This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EatLightEatRight #CollectiveBias
The holidays are over and, if you are anything like me, then you probably indulged quite a bit. Decedent meals, rich desserts, heavy cocktails- it all starts to (literally) weigh you down. Come January, I like to push those heavy meals to the side and start lightening up. Soup is one of the few meals that everyone in my family enjoys. I love making big batches of soup from scratch, but when time gets away from me, I like to reach for one of my favorite brands of soup: Progresso® Light. And what pairs perfectly with soup? Crackers, of course! Instead of all of the crumbs though, I instead like to whip up a batch of my crunchy parmesan cracker bites and stick a few in there for some added texture.
With the weather getting colder by the day, I love serving a nice warm bowl of soup to my kids after they come in from playing outside. Nothing warms you up both inside and out quite like soup can! Progresso® Light soup is one of my favorite choices for my family since it’s lower in calories and sodium than most canned soups and is so delicious. There are so many flavors to choose from too. My kids love the Chicken Vegetable Rotini and my favorites are the Beef Pot Roast and the Chicken Pot Pie, for when I am in the mood for a cream based soup.
From start to finish, I can have a warm, healthy and filling meal on the table in just a few minutes, so my chilly kids don’t have to be waiting for me to finish cooking. We love sitting around the table, sipping our soup, and chatting about the day’s events- and I love how fast it was to cook so I can spend more time chatting and less time cooking!
One other reason why I love choosing Progresso® is because the are a proud supporter of the Box Tops for Education campaign. If you are unfamiliar with this program, it’s a fantastic one. Each label collected gives 10 cents back to your child’s school to buy things like gym or technology equipment. 10 cents doesn’t sound like much, but when was family collects them and sends them, they add up quick. At my children’s school we just received a check for over $700 for just a few months of collecting! That’s a lot of money to purchase things for the students that normally aren’t able to be purchased due to budgeting constraints. If you don’t have kids, still consider collecting these little labels and passing them onto a neighbor or niece or nephew- any school would appreciate them all well!
Progresso® soups are a great deal too, how can you beat less than $2 a can? Any time I am at my local Walmart I grab a few, since my daughter loves them in her thermos at school for lunch as well. There, I can also pick up the few ingredients I need to make my yummy Crunchy Parmesan Crackers Bites. They are kind of like baked matzo balls, but smaller and crunchier. To make these yummy crunchy bites, you only need a few items and they bake up in less than 15 minutes. Better still, you can print out this coupon to save $1.00 on FOUR cans of soup- what a great deal!
- 2 cups crushed crackers (1 sleeve)
- dash of pepper
- 1 t baking powder
- 1 T dried or fresh parsley
- 2 T melted butter (unsalted)
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (plus more for rolling)
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Crush your crackers either by hand, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in your spices and mix well.
- Add in the butter, egg and part cheese, and combine.
- Form your mix into balls by hand and roll each into some additional parmesan cheese.
- Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 12 minutes until golden brown.
- Makes 12- 1 inch bites
They look great, right?? These bites are really so simple to make and can be stored for a few days. They are great to pack in a lunch box for your kids or can easily be taken to work. They are fun to eat too, my kids love anything that makes food “fun” and these definitely fit the bill. You can toss a few in your soup and and either eat them right way, so watch them melt into your soup, adding in some additional flavors.
You can make them any size you wish too, so they are perfect for any sized kid (or adult!). These crunchy parmesan cracker bites are the perfect accompaniment to any flavor bowl of Progresso® Light soup to make the best cold weather meal ever that is not only healthy and balanced, but fun to eat!
Those look delicious. Perfect for soup. I always keep a few cans on hand, and I recommend college kids take a couple to school because you never know when you are going to get sick, and there will be no Mom around to bring you soup!
I am 100% a soup and crackers girl and I am loving how you jazzed up an ordinary cracker to create this amazingness!! I am totally trying this recipe today!!! 🙂 #client
Cathy