PIONEER WOMAN'S BEAN WITH BACON SOUP

I love, love, love, loveeeeeeeee soup.  You know those snobby soup people who only make it from scratch, and gag at the thought of (shudder) canned soup?  Those people are the worst!  Just kidding.  Because those people include ME!  I only became a soup snob in the past five years or so, and there is one canned darling that still has my heart: Campbell's Condensed Bean with Bacon.  It is just something else; it is SPECIAL.  But I do feel snobby soup person guilt when I purchase it.  So when I saw that the Pioneer Woman herself had figured out how to make it, and make it deeeeeelicious, I figured I could kick the canned version to the curb for good.  And I did.  And I have.  Come over and check out my pantry, there are no canned soups!

I followed her recipe except for two tiny things: I did not save any bacon for garnish, I threw it all in the soup.  And I added a dash of Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning for a kick.  This soup was good the first day, but great the next day!

CREAMY WHITE BEAN DIP WITH BAKED CHIPS

I love dip.  Do you ever just make a meal of chips and dip?  Or several varieties of chips and dips all at once, like a mealtime dream come true?  Actually, it's not a dream.  A restaurant I frequented in college, Macado's, had the world's best menu item.  It was called, "Chips, Dips & Things" and consisted of house-made kettle chips, soft pretzels, tortilla chips and DIPS.  French onion dip, salsa, ranch.  Wow, a decade later and I still remember the important things I learned in college.  My parents are bursting with pride right now.

Onto the real reason we are here, a different dip.  This dip, which I spotted here but originally came from here.  I used flour tortillas for the chips.  They were easily cut into triangles with a pizza slicer.

Dip was delicious when I made it, but even more delicious the next day!  Be generous with the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

COOKING LIGHT PASTA WITH ZUCCHINI AND WHITE BEANS

The Cooking Light cookbooks have been making more regular appearances in our kitchen lately.  My sister and I have been obsessed with this recipe for years and both make it all the time.  A serving is definitely enough to fill you up AND that includes two tablespoons of full fat feta cheese.  Yum.

The recipe calls for spaghetti, but this time around I decided to switch it up.  Spaghetti has to be twirled around your fork, then you have to try and scoop up the veggies to make a good bite.  Sounds easy, right?  Not for me.  I prefer to shovel forkfuls of perfectly mixed, bite sized pasta in my mouth.  Don't judge.  So I used rotini instead, and it was much easier to inhale eat politely like a normal human.

This is perfect for summer because the vegetables are in season now.  I used a mix of green zucchini and yellow squash, and chopped a bit more than the recipe called for.  It's versatile, so use what you enjoy!

Since the recipe only needs a tablespoon of tomato paste, try and find a tube at your grocery store.  You won't have to buy a tiny can and then throw the rest away.

You'll cook your zucchini in an olive oil sprayed pan until it's lightly browned.

Add tomatoes with seasonings and juices, drained beans, water, tomato paste, salt and pepper.

Mix and simmer about 5 minutes, until all the flavors are deliciously blended.

Plate it up beautifully, or mix it up!

Oops.  I suggest using a spoon, rather than trying to shake directly from the container.

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked spaghetti
Olive oil flavored cooking spray
3 cups (1/4 inch) diced zucchini (2 medium)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 can Great Northern Beans (15 oz) drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (undrained)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add zucchini to pan, cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Stir in water and next 5 ingredients, cover and simmer 4 minutes.  Place pasta evenly on 4 plates.  Top pasta evenly with zucchini mixture and cheese.
Note: serving size is 2/3 cup pasta, 1 cup zucchini mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese.  311 calories per serving.