Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

This is easy and oh so yummy on a chilly winter night. Has a very Indian flavor to it. Next night served as sauce over sauteed vegetables like carrot, cauliflower and broccoli. Very nice.

Ingredients
1-3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 T canola oil
1/3 of a large sweet onion, diced
2 t cumin
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 qt broth (I used a can of broth plus 1/2 can of water)
2 T parsley (optional)
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions
1. In a soup pot,heat oil. Add onions and cumin and saute 4 min. Add potatoes and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 min.
2. Puree soup with 1-1/2 cup of yogurt and parsley. Serve soup with dallog of yogurt and sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.

Makes 12 servings.

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Servings Size

• 1 (8 ounce) package macaroni
• Cauliflower cut into bite size pieces
  
• 4 tablespoons butter (I used about 3 spoonfuls of healthier butter spread)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk (used 1% milk)
• 1 cup cream (used another 1/2 cup 1% milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded good quality
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (toasted some everything bagel thins then MB to make them into crumbs)

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook and drain macaroni and cauliflower; set aside.
3. In a large saucepan melt butter.
4. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
5. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
6. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
7. Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
8. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
9. Turn off flame.
10. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
11. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
12. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
13. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
14. (You can also freeze this recipe in zip-lock bags for later use - once you have mixed the macaroni along with the cheese sauce allow to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer - I generally pull it out the night before and allow macaroni and cheese to reach room temperature; I then add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling.

http://www.food.com/recipe/fannie-farmers-classic-baked-macaroni-and-cheese-135350

How can you know if baking powder and soda are still fresh?

If you don’t bake very often, pay particular attention to the health and well-being of your leavening agents. If your baking powder or baking soda has died, your baked goods are going to fall flat through no fault of you own! In this photo, both batches of Pumpkin Pear Muffins were baked from the same recipe, only the sunken muffins on the right used "expired" baking powder.

Most tins of baking powder have a “use-by” date stamped on the bottom, but that doesn’t absolutely guarantee a fully rising agent. The Clabber Girl baking powder company Web site suggests storing baking powder in a cool, dry cabinet.

Then, before using it, “stir up the powder to see if there are any clumps, or if it has hardened.” If so, “this is an indication that moisture has mixed with the powder and caused a reaction. If it stirs up nice and fluffy, it should be good.” (Never dip a damp measuring spoon into the can as the moisture will ruin it.)

Lots of other Web sites recommend “testing” the baking powder by putting a teaspoonful into a glass of slightly warm water to see if it fizzles or bubbles. If so, it’s still potent. If it just sits there, buy a new can.

Even though I bake fairly often, I still buy the smallest container of baking power I can find. Since most recipes just call for a teaspoon or so, it’s takes practically forever for me to use up a large can.

When it comes to baking soda, also called for in many sweet breads, muffins and cakes, there is no easy test for freshness. The Arm & Hammer company prints a date on each box, but their Web site says when in doubt, buy a fresh box. (That’s useful for the company, obviously, but baking soda is extremely inexpensive as ingredients go. You’re better off using fresh rather than risk ruining your muffins.)

Finally, I’ve always wondered what’s the difference between baking powder and baking soda, and whether they are interchangeable. So I loved this clear-cut explanation from the Arm & Hammer site:

Baking Soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and various acidic ingredients. Both baking soda and baking powder help dough rise. Baking Soda will react in combination with acidic ingredients in a recipe (like cream of tartar or lemon juice) to release the carbon dioxide that causes dough to rise. Baking powder, which already contains the acidic ingredients to make the carbon dioxide producing reaction, is used in recipes without other acidic ingredients.

Source: http://kitchenscoop.com

Eggplant Parm

I bought the eggplant for $2 at the Calabasas farmer's market and it made a lot. Arin loved this! I served leftovers cold with pasta and it was wonderful. Great vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants washed and sliced in 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (threw toasted leftover whole wheat bread in the magic bullet)
1 teaspoons dried oregano
6 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
3 cups marinara sauce*
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
thin slices of mozzarella cheese (or grated mozzarella)

Directions:

1. Place eggplant slices in cylinder, sprinkle lightly with salt and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Then dry slices.

2. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

3. Mix breadcrumbs and oregano on a plate.

4. Dust eggplant slices in flour. Dip in beaten eggs and coat in breadcrumb mixtures.

5. Heat olive in skillet over medium heat and sauté eggplant slices until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.

6. Coat a baking pan with marinara sauce. Arrange eggplant slices on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and place a slice of mozzarella on top of each eggplant.

7. Cover with remaining marinara sauce.

8. Bake in 325 oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

*From Kid Sccop (http://kidscoop.com/kids/recipes/)

Toasted Almond Cheesecake

This a great cheesecake. Just the right balance of sweet and creamy, without feeling too heavy. I got the recipe from: http://www.pastrywiz.com/dailyrecipes/recipes/200.htm

Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted & chop fine
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (I used Splenda)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (room temp)

Filling:
24 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used low fat)
14 oz can condensed milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 9-inch springform pan.

Combine graham crumbs, nuts, sugar, and butter, press firmly on bottom of pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed
milk until smooth. Add eggs and extract. Pour into pan.

Bake 325 for one hour. Turn off oven and leave inside for 1 hour. Do not open oven door!!

Top with toasted almonds and chill overnight.

Notes: I would add the toasted almonds as soon as the cheesecake is done cooking to help it stick. We served it plain and it was delic. I could see serving with a hot berry sauce. Presentation is beautiful. I also saw a similar recipe where they lined a cookie sheet with foil and cut the cheesecake into squares. They poured caramel desert topping on top sprinkled with nuts. I could also see shaved chocolate. I would definitely make this again.

Future note: I made this again and this time only used 16oz cream cheese and a can of pumpkin and no almond extract. I also wound up doubling the crust ingredients (only a pinch of Splenda). It came out divine and looked so professional. Someone said they thought it was from The Cheesecake Factory. This is a winner and so easy to make.

Easy Crockpot Brisket/Roast

Doesn't get easier then this. This is my absolute favorite crock pot recipe!

1. place brisket/roast in crockpot

2. mix envelope of onion soup and 1/2 cup water; pour over roast*

3. cook on low for 7 hours

That is all the ingredients!!! Place your beef in the crockpot fat side down. Serve with potatoes and steamed carrots!

Check out www.justslowcooking.com for more recipes.

*Note: If you don't have an onion soup mix, I used seasonings like onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, paprika.

Plum-Spiced Brisket
A bit different than the traditional recipe for brisket, but one that introduces more flavor and tender meat.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 1/2 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 cans beef broth
2 cups finely chopped dried plums
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the sesame oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown in the heated oil. Add the remaining ingredients and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for four hours, turning the brisket once every hour. Serve brisket with the cooking liquid

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/beef-brisket-chanukah-hannukah#ixzz0ZgXXVpU2

From a Jewish calendar
brisket
1-3/4 cup chicken broth
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 T sugar
1 T all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp thyme

Chicken Parmesan (Crockpot)

Thanks to "A year of slow cooking" for this Chicken Parmesan recipe.

The Ingredients:
--2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

--1/2 cup bread crumbs

--1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

--1/2 t Italian Seasoning

--1/4 t black pepper

--1/4 t kosher salt

--1 T olive oil

--1 beaten egg

--sliced mozzarella cheese

--favorite jarred marinara sauce
(we used Paul Newman's marinara sauce which was really nice)

The Directions:

--spread the 1 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert

--whip the egg with a fork in a separate bowl

--mix bread crumbs, seasonings and Parmesan cheese in a separate dish

--dip the chicken into the egg, then bread crumbs, coating both sides

--place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock

--layer slices of mozzarella cheese on top

--cover with entire jar of marinara sauce

--close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4.
If your chicken is still frozen, it will take longer.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Also served with steamed carrots.

The Verdict.

This tasted great, was really easy, and presented well. This is definitely a dish you can serve to company without hesitation.

Sweet Potato Wedges

(from Vegetarian Times)
3-1/2 lb sweet potatoes
3 T olive oil
1-1/2 t chili powder
1-1/2 t soy sauce
salt
1 T chopped rosemary

1. preheat oven 450 degrees
2. line baking sheets with foil
3. halve potatoes crosswise, then lengthwise, then each half into 4 sticks
4. mix oil, chili and soy sauce and drizzle over potatoes, toss to coat.
5. place potatoes skin side down in one layer on sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
6. cook 12 min, turn over and roast 8-12 min more until tender. Add salt and rosemary.

Breaded Chicken

We started a hump day family dinner night. I had leftover chicken, and by pounding it and breading it, the chicken stretched to feed all of us. And yummy. Even the girls liked it.

Ingredients
Skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 egg
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (bread crumbs, oregano, basil, black pepper)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried onions

Directions
Preheat over to 375F and spray baking dish.
Pound chicken breast.
Beat egg and add a little water.
Mix dry ingredients together.
Dip chicken in egg mix, then dip in crumb mixture until well covered.
Bake about 20 - 30 minutes until cooked thoroughly.

Serve with spaghetti and sauce. Sprinkle top with Parmesan.

From the recipe Spark Recipes for Breaded Chicken Parmesan

Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

For the first night of Chanukah I decided to make latkes. Only Costco had a sale on a super big box of sweet potatoes so I decided my latkes would have sweet potatoes. The "curry" also appealed to my non-traditional self. I modified it a bit and the result was yummy.

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes, grated
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons Splenda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash ground pepper
5 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup non-fat milk
Canola oil for frying

Directions:

1. Wash and grate sweet potatoes in a food processor.
2. In a large bowl, combine Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. Add in the eggs and milk to the dry ingredients, then add the grated potatoes to the batter. If it is too thick, add more milk.
3. Heat the oil to 375-400F in an electric skillet or deep skillet over a medium high flame. When hot, drop approximately 2 tablespoons of batter in circles and thin by spreading with the backside of a spoon. Cook each pancake until lightly browned on each side, flipping to cook both sides evenly. Remove with a slotted spatula onto a paper towel lined plate to cool. Serve warm with your accompaniment of choice.
   

Accompaniments:

• Applesauce
• Sour cream
• Maple syrup
  

Leftover Turkey Enchiladas

Yummo! Really good dish for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. My niece Jamie is saying "where's my plate?" My nieces especially loved the leftover pumpkin pie.

whole wheat tortillas warmed over stove, a couple seconds each side
turkey warmed
spinach, steamed
salsa
can diced tomatoes
low-fat cream cheese

In sauce pan heat salsa, tomatoes and cream cheese. Take a tortilla and put a couple pieces of turkey, a small spoonful of spinach and a spoonful of sauce. Place in baking dish and repeat with next tortilla. Top tortillas with remaining sauce and shredded parmesan cheese (optional).

Tuna Casserole

Marc's cholesterol is high and so we're trying to eat more fish. I love this recipe for a healthy, fast meal. When I proudly told my mom we had fish for dinner, she asked what kind of fish I had made, and I replied Starkist. And it counts as our weekly fish.

Cooked noodles
10-3/4 oz. can cream soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 t dry mustard
1/4 t pepper
1 can tuna (9 oz or 2 6 oz)
1 cup cheddar cheese cube (4 oz)

Combine and place in greased pan. Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered 375 for 20-25 min.

******
On a side note, the other night mom gave me some orange roughy she made (I think she's worried now that I can't cook fish). I heated up some tortillas in our toaster oven, cut some Israeli cucumbers into thin slices, spread some of my favorite Newmans Own salsa on top and made us the most yummo fish tacos in minutes. I just love leftovers... never a food goes to waste.

Salmon Burgers

Ever have leftover fish? I made these salmon burgers last night and they were suprisingly easy and yummy.

Mix:
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion (or dried onion flakes)
1 t dried dill
1/4 t pepper

Mix wet ingredients, salmon and 1/4 c fine dry bread crumbs.
Spray skillet and cook (or grill).
Serve with mustard sauce.

Easy Cheesy Tomatoey Pasta

You may find a new trend. Less pictures but easy recipes. With a new baby my recipes are changing ever so slightly :)

This one is so yummy we keep re-inventing it by substituting different pastas and veggies, and sometimes I add shredded chicken or cut up chicken sausage.

Melt in sauce pan:
1 cup salsa (1/2 jar) Newmans pineapple salsa
2 T low-fat cream cheese

Mix in cooked pasta and blanched veggies (I threw in frozen veggies I had steamed in the microwave with a special bowl I picked up at Fry's... I knew the electronic store Marc loves is good for something).

Viola! Amazing 1 pot meal. Healthy, easy, inexpensive and no fuss cleanup. Doesn't get better than this.

Monkey Bread

aka Applesauce Banana Bread

Delicious very moist bread, even better the day after making. You can mix-and-match different bonus ingredients. The first time I used dried cranberries and dark chocolate pieces. The next time dried apricot pieces and walnuts. YUMMO!

Next time I'm thinking of adding shredded carrot and raisins, or zucchini and walnuts, served toasted with low-fat cream cheese and you have a delic carrot or zucchini cake version. And great for my soon to be 2 year old nieces.

4 bananas, ripe
3/4 cup Splenda
1/2 cup+ applesauce (I make it from scratch using a large apple, recipe below)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cup flour (1 c all-purpose & 1 c whole-wheat)
bonus: 1/2 cup to 1 cup crasins, walnuts, chocolate pieces, dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray 2 9x5 loaf pans.
2. Mash bananas in large bowl and stir in Splenda. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Mix in applesauce and eggs.
4. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients
5. Slowly add dry mix to banana mixture and mix well. Add bonus ingredients.
6. Pour into pans and bake for 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before removing from pan, cool on wire rack.


*Homemade Applesauce*
1. Peel and dice a large apple.
2. Microwave 3 min in a small bowl.
3. Blend apple (I use my Magic Bullet).

Viola! Homemade applesauce.

Crockpot Manicotti

100 degree weather has come back making the oven a horrible 4-letter word. Because we've having such a warm summer, I've been doing a lot of crockpot cooking and turning on the crockpot outside on our backyard porch to keep from using the oven. I feel like the woman who started the blog A Year of Crockpotting, which has provided some ideas for past and future dishes.

Typically I cook traditional crockpot menus like stews, chilli and roasts but today I tried manicotti. I prepared it following the box, with a few healthier substitutions.

1. Cooked the manicotti noodles for 7 min in boiling water.
2. Steamed a bag of spinach.
3. In a bowl, mixed 2 eggs, 1/3 cup basil and pinch of pepper and parsley.
4. Add 16 oz fat free cottage cheese, spinach, diced uncooked mushrooms, and 1/2 cup skim shredded mozeralla and cheddar blend.
4. In bottom of crockpot mixed together 8 oz can of diced tomatoes and small can of tomato paste, along with seasonings - basil, oregano, dried garlic, dried onion flakes, crushed red pepper, pepper and salt.
5. Stuffed shells with cheese mix and placed into crockpot.
6. Repeated step #4 on top of stuffed shells.

Cook on low about 3 hours.

This tasted cooked through and was hot. More juice at the bottom then I expected but the stuffed shells were tender and not dry so I think the recipe translated well to the crockpot.

Summer Tart

We had ripe peaches and strawberries in the fridge and I came across this recipe for peach cake. With my healthy modifications mine came out more like a tart, but absolutely yummy. I've also nicknamed this a fruit cookie because the bottom has a scone-like texture. This recipe makes a good base for other seasonal fruits. I had made it again the other night and used frozen blueberries for the middle. Yummo!

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs butter
3/4 cup applesauce (1 apple)
1 cup Splenda
3 large eggs

1. Heat oven to 350 and generously spray 9" spring form pan.
2. Mix in small bowl 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
3. In large bowl mix 1 tbs butter, 3/4 cup applesauce (1 apple), 1 cup Splenda
4. Beat 3 large eggs and add to wet mix.
5. Slowly mix flour ingredients to wet mixture
6. Pour into pan
7. Arrange peach slices around outside edge and strawberry slices on the inside
8. Dust tops of fruit with Splenda
9. Bake about 1 hour
10. Cool completely on rack then remove from pan

Creamy Italian Chicken (aka Bay of Chicken)

Fam over for dinner so I thought I'd do a crockpot so that we could spend more time together and less in the kitchen. It was a HOT day so I tried something new and put the crockpot outside. When I say hot, it was already reaching the 90s at 9am. This worked out brilliant and I'll do it again. Yes, I know the crockpot doesn't radiate a lot of heat but even a little bit helps when it's a 104 degrees outside.

Creamy Italian Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
bag of brocolli and cauliflower
1 envelope Italina salad dressing mix*
1/4 water
1 pkg 8oz cream cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
a little milk to make sauce less thick if needed
1 cup mushrooms
hot cooked rice or noodles (like bowtie, penne, etc...)

*homemade seasonings: 1/3 cup Parmasan cheese, 1 Tbl garlic powder (or crushed garlic), 1 Tbl onion powder, 1 Tbl paprika, 1 Tbl Italian seasonings, 1 Tbl basil, 1 Tbl oregeno, 1 Tbl crushed black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt

1. place chicken and veggies in crockpot
2. combine seasonin mix and water; pour over chicken
3. cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
4. In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and soup until blended; stir in mushrooms
5. pour over chicken and cook another hour
6. server over rice or noodles

So this recipe got it alias "Bay of Chicken" because in my overzealousness to make the seasonings myself I confused fresh dried bay leaves for basil leaves. They both start with b but only one can be eaten while the other is strictly adds flavor and should be pulled out prior to eating. It tasted wonderfully but we had to pick out the pieces of bay leaves that I managed to crush really, realy small. Note to self for next time.

Oh, Honey

I had some leftover honey from work and decided to make something sweet to celebrate the mother's in my life - my wonderful mom and my sister, the wonderful mother to my 1-1/2 nieces. I followed this up the next week with easy cookies. Thank you bees!

Honey Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies - These were so good and so easy to make! I will definitely be making these again! Makes 2 dozen.

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup Splenda
1/3 cup honey
2 egg
2 tablespoon water
1 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpouse is good too)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups rolled oats (aka oatmeal)
1 cup cranberries (also use chopped dates, raisins, nuts and/or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray
2. Mix together the butter, applesauce, sugar, honey, eggs and water thoroughly.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients then stir in the oats.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Add any additional ingredients you've chosen.
5. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Honey Muffins
I also made strawberry honey muffins and a honey cake but I can't find my recipe notes. I'll update this post when I clean off my counter and find them :)

BBQ Party

We had a couple of friends over to celebrate BIL's birthday. The weather was warm and breezy... perfect for a "summer is almost here" BBQ.

We made Carne Asada with flank steak we picked up at Costco. We got 2 heaping bags full of white corn that we bbq'd in the husk that was delic. We warmed tortillas on the bbq and grilled up foil packet with onion and red peppers cut into thin strips.

Carne Asada
2 pounds marinated flank or skirt steak (serves 6)
10-12 flour tortillas
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
6 cloves garlic crushed
1 medium white onion chopped
2 Tbs ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Tabasco

Place steak in center of cooking grate. Grill 15 to 19 minutes for medium, turning and brushing with reserved marinade once halfway through grilling time.

Place foil packet of vegetables on the cooking grate beside steak during the last 10 minutes of grilling time.

Wrap tortillas in heavy-duty aluminium foil; place on cooking grate beside steak during the last 5 minutes of grilling time. Turn tortilla packet once halfway through grilling.

Slice steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve in tortillas with peppers and onions, salsa and guacamole. Enjoy!