(Vegetarian) Sweet Potato Chili

(Vegetarian) Sweet Potato Chili

Serves about 12

2T (garlic) olve oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
7-8 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (plus one can of water)
1/4 c. tomato paste
1t cumin
1/2 t corriander
1/2 t ground chipotle powder
2T chili powder
1/2 T cocoa
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
2 cups frozen corn
15.5 oz. can garbanzo beans
15.5 oz. can black beans
15.5 oz. can dark red kidney beans

shredded cheddar cheese
fresh cilantro
other toppings of your choice (diced onions, sour cream, etc.)

Heat oil in a large stock pot, add onions and cook about halfway, until just starting to soften.  Add garlic and jalapeno, continue cooking until onions are translucent.  Add tomatoes, diced tomatoes, water and tomato paste.  Stir.  Add in all seasonings, sweet potatoes and corn, stir well.  Simmer 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are almost fork-tender.  Stir in beans and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes.  Add toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Creamy Potato Soup

Dinner was so good the other night...  Creamy potato soup that I jazzed up according to individual tastes...  I loved it, the kids loved it, my husband went back for seconds (which is very rare for him)!

potato soup topped with cheddar cheese

Creamy Potato Soup

adapted from this recipe

12 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1/2 c. butter
1 medium red onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups (64 oz.) vegetable (or chicken) stock

kosher or sea salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Boil potatoes in a large stock pot in salted water about 20 minutes, or until fork-tender.  Set aside.

In the same pot, melt butter and sauté onions and garlic over medium heat until softened and translucent.  Stir in flour and cook for about a minute.  Whisk in vegetable stock and continue stirring until most of the lumps of flour are gone.  Add half of the potatoes to the pot and puree using an immersion blender (or carefully using the blender you use for smoothies...  just be sure to cover it with a towel to avoid any hot liquid spattering).  Loosely mash the remaining potatoes with a spoon and stir into the soup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in heavy cream and serve as is, or top with whatever sounds good to you!

Enjoy!

The kids and I had our soup with leftover broccoli,

chopped carne asada and a little sharp cheddar.

Yummy!

Chia Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowl

Chia Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowl

adapted from this recipe
makes 1-2 servings

1 cup Greek Yogurt (I used vanilla)
1/2 cup [your favorite kind of] milk [or kefir] (I used almond milk)
1/2 Tbsp. agave nectar [or honey], or more to taste
1/4 cup chia seeds

toppings/mix-ins of your choice (I stirred in about 1/4 cup of thawed mixed berries, then topped with 1/2 banana, sliced and 1 Tbsp. slivered almonds)

Combine yogurt, milk, agave nectar and chia seeds in and airtight container (like a mason jar or tupperware).  Stir, seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight to allow the chia seeds to absorb moisture and become gelatinous.

Add fruit, nuts or other toppings and enjoy!

Quinoa, Chickpea and Red Pepper Patties

Quinoa, Chickpea and Red Pepper Patties

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 Tbsp mild ajvar (or Trader Joe's red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic)
1/4 of a red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 of a small red onion, finely diced
about 2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, yolk broken

avocado oil or olive oil, for cooking

Combine chickpeas and quinoa in a bowl and mash loosely, using a potato masher or fork.  Stir in other ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Using a fourth of the mixture for each serving, form a patty (just like you would form a hamburger), by smashing the mixture between your hands.

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat.  Cook about 4 minutes per side in a *hot* skillet, searing both sides to form a crust on the patty.  Use caution when flipping them, they might want to crumble.

HINT:  If you end up with leftovers (or a crumbly one), add it to your scrambled eggs in the morning!  Yum!

Curried Veggies and (no-fail) Saffron Rice

Curried Veggies

• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• sprinkle of ground cardamom
• sprinkle of ground cloves
• 2 Tbsp avocado (or olive) oil
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar (or more to taste)
• salt to taste

*Veggies of choice*  ...just try to keep proportions close to what I've listed here...

• 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed
• 12 oz bag frozen Florentine vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower)
• 12 oz bag frozen Brussles sprouts
• you could also try peas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, potatoes, etc.

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cardamom and cloves to oil and stir so spices and oil thicken to a paste.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Cook, covered,over medium heat for 20-30 minutes (or until the veggies are fork tender), stirring periodically.

...MEANWHILE...

(no-fail) Saffron Rice

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter (or use salted and omit the extra salt)
• salt to taste
• small pinch of saffron

Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.  Cover and cook on high for 5 minutes.  Continue cooking, covered, for another 15 minutes at 50% power.  Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I recently saw a recipe for pumpkin spice cake cookies on Pinterest...  around the same time, I saw a recipe for a DIY spice cake mix.  Well, of course my brain put the two together -- and added chocolate chips.  

The results were amazing.  

The original recipe for the spice cake mix came from bakerette.com (she has instructions for making an actual cake with the mix, but that's not what we're doing today)...  I followed her recipe pretty closely, except that I replaced the vegetable shortening with hard coconut oil.  I couldn't tell you if it made a difference in flavor or not since it was my first time using this recipe.

Anyway, onto the cookies!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies

(full recipe  ----------  ingredient  ----------  half recipe)

about 60  ----------  yield  ----------  about 30

2 1/3 cups  ----------  all-purpose flour  ----------  1 1/4 cups

1/3 cup  ----------  nonfat dry milk  ----------  3 Tbsp

3 tsp  ----------  baking powder  ----------  1 1/2 tsp

3/4  ----------  tsp salt  ----------  3/8 tsp

1 1/2 cups  ----------  white sugar  ----------  3/4 cup

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp  ----------  solid coconut oil  ----------  1/4 cup, plus 1/2 Tbsp

1 tsp  ----------  cinnamon  ----------  1/2 tsp

1/4 tsp  ----------  ground cloves  ----------  1/8 tsp

1/4 tsp  ----------  ground allspice  ----------  1/8 tsp

(you can stop here if you just want the cake mix)
**note: you could just use one (for half) or two (for the full recipe) boxes of store-bought cake mix,
but where's the fun in that?**

29 oz. can (or 2 2/3 cups)  -------  pureed pumpkin  -------  15 oz. can (1 1/3 cups)

11.5-12 oz. bag  ----------  milk chocolate chips  ----------  1/2 11.5-12 oz. bag

(optional, or substitute with dairy free chips to make them vegan)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine cake mix ingredients until the oil is well incorporated.

Stir in the pumpkin, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop cookies using a tablespoon onto parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving about 1" to 1 1/2" between cookies.

Bake for about 20 minutes (rotating the pan halfway through), or until cookies are set and just starting to brown on the bottom.

Enjoy!

I packaged them in parchment so the kids can take them to school!

Needless to say, they were a little excited this morning.

Let me know if you try these!

What else would you mix-in to them?

Another yummy veggie dish...

Cheesy Zucchini and Summer Squash

• 2 zucchini
• 3 summer squash
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into about 1/2" cubes
• 1 c. dubliner or white cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 c. parmesan, shredded
• about 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme or other herb of your choice
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350*

Slice zucchini and squash to about 1/4" thick.  spread out on a deep cookie sheet, trying not to let them overlap too much (a little bit is fine, but the goal is to get some cheese on each bite).  Evenly distribute butter over veggies, then sprinkle with both cheeses.  Pull the herbs off of their stems and sprinkle them even over everything.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 350* for about 30 mins. or until veggies are tender and cheese is golden and bubbly.

Soup, it's good for the soul...

Cream of Broccolette Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

• 2 bunches of broccolette (or broccoli)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 cups of stock of your choice (I used half chicken and half turkey, but vegetable stock would work just fine)
• 2 or 3 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp flour
• sea salt, black pepper and cumin to taste

Clean leaves and cut ends off of broccolette, if you're using broccoli peel the ends of the stems.  Finely chop stalks and florets.  

Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy pot .  Add onion and sweat until almost translucent, add garlic and cook just until garlic becomes aromatic.  Add stock and potatoes, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potato is tender.  Add broccolette and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, or until the broccolette is tender.  

Carefully, using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree soup until it has an even consistency.  Then, in a small container with a lid, shake together cream and flour.  Add cream mixture to soup and simmer on low for another five minutes (to cook the flour a bit).  Season to taste and serve with some nice, crusty bread.

Yummy, yummy veggies...

My house smells sooo good right now...  ugh, so good, I can't stand it!  "Why?" you ask.  Well, I have some ratatouille in the oven!  I've made a weird ratatouille-like-dish in the past that always *tasted* good, but the vegetables came out soggy and stew-like.  I'm hoping that this new-and-improved version does the trick. 


I started out with a basic knowledge (thanks to Food Network) that ratatouille consists of E-Z-POT.  That is, Eggplant, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes.  So, that's where my original recipe came from: a basic understanding of cooking and all of those veggies.  Tonight, I decided to look up a few recipes and I came up with something new as a result...

Ratatouille (my way)

• medium eggplant
• 3 small-medium zucchinis (or courgettes, if you're fancy like that)
• 2 bell peppers (pick whatever color(s) you like, I used red because I got 'em on sale CHEAP)
• 3 small onions (or 2 medium ones....  or one really big one.  Whatever works for you)
• 4 medium tomatoes
• olive oil
• 6 oz. can of tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• sea salt 
• black pepper 
• herbes de provence (I used Italian seasoning, because I wasn't prepared)
• balsamic vinegar

Dice all of your veggies and tomatoes into about 1" pieces (I do this *very* roughly, because I like my food "rustic").  Toss them all into a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Season to taste with salt pepper and herbs.  Sprinkle sugar over everything (this cuts some of the acidity of the tomatoes).  Plop 1/2 the can of tomato paste into the veggies and get ready to get your hands dirty!  Rub the tomato paste into the veggies until they look evenly coated.

In a small bowl, mix together remaining half of the tomato paste with about 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1/4 cup of water (or enough to get it to a slightly thick "saucy" consistency).

Bake at 350*.

After 20 minutes, toss the veggies with the tomato-balsamic sauce and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the veggies are done to your liking.

...after eating dinner...

Yeah, this was amazing.  Really, really good, hearty stuff.  We ate it with pasta tonight, but it totally didn't need the pasta.  I'm looking very forward to eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Last night's dinner = today's lunch...

And, oh, is it yummy!  I got a random craving for quinoa, so I had to fix it.  It's really not a bad craving to have...  I think I needed a protein fix or something.

Quinoa and Wilted Swiss Chard Salad

• quinoa
• water
• salt 
• olive oil
• rainbow swiss chard, torn into 1-2" pieces
• medium carrot, finely grated
• small bunch of scallions, diced

Dressing...

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne

Top with...

• balsamic
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup quinoa, cooked in two cups water with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil.  Bring it all to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand for about five minutes or so.

Toss swiss chard with warm quinoa, let stand for another 5-10 minutes...  the heat from the grain will wilt the greens a little, yum!

Add in other veggies and give it a toss.  Drizzle with dressing and toss it one more time.  Drizzle with a little balsamic and grind a little sea salt and black pepper over it just before serving.

The whole family really liked this stuff.  It was filling and refreshing all at once.  We followed it with a dessert of fresh strawberries, blueberries and mint.  So good!

its all about the small joys in life...

...like coffee.  I like coffee - a lot.  Especially good coffee.  I've heard talk of cold-brewed coffee over the last couple of years, but I never realized just how insanely easy it is to make...  that is, until I watched this video last night!  Needless to say, I RAN (quite literally, actually) to my kitchen, dumped some coffee grounds and water into a glass, stirred it, covered it and left it on the counter over night.  This morning, while the kids were getting ready for school, I popped a coffee filter into a funnel and strained my coffee-mud into a glass.  I am now enjoying a vanilla "iced" latte.......  this is one of those moments when I wish that we had ice on hand, but our freezer is too full of food to be able to run the ice maker.  Eh, next time...?

As soon as I made my coffee this morning,

I prepped a jar of coffee for tonight...

Good stuff, I tell ya.

On a completely different note, I pulled my monthly goal from my inspiration jar a few days ago...  and this month's winner is, (drum roll, please)  "MAKE MOUSSAKA!"  

I'm really excited about this one!  I mean, it's really nothing special for me to try a new recipe, even if its something totally new to me (i.e. seitan, which I now *love*)...  but this one should be special for my fiance, given that he's mentioned (more than once) that he'd like for me to make it.  Plus, I hear that its kind of lasagna-esque and he swears up and down that he doesn't like lasagna...  this could help to bring him over to the dark side.  ::evil laughter::

Let's see...  what else did I want to say...?

Oh!  I finished the first of the series of embroideries that I have planned...  and I'm onto the second.  I think I'm going to wait until I've finished a few more before I start sharing pictures of them...  or maybe not, we'll see.

I went to the country this past weekend for the craft show...  which was cancelled due to bad weather.  Blech.  That was totally disappointing.  But, since I was already in the area before I found out that it was cancelled, I got to spend the day with one of my very best friends and her kiddo, which was awesome.  And lunch and the little diner down the street from her was pretty great, too.  

I'm getting the feeling that there was more that I wanted to write about today, but I can always come back and post again, right?

If you try the cold-brewed coffee, let me know what you think!

How I spent last night...

...Baking muffins!!!!  Pumpkin-pecan-raisin-flax-chocolate chip muffins, to be exact.  And, oh, what a delicious breakfast they made!

I doubled my recipe and ended up with four dozen 

small muffins...  I think next time I'll still double it, but 

fill the muffing cups up twice as much as I did this time.

LOADED PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Ingredients

½ c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

1 ¼ c sugar

1 ¼ c cooked, mashed pumpkin; fresh or canned

2 large eggs, room temp

1 ½ c flour

2 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

¼ t nutmeg

1 c milk

¼ c chopped pecans

½ c raisins

¼ c flax seeds (optional)

½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping

1 t cinnamon

1/4 c sugar (raw sugar looks the best, but granulated cane sugar works just fine)

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar, add pumpkin and mix until smooth. Add eggs and blend well.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and spices in a separate bowl and whisk (or sift) dry ingredients together. Add flour mixture alternately with milk to pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in nuts, raisins, flax seeds and chocolate chips.
3. Grease muffin pans with butter. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar topping. 
4. Bake at 400 in a preheated oven for 25 minutes or until they test done.
5. Move to cooling rack immediately, using a small frosting spatula or butter knife to loosen muffins from pan.

Also, its Endometriosis Awareness Month!  Are you wearing your yellow???  

I AM!

To learn more, go to http://endosucks.wordpress.com/, or check them out on Facebook at Endo Sucks!

I did it my way....

....of course, you have to sing the title of this post in a swanky, Sinatra manner.

Broccoli Salad (my way)

• one bunch of broccoli, chopped (be sure to use your stems, too!  Just peel them and chop them up along with everything else)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or twice as much, 'cause they're awesome)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• a tiny bit of onion, sliced as thin as possible then chopped as teeny-tiny as possible...  picture the onions that were on the McD's cheeseburgers you ate as a child (::gag::, I know, but I'm not suggesting that you eat the crap, just remember what one of the toppings looked like)

Mix all of that stuff together and toss it with this dressing:

• 1/3 c mayo (homemade is best, but anything without high fructose corn syrup will do)
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar (regular white will work fine)
• a pinch of sugar or a drizzle of honey
• here's the kicker: 1/3 c blueberry Greek yogurt 

I loved it.  The kids loved it (except for O, but he doesn't like much lately- he's three).  My fiance loved it, which means it was a hit.  

This one is a keeper.

(please excuse the bad picture...  the good camera is apparently angry at me, so I had my fiance take one with his phone.  Also, I was too lazy to work on presentation and make it all food-porny and stuff.  This is as good as it gets tonight)

...and just for fun...  

Lyrics | Frank Sinatra lyrics - My Way lyrics

Thanks for reading!

Baked eggs in tomato sauce: a family favorite...

...well, it's a favorite for three out of five of us and majority rules, right?  Sure.  Anyway, this stuff is awesome and incredibly easy to make.

What you'll need:

• baking dish(es) (you can make it in one big dish, casserole style, or as individual servings in smaller oven safe dishes)
• fresh eggs
• marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought, I won't judge if you won't)
• cheeeeeeese.  Oh, yeah.  (I used asiago and fresh parmesan, use whatever you like)

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Spoon some marinara sauce into each baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom.  Crack eggs over marinara sauce, being careful not to break the yolk (unless you want you yolk broken, of course).  Dribble a little more sauce over the eggs and top with cheese.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  Proceed to nom.

Seriously.  Easy.

This is a great any-time-of-day meal, and it's not nearly as unhealthy as it looks or tastes, either.  I served it at a Mother's Day brunch a couple of years ago and it went over very well.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

This recipe was adapted from Martha St Martha Stewart's baked eggs in tomato parmesan sauce...  I just made it more "mom friendly."