When it turns to Fall and the sun starts to set a little earlier, I’m always excited to break out the blankets and warm pajamas again. There’s the return of all our favorite shows, and premiers of new ones (who else is excited for Nashville??). I immediately think of the warm crock-pot dinners we used to have at home. Soup, salad and cornbread is my favorite :)

Over the weekend, we made just that. But we cheated a little… I don’t own a crockpot and I’m not going to babysit my soup all day in the common kitchen of the residence hall. So we started with a soup mix, Bear Creek’s Santa Fe Chipotle to be exact. It had a chicken broth with some small veggies, orzo, and noodles. Good, but WE CAN DO BETTER. So into the soup mix went the following:

• Chopped Red Bell Pepper
• Carrot Slices
• Celery Slices
• Diced Tomato
• Corn
• Chopped Grilled Chicken

Much better :) Now there’s some color, added vegetables and some lean white meat to add protein.

Starting with a Light Soup and including additional vegetables is a great way to make your hearty fall dinner a little healthier. Because I love cornbread, we made a batch of Marie Callendar’s Low-Fat Honey Cornbread mix, and honestly? I prefer the $0.50 Jiffy boxes from the grocery store ;) Cheap, yes. Delicious, Mmhmmm.

The unpictured side salad included spinach, avocado, apple slices, flaxseeds and raspberry vinagrette. This girl does not do Top Ramen ;)

Always looking for ways to amp up recipes with some healthy additions! If you have any pre-made meals you like enhance, share them below.

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