Cauliflower Soup

I'm a mom. Not superwoman. Just a gal with kiddos who is trying my hardest to be the best me I can be. I know a lot of the time on the world wide web reality gets a little fuzzy, and most of the time, reality is omitted entirely. Well folks, not around these parts. Some people might think I have it all together all the time, but I surely don't. My husband doesn't come home to perfectly prepared meals hot and ready on a set table every evening at 6:00 sharp. My kitchen isn't always sparkling, and sometimes when Mike gets home I am still in my sweats with my hair in a wet bun. And that's OK! I try to cook at home as much as possible, but sometimes with life circumstances that is a cosmic joke. We are in what I like to call, "the survival months" of rearing babies under the age of 3. Life is messy. Life is exhausting. But life is so rewarding too. I truly love being a mother and a wife. It is not easy in the least, but I like a challenge frankly. :)

Tonight's dinner is for those evenings when you don't have the time or energy to plan and pull off an elaborate, or even mildly difficult meal. For those nights when you don't have any meat on hand, or just don't feel like cooking any. (I have these nights regularly...) Soup is what the doctor ordered for these evenings. They are cheap, easy, and fast to throw together. The best part about this soup is it doesn't come from a drive-thru, and doesn't cost 40 dollars of hard earned money. Hooray! Don't have all the exact veggies? That's fine! Throw in some frozen peas instead of celery. Use peppers instead of carrots. It doesn't really matter. It will be delicious no matter what is in it. The secret is in the seasoning! This is why I love soup! It saves the day many a night around our house. No matter what is in your house, I bet you could make a soup out of it pretty easily. Three cheers for meatless soup, and mommies!!!

Let get cooking!

Lets prepare our veggies! First we need to wash the cauliflower. Then remove the stem and leaves. Slice it up and get dicing from there. I like fairly small pieces in this soup, but you could do chunkier soup if you like.

Next lets dice the yellow onion. 

Wash and dice the celery and carrots. Again, I diced them quite small.

Grab a big stockpot and melt the butter over medium-high heat. When it's all melted add in the garlic and onions.

Stir them and saute for 5 minutes until the garlic is golden brown. Next add in the carrots, celery and fresh parsley and saute for another 5 minutes!

The parsley just needed a rough chop. :)

Oh I love the colors! It's smelling really good in your kitchen right about.....Now!

Pour in the cream and chicken stock. (If you don't have cream you can substitute it with milk and it will just be a bit thinner.)

Give it a little stir!

Next add in the cauliflower and all the seasonings.

I love a little kick of spice in my soup, but if you want a more mild version you could do 1/8 teaspoon instead, or omit the red pepper entirely.

Now that the soup is all put together we are going to let is simmer for 20 minutes. Oh la la. Its going to be great!

When it is all done do a taste test to see if it needs more salt or pepper. And eat baby!

You can serve the soup just as it is, or garnish it with a little sharp cheddar cheese and parsley leaves. *If my kids are being picky eaters (which is always) I toss in some fishy crackers and they will eat it much easier. :)

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