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.

Almond Flour Crust Pizza

I guess I've switched from soups to pizza today, since this is my second pizza recipe in a row. I found this Almond Flour Crust Pizza a few days ago and knew I wanted to try it. It passed the test! Everyone in the family ate it up. Be warned though, the pizzas may be small, but they are filling. I got the recipe from ComyBelly and it's a good one.

I made my own Almond Flour by first making "Crispy Almonds." You make crispy nuts by soaking your nut of choice in water and salt for 24 hours to break down the phytic acid, which isn't good for you. Then either on the lowest setting of your oven, or a dehydrator, dry the nuts out for 12 hours until crispy and tasty. They actually taste much better this way! To make almond flour, just process a few almonds at a time in a food processor and sift the "flour" away from the bigger pieces. Don't over process or you will make a nut butter.
-Amanda

Almond Flour Crust

(from ComfyBelly)

1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (or another hard cheese, grate finely)
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of basil
favorite pizza toppings (cheese, sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper, ect.)

Mix almond flour, parmesan, salt, oregano, garlic powder and basil in a medium size bowl. In a small bowl beat two eggs with olive oil. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Using a 3 tbsp scoop, place six scoops of the dough on either a sil-pat or parchment paper that is on a large cookie sheet. Put a bit of olive oil on your finger tips and flatten dough out into a circle. It won't spread when you cook it so you only need to leave a small space between each crust. Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake until cheese is bubbly.

Butternut Squash Pizza

I was reading my favorite cooking/nutrition blogs a few days ago, and came across this idea for a recipe. I wish I could give credit, because these are REALLY good. I did add caramelized onions and tomato sauce to the recipe, but the idea to use the squash this way wasn't mine. Anyway, this is a must try recipe, it is really terrific!
-Amanda

Butternut Squash Pizza

1 butternut squash with the longest neck possible
1 lb of bulk sweet Italian sausage (no nitrates added, no high-fructose corn syrup)
1 block of feta cheese
1 large onion
olive oil, salt and pepper
favorite tomato sauce

Pre-heat oven to 375. Peel butternut squash and cut into 1/2" disks, be careful to make them the same thickness so they cook evenly. Rub each disk with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes until you can easily pierce with a fork. Meanwhile, brown sausage in a skillet. Slice onion into very thin slices and saute them in a little olive oil (or bacon grease) while the sausage is a different skillet. Cook the onions on medium  heat for 20-30 minutes.

Remove butternut squash from the oven and switch the oven to broil. Assemble the pizzas by placing a bit of sausage on each disk, top it with a bit of onion and then the feta cheese. Place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until feta starts to brown. Serve on top of some tomato sauce. It'd be great with some fresh basil on top, but I'm not sure if butternut squash and basil are ever in the same season? Anyway, this was a huge hit for our family and I think I'll hide the leftovers!

Coconut Curry Beef and Pork Stew

With the dip in temperature (finally!) stew seemed just the thing for today's menu. While I was at Sprouts, my local health food store, I picked up some pork and beef stew meat this morning. I threw this stew together in perhaps 15-20 minutes this morning and let it simmer all day long on the stove. The house smelled great!

-Amanda

Coconut Curry Beef and Pork Stew

1 lb beef stew meat
1 lb pork stew meat
3-4 tbsp coconut oil
1-2 potatoes
2-3 carrots
2-3 celery stalks
3 gloves garlic
1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat, as it is what I have in my pantry)
2-3 tbsp curry powder
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup red wine
2-3 cups of broth (chicken or beef, I used 2 cups chicken and 1 cup of water)
salt to taste

Mix flour, some salt and curry in a shallow dish. Dredge meat in flour and shake off excess. In a large stock pot, melt coconut oil. Place meat in and brown for a few minutes, turning as needed. Remove meat to a bowl. Add, chopped carrots, celery and potatoes to the stock pot. Let cook for a few minutes, stirring the vegetables to bring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add garlic and deglaze the pot with red wine. Add meat back in, and broth. Add coconut milk and stir. Simmer on low for as long as possible, at least 3 hours until meat is fall apart 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.

Happy Accident Cupcakes- aka, Wow! These are Awesome Chocolate Cupcakes

I baked cupcakes tonight! I don't bake, I cook and cooks don't follow recipes. At least this cook doesn't, even when I really, really, really try. I made sure I had all the ingredients, times two. I made the decision to do the recipe twice so I wouldn't mess up trying to double it (that is a major mistake I commit time and time again.) But yes, somehow I still messed up. This time though, it resulted in very rich, moist super delicious chocolate cupcakes. And since I misused my chocolate chips and didn't have any for the icing, I went with a plain white icing which actually was okay, because these things are so decadent that chocolate icing would have been overkill. To see the original recipe please visit Pink Parsley. I know that my twin girls are going to love them for their three year old birthday party tomorrow!
-Amanda

Happy Accident Chocolate Cupcakes

Ganache Filling

2 ounces dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Chocolate Cupcakes

6 oz dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup (4 1/8 ounces) ap flour
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Creamy Frosting

1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
pinch table salt
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into Tablespoon pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the ganache filling, place chocolate and cream in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high power until mixture is warm to the touch, 20-30 seconds.  Whisk until smooth, and transfer to the refrigerator.  Let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.


For the cupcakes, Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Place chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave bowl, melt on high for about 45 seconds.  Whisk until smooth, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, 20-30 minutes.

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and vinegar into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth.  Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is smooth.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups, filling each 3/4 full.  Place one slightly rounded teaspoon of the ganache filling on top of each cupcake.

Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, 17-19 minutes.  Allow to cool in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.


For the frosting, combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Set over a small saucepan of simmering water, and whisking constantly, cook until the mixture is slightly thickened, foamy, and registers 150 degrees on an instant read thermometer, 2-4 minutes.

Fit bowl to stand mixer, and with the whisk attachment, beat at medium speed, until mixture is the consistency of shaving cream and slightly cooled, 1-3 minutes.  Add butter 1 piece at a time, until smooth and creamy.  The frosting may look curdled halfway through, but it will smooth out eventually. 

Once all the butter as been added, pour in the vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  Increase speed to medium-high and until light and fluffy, another 30 seconds to a minute.

Frost cupcakes as desired.

My Journey to Real Food

Welcome to any new readers! This is my first time to participate in a Food Renegade Fight Back Friday post. The Frickin Chicken is a blog I started almost two years ago, mostly for myself as a place to keep recipes. At that time I was on Weight Watchers and I was eating what I thought were "healthy" foods. The leaner the meat, the lower the fat the better, or so I thought back then. Over the past year, I've been following the Real Food Movement and I've jumped on board! I'm excited to learn all the new things I can about where food comes from and nutrition.

The post I'd like to share with you for Fight Back Friday is actually and article I wrote for the Dallas Morning News Moms Blog about my Journey to Real Food. I'd love everyone to read it and if you like it, please leave a comment (either here or there) and "recommend" the page. You can find the link here: http://momsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/my-journey-to-real-food.html.

And for my usual readers of The Frickin Chicken, The Food Renegade is a wealth of information about Real Food. I first found the blog when researching the dangers of soy and I've been a follower ever since. Please take a moment to look through her website: http://www.foodrenegade.com/