Inspired Soup

I made this really great soup today. Seriously, I LOVE it. And I threw it together by the seat of my pants. I'm looking for new recipes to try because one of the kids just developed some allergies that have thrown out several of our family favorites like Lasagne Soup and Chicken Tikka Masala and Taco Soup and Football Soup and Mexican Fudge.

We still have Tatertot Casserole, but I have to have special ingredients to make Tatertot casserole now. None of which I have today.

You know how you do that thing, you look at recipes and see all the things you DON'T have. Then, you look around at what you DO have, and you wing it?

You know, you make up your own recipe INSPIRED by something you saw online?

(NO? That's just me? Surely not.)

I put a pot on the stove, opened a package of steamable Mediterranean Quinoa (frozen, from Aldi) and threw it in with enough water to cover it. (I know that isn't how you are supposed to cook it.)
I added chicken breast (already cooked - leftovers or just cooked ahead of time). We have 5 people, so I added 5 portions. I cubed (really small cubes) sweet potato and threw it in.

[Totally off topic, but cubing vegetables like that makes me think of the base-10 set I was just using with my youngest. And I really want to do edible base-10 sets. How fun would that be? Maybe not sweet potato, but chocolate bars or something.]

OK, so I made sure there was enough water to cover the sweet potato and turned it on high heat to bring it to a boil.

Doing it again, I'd do the sweet potatoes alone first, then when they were soft, I'd add the rest. Once it got to a rolling boil, I turned it down a bit.

I minced a clove of garlic and threw it in with a packet of onion soup mix. (The one from Aldi is the only one I know to be gluten-free.) I sat down to grade a few assignments while it simmered.

At this point, the aroma was making me heady. One of my teens came in to "help me stir" the soup. She was in agreement that it was pretty much done. I turned off the stove to let it cool and she went to get the others. When it stopped bubbling, I added a bit of coconut milk and stirred in some potato flakes to thicken it.

It was great. Really great.

The coconut and sweet potato were perfect pairings. [One of our kids has lactose intolerance, so we have almond milk and coconut milk on hand, but you can get it in cans to keep long-term.)

It almost had an exotic flavor to it, but it is very mild and not spicy. Great for children.

Did I mention how great I thought it was?

I had two bowls. Not gonna lie. I loved it. Gonna add this puppy to the regular menu. I made up a new recipe and the kids will eat it!

Teen one devoured it. "This is great, mom!"

Teen two liked it too!

I am on a roll!

Teen three says he doesn't really like it, but he'd eat it if he had to. Hey, I'll take that!

Eight-year-old says, "Nah, I don't really like it."

"Let it cool a little and try it again, honey."

"No, I don't like it."

"Well, it is dinner, so eat it anyway."

"No, thank you. I just don't like it. You can have mine."

Of course.

I WANTED to say, "Well, I don't really like YOU!"

But I DID NOT! It isn't true. I actually like my kids as well as love them. They are wonderful.

But feeding them is so disappointing sometimes.

I tried to encourage her to eat it. She tried a few bites.

She didn't eat it.

Her bowl sits on the counter - ever hopeful.

But we all know she won't be back.

She won't get to eat junk food instead.

She isn't being obstinate.

But the battle is over.

Sigh.

Three of our five family members at home all the time are gluten-free. One is lactose intolerant, has a sensitive stomach, and is probably allergic to shellfish (allergy testing next week). I'm supposed to do low sodium (but I don't all the time). And they will only barely tolerate beans, but that is a preference, not an allergy so they have to eat them sometimes!

No gluten, no cheese or other dairy, no tomatoes, no shrimp, nothing spicy.

Cooking for us can be hard. Going out to eat is hard. Food is hard.

There are few, very few meals we all really like. Shepherd's Pie is one I can count on. One. I need another favorite meal.

What does your family eat well?