**Wandering Wednesday BLOG HOP & a Guest Post from Saving Money & Living Life**

Welcome to the NEW Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!!!

So happy to have you here!!! I was thrilled when Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save asked me if I would help cohost a Blog Hop. It is always fun to meet new friends and Blog Hops are a GREAT way to do this! Oh, and before we get started, don't forget to come back on Thursday for Paisley Passions THRILLING THURSDAY linky party!!! Hope to see YOU there! :)

Wandering Wednesday is a weekly link-up hosted by Inspiring You To Save! and Paisley Passions was created for socializing and to get new followers, subscribers, and readers. Every Wednesday a new linky will be posted.

Here's how it works:


* Follow the hostess and co-host (first and second spot on the linky)
* Leave a comment if you're a new follower with your web address and I will follow back
* Grab the link-up button and post "Wandering Wednesday" on your blog to help spread the word.
* Link up your blog post for "Wandering Wednesday". The more people that know, the more that will join in, the more fun it will be!!
*Have fun!


GUEST POST FROM Saving Money and Living Life :) I am so happy to have Saving Money and Living Life join me with a Guest Post today. What a busy day around here! A NEW Blog Hop AND a SUPER FUN Guest Post!

Hello Paisley Passion readers! Jessica and Heather, here, and we are so delighted that Lori has allowed us to do a guest post for her. We were friends all throughout college from there our friendship and money-saving skills have blossomed! We are pictured above with our sweet husbands! We are stopping by from our blog, Saving Money & Living Life!

People always ask us how we've managed to save as much money as we do. So, we started this blog to show how we coupon, find great deals, and how to make couponing manageable without being overwhelming. We don't want to spend so much time with coupons that we miss out on living our lives to the fullest!

We hope that our blog can help you to save money (and time doing it!) buying the little things so that you can afford to enjoy the bigger things. So let us teach you how to save, and maybe even have a little bit of fun along the way. We would love for you to browse our blog a little bit.


Our blog covers everything from saving money to learning the ropes of being newlyweds, to cooking and just everyday things that happen in our families. Make sure & join us on Facebook & Twitter to get exclusive deals, hear about our cooking fiascos & successes and please come visit us every Friday for "Fabulous Friday" where you can link up what you've found as fabulous that week. If you don't have a blog, you can always tell us in the comments!


OK, so on to a fabulous recipe & a little funny story....

image via thingsweheart.com

Last night, I decided to make Southwest Red Pepper Bisque soup from the Vera Bradley cookbook. Yeah.....I made it. But, let me assure you it started out soup: 1 Heather: nothing! This soup really was made with love as it was part of DH's list of things he wanted to try to cook. I thought it would make for a good surprise. And, surprise it was, for me as well unfortunately!

I pull out the recipe, remembering I didn't think it looked that difficult. Then, you guessed it.....it all went down hill from there. First of all, is it possible to be allergic to the smell of onions? I know they make most people cry, but I ugly cry when I cut onions. We're talking mascara running down my face, squinty eyes so blurry that I can't see and my nose starts to itch. My DH and I have a deal worked out where he usually cuts the onions when home--obviously this was not the case. To prove said point about blurry, teary eyes, I began spilling blood from my cut finger...lovely, I know.

Then, I realized the recipe called for a dutch oven. I still have no idea what a dutch oven is, so I used a big pot which DH told me he thought was a dutch oven later on that night. Is this true?!

Next, I had never had to fire roast anything before, nor did I know how to. Well, it turns out as an improvisation I put the oven on broil and went to town after calling my mom for the 2nd time for advice. I noted 8-10 minutes later, my peppers still weren't roasting.

Then the light bulb went on. ***talking to self: Heather, why are they not getting done? I called momma (what else are you supposed to do?!) of course. As I began talking to her for the ahem, sheepishly notes....4th TIME! I realized that perhaps the rack should be on the top level of the oven for roasting to happen. She assures me this is correct. Without further ado, I move the shelf of the oven with the cookie sheet holding the peppers to the top level spilling red peppers all over the kitchen floor. As said move is made, I burn my hand slightly. No big deal at this point.

Long story short, I needed to have cooked rice ready for the next part of the recipe which I then had to scurry to cook. I just assumed it would cook in the soup. Then realized I had no food processor, but a blender would have to do. I realized the blender was dirty, so as I was washing it, of course I cut another finger on the prong inside of it. Finally coming to a smart decision, maybe my first of the night, I vowed to myself to never make this d*** soup again.

As soon as DH walked in the door, I promptly told him that whether he liked the soup or not he had better pretend that he did at least until the next day. He proceeded to tell me that I had to be the messiest cook ever. Luckily, I can laugh about these things even at this point, lucky for him! This mess he mentioned included aforementioned spilt peppers, onions and tomato sauce on the floor, dishes piled high in the sink, sticky counters, and my wounded finger wrapped in bloody gauze. I failed (read: chose not to) inform DH that I actually had started cleaning up as I had been cooking. Let's just keep that our little secret.

Believe it or not, DH told me that this soup was legitimately his 2nd favorite thing I have ever made. Don't worry, I asked again today just to make sure he wasn't lying to me the night before to protect my sanity. I haven't told him this yet either, but trust me if we make this soup again, he gets to wear the chef's hat.

Without further ado though, here is the recipe:

1/3 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream

2 t. milk

1/2 t. salt

2 t. olive oil

2 c. chopped onions

1/2 c. chopped carrots

1 1/2 pounds red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, chopped

1 T. tomato paste

1/2 t. cumin

1/4 t. chili powder

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

2 garlic cloves

3/4 c. cooked long grain rice

1/2 c. water

2 (10-ounce) cans chicken broth

1/2 c. milk

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Combine the cilantro, sour cream, milk and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Saute until light brown. Stir in the roasted peppers, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the rice, water, and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover partially and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Process in batches in a food processor until smooth. Return to the Dutch oven. Stir in milk, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until heated through; do not boil. Ladle into soup bowls and top with sour cream mixture.

I wish you better luck with the preparation of this soup than I had!

THANKS Ladies for the YUMMY recipe and for Guest Posting here at Paisley Passions today!!! :)