Happy Labor Day! I’ve been fully enjoying the long weekend and relaxing to the fullest!

I started my weekend off bright and early Saturday morning for another HMTT run. We had 6 miles on the agenda and I was impressed with how I powered through it! I had gone out with some friends the night before and may have enjoyed one too many glasses of wine (whoops) and had a pounding headache when I woke up. Despite my initial thought to stay in bed, I popped two Tylenol, threw on my shoes and got out the door.

I recently started taking Mega-Ignite after first hearing about it on Blonde Ponytail. I’m usually a skeptic about supplements but these have really been helping me go that extra mile (pun not intended) in my runs. Taking two of those 15 minutes or so before I head out really helps and it definitely helped give me an extra boost for those 6 miles! While it would have been much easier to stay in bed, I felt 10x better after my run and was glad I got up and out there.

After that run, we rung in the new Football season with friends and enjoyed a laid-back Saturday night.

…which resulted in a yummy but oh so naughty brunch at The Mill. I had a breakfast burrito with a roasted red pepper hollandaise and it was absolutely delish.

Today, however, I did labor despite it being Labor Day. While I did sleep in until 9:30 which is late for me, I got up and went to Trader Joe’s and Martin’s all before lunch time. I love getting errands done early!

Even though Fall doesn’t officially start for a few more weeks, I’m now officially in Fall mode as of today. And apparently the grocery store is too because they already had pumpkins out ready for pickin’. :) Since I saw that pumpkins were already out, I decided why not go ahead and start making Fall soups today?

I told y’all last week that I wanted to try to make Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup at home so I figured I’d get it made today and have it to eat throughout the week.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Adapted from My Recipes

  • 3 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and stemmed and sliced in half
  • 1 28oz can of San Marzano tomatoes (peeled Roma tomatoes)
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1 T paprika
  • 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 gloves garlic, pressed
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 T crushed red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler. Place red pepper halves, cut side down, on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Cook until the skin is thoroughly charred, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a gallon sized ziplock bag and seal for 10-15 minutes to allow the skins to steam for easy removal.

In a dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onion stirring often until soft. Add the garlic and stir until translucent. Add the roasted red peppers and tomatoes with the juice and add paprika. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process to desired consistency. Return the puree to the dutch oven and add in vegetable broth and lemon juice. Bring back to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or freshly chopped parsley.

While I hate wasting food, I tossed out the remains of the other Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup I had on hand once this was done. Homemade soup tasted 1208403583x better than the store bought stuff. I can’t get enough of it but I love that this is chunky and you can distinguish all of the different flavors. Plus, there’s no dairy in this so it’s much lighter. Oh, and I added in crushed red pepper flakes for a little extra umph. No surprise there though, right? ;)

Alright y’all, it’s time for this girl to get to bed because I have my alarm set for 5:45 and it’s going to be here before I know it. Goodnight y’all!