Pintertest Kitchen: At Least it was Easy...

OK.

One of my favorite blog link ups is Pintertest Kitchen with Jessica at Keeping up with the Johnsons.

I like it because it motivates me to try recipes that I've pinned and never actually made.  

So, last week I tried this honey garlic crockpot chicken that was sure to be awesome!  I mean, it had honey and garlic (duh) AND hoisin and blackberry jam (you know, to add to the depth of flavor).  Plus, it used chicken breasts on the bone so the chicken wouldn't dry out.

If that doesn't sound like a winner, what does?

womp, womp.

Not a winner.  

Not even close.

More like a loser.

But, the blackberry jam is really good on a triscuit with goat cheese.

I digress.

Last Friday I got my wisdom teeth removed, like all cool 35 year olds do.

So, my food consumption has mostly been limited to smooth, drinkable things.  I did have pasta once, because I was feeling edgy.  I'm getting in touch with my inner rule follower here, because the very last thing in the world I want are dry sockets. 

Anyway, after the honey garlic chicken bombed, I thought to myself, "Self, how about a nice easy soup?  That's just the thing for your weary mouth."

Enter, Easiest Ever Pumpkin Soup from our friends at Good Housekeeping.

And easy it was!

I only needed a few ingredients:

On a side note, remember how there was a pumpkin blight a couple of years ago?  I'm only now relaxing my pumpkin hoarding reflexes.  Because, apparently I needed to have a minimum of 8 cans of pumpkin on hand at any given moment in order to properly function.

Moving on...

I grated the onion, tossed it in a pot that had 2 tablespoons of olive oil all heated in the bottom.  I cooked the onion for a couple of minutes and added the pumpkin, chicken broth, 1/2 cup of cream, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.  I heated it to a simmer which took about 3 minutes and let it simmer for like 2 minutes.  

All per the recipe.

Then I dished it up, sprinkled a bit of cumin, some smoked paprika, and freshly ground black pepper on top.  I thought the smokiness and hint of spice would be good.

Then I took this picture.

Mmmmmm...steamy, rich, delicious soup.

Except, not really.

I tried it.

It was blah.  

Even though I've never eaten mud, in my imagination it was kind of muddy tasting.

I thought maybe adding some acid would help.  

So, I stirred in a squeeze of lime, which brightened it up a bit (mud on a bright, sunny day perhaps?).

I added some water so it wouldn't be so darn gloppy (mud in the rain, maybe?).

I sprinkled on a bit more salt, because salt makes everything better (mud on the sea shore?).

It was certainly edible.

I ate it for supper while everyone else ate pizza bites (always a winner).  

And then I tore one pizza bite into little pieces and ate it tiny bit by delicious bit.

Oh well, the recipe claimed to be the easiest ever, not the most delicious ever.  It really was beyond easy!  

And fast.  Fast is good!

The moral of the story?  Don't make pumpkin soup.  Make pizza bites instead!

Disclaimer:  Please know this "review" was meant to be lighthearted :)  I would never give a less than positive recipe review to a recipe from normal person's blog...I just wouldn't say anything.  I feel like Good Housekeeping is corporate, and it doesn't really matter to them what little ol' me thinks!