Baked Eggs with Red Sauce

One day I was pursuing through Pinterest and came across a dish that looked amazing. It was in a cast iron skillet with a red sauce and baked eggs. I didn't even click on the recipe to read about it, but the image stuck in my mind. (It was called shakshuka for those interested.) That being said, the image stuck with me for a couple of days. Last night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I thought about it and starting thinking, perhaps I could make something using it as an inspiration point with the ingredients already in my house. So this is what I made, I think it was really good. Feel free to change/omit or completely do your own thing! I'm sure I broke a few culinary laws in making this.

Baked Eggs in a Red Sauce

1 package of breakfast sausage
1 orange (or whatever color bell pepper or spicy peppers if your prefer)
half a bunch of kale
1 can of pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 stick of butter
lots of parmesan
mozzarella if you like
1/2 tsp of garam masala spice
1/4 tsp of ground cardamom
4 eggs

In a large skillet brown your sausage. When it is mostly cooked add diced bell pepper and kale. Cook until vegetables are tender.

In a small sauce pot mix tomatoes, cream, butter and spices. Bring to a boil and let cook until it thickens a bit, by reducing. Add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. (Don't salt before reducing or it will be too salty!)

Pour red sauce over sausage and mix. I threw in some chunks of mozzarella too. Then either butter some ramekins or if you are using an over proof skillet use that. If you are using ramekins, fill half way with tomato sausage mixture an carefully crack an egg on top. Or carefully crack eggs around the skillet. Bake at 350 for twenty minutes or until egg whites are cooked through and egg yolks are still runny. (It may take less time, because I prepped the sauce up ahead of time so it was cold when I put it in the oven.)

Chili Relleno Soup

I have had a few requests lately to resurrect my cooking blog. I really appreciate the compliment that that request is! I hope my food blog serves as an inspiration to get cooking. Or if you do cook often, for some new ideas. I know I get stuck in a rut sometimes! Okay, a lot of times. I'd love to hear if you made one of my dishes or even used it as a jumping off spot for another dish. Sometimes just the inspiration is all that is needed.

Right now I'm doing a low-carb deal for the month of August. Just to jump start some weightloss. The thing is, I don't think food should be about counting calories or measuring this or that. So I am not counting carbs. I'm being mindful to not go grab a snack of sourdough with butter (oh my god, I want some toasted sour dough right now!) Or not eating a bowl full of pasta. I'm adding in a lot of veggies and even trying some new ones (daikon radish anyone?).

If it doesn't look appetizing I don't want to eat it. The other day I came across a green smoothie recipe that the author of the recipe swore tasted like the milk at the end of a bowl of Fruit Loops. Yeah, I know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And actually the thing is, I probably wouldn't even like Fruit Loops these days since I've been eating a real food diet for so many years now. But I was intrigued and against my better judgement I slurried together ingredients like avocado, almond milk and flax seeds. I barely got a few sips down before I thought to myself WHY am I drinking this? It is disgusting. I love avocado in lots of different ways, sweet liquid avocado is not one of them. I love almonds, almond milk, not so much. Flax seeds, well whatever on those. I get my omega 3's through expensive fermented cod-liver oil, I shouldn't need to add them to a green sludge.

All this to say, we eat with our eyes first. It's a good instinct to develop. I think that is why I like taking photos of the food I cook. It makes me take a moment to appreciate the work that went into whatever I cooked that is about to be eaten. It is a way to share my art. And when I'm in a cooking mood, it is a creative art. There are times when sure, I just throw some food together for the family.... but other times that I really get into creating a new or favorite dish.

So here is the what I made today for lunch. I took inspiration from the flavors of a Chili Relleno. I love spicy soups and I make them for lunch a lot since the rest of the family is just bleh on soup and the girls are a NO to spicy. We eat dinners together but we usually all eat different lunches.

So without further ado... (keeping in mind that I don't actually ever measure, these are just guesses...)

Chili Relleno Soup:

1/4 yellow or whit onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1 pablano pepper and any other peppers you might want to add for spicyness/flavor
3 pieces of bacon
1/4 tsp of cumin

1/4 tsp of chili powder

1/4 of a package of full fat cream cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups of chicken stock

1.5 cups of cheese blend of your choosing (sharp cheddar, monterey jack, colby, etc.)

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in the bottom of a medium soup pot. When crispy remove. Dice and cook onion in the bacon grease, letting it get a bit brown around the edges. Add cut up chili peppers and minced garlic. When the chilis start to get soft, add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Whisk until the cream cheese melts completely. Add salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Add chicken stock and bring to a bare simmer. Slowly, slowly add grated cheeses, whisking between each small handful, making sure it completely is incorporated before adding more cheese. Or your soup will separate and it will look gross. Cook at a low bowl for about 10 minutes. Serve adding bacon garnish back in.

Serves 2 big bowls or 4 small ones, keeping in mind that with all that cheese and cream it is quite filling soup! Also keep in mind that since there is no thickening agent this is a thin soup.

Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

 Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Autumn Salad

I was looking some light and refreshing dinners/lunches and came across this salad that looked so yummy! Full of a bunch of my favorite things I knew this salad would be a hit with the entire family. Sure enough, my daughter Maddie ate and entire salad bowl of this and asked for more. Izzie isn't feeling well today, so she just wanted a small cup of my chicken noodle soup to sip on during dinner time. I'm not putting down amounts, just put ratios of what you like. This is a chop salad, so all the ingredients should be roughly the same size. My husband who also liked the salad suggested apples instead of pears next time. They'd give a bit more crunch.
-Amanda

Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

romaine lettuce
pecans
cranberries
feta cheese
bacon, cooked
pear or apple
leftover poached chicken

Chop everything into close to equal sizes and toss with Poppy Seed Dressing (below.)

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 tsp mustard
1 cup of olive oil
3-4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp poppy seeds

In a medium size bowl put 1 tsp of mustard. Drizzle in an equal amount of oil and start to whisk. When completely combined slowly, slowly drizzle in more oil as you whisk. When about half the oil is whisked in drizzle in sugar, maple syrup and apple cider viengar and salt. Continue drizzling the oil until it is gone. Stir in poppy seeds and taste. Adjust as necessary for seasonings.

BeeSting Panini

I came across this recipe while looking for some fun lunch ideas and it intrigued me enough that I had to make my own version of the sandwich. It's called a BeeSting Panini because it has honey and red pepper flakes. I love the salty/sweet/spicy combo of this sandwich, and I've already made two of them! I simplified down the original recipe which can be found on the Grilled Cheese Social Blog.

-Amanda

Bee Sting Panini

two slices of ciabata bread (or other crusty bread)
enough pepperoni to make a nice layer in your sandwich
a few slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
local, raw honey
4-5 basil leaves
butter
pinch of red pepper flakes

Drizzle honey on each side of your ciabata bread. Chiffonad your basil and put it down on top of the honey. Layer in pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.Close sandwich and spread outside of bread with butter. Sprinkle hot pepper flakes in the butter and grill in a panini press until bread is crispy and cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Quinoa Burgers

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, because it is SO good. Maybe it is just something "different" and I'm in the mood for new foods right now. I found a photo of these burgers on Pinterest and clicked on the link which took me to Eating Well, Living Thin's blog. Not a real food blog, but most recipes can be turned back into real food. I ditched her suggestion for low-fat cottage cheese for whole milk cottage cheese and got rid of the sugar in the recipe completely. It was only 1/2 tsp and I don't use Splenda anymore. I can't believe how much of that stuff I used to consume. I read the other day that they were trying to invent a new type of rodent poison when they discovered Splenda. Yum. Blah! But I digress... these burgers were delicious, especially fried in lard rendered from a humanly raised pig.
-Amanda

Quinoa Burgers

2 heaping cups of cooked quinoa*
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 medium carrot, finely grated
1 clove garlic grated
3 eggs
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of salt
oil that is stable for frying, such as lard, peanut or coconut oil.

In a large bowl (I started out too small and had to go up a size which is always annoying!) combine the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrots, eggs, flour, cumin, salt & pepper and grated garlic.

Heat frying pan with about 1/4 cup of oil and dollup out the batter. It's pretty mushy. Let fry for about 5 minutes per side before flipping. Remove when golden brown. Homemade tzatziki sauce was a great topping!

*Basic Quinoa

1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Melt butter in a pot. Add quinoa and stir toasting it a bit. Add water, bring to a boil, stir really well, cover, lower to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

**Not to self, something crunchy would be good in the batter. Perhaps finely diced cucumber or celery??

Grain Free BLT

 

For me, a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato) Sandwich is comfort food. Of course, since I usually don't like tomatoes, I'd normally just fix me a BL. But I do like cooked tomatoes, so today when making this sandwich, I took the time to grill some cherry tomatoes while the bacon was cooking. Using homemade "bread" and homemade mayo made with healthy fats makes this a pretty awesome, nutrient dense sandwich!  For the bread, I borrowed the Paleo Bread recipe from Elana's Pantry, but instead of cooking it up as a loaf, I made savory pancakes out of it. They came out so delicious!

-Amanda

Paleo (Grain Free) Pancake Bread

1 ½ cups almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
5 eggs
¼ cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Mix the almond flower, coconut flower, flaxseed meal, salt and baking soda together. Melt coconut oil, if your oil is solid and whisk it together with the eggs, honey and apple cider vinegar in a second bowl. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Ladle about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter on a medium heat griddle. I found I need to smoosh the batter down a bit with my ladle and even finger tips, because it was pretty thick. When the first side sets, flip over and cook the second side. Let cool on a cooling rack and store in a zip bag in your fridge.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made up this quick Sweet and Sour Chicken dish for my girls. I used a sweet and sour sauce recipe based off of Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist blog.  The girls loved it! I used a small skillet and only made up enough for their lunch. I should have double the batch because they licked their bowls and asked if they could have it for lunch again tomorrow.
-Amanda

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1 chicken thigh (or breast)
1 tbsp arrowroot
2 tbsp coconut oil/lard
1 carrot
handful of peas
sauce:
1/4 cup ketchup (I used homemade)
1 tbsp of grade b maple syrup
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 tsp grated ginger (not in original recipe)

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl and sprinkle arrowroot, salt and pepper and stir until well coated. Get oil hot in a skillet and then place the chicken in it, shaking off extra arrowroot powder. When browned on one side, flip over and cook the other side. When chicken is about halfway cooked, add vegetables and continue stirring. Add sauce and bring to a boil. The arrowroot powder will help thicken the sauce and have it cling to the vegetables and chicken.

Apple & Bacon Salad

 

I'm trying to add a few more salads into the rotation because they are usually pretty quick to make and for summer, salads just seem right. This was a very hearty and tasty salad that was approved by everyone. John said he thought the avocados were a bit odd in it and I think my girls were just going to eat the bacon until I encouraged them to taste a bit more! I think some dehydrated cranberries would be good in this too!

-Amanda

Apple and Bacon Salad

1/2 head of lettuce

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

1 package of bacon

1 avocado

1 large apple, chopped

1 cup of slivered, freshly toasted almonds

1/2 a cucumber, sliced

1/4 purple onion

homemade honey mustard dressing (see below)

Cut bacon into bite size pieces and cook until crispy. Chop lettuce and spinach into bite size pieces. Wash and dry thoroughly. Add to a very large salad bowl. Add diced apple, avocado, toasted almonds, chopped cucumber, thinly sliced onion and drained bacon. Toss. Serve with honey mustard dressing. Made enough for two adult portions. 

Honey Mustard Dressing
(these are NOT exact amounts, I just eye balled it!!)

1 tsp mustard (I got to use my homemade mustard!)

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/4 cup olive oil (If you don't have avocado oil, just use olive oil)

1 grated garlic clove

salt and pepper

pinch of dried herb such as thyme, tarragon or oregano (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk honey and mustard together. Drizzle oils in slowly whisking continuously. Add rice wine vinegar, garlic and salt. If it is too thick and the flavor is good, add a bit of water. Otherwise adjust oil and vinegar until you get the acidity level that is good for you.

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

This was a fast soup to throw together. I did already have a grilled chicken breast in the refridgerator so that is what made it so fast. When I make homemade stock, I like to store a lot of it in ice cube trays (after they freeze I tranfer to a freezer safe bag.) This way I have small portions of stock to add to sauces and gravies easily! I only made one portion of this soup, but feel free to double as necessary!
-Amanda

10 minute Creamy Chicken Soup

1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
4-5 button or cremini mushrooms
handful of frozen peas
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (or a few ice cubes) of homemade chicken stock
1/2 chicken breast, cooked and diced
freshly grated parmesan
1 tbsp fresh parsley
salt and lots of pepper (I actually added more pepper after the photo was taken, I liked the kick it gave the broth.)

Quickly mince some garlic and throw it in a small pot with the butter on medium heat, you don't want to burn the garlic. Chop mushrooms and add to the garlic. Turn up heat a bit and saute until mushrooms are nice and brown on the edges. Add handful of peas. Pour in your cream and chicken stock. If you are using stock in ice cube format, go ahead and throw them in frozen and just cook until they blend. Add cooked chicken and continue to cook until chicken is warmed through. Salt & Pepper and garnish with parmesan and parsley.

Soaked Wheat Crepes

I've talked before about why soaking grains, legumes and nuts is good for you. So I wanted to learn how to make soaked wheat crepes. Crepes are excellent recipe for soaking since most recipes tell you to "rest" the batter for awhile anyway. This time you are just "resting" it overnight! These crepes are so tasty and light. I am doing a (mostly) low-carb diet right now, so I actually made this for the girls and my hubby. I did taste a few bites though! I stuffed them with a mixture of grated cheddar cheese, cream cheese, a splash of heavy cream (to help mush the cheeses together) and shredded chicken. They got a thumbs up from the family!
-Amanda

Soaked Whole Wheat Crepes

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of raw milk (you can use yogurt instead of milk too.)
1 cup of water
4 tbsp of yogurt or milk kefir
3 eggs
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp salt

Stir the whole wheat, milk, water and yogurt together in a large bowl. Make sure that there is no dry flour left. You can add more liquid if need be, you want a loose batter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and sit out at room temperature overnight (or approx. 8 hours.)

Add eggs, salt and melted butter. Stir until well incorporated. I used a crepe pan to make my crepes, but a small non-stick skillet would work also. Very lightly grease your pan with butter and pre-heat it to medium heat. I think the first crepe has to be a throw away, I've never made a pretty first crepe. Using a ladle, scoop out 1/4 cup of batter in the center of your pan. Pick it up off the heat and make a large swirling motion with your wrist. You are trying to make the batter into a large, very thin circle in your pan. When the edges start to curl up a bit, flip it over and cook the other side. It takes about one minute per side for each crepe. I got 16 crepes out of my batter.

 Loose batter

 Swirling the batter around the pan.

 Ready to flip!

Done!

What's For Dinner at My House: Chicken Cheddar Hoagies

It's been another busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday! I guess spring is that time of the year where things get crazy. Today I had a St. Patrick's day party planned for my twins' playgroup and I was trying to think of what to serve the moms for lunch. We typically do a "mom" lunch and a kids "lunch" even though I really think that the kids should be eating what we eat. Most days that's what my girls do. I decided to make these Chicken Cheddar Hoagies, a dish I made the first time almost two years ago. I think I've only made them once or twice since then even though they are really quick and super tasty!

Back then I was on Weight Watchers so I put a scant amount of low-fat cheddar cheese on each one and I sprayed my pan with a tiny amount of cooking spray. Now I follow the Real Food movement and I've learned that fats such as lard, coconut oil, olive oil, butter and other traditional fats are actually good for you. So this dish went through a bit of a revision. (Which is so funny since I used to take full fat meals and make them low-fat for Weight Watchers!) These days recipes still go through revisions. I don't cook with fake fats like margarine, canola or vegetable oils. I don't buy products that have MSG or any "natural flavors" listed. I've learned that "natural flavors" is not the same thing as REAL food, and that "natural" usually means some derivative of MSG.

So I sauted my onions and bell peppers in MSG, Nitrate free bacon grease and I grated a bunch of Real, raw-milk cheddar cheese on top. Ideally I would have used a bread that had been made with soaked or sprouted wheat, but I'm not perfect, and since I wasn't at the health food store when I shopped I did buy "regular" rolls. I haven't found sprouted rolls yet, and I haven't gotten adventurous enough to start sprouting and grinding my own wheat (yet!)

The Chicken Cheddar Hoagies seemed to be a hit with my friends and they were a hit with my girls too. I've never seen them down onions and bell peppers without inspecting them and whining a bunch. If you are looking for a good fast meal to put together, give this recipe a try!

This post was linked at Kelly the Kitchen Kops website.
-Amanda

Maddie's Recipe

Not the best photo, but I was in a hurry to leave for a meeting. Last Tuesday, I had a PAMOM meeting to go to and I was looking to make a quick dinner for the kids. John was going to eat leftovers so I didn't have to worry about him. Izzie was off in the other room playing and Maddie was with me in the kitchen. As I was staring in the refridgerator for inspiration I asked her what she wanted for dinner. She said, "I want broccoli, carrots, hot dogs, cheese, and bananas. Mix it all together. Okay... that's what I want."

So I quickly chopped up the carrots, broccoli and hotdog. I sauted the carrots and broccoli in a pat of butter until soft. Then I tossed in cut up hotdog. I added a tbsp of flour, a bit of cream and half a cup of freshly grated cheddar cheese. Luckily I was able to convince her that the banana would taste better on the side. So here  you go, my three year old's first recipe! Enjoy!
-Amanda

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Another day, another soup it seems. I just love the warm comfort of a bowl of soup. Broccoli Cheese Soup is one of my husbands favorites (besides Campells Creamy Parmesan Tomato Bisque, much to my chagrin.) I can't make Campbells from scratch, since I don't use the preservatives that are in a canned soup. Although, to his credit he did say he'd try my tomato soup again, if I could just make it smoother and less chunky. But I digress... I made this soup for him because he wasn't feeling well yesterday and with the drizzly rain outside of course it was just calling to be a soup day!

-Amanda

Broccoli Cheese Soup

4 pieces of bacon, cut into bits
1 small onion, diced
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1 pint of heavy cream
4 cups of chicken stock (homemade is best!)
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 head of broccoli, chopped into small bits. The stem works well in this recipe too!
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp thyme
pinch of hot pepper flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric (adds color, naturally)

In your favorite soup pot, brown the bacon. When bacon is almost crispy add onions. Saute until onions are translucent. Add butter and melt. Add seasonings: salt, pepper, tumeric, thyme & hot pepper flakes. Sprinkle flour across bacon, onions & butter; stirring quickly to wet it with the butter. Stir the flour for a few minutes to let it cook for a bit. Pour in heavy cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Melt in grated cheese. Add broccoli and let simmer until broccoli is tender.

Birthday Party Playdate Meal (Chicken Satay)

I hosted a birthday party today for my twins third birthday party. We had 11 kids and 6 adults. I wanted to plan a menu that would be healthy, the kids would like and the moms would like. I decided Chicken Satay, Sugar Snap Peas, Buttered Whole Wheat Noodles and Fruit Skewers. Cupcakes for dessert. I think it was a pretty good success, all the Moms liked the food and most of the kids did too. Chicken Satay is normally grilled and served on skewers, but for this crowd I did them under the broiler. I figured kids and moms alike would love the peanut sauce poured on top!
-Amanda

Chicken Satay

(for 4-6 servings)

Chicken Marinade:
1/2 cup of yogurt or coconut milk or combo of both
1 tbsp curry powder
2 cloves garlic, grated (I had to leave this out, since one of my guests is very allergic to garlic)
salt and pepper
4-6 chicken breasts cut into thin strips

Peanut Sauce:
1 cup all natural peanut butter, smooth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp sambal (for spicy sauce)
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
hot water to thin

In a large bowl, mix chicken strips, yogurt, curry powder, garlic and salt and pepper. Cover, refrigerate and marinade for two hours. Set broiler to high. Place a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Lay strips of chicken on wrack and broil for 6-8 minutes until cooked through.

To make peanut sauce, mix ingredients in a blender or food processor, streaming in hot water to thin it out as desired.

Buttered Noodles

Cook a package of whole wheat noodles. Drain. Cube up half a stick of butter and toss. I like to add chopped parsley for vitamin C and color, but left it simple today.

Sugar Snap Peas

Saute in a bit of butter, salt and pepper.

Fruit Skewers

I used coffee stirrers instead of wood or metal skewers to make them toddler safe. Slide 4 or 5 pieces of favorite fruit on each skewer and serve.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

I forgot to take a picture of this before I ate it, so this is a picture of the leftovers! This soup is so warm and cozy. The broth is drinkable, rich and delicious. What gave me the idea for this soup was a chicken pot pie. I'm eating low carb right now so I didn't want to make a real chicken pot pie, but I was wanting those flavors. As I was making the "pot pie insides" I spontaneously decided to make it a soup, by adding a lot more liquid. I'm so glad I did, this was terrific! I used a lot of seasonings, but use any combination of the ones I list according to your preferences. I was going to add fresh parsley at the end, but I forgot to add it! I'll add some in for the leftovers, parsley is full of great vitamins!
-Amanda

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

2 chicken breasts, previously cooked
4 tbsp butter or ghee, split
1.5 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade)
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
pinch of tarragon (this is a strong spice)
pinch of dill

In a large soup pot, melt two tablespoons of ghee or butter. Add diced carrot, onion and celery. Cook on a low heat until carrots begin to get soft. Add in garlic and mushrooms. Continue to cook on med-low until mushrooms are cooked through. Add all the spices. Add two more tablespoons of butter or ghee and stir until melted. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour is wet from the butter and coats the vegetables. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the heavy cream. Right before serving, add the chicken and peas, cooking long enough to defrost the peas. Enjoy!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Last Thursday, I had a playdate at my friend Angela's house. She served some delicious vegetable soup for lunch. I've been wanting more ever since I left her house! I somehow forgot to get the recipe from her, but I did remember she said two things. One: the soup was made with homemade chicken stock from the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook. And Two: the only seasonings were salt and pepper. So I recreated my version or her soup. But as it sometimes goes, mine wasn't as good as hers, because sometimes being served a warm bowl of soup made with love tastes better than what can come out of your own kitchen! Nevertheless, it was still yummy and I'm glad I made an entire pot of it!
-Amanda

Vegetable Soup

1 potato, skin on, scrubbed clean
2 large carrots
small head of broccoli
1 small onion, I used a yellow one
2 tbsp olive oil
Greens- I used about 1.5 cups frozen turnip greens, I'm pretty sure Angela's soup had kale. If you use fresh, you need a lot more since it will cook down. spinach, collard greens or chard are all good choices for this type of soup.
5 cups of homemade chicken stock

Dice onion into small pieces.Put olive oil in a medium size pot and heat medium-high. Add onion. Scrub potato and dice it into small cubes, add to pot. Scrub the carrots, I rarely peel them either. Cut lengthwise and cut into small semi-circles. Add them to the pot. Stir occasionally so potatoes don't stick. Add broccoli, greens and broth. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with a bit of grated Parmesan and serve with bread & butter.

Walnut Salad Dressing

I made a fun salad for our picnic lunch today with iceberg, strawberries, cucumbers, thin slices of carrot, feta cheese, toasted walnuts and baked chicken sliced on top. Figuring it needed a special salad dressing, I reserved half of my toasted walnuts and whipped together a tasty dressing in my Magic Bullet. I know the photo isn't the best... but this was a picnic afterall, I'm just glad I remembered to snap the photo before I dug in!!

Walnut Salas Dressing - 1 portion
2 tbsp toasted walnuts
2 tsp real maple syrup
1 tbsp balsamic dressing
pinch of salt
1 - 1.5 tbsp olive oil
water to thin

Put all ingredients (minus the water) in your Magic Bullet or other small food processor and pulse until smooth. Drizzle in a bit of water at a time until you get the consistency you want. This dressing is sweet and tangy!

Edited to add... this salad was so delicious that I made a second one for dinner tonight!

Cabbage Egg Rolls

This is an old Weight Watchers recipe that is so good that you don't have to be on Weight Watchers to enjoy them. I took them to a pot luck dinner last night because they are fine at room temperature. I only made about 30 of them, but they all disappeared, I should have made more!
-Amanda

Baked Cabbage Eggrolls

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
3-4 carrots, shredded
4 scallions, sliced thin
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp (or more if you like it hot) Asian Chili Garlic Sauce
3 tsp grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp corn starch
25-30 wonton wrappers 
cooking spray

Put shredded cabbage in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave 8-10 minutes until cabbage is wilted. Drain any excess water and return to bowl. Add shredded carrots and scallions. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, chili sauce and ginger. Add cornstarch and mix until the cornstarch has dissolved. Drizzle over cabbage mixture and stir until well mixed. Taste your cabbage at this point to make sure it has enough flavor. You may need to mix up a bit more of the sauce an add it, depending on how much cabbage you have and how strong you want your eggrolls to be.


Take one wonton wrapper, and place about 2 tbsp of cabbage mixture in the lower bottom corner. Roll the bottom corner up towards the middle of the wrapper. Fold the left side in and then the right side. Continue rolling, wetting the top corner with a bit of water to make wonton stick. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue with all of your wrappers. Keep about 2 inches space between each eggrolll so they will get crispy. Spray each eggroll with cooking spray and bake at 350degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden and crispy on the edges. For an easy dipping sauce I make another batch of the soy sauce mixture leaving out the cornstarch. Float a few sesame seeds & cut scallions on top for a nice finish. Makes about 25-30 rolls depending on the size of your cabbage. 

If I'm making these for myself at home, once they are completely cool, I store them in the refridgerator in a large ziplock back with a papertowel to catch moisture. I either eat them cold or toast them in my toaster oven for a minute or two.

Thai Inspired Chicken Curry Soup

So I bought this new cookbook last time I was at Half Price Books. I couldn't help it, it had a photo with EVERY single recipe. (I only buy cookbooks with lots and lots of photos!) Which would lead one to think that the recipes had been tested. Apparently I was mistaken. There was a Thai Curry soup listed that looked tasty so I thought I'd try it out. When I looked closer and saw it wanted FOUR bell peppers, I got suspicious. That is a lot of bell pepper. Then for this 5 quart soup it called for one itty bitty tsp of brown sugar. Might as well leave it out! So I took the recipe and photo as an inspiration and turned out a pretty decent soup!
-Amanda

Thai inspired Chicken Curry Soup

1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp oil
2-3 tbsp curry powder
salt/ soy sauce
3-4 carrots
2 cups shredded cabbage
zest of lime
1 cup shredded pre-cooked chicken
2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade!)
1 cup water
1 can coconut milk
juice of two limes
1 tbsp fish sauce <- I'm not too familiar with this ingredient, so I could have probably used more>
1 (um, heaping...) tbsp brown sugar
cilantro leaves would have been great, but I didn't have any
cooked rice to serve over (I used brown)

Saute diced onion and garlic and lime zest in oil, keeping onion translucent. Cut bell pepper into thin strips. Cut carrot into thin strips. Add curry powder and salt to oil and onions. Then add the carrot and bell pepper. Stir in can of coconut milk, chicken broth and water. In a small bowl mix the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir to dissolve the sugar. Add to soup. Add cooked chicken and cabbage and simmer until cabbage is done. Serve over rice.

Taco Mini Mufins

I loved the response from my homemade chicken nuggets! Many of my friends told me they were going to try out the recipe. Please let me know how yours turn out if you do!

Today's recipe is another very toddler friendly meal idea. Although I'm going to serve this for dinner for the adults too, paired with a salad. These Taco Mini Muffins can also be made in bulk and frozen. Reheat in the toaster oven or microwave. This isn't an exact science, you can change the recipe to your preferences. Oh and I actually doubled the meat and veggies so I could have easy taco salads later this week.
-Amanda

Taco Mini Muffins

Cornbread Mix
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
approx 2 cups of milk, start with slightly less and add until you get a "pancake" batter consistency.

Taco Mix
1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion
1/4 cup frozen or fresh corn
1/4 cup drained black beans
1/2 red bell pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup (I used homemade)
salt & pepper to taste

Dice onion into small bits. Place oil in a skillet (I used cast iron.) When it gets hot, add onion. While the onion is cooking, dice red bell pepper. Add it to the onion, stir occasionally. When onion and bell pepper are soft, add corn and beans, heat until the corn is thawed. Remove vegetables from skillet (Or if pressed for time, cook them at the same time as the meat in a separate skillet.)

Once vegetables have been removed from the skillet, add the meat. Add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, tomato paste or ketchup, salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high heat until meat is cooked all the way through.

Add meat to the vegetables and stir.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the cornbread mix, except the milk. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk and stir. Add enough milk until you have a loose "pancake" like batter. Stir in the meat/vegetable mixture. Dish about 2 tbsp in mini muffin tins. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. If you do larger muffins, adjust your cooking time. A toothpick should come out clean and the tops of the muffins should start to brown.