Baked Potato Soup

It's the time of year where everyone and their double-first cousin makes a giant list of resolutions that are easily abandoned by February.

Most vow to become thinner, but I'm not one to continually vow to lose weight. Sure, I'd love to reach a healthy weight range, but I'm not really in any hurry. My BMI is only slightly above healthy and my health numbers are all fantastic. As long as I'm developing healthier habits overall (which I am), then I'll get there eventually. So this year, I'm not vowing to lose weight -- especially a specific number of pounds. Those kinds of resolutions personally drive me crazy.

I know I'm arriving late to the resolution party, but I figured I'd share a few goals I have for myself.

Last year, I wanted to create a healthier routine and save more money. Both of which I pretty much accomplished.

In January, I decided to "pay myself first," which is MUCH easier than I thought it would be. Through my direct deposit I put aside a set amount of money per pay and have it deposited directly into my money market account. I was a little spotty on following my budget, but overall I was pretty close and my savings account looks a lot better than it did a year ago, that's for sure!

As far as a healthier routine, I did better than 2008, but still have room to improve. I'll be honest: I hate exercising. Pretty much every form of it. So I'll have a good week and then a lazy week. I think it's something I can continue to improve.

This year I'd like to:

• Continue establishing a healthy routine. This includes paying better attention to when I'm hungry vs. mindlessly snacking, drinking more water and sleeping more.
• Continue saving. I'd love to put at least 75% of any bonus/pay increases I may receive this year into savings as opposed to adding more to my budget. Every penny counts!
• Read more. I read like one book last year in all of 2009. Pretty pitiful.
• Try new things outside of my comfort zone. I'm actually pretty shy, so taking new classes, etc. by myself isn't the easiest for me. I'm taking the yoga class at the Y, which is a great start and I want to sign up for a photography class at a local art college and maybe take more sewing classes.
• Blog more consistently. Like my efforts at a healthy routine, I'll have a really good week and follow it up with a less than stellar one.

Now on to food. Last night, I made this Baked Potato Soup from Cooking Light. It's honestly my favorite potato soup. Maybe a little higher in calories than I would normally like a soup to be, but it's pretty it's a hearty soup. To make this soup quicker, bake the potatoes in the microwave instead of in the oven. I like the skins of oven baked potatoes, but since you aren't using the skins, the microwave works just fine.

To microwave a baked potato scrub the skin, poke holes all over the potato with a fork, place in a microwave safe dish and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and microwave on HIGH another 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and scoop the insides out of the skin.

Otherwise, I made the recipe as written. It's one of the few I don't tweak because it's perfect just as it is.