Ham and Bean Soup

As soon as temperatures turn chilly in the Fall, soup is the first thing I turn to.  And one really great thing about this soup is that it is cooked in the crock-pot so its really easy.  🙂

Sorry, no picture.

Ham and Bean Soup

Source:  Budget Bytes

1 medium yellow onion

3 stalks celery

4 medium carrots

2-4 cloves of garlic, to taste

2 medium ham hocks

1 pound dry 15 or 16 bean soup mix {discard the seasoning mix that comes with it}

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried ground thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 bouillon cube

ground pepper to taste

6 cups water

Directions:

The night before, pick over the beans for stones and debris, rinse and place in a large bowl and cover with 2x the water.  Let sit overnight.

In the morning, chop all of the veggies and garlic and place in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Lay the ham hocks on top.

Pour soaking liquid off beans, rinse again, and add beans to crock.  Add all seasonings and bouillon.  Top with water.  Lightly stir, but don’t disturb the ham hocks and veggies.

Secure the lid and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or until beans are soft.

Remove the ham hocks and cut off any meat and add it to the soup {there will be very little meat, but the soup already has great ham flavor}. Discard the rest of the hocks.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Serve with garnishes and toppings of your choice.  We enjoyed it with hot sauce and sour cream on top and crusty bread alongside.

Enjoy!

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

I know you’re thinking that that title must be too good to be true, but believe it.  These cookies only have two ingredients and they are really good!  So soft, and very flavorful.

1 box of spice cake mix

1 (15 oz) can of solid pumpkin puree

Mix together. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven.  Allow them to cool and they can be enjoyed as is, or topped with cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Soup

Every year I make a ton of soup recipes throughout the fall and winter.  This cauliflower soup was one of the first that I made this year.

As usual I was pretty much winging it, but it is loosely based off the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  I realized I didn’t have any milk in the house about half way through so I kind of panicked, but it all worked out in the end and I made it healthy in the process. Woohoo! {I mean, there’s still butter in it, but a lot less than the original.}

Go to the link below if you want to see PW’s original version.  She leaves hers chunky, and adds milk and cream.  I did not add any milk or cream, and I pureed the soup with an immersion blender.

Cauliflower Soup

Source:  Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil

one medium white or yellow onion, finely diced

2-3 carrots, finely diced

2-3 celery stalks, finely diced

1 large head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

2 T. dried parsley

salt and pepper

1 carton (32 oz) low-sodium chicken broth

2-3 T. butter

3 T flour

Sour cream for serving – optional

Directions:

Add the oil to a soup pot that’s over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for a few minutes, until they are tender and starting to brown.  Turn the heat to low and add the cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.  Let that cook for just a few minutes to allow the cauliflower to brown very slightly.

Pour in the chicken stock or broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer until cauliflower is completely tender.

*This is where I panicked.*  So, off to the side, I melted a few tablespoons of butter and then added flour to it.  I cooked that for a few minutes hoping to eliminate the raw flour taste.  Then I added it to the soup as a thickener.  {PW added whole milk and half and half to the roux to create a white sauce.}

Stir the soup as it simmers and thickens, taste and add s & p.  Total simmering time should be about 15-20 minutes, during that time I pureed it with an immersion blender but you could transfer it to a blender or food processor in batches if you would like.  Or like I said above, PW leaves hers chunky.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

Enjoy!

Tilapia & Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts

This really isn’t a recipe, but I thought I would share anyway since it involves my new favorite side-dish QUINOA.  Maybe it will give you inspiration to try something new?!

The other night I cooked a cup of quinoa in plain water as directed on the package.  Once the quinoa was cooked and liquid was absorbed, I stirred in a small handful of chopped fresh basil and a handful of pine nuts.

I served the quinoa with sauteed tilapia (pan fried?  I don’t know what you call it but I just cooked the fillets until opaque in a non-stick pan coated with Pam spray}.  I topped the tilapia with Parmesan and more basil. You could also bake the tilapia with a Parmesan crust.

It was light and tasty!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

So, I’ve been on a baked oatmeal kick lately.  I’ve made the fruit and oatmeal recipe twice, and now I have this wonderful baked pumpkin oatmeal to share with you.  I found it on a blog that I recently discovered called Budget Bytes and as you would expect, she offers recipes that are very budget conscious.  But, more importantly, they are always delicious and usually healthy too.  I’ve made one other recipe from her site so far and I’ll post about it later.

I really only have a few things to say about this recipe.  First is that the pumpkin flavor is very prominent {in the best possible way}.  Next, the texture is almost spongy.  Its hard to describe, but also good, just different from the other baked oatmeal that I tried.  And lastly I think I’ll add raisins next time and maybe chopped nuts too. 🙂

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Source: Budget Bytes

serves at least 6

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon {this was my addition because I love cinnamon!}

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 cups milk {I used almond milk}

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

2.5 cups dry old-fashioned oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.  Then stir in the milk and yogurt.

Mix the dry oats into the pumpkin mixture, coat an 8×8 (or similar) baking dish with non-stick spray.  Pour pumpkin oats into the dish and cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Topping options:  milk, maple syrup, nuts, raisins, a dash of cinnamon, and whipped cream.

Roasted Chicken Breasts and Broccoli

This was the most delicious meal!  Truly, it was fantastic.  I can’t say enough about it, it just really hit the spot.  It all started because I wanted to cook some chicken breasts on a Sunday night to have on hand to eat during the week.  I’m trying to cook more on weekends because I just don’t have the desire to cook on weeknights anymore.  I’ve lost my gumption I tell you!   Anyway, then I saw this roasted broccoli recipe on Pinterest and decided to combine the two recipes into one meal.

The chicken was great, but the broccoli was my favorite part and now I want to eat it everyday.  The crispy bits of garlic were like candy.  🙂

Next time I make this meal I’ll probably prepare some brown rice to go with it.  And I wish I had a better picture because this one does it absolutely no justice!

 

Oven Roasted Lemon Chicken – serves 4

4 small chicken breasts {I had marinated the chicken in lemon juice for 20-30 minutes in the fridge, but that’s optional.}

drizzle of EVOO

s & p

minced garlic

dried herbs – parsley, rosemary, and thyme

Roasted Broccoli (adapted from Barefoot Contessa) – serves 2 or 3

1 large bundle of broccoli {about 4 cups once it was chopped up into florets}

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

s & p

EVOO {about 4 tablespoons, just eyeball it}

Directions:

Cover two baking sheets with foil for easy clean-up.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the chicken on one pan, drizzle with a little oil, add salt and pepper, garlic, and herbs to the top of each breast.  Place in the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add the baking sheet of broccoli to the oven as well {because it won’t take as long as the chicken}.  To prepare the broccoli for roasting, place the florets on the sheet pan, toss with oil, sliced garlic, and salt and pepper and then evenly spread the broccoli out.

Give the broccoli a stir/shake about half way through the baking time, some browning is normal.

Check the chicken after 30 minutes. The thickest part should no longer be pink.  May need 5 more minutes of cooking time.

When you remove the broccoli, zest a lemon over all {can squeeze with juice too, but I didn’t} and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese {I didn’t}.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Cashew Quinoa

I mentioned a few posts back that I love quinoa and that I would be posting more recipes using quinoa soon.  Well, here you go!  It is safe to say that I am now obsessed with quinoa and am constantly looking for new recipes.  I love how nutritious it is!

What is also perfect (sort of) is that Tim is back on second shift so I can do whatever I want for weeknight dinners.  This means chick food galore!  I can eat vegetarian meals, have a bowl of cereal, just eat hummus and veggies, or any other random thing at all.  Tim would not go for this quinoa meal alone {if at all?}; he would probably at least need shrimp or salmon to go alongside.  But this was just fine for me.

Pineapple Cashew Quinoa

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup water

1 cup canned pineapple juice

1 tsp low sodium soy sauce

3/4 cup cashews, toasted

2 tsp sesame oil

1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 or 2 carrots, chopped small

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup frozen peas

1 can pineapple chunks {with juice reserved}

s & p – optional {I skipped adding salt because the cashews were salted}

Bring the water, tsp of soy sauce, and cup of reserved pineapple juice to a boil.  Add the quinoa, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, toast the cashews in a dry skillet.  Then remove and set aside.  Add the sesame oil to the skillet, add the carrots, bell pepper, onion, and garlic.  Cook until crisp-tender.  Add the peas, then the pineapple chunks and heat through.  Then add the cashews and cooked quinoa.  Stir to combine.  Taste and add more soy sauce and/or salt and pepper.

Serve and enjoy!

I added sirracha to my serving and it was fantastic.

Other possible add-ins:

garbanzo beans

black beans

broccoli

edamame

fresh herbs

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit

It’s not very often that I see a recipe one day and then make it the very next, but that was the case with this recipe.  I knew I had raspberries on hand that needed to be used up, and I had plenty of time to make it. {This was over a month ago by the way. I just never got around to posting.}  I was pretty happy with the results and was excited that I was able to eat the leftovers every morning for the rest of this week since Tim isn’t a fan of oats unless they’re found in cookies.

While I did like this flavor, I don’t think I’ll use raspberries again in the future.  They were just slightly too tart for me.  So, I”ll probably go with blueberries next time, and then after that I might try peaches, or an apple and cranberry combo or cinnamon, apple and raisins. 🙂

*Actually since it took so long from when I wrote this entry to actually adding the picture and posting, I have made it again.  I used 2 bananas, blueberries, pecans, and also added 1/2 cup of ground flax.  Delicious!  I debated pretty hard about adding some coconut, but chickened out.  I’ll definitely try that some other time. 🙂  I probably should have added a little more milk since I added the flax, it was noticeably dryer and I should have know better.

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit

Source:  Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided {I used sliced almonds}
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup milk {I used vanilla almond milk}
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick {I used two bananas}
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided {I used fresh raspberries}

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.  In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Stir with a fork to combine.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.  Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish.  Top with half of the berries.  Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer.  Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.  Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with additional maple syrup if you wish.

Yield – about 5 servings.

Menu 10-22-2011

Sorry folks!  I don’t know what my problem is but I’m in a major food rut.  So, I’m sorry I haven’t been posting any new recipes.  Tim’s work hours have been crazy, plus he has been helping harvest corn with his dad. This means he hasn’t been home for dinner, therefore I haven’t felt the need to cook regular meals.  On top of that, I’m obviously still working at my sucky job and I’m just busy in general so I haven’t had time to upload anything new here.  Really, how did I ever find the time?  I don’t know how other bloggers do it!

But with that being said, I’m going to try to make an effort to get back into the swing of things.  I’m starting with posting my menu for the next several days.  And then tonight I plan on uploading pictures and getting caught up on some recipes that I made over my break from blogging.  Hopefully I’ll be able to add 3 or 4 posts on here tonight and/or tomorrow.

Menu:

tonight – omelet type of thing with bell peppers, onions, kale, and eggs

tomorrow – split pea soup

not sure of the order of the following:

shrimp fried rice

honey baked chicken with roasted broccoli

sea scallops – not sure how I’ll prepare them yet…

shredded beef BBQ sandwiches, sweet potato fries, and a vegetable

 

I’m not sure how many readers I have left, but THANK YOU!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

I found this recipe on Pinterest (my new addiction!) and it claims to be a copy cat of the Texas Roadhouse butter.  I don’t really know about that, but it is really good!  Serve it on biscuits, rolls, toast, waffles, pancakes, or my favorite – baked sweet potatoes.  Get creative.  We even put in on baked acorn squash and it was fab!

Cinnamon Honey Butter
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined and as fluffy as desired. You can add more powdered sugar if necessary. I used the beater blade in my mixer, but the whisk may have been a better choice.

Store in the fridge.  I keep mine in a smallish-sized mason canning jar.