Sunday Night Dinners

Sunday “Hot Summer” Night Dinner

What better way to cool off on a hot summer night then with chilled soup and a salad. The temperatures have been rising the last few days making it very uncomfortable to eat hot food.

This morning when I was putting together my Sunday Night Dinner menu I decided to switch it up and prepare a “cold” dinner. Flipping through some recipes I stopped when I saw a Chilled Corn Soup with shrimp. That was it, I had to make it! 

Now the question was what salad would I make that will be filling, light, tasty and easy…grilled shrimp panzanella with basil was the winner. 

Corn Soup takes a bit to prep and cool down so make sure to start at least 2 1/2 hours prior to dinner. 

Fresh Corn Soup Recipe (healthier version)

8 fresh corn ears

4 cups of water

4 fresh shrimp

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 chopped fresh chives

black pepper, salt to taste (added some red pepper for a kick)

Combine the shrimp shells, water and corn kernels in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Place half of the corn mixture into a blender and puree. Place soup into a bowl and repeat process with remaining corn mixture. Stir in milk, chives and black pepper into the bowl and let it chill for 2 hours. Top with the grilled shrimp. The sweet corn and the salty shrimp is a great combination! 

I also used shrimp in my panzanella salad along with fresh basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Sprinkled with EVOO, lemon zest and juice, chopped up garlic and pepper and salt to bring all the ingredients together. The toasted bread soaks up the delicious flavors! 

The “cold” soup and salad was a perfect meal on a Hot Summer Night! 

Sunday Night Dinner for the Soul

Celebrated a best friends 35th this past weekend so Sunday Night Dinner became take out Chinese food. Sometimes its good to take a night off and to enjoy some comfort food without making a mess in the kitchen.

Sometimes Sunday Night Dinners is not always about healthy but instead comfort and stick to your ribs to warm the body on a cold winter night. Since I didn’t make SND this past weekend the comfort food made me think about the amazing homemade Italian Wedding Soup I made for my husband this past winter. 

If you ever watch a cooking competition you will always notice that soup always wins! Everyone connects with soup. Maybe its because of the amazing depth in flavors, the fresh ingredients, the warmth in the body but soup will always put a smile on everyone’s face. 

It was a cold winter Sunday Night when my husband asked me to make soup.I went through a handful of recipes and Italian Wedding Soup stood out. You cant go wrong with meatballs, kale, & carrots to warm the soul. With some fresh Italian bread and of course Italian wine it all came together to be a perfect meal. To lighten it up I made homemade turkey meatballs. One word: DELICIOUS!

Turkey Meatballs:

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup parsley leaves

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 pound ground turkey meat (low fat)

salt and pepper to taste

Shape into 1 1/4 inch meatballs and saute till brown on all sides and then add to the simmering soup. 

I highly recommend making soup anytime of the week as it will always be a winner. Easy to make, makes your home smell yummy and fills you up. 

Happy Sunday Night Soup! See you next week!