Healthy Potato Soup

I'm getting a cold, yet again, this winter, so soup was simply a requirement.  This is a wonderfully easy crockpot recipe, and really serves as a base for a little kitchen creativity.  Even if you're a novice in the kitchen, this one is hard to screw up.

My recommendations for add-ins/themes: make it kick with cayenne and other spices*, make it hearty with ham or beef bits*, or make it a good old baked potato with some sour cream, cheese, and chives.

Potato Soup
2 1/2 lbs redskin potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 Spanish onion (really, any yellow onion will do, I just really love the flavor in a Spanish onion)
3 stalks celery
2 carrots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups non-fat milk
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Dice celery and onions, place in crockpot.  Add in carrots, garlic, and potatoes, and chicken broth.
2. Slow cook on high for 8 hours.
3. After 8 hours, whisk together flour and nonfat milk.  Add mixture into the crockpot, and stir well.  Cook on high for another 35 minutes, or until the crockpot contents are boiling.
4. Dump crockpot contents into large bowl (be careful of the heat!) and mix with a blender until you have a chunky soup consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Top with any desired garnish.  We used parsley and Parmesan cheese.

*If adding meats or additional spices, add them in during step 1.  If you do not want the meat or spice flavor to be a central taste, and just want it as an accent, then add it in step 3 (make sure meat is already cooked, though!)

Baked Yam Fries and Citrus Dip

With the wedding coming later this year, we're making a bit of an effort to be a bit healthier.  Still, we refuse to go on some sort of crazy diet or ignore the fact that dessert is simply a must.

To start off on a healthy but tasty note, I whipped up some homemade fries and a citrus dip in honor of the college bowl games yesterday.  It was a huge hit, and we'll probably be making this quite frequently.

Here, I approximated one yam per person, so adjust as needed.  The dip is quite plentiful, though, so this recipe would work for up to six people without any adjustment needed.

Baked Yam Fries and Citrus Dip
2 yams
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 limes
1/2 lemon
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small container fat free vanilla greek yogurt (you can use plain, as well, depending on your preference for sweetness)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease baking sheet.
2. Throroughly clean yams.  Slice into sticks, lengthwise.  They can be as fat or thin as you like, though cutting them very thick will require longer baking time.
3. Place sliced yam pieces into a bowl.  Add in salt and olive oil, and mix well.  I also added a bit of Italian seasoning for fun.  Once coated, place yams on baking sheet.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. When yams are about half way done, make the dip.  Start by jucing the lemon and limes into a new bowl.  Add some of the rind from each, as well.
6.  Add cilantro and yogurt to the citrus and blend well.  For best results, pulse in a food processor.

Enjoy!



Tasty, Healthy Breakfast for the New Year

I made this for breakfast, but I have a feeling Chuck will be finishing it off for dessert tonight.  It's absolutely delicious and relatively healthy, and a perfect breakfast for company or a chilly morning.

Fruit Breakfast Crisp
4 peeled and diced pears (I used a combination of types of pears, but Barletts are always fine)
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup shredded coconut
4 tablespoons cold butter, in pieces
3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pie pan (can also be made in a square).
2. Combine all fruit, the nutmeg, and 1/2 of the cinnamon in a large bowl.  Pour into prepared pan.
3. Comine remaining cinnamon, brown sugar, coconut, butter, oats, flour, and nuts in a large bowl.  Mix until it sticks into small crumbles.
4. Pour mixture over fruit combination in pan.
5. Bake for 35 minutes.  Cover top with foil to stop nuts and crumble from burning, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Happy New Year!

Guac!

I didn't even really like guac until I tried this recipe, and now I'm addicted.  I'll be making it for one of my favorite parties of the year tonight, and then again on Monday for Chuck to enjoy with all of the college football games.
I'll also be slicing pita bread into triangles for Monday, and then slightly toasting them in the oven with olive oil and sea salt.  It makes for wonderful homemade, healthy pita chips!



Chunky Guacamole
3 large avocados
1 small red onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 lemon, juiced
fresh cilantro
sea salt

Directions
1. Take flesh out of avocados and place into large bowl
2. Add onion, tomatos, lemon juice, and cilantro into bowl with avocado.  Mash together, into chunks, with fork (do not use blender, unless you want smooth guac.)

I couldn't even get the picture taken before it was 1/2 way devoured!

There's No Such Thing As Too Much Baking

As if Thanksgiving week wouldn't be busy enough, I decided that we needed some yummy baked goods in the house to start off the week.  So I made cookies.  I left just enough in the house to get us to Wednesday, and brought in the rest for my coworkers this morning.  They really do go wonderfully with coffee first thing in the morning.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark dutch cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
15 oz canned pumpkin

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl.  Set aside.
3. Beat butter in separate bowl.  Add in sugar and brown sugar, beat well.  Add in eggs and pumpkin, beat well.
4. Slowly stir dry ingredient mix into butter mixture, until fully blended.
5. Scoop onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes.

It's the Perfect Season for Crockpots

In an attempt to make a dish that would serve quite a few dinners, limit my prep time, and keep our belly's full and warm (and not bigger!) I turned to a good old chili.  It can be made with turkey or beef, though I used organic beef for this batch.
It is perfect for freezing, too.  We'll be defrosting the second half of the batch this weekend.

Chipotle Chili
2 pounds ground beef or turkey
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup chili powder
25 ounces low sodium beef broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup stout beer
2 tbsp canned chipotle chilies, diced finely
2 tbsp yellow cornmeal
31 ounces canned black beans, drained

Directions
1. Saute beef for about 8 minutes over high heat, or until beef is nicely browned.  (You don't have to do this step, but it really helps hold the nice beef flavor in the finished product.)
2. Add beef to crock pot.  Add in onions, garlic, chili powder, beef broth, tomatoes, beer, and chipotle chilies. Mix well.
3. Slowly add in cornmeal and beans.  Mix well.
4. Turn crock pot on high for 6 hours.

How can you not love the simplicity of a good crock pot recipe?

Happy Halloween!

I made this for our work Halloween party to have some dessert that was a bit of a break from all of the chocolate and candy.  The cake has a great pumpkin/fall flavor, and the frosting is not at all overwhelmed by cream cheese or maple.  It really is the perfect fall balance.

I'm thinking I might try making this again for Thanksgiving breakfast, and taking out a bit of the sugar, while swapping out the frosting for a drizzled cinnamon sugar glaze.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (like Libby's)
2/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup toasted walnut pieces

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Set aside.
3. Beat the oil, brown sugar, and sugar in a bowl.  Add in the eggs and mix well. Add in the pumpkin puree and beat until well blended.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the oil and sugar mixture.  Add the toasted walnuts.
5. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out completely clean.
6.  Allow cake to cool completely before icing.
7. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together.  Then beat in the maple syrup, followed by the confectioners sugar.  If the mixture does not seem to spread easily, add some additional maple syrup.  If it appears runny, add in additional confections sugar.
8. Ice the cake and add the toasted walnuts on top.

Happy Halloween!