Fabulous Army Life

I am not a food blogger, but I love food and feed my family regularly so I figure I can get away with a favorite recipe or two.  =)  I only post recipes that my entire family loves ... and mostly just to remind myself how I made it so it can be made again. This soup is so tasty and filling and healthy ... and reminds me of my favorite minestrone soup at The Olive Garden. I just made this for the third time this month, y'all. It reheats beautifully and is my lunch option on most days. Here is what I used in this batch: The fabulous folks at Little Spice Jar posted a recipe that I [almost] followed.  Changes I made include removing the Parmesan rind, onion, and celery. I used more vegetable stock and no water. I used frozen vegetables and frozen spinach, and didn't include the pasta in the soup. Rather, I allowed the kids to "layer" pasta and soup and I enjoyed the soup sans pasta. Fewer carbs for me. =)  I also cooked it in a soup pot in under an hour although ...

We couldn't spend a year in Pennsylvania without visiting the famous city of Hershey and I'm so glad we spent today at Hershey's Chocolate World. One highlight of the day was creating our own Hershey bar and watching our creation being made from start to finish. Fascinating and delicious! We also enjoyed a trolley tour of the city, focusing primarily on the life of Milton Hershey (my new favorite person!) and the amazing philanthropic contributions he made (and continues to make, long after his passing) to this amazing little city. He and his wife were faithful Christians and spent their time, energy, and money giving back to others. We were able to see the Milton Hershey School , founded in 1909 to better the lives of children in need. It has grown to an impressive array of homes, educational buildings, and various facilities to offer top-notch education. From the school website: For more than 100 years, Milton Hershey School has helped children to realize their full...