Preppy Recipe of the Month; What Preppy Wore

Hello Lovelies,


I'm hopefully going to be adding a preppy recipe of the month feature to my blog. I am a very fortunate lady because the preppy boyfriend is a professionally trained chef. He loves to cook for work and even more he loves to cook for me! The PBF is a doer... someone who shows you they love you by doing things for you, he cooks, he picks up dog poo... he loves me! :) (which is good because although I changed many a diaper in my nanny days... I simply cannot pick up dog poo without losing my lunch!)


Anyway, because he's such a great chef and he loves to cook, I usually only cook one meal every two weeks or so... unless he is traveling. When the PBF travels he'll make a few meals before hand so I'll have left overs to eat, but I'm usually left to cook for myself at least once or twice during the week when he's gone. Luckily, I do in fact know how to cook (but shh... we don't spread that around)... so sometimes (by sometimes I mean on the nights when dinner doesn't equal champagne and popcorn) I cook, and I've decided that I might want to share some of my favorite recipes with you!


The beginning of April brought a merge of two events together... the preppy boyfriend was traveling and I had a post-half marathon cold... so what did I do? I made pots and pots of this easy tomato soup... I love this recipe because it isn't huge, it makes about 4-5 servings and it's easy to double if I want extra to freeze. This is perfect when I'm cooking for just me, b/c it's two days of lunches and dinners, and not a ton of extra food!

*I stole this picture from Southern Living... really nobody wants me to attempt photographing in my kitchen after I've used it to cook :) The soup in this cup does look remarkably similar to my recipe though!

Homemade Tomato Soup
1 14oz can chopped tomatoes (sometimes I use plain, sometimes I use chopped tomatoes with garlic or onions or peppers or roasted... really any old can while work)
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced (I usually use two, just to make up for all that cream) - it is important to dice these as small as you can or else the immersion blender has a hard time chopping them up, really trust me it goes much easier if you dice them small!
1 yellow small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons (or so) olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine 
1/2 cup heavy cream
I always juice one half a lime as well... (the lime makes it taste like La Madeline's tomato soup) If you're not crazy about acid or sour flavors then skip the lime the soup is still great (the PBF says the lime makes it to acidic for him, but he prefers salt to acid, whereas I prefer acid flavors to salty flavors)!
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:  In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened (about 10 minutes). Add the chopped canned tomatoes, chicken broth, and white wine (and lime juice if you want it). Add salt and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cream, and puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. Taste and if needed and more salt and pepper, I always season conservatively at first because I can always add more later. Then serve.


I have topped this soup with fresh chopped basil, buttery roasted croutons, manchego cheese, and homemade pesto. Each gives it a new flavor and each is delicious, but most the time I just eat it plain and simple with some toasted buttered french bread.




**Just a side note we will be having our Preppy Monthly Blog share at the beginning of May (really where did April go?)... so please submit your favorite post from your own blog in a comment on my blog... between now and the morning of May 1st. You are all so talented I know you have written some beautiful, funny, charming, inspiring posts... so now is the time to share your great work and let preppy Elle brag on you! Nobody has submitted a post yet... so you'd better send your favorites my way :)


What Preppy Wore (and the debut of preppy's new do!)

This shirt dress is one of my least favorite things in my closet... which is why I'm okay to pack it away now... it's just one of those things I like, but I don't just LOVE it... Something about the puffy sleeves, and the hemline... I dunno... I've tossed it to the Goodwill pile several times, but I always feel like I should like it, so I end up keeping it. Do ya'll have clothes like that? 

Bebe black shirt dress (From Ebay) - spring 2009
Dollhouse sandals (From Ross) - Spring 2010
Turquoise Necklace - Gift Summer 2007
White Belt - Forever 21 Summer 2007