Slime Soup!

I just won a recipe contest! This is completely unexpected because I never win anything! I have to share with you my recipe, and my story!

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is to make Spooky Suppers the week before Halloween. I collect the Halloween editions of all of those little recipe magazines you find at the checkout stand of the grocery store. I have a huge stack of them now, and I pore through them every October looking for new things to try, and ways to make a good creepy supper. Some of our favorites are things like Mummy wrapped hot dogs (pigs in a blanket) or Mummy rag soup (egg drop soup). Pizzas have faces the week before Halloween and spaghetti doesn't just have meatballs, it has EYEballs.

When my very favorite store, Anastasia's Attic, announced that they were having a Spookilicious Recipe contest, and that they wanted submissions of our spookiest recipes, I knew this was the contest to enter. I don't enter many of them, because, well, I never win anything. If it requires a great deal of effort to be part of the contest, it needs to be worth it. THIS was worth it! The problem was? I didn't have any time! I've been in rehearsals for the Ghost Tours, I've had Storytelling guild responsibilities, on top of dealing with the kids parent teacher conferences, and just trying to manage the household, I was literally swamped!

I WANTED to do a cupcake version of a cake I made for a Halloween party one year- it bled when you cut into it. But then I'd have to bake and decorate. I thought about adapting a Tomato Basil soup recipe to make it my own. But then I'd have to make several versions until I found the perfect combination. There were too many ideas, and no time at all.

I was pondering my dilemma as I was rushing to cook dinner one busy weeknight. I had to leave in half an hour to drive to Layton for a Guild meeting, and I was rushing a bit. I looked down at the zucchini soup I was making for dinner. It was green! It was an old family recipe that I had never seen in a cookbook, and I seriously doubt anyone knew where the recipe came from in the first place! Gears started clicking in my head. I called the girls and told them to help me clear the table and put out a green placemat. I pulled out my black dishes I save just for Halloween time (What? You don't do this?) and served up my green soup. I had made little cheese biscuits to go with the soup, so put those along the side of the plate, and I shot a few pictures, trying to get the best light possible. Then I quickly ate the soup and rushed out to my meeting.

A few days later I uploaded the picture and the recipe, and forgot about it. When they announced the winners yesterday, I couldn't believe that my name was listed! I win a $50 gift card I can use to spend on beautiful things! Thank you, Anastasia's Attic, and thank you Mom for serving us Zucchini (I mean, Slime) Soup!

Slime Soup (aka Zucchini soup)

1 onion, chopped
6 cups zucchini. chopped
1 can chicken broth
6 strips of bacon- cooked and crumbled
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk or cream (To make this really low calorie, use skim milk. To make it KIND of low calorie, use evaporated milk. To make this decadent, use cream.)

Simmer the onion and zucchini in the chicken broth 15 minutes or until tender. Put in a blender and blend until smooth. Add 3 strips of bacon, salt, pepper, and milk. cook until warm. Top with remaining crumbled bacon. Serves 4.