Beverly Hills Grill & Pureed Vegetable Soup

Is it me or do Sunday?s come too soon?  I had a wonderful weekend full of eating and drinking!  Last night was my birthday celebration with the ?rents cause they were on vacation for my actual birthday (2/28). 

We went to a quaint restaurant located in the Metro Detroit suburb of Beverly Hills called the Beverly Hills Grill.  I won?t go into a huge restaurant review, but here are the main points:

no reservations accepted maybe 20 tables in the restaurant known for weekend brunch serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily expect to wait nearly anytime

Specialty items on the menu that caught my eye were:

Bananas Foster French Toast Lobster Cobb Omelet (w/ bacon, avocado, tomato, onion, blue cheese) Lobster Flat Bread Pizza (w/ artichoke pesto & mozzarella) BRAISED LAMB BOLOGNESE (w/ Cavatelli Pasta / Grilled Eggplant / Pecorino Romano / Fresh Basil) SHIITAKE MUSHROOM TURKEY BURGER * Wasabi Mayonnaise

I actually ordered the Kobe Meatloaf with asparagus and steamed spinach.  The Kobe Meatloaf is considered a Beverly Hills Grill Classic, and is available on the lunch, dinner and brunch menu.  I can?t say I have ever ordered meatloaf at a restaurant.  I like to be different and try new things so I figured why not?  Not disappointed at all, probably the best meatloaf I have EVER had.  Sorry mom and grandma   We also started out with Warm Tomato Slices topped with chevre cheese, mixed greens and pine nuts.  I did not photo any part of the meal.  What a fun night with my mom and dad!!

 

Woke up this morning, losing an hour of sleep and feeling slightly fuzzy?if you know what I mean I made myself a quick breakfast that consisted of Smart Water and this yogurt mess!

Pomegranate Chobani Dried Plums Raspberries Grape Nuts Naturally Nutty ? Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter

I then ventured out to my favorite mid-morning Yoga class.  I knew it would do my body good after yesterday?s craziness.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I did a 2-hour Battle of the Sexes Spin class yesterday morning!  It was super fun and I killed 1300 calories!  Go me! (For those of you wondering, I did refuel half way through with Coconut water)

 

PUREED VEGETABLE SOUP

The other day I came across a new Pureed Vegetable Soup recipe from Katie @ Truly Appetizing.

 

I always have way too many fresh veggies and am guilty of not eating them before they go bad.  Of course I made some changes to Katie?s recipe, so here is how I made it:

Pureed Vegetable Soup:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 c onion, diced

1/2 c celery, diced

1/2 c carrot, diced

1  c sweet potato, diced

1 c broccoli, diced

1 c cauliflower, diced

1/2 c asparagus, diced

1/2 c kidney beans

1/2 head green cabbage, chopped

1 c red pepper, diced

1 quart chicken broth, or less based on preference

thyme, salt, pepper, chili pepper, basil

1/4 c parsley, loosely packed

Over medium heat, combine olive oil and butter in large sauce pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add onion, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add carrot and celery, saute another 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and beans and chicken broth. Bring soup to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Take soup off of the heat for 5 minutes to cool. Add parsley and blend soup (with traditional blender or immersion blender) and season to taste with salt and pepper.

**I would use less chicken broth next time, as I prefer pureed soups slightly thicker in consistency.  Otherwise, this is soup was SO easy, delicious and very healthy**

Hope you all had a great weekend ? what did you make to eat??!!