and found) that utilities are slightly cheaper here. We live in a 3rd-floor apartment and combined with the milder climate here, our heating costs are a lot less than they were in Ohio. The same goes for cooling -- since we use a fan instead of air conditioning like in Ohio! :)

Food is slightly more expensive here overall BUT there are still great sales and quite a lot of stores to choose from! I like to get my groceries at Costco to keep things as simple and affordable as possible (having 4 young children, only 1 vehicle, and the weekend traffic being NOT fun!), but there are so many stores and farmer's markets and the options are virtually limitless!

I love that the weather here is conducive to getting out a lot more (no freezing cold winters or blazing hot summers), and there are beautiful parks and places to go for FREE! We've only scratched the surface when it comes to parks and trails and beaches!

Gas prices are higher here, but traffic is more of a hindrance to travel than gas prices. ;) Traffic is one of the downsides to this area. Aside from freeway congestion (and most north-south travel requires the use of I-5 or I-405), the stop lights are just plain LONG if you're trying to get anywhere during rush hour. So while everything is so close, it's not like driving the "2 miles to the store" we did in Ohio. We measure distance in minutes. "Two miles" seems a lot further when it's called "15 minutes"... or even more! :)

Car insurance is a lot higher here than it was in Ohio. I think our insurance nearly doubled when we moved! We still just have 1 vehicle, and we don't travel/drive a ton (to work, church, and the grocery store once a week!).

Overall, we really love living in the PNW! Aside from housing prices, I think everything else (utilities, gas, insurance, food) pretty much evens out and we get to enjoy the beautiful cool summers, mountain and Sound views, and woodsy trails! :)

Does anyone else have West coast tips to share??

I appreciated this guest post at Money Saving Mom about frugal living in high cost-of-living areas. And I know Jessica lives in the San Diego area, and blogs about frugal living there. :)