Soup of the week returns!

Soup of the week has been going strong around here these days and I'm loving it. For the past 5 weeks we've had soup once a week. It's been so yummy!

There are 3 contributing factors to the high rate of success over last year's attempt:
1 - Since we have a lodger who is paying us for food, I feel much more of a "motivation" (read: guilt) to cook proper meals.
2 - It is rapidly cooling off and will stay cold until March/April
3 - I found some interesting recipes and ingredients that I don't usually cook with due to the whole "living in a new country" thing

I only have pictures for the last 2 weeks but here's the list.

~Beef Stew (I don't really use a recipe, I just put stuff in a pot and let it simmer for a few hours) - It turned out really well because although I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of English beef, it was SO tender. There were no weird chewy pieces.
~English Minestrone - Pretty much the same as regular but with cabbage instead of pasta. It was really yummy. Minestrone is one of my favorite foods.
~Chicken and Pumpkin Chowder - Surprisingly good. The pumpkin didn't have tons of flavor and it was way too soft so if you're going to let it simmer on the stove for longer than the recipe says don't put the pumpkin in until 20-25 minutes before you're going to serve it. I think less cooking time will save more of the flavor too. Charlotte isn't a big fan of all things creamy so she had her portion before I added the cream, making it more of a soup than a chowder.
~Tomato Basil Bisque - (I learned a super easy way to peel tomatoes for this time. Can't believe I had been doing it the hard way for all these years!) Always a hit. Took the leftovers to a Relief Society pot luck dinner and someone asked if they could take the extra home. The night we had it at home, I also tried my hand at homemade wheat rolls. It was my very first time and they turned out quite nicely. The recipe is called "Never Fail Rolls" so I had high hopes. I'm going to keep making them every few weeks because I am hosting my very first Christmas this year (Brent's parents and youngest sister, Camille, are coming) and I want the rolls to be perfect.

~Taco Soup served with plenty of avacado, tortilla chips, and sour cream- Also always a hit. I was interested to see how it would taste because they don't sell "Taco Seasoning" here so I bought a packet of "Mexican Spices" whatever that means. It was yummy. More fajita-y than taco but I think it was better that way.

I didn't feel like typing out the other recipes so if you want them, let me know and I can email them to you.

**Guide to English cooking:
cornflour = cornstarch
courgette = zucchini
single cream = light or regular cream
bacon lardons = not compatible because bacon is totally different here, just crumble your bacon after cooking
400g tin = 16oz can (roughly)