It's soup season!! I had this at cousin Shirley's baby shower last year and had to have the recipe. Aunt LaDawn was nice enough to share it. The bacon in it is of course delicious and I really like the fresh green beans which I'd never added to a soup before.
Vegetable Chowder
1⁄4 lb bacon
2 c water
1 c diced potatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
2 t salt
1 c diced celery
1 c sliced carrots
1⁄4 t garlic powder
1⁄2 c diced onion
1 c cut green beans
1 bay leaf
2 c half and half cream
2 T chopped pimento (optional)
Combine water, vegetables, and seasonings. Simmer until tender. Remove bay
leaf. Stir in cream. Mix 2 Tablespoons flour with 1⁄4 cup water in a small bowl
or cup. Stir into soup. Fry bacon. Break into small pieces and add to soup.
My soup didn't thicken very much, which was fine, but I'll try adding a little more flour next time.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Cumin Avacado Salad
This recipe came from my neighbor, Susan. She's great at sharing healthy, easy recipes with me that don't require crazy ingredients.
2 avocados
2 tsp. lemon/lime juice (to keep avocados from browning)
1 Cucumber
1 Tomato
Chopped cilantro to taste (or parsley is that's all you have)
2 Tbsp. red onion (optional)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
Dash of ground black pepper
A little olive oil - to taste
The cumin really gives it a nice, unique taste. These measurements don't have to be followed exactly. Maybe that's obvious and I don't need to say it, but I'm just learning that!
And how about that sweet kale salad at costco?? MMM I love salad.
2 avocados
2 tsp. lemon/lime juice (to keep avocados from browning)
1 Cucumber
1 Tomato
Chopped cilantro to taste (or parsley is that's all you have)
2 Tbsp. red onion (optional)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
Dash of ground black pepper
A little olive oil - to taste
The cumin really gives it a nice, unique taste. These measurements don't have to be followed exactly. Maybe that's obvious and I don't need to say it, but I'm just learning that!
And how about that sweet kale salad at costco?? MMM I love salad.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Cashew Chicken
My sister-in-law is from Hong Kong and she's an excellent cook, so I was excited to live close to her last year to learn lots of cooking tips from her! She taught me how to make this delicious dish. And it's really easy. The only time consuming part is cutting up all the vegetables, and there are two ingredients you may not have on hand: ginger and oyster sauce. But now I always have them on hand, just to make this dish or a yummy stir fry. Don't try to cheat and use ground ginger. Just buy a chunk of ginger and it'll last you a while. If you're like me you'll have to ask the man stalking the bananas to show you where to find ginger cause you have no idea what it looks like! And oyster sauce you'll find right by the soy sauce. Buy a big thing of cashews at Costco and you'll be set for a while.
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cut up (marinate with 2 Tbsp. soy sauce for 10 min.)
1 medium sized red pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2/3 C. cashews (not the raw ones)
1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Sauce:
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 1 1/2 Tbsp. water
Instructions:
1. Preheat frying pan (medium high heat), stir fry ginger, garlic, and red pepper in olive oil for about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken, fry til all of the pieces turn white on the outside.
3. Add carrots and celery, stir occasionally for 2 min.
4. Add a bit of water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. The first few times my sauce was a little runny so be careful not to add too much water), cover and reduce heat, let it simmer for 4-6 min. depending on how soft you want them to be.
5. Combine all the sauce ingredients then add sauce to the pan, stiring until the sauce thickens.
Serve over rice. Done!
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cut up (marinate with 2 Tbsp. soy sauce for 10 min.)
1 medium sized red pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2/3 C. cashews (not the raw ones)
1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Sauce:
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 1 1/2 Tbsp. water
Instructions:
1. Preheat frying pan (medium high heat), stir fry ginger, garlic, and red pepper in olive oil for about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken, fry til all of the pieces turn white on the outside.
3. Add carrots and celery, stir occasionally for 2 min.
4. Add a bit of water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. The first few times my sauce was a little runny so be careful not to add too much water), cover and reduce heat, let it simmer for 4-6 min. depending on how soft you want them to be.
5. Combine all the sauce ingredients then add sauce to the pan, stiring until the sauce thickens.
Serve over rice. Done!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Kim mentioned yesterday on our "giggle chat" that we've all taken a significant break on this blog, so we've probably all accumulated some more good recipes to share. I agree, and I couldn't help but post this one very first because we just ate them and they are too stinkin good not to share!! I am first of all not making any claims to these being healthy. But they are easy and DELICIOUS. It says to let cool completely before serving, but we can't help but cut into them while they're still warm and soft, preferably with a cold glass of milk. Sort of like a warm apple crisp or something. While I'm sure it would work well for a dessert, we like it for a snack :). Then we can enjoy it again later when they are completely cooled, and firmed up more. Basically I'll eat them in any way I can. I got the recipe from my favorite Pioneer Woman, on her food network episode I looked up online. It makes your house smell so good too! Who doesn't love the combo of oatmeal, butter and brown sugar? :)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 10-12 ounce jar strawberry preserves
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch rectangular pan.
Mix together the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. I just have the butter a little bit soft and use my pastry blender to cut it into the mixture. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan. I usually end up doing a little more than half, maybe closer to 2/3. I think it's more important to have a solid layer on the bottom. Spread the strawberry preserves (or any kind of preserves/jam you like) on top of that. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake until light brown, 30-40 minutes.
For the "preserves" this is what I always use, just because it's what we buy and have on hand. You can substitute a variety of flavors and kinds, I'm sure it would all work great.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 10-12 ounce jar strawberry preserves
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch rectangular pan.
Mix together the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. I just have the butter a little bit soft and use my pastry blender to cut it into the mixture. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan. I usually end up doing a little more than half, maybe closer to 2/3. I think it's more important to have a solid layer on the bottom. Spread the strawberry preserves (or any kind of preserves/jam you like) on top of that. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake until light brown, 30-40 minutes.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Crock Pot Ranch Chicken Tacos
Monday, February 10, 2014
Whole Grain Oat Bran Muffins
A.K.A. Muffins of deliciousness and health.
And hello, why hasn't anyone slapped our wrists?! It has been over a year since the last recipe post! But because of our recent discoveries of delicious healthy recipes, we've been wanting to share them, and have been meaning to post them here for you all to enjoy. And then as I was sitting down to type this up I get a text from Lindsay asking for the recipe for said Muffins of Deliciousness and Health. Without further ado, the muffins!
Serves 12
1 cup all-purpose flour (we traded ours for whole wheat, and it just makes it a bit more dense. Still delish!)
3/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 egg substitute (we just use an egg, but if you have a substitute you prefer...)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup snipped dried figs or dried apricots (if you want, we never add fruit)
Also, if you're feeling crazy and awesome, we always add flax seed and oat bran, about a 1/3 cup each per recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or use paper bake cups.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center.
In another medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients except the fruit. Stir into the well just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
Fold in the fruit. Spoon into muffin cups.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
And let me just tell you, you can eat them a billion ways! We take them to campus plain as a regular muffin, Tom loves to eat them with peanut butter and honey or jam like a sandwich, and I love the honey and jam sans peanut butter myself. We tend to bake them in groups of 68...and then freeze them for easy grab-and-go food.
And hello, why hasn't anyone slapped our wrists?! It has been over a year since the last recipe post! But because of our recent discoveries of delicious healthy recipes, we've been wanting to share them, and have been meaning to post them here for you all to enjoy. And then as I was sitting down to type this up I get a text from Lindsay asking for the recipe for said Muffins of Deliciousness and Health. Without further ado, the muffins!
Serves 12
1 cup all-purpose flour (we traded ours for whole wheat, and it just makes it a bit more dense. Still delish!)
3/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 egg substitute (we just use an egg, but if you have a substitute you prefer...)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup snipped dried figs or dried apricots (if you want, we never add fruit)
Also, if you're feeling crazy and awesome, we always add flax seed and oat bran, about a 1/3 cup each per recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or use paper bake cups.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center.
In another medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients except the fruit. Stir into the well just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
Fold in the fruit. Spoon into muffin cups.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
And let me just tell you, you can eat them a billion ways! We take them to campus plain as a regular muffin, Tom loves to eat them with peanut butter and honey or jam like a sandwich, and I love the honey and jam sans peanut butter myself. We tend to bake them in groups of 68...and then freeze them for easy grab-and-go food.
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