Tortilla Soup

This is one of my family's favorite recipes.

4 chicken breasts, cubed or shredded
olive oil
6 gloves garlic, minced
12 crushed tortilla chips
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
Shredded Cheese
Chopped avocado
Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips

In a stock pot, cook chicken in olive oil.  Add garlic, onion, crushed chips and cilantro when chicken is almost done; saute til tender.  Stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a boil; add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock.

Return to a boil.  Reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne pepper.  If I have lime on hand I like to squeeze lime juice into the soup.  Simmer 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaves.  Before serving, top with cheese, avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Aunt Cheryl's Pecan Pie

2 sticks of butter
1  16 ounce bottle light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract-real vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans
6 eggs
beat with a bowl
2 cups of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 regular pie shells

Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in pot on stove.  Cook over low heat stir constantly til sugar is dissolved. Cool. Add eggs vanilla and salt.  Mix well by hand.  Pour filling into pie shells.  But pie shells in oven to get hot for 1 minute before filling.  Top with pecans.  Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325 for another 15-20 minutes.  Should be very brown.

Spelt Banana Pancakes

I tried this from the Blendtec cookbook and it is excellent and is vegan.

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp flaxseeds

1 ripe banana

1 cup spelt flour

1 Tbsp aquave or honey 

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Add milk and  flax seeds to jar and secure lid.  Select 'Batters.'  Add remaining ingredients to jar in order listed and secure lid.  Select 'Batter.'  Allow batter to rest 5 minutes.  Heat griddle or other pan over medium to medium-high heat and grease.  Pour approximately 1/4 cup batter onto heated pan and cook approximately 1 minute or until bubbles break the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden brown.  Flip and cook for approximately 30 seconds.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees F loosely wrapped in foil. 

I have also done it without banana and it was great and yummy with blueberries.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Spinach Muffins

My friend posted this on facebook and so I thought I would give it a try for my boys and they have loved them.  Next time I will try them with oat flour because I have a hard time with wheat.

Here is the recipe and in parentheses are the changes I made.  Enjoy!

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tbsp.  best quality cocoa powder
3/4 cups superfine sugar ( next time I am going to try aquave)
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg ( replaced egg with 1 tbsp. flax mixed into 4 tbsp. water that had sat for about 10 minutes)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups packed raw, washed spinach

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease muffin tins

Mix dry ingredients together in larger bowl.  Blend wet ingredients with raw spinach in a blender/food processor till looking smooth.  Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Spoon into greased muffin tins.  In regular muffin tins bake for 20 minutes or until risen and springy.  If in mini tins, bake for 10 minutes.

I also added 2 Tbsp. chia seeds and Tbsp. protein powder!  My boys can't get enough.  Going to make another batch today.

Vegetable Soup

I had some leftover potatoes that I needed to use so I made this yummy soup today.  It turned out great and makes a ton.

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup thinly slice celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. italian seasoning
coarse salt and pepper
3 cans (14 1/2oz)  chicken broth
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
8 cups mixed fresh or frozen vegetables (carrots, corn, potatoes, green beans, green peas, zuchinni, lima beans, etc.)
1 can great northern beans

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, italian seasoning and garlic: season with salt and Pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, 5-8 minutes.

2. Add broth, tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste , and  3   cups water to pot; bring to a  boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered 10 minutes.

3. Add vegetables and beans to pot and return to a simmer.  Cook uncovered, until vegetables are tender 20-25 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, as desired.  Let cool before storing.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup and Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

Tonight I tried two new recipes that I found online and they were both a success.  My little boys suprisingly loved the soup.  Here are the recipes and the links.  One of my goals for at least the next month and maybe the year is to not eat dairy and to eat mostly vegetarian.  We will see how it goes.:)

Curried Butternut Squash Soup from the Gluten free Goddess

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2-3 teaspoons mild gluten-free curry powder

4 cups diced butternut squash

4 to 6 cups light vegetable broth (or fresh water)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or raw agave nectar, to taste

½ to 1 cup coconut milk

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and curry powder; stir and cook until the onion softens. Add the squash and broth. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.

Simmer until the squash is very soft and fork tender- maybe 30 minutes. Add a bit more water if you need to keep the squash from sticking to the pot- I didn't need to, but, Bubbe you never know.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender till smooth. Stir in the maple syrup and coconut milk. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Warm through gently and serve.

Serves 4.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I used only half of the jalapeno)

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup Trader Joes Pepper Jack cheese(I left the cheese out)

4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and jalapeno for about 5 minutes, until soft, then add cumin and garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Stir in drained tomatoes (reserving liquid) and cook for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in black beans, quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. (I also added chopped cilantro and lime juice) Stir in 1 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and pour reserved liquid from tomatoes in the bottom of your baking dish.

Fill each halved bell pepper with 3/4 cup quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. (Next time I will boil the bell peppers so that they are a little softer) Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.  Transfer stuffed bell peppers onto serving dish and drizzle pan juices over top.  Enjoy!

Granola Bars

My friend has been on the lookout for a healthy and yummy granola bar.  She emailed me this recipe the other day and said "I found it."  I tried it while we were in FL for Christmas and it was excellent.  I love that you don't bake it. It easy and my boys including my husband loved it.  My mom, brother and sister-in-law also loved it.  Here is the the link to the recipe Homemade Chewy Granola Bars and here is the recipe.  If I wasn't so tired tonight I would be making a batch but tomorrow will have to do.

Ingredients

1 cup whole almonds ( I used peanuts because my husband is allergic to almonds)
1 cup pecan halves (could use walnuts)
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup dried cherries, chopped if large (next time I am going to try craisins)
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons honey
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Add 1/2 cup each of almonds, pecans, and old fashioned oats into a food processor. Process until fine (not too long or it will start to turn into nut butter!) then pour into a large bowl. Roughly chop the remaining pecans and almonds, then add the bowl. Add remaining old fashioned oats, cherries, and sesame seeds, then mix well and set aside.
2. Combine honey, coconut oil, salt, vanilla & almond extracts, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the mixture melts, then foams, then cook for 15 seconds longer. Pour over nut mixture and mix thoroughly to coat all the ingredients.
3. Line a half sheet pan or 8×8 pan with enough saran wrap or parchment paper to let it hang far over the sides, then pour in granola. Press very, very firmly with your hands or something with a flat bottom (may need to spray it with non-stick spray.) Wrap the overhanging saran wrap or parchment paper up over the sides and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
4. Using a sharp knife, cut chilled granola into bars. Wrap individually in saran wrap and store in the fridge or freezer.

On a side note.  One of these days when I have more time, which might be a while I will post pictures.  But the recipe will have to do for now.