Am I too Late...

Southern Potato Soup

with Arugula Salad

So I did a potato soup with sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, and I think it turned out pretty good.

I sauteed bacon and onions in a little bit of olive oil, added flour to make a paste. Added 6 cups of milk, and no Brit, no cream or whole milk, although I really wanted to dump the half gallon of cream I had into the soup, I controlled myself.

Added potatoes, let it boil. Then I proceeded to dump any spice I had that I thought was Southwestern-ish.

Added some chicken that I intended on smothering with spices and grilling it, but no propane, so it was boiled chicken.

Added some cheese and green onions to make the lovely presentation, and called it a dish!

Then added some arugula (that I have officially decided I don't like) to a salad, with black beans, green peppers, and yep, more cheese!

A yummy lime dressing that I added vanilla to and the complete meal with all secret ingredients.

Soup-would totally do again.

Salad-not the greatest.

Slacker!

I came up with great ideas but none of them made it to the plate. I'll do it this next week, I promise. Can't wait to hear the secret ingredients. -Karin

70 Miles for Arugula

• White sweet potatoes, baked with a little salt, pepper and oil
• Skillet browned chicken breast tenders
• Arugula salad, with sugared pistachios and shallot/mint/lemon/marmelade dressing
• Naked orange julius (Somehow the vanilla didn't make it home with me! ARH)
• Please don't judge my country grandma plate. Mine are all still packed in storage.
• Kyle liked it but I give it a five out of ten

Hi, I'm Gina, and I'm probably going to have the entries of "what not to do." Not sure how well I'll contribute, but I'll do it nonetheless. I'm not great at cooking, but I try, and I want to be better. My husband says I'm horrible at following directions, so good luck following mine.

Soft Tacos:
* Sauteed chicken (check), mushrooms, red peppers, garlic
* Black Bean Salsa: Black beans (check), corn, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper
* Cheddar Cheese (In Vermont, its white b/c I guess we're against dyes)
* Sour Cream (my family doesn't love light, but I've won them over with the smart balance reduced fat)
* Arugula (check)

Sweet Potato Fries:
*Olive oil, vanilla (random, I know...but, check), cinnamon, sugar, pinch of salt
I baked these on a cookie sheet thinking they'd be like when I cut up potatoes for fries, but they never really got crispy...however they tasted good.

And our first assignment is . . .

Create a dish using the secret ingredients. Post your pix and recipe by Sunday night and the winner will choose next week's selection.

Secret Ingredients by Courtney Dunlap (AKA Delicious)

Chicken breast

Sweet potatoes

Black Beans

Arugula

Vanilla

Good luck, ladies!

P.S. You don't have to put them all in the same dish, just use them sometime during your meal.

Testing . . .

I wish I were a web designer right about now . . .