Chicken Salsa Soup

Good grief when was the last time I posted a recipe around here?! Well found one last night that I had to make dinner in a pinch.  This was a yummy soup that was quick and tasty as soon as I put it on the table I barely had time to take this picture and there wasn't much leftover.

Chicken & Salsa Soup

32 oz box of chicken broth

1 1/2 cups chunky mild salsa

3/4 cup frozen corn

1 cup of cooked chicken diced

1 cup cooked rice

tortilla chips

shredded chedder cheese

In a pot bring to a boil the broth and and salsa then add corn, chicken and rice.  Cook till everything is heated through.  Ladle into bowls top with chips and cheese and enjoy.

I love this because it's great to use up any leftover chicken and rice which then brings it all together for a meal.  While I was eating  this soup I thought the only thing missing was maybe some beans.  I'm thinking next time to make it vegetarian I'll use vegetable broth and skip the chicken for red or white beans.  Skip the cheese and it's dairy free.

Enjoy your weekend!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been wanting to try this chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was wondering even with my substitutions could they still be that good?  According to the kids the answer is yes they loved them. These cookies are not as sweet and taste really good.  My version with the changes I only made half the recipe.

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup dairy free margarine

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a cup mix 1 1/2 Tbs oil, 1 1/2 Tbs water and 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tablespoon soy milk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups flour

Preheat oven 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.  In a bowl cream together margarine, sugars vanilla and baking powder mixture.  Then add oil and milk.  Mix till smooth then add dry ingredients.  Mix well it maybe crumbly not like a regular cookie batter definitely use an ice cream scooper and drop onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes the cookie will be light in color but the sides will be brown. 

They are not like a regular chocolate chip cookie and yes they did stay puffy.  Yummy :)

Weekend Fun and Banana Bread

From Saturday to today...

:: Browsing a really delicous and dangerous baking cookbook.
:: Loving the local  library.
:: Finding fun scraps from a local quilt shop.
:: Apple crisp for dessert.
:: Making up a recipe chicken paella.
:: Found a good banana bread recipe that vanished.
:: Coffee in the warm sun tastes better.
:: Having a really warm Monday outside cleaning out the car, reading, scavenger hunting and more...

Came across this banana bread recipe on the box of Corn Flakes here is my version that I made allergy friendly and it cooked through and tasted good.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup dairy free margarine
3/4 cup sugar
In a cup mix 3 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons baking powder.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5x3 inche loaf pan.  In a bowl sift together the dry ingreadients and set aside.  In another bowl mix margarine, sugar and baking powder mixture till creamy.  Add in mashed bananas and blend well.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix till smooth. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. ( Do not bake more than 1 hour it will burn.)  Insert toothpick it should come out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then remove from pan.

Note this cooked through really well considering I had to substiture the egg.  The original recipe is from Kellogg's cornflakes and one of the ingredients was the cereal but I ran out.  Oh well another time.

Dumpling Soup

When needed to warm up and feel cozy make dumpling soup.  I sort of made this up last week I thought I had a picture I guess I was wrong but it was good and we had leftovers so the next night I made rice to go with it and it was just as good.

Chicken Dumpling Soup

1 16 oz bag of pork or chicken potstickers
32 oz container of chicken or vegetable broth
1 carrot
Soy sauce packet or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup cooked diced chicken
4 cups water
1-3 stalks of green onions chopped (optional)

1.  Check the directions on the bag of potstickers to see if they need to cook for 2 minutes or 8 minutes.  The time may vary whatever it may be be sure not to overcook.
2.  Wash and peel the outlayer of the carrot then peel the the rest of the carrot so it's these thin shreds.
3.  In a pot combine water broth and soy sauce packet.  Bring to a boil.
4. Then add chicken, carrots and posticker.  Cook covered till potsticker are heated through (see directions on package for time.)
5.  Ladle into bowls sprinkle with on greens.
Feel warm, smile & enjoy.

Welcome Back Meatloaf

 A few years back I used to make meatloaf but in between being pregnancies it was one of those foods I couldn't stand so I gave it up but now I'm ready for to come back into my kitchen for dinners with a side of tasty vegetables. 

 Italian Style Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef (93%/7 lean)

1 1/4 cup bread crumbs (seasoned if you like)

1 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup soy milk

1 cup of tomato sauce (reserve some for topping)

If there is no seasoning in the bread crumbs add the following to taste:

salt

pepper

garlic powder

fresh parsley

1.  Preaheat oven to 400 degrees and grease 2 loaf pans.

2.  In a bowl mix bread crumbs and seasoning and chopped onion.

3.  Add in meat, soy milk and tomato sauce.  Mix well then divide and press into 2 loaf pans.

4. Drizzle remaining tomato sauce and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour till top is a bit brown and internal temperature reads 165 degrees.

Enjoy for dinner or freeze for later.

Notes:

1.  The soymilk is to replace 1 egg.  In the orginal recipe it calls for 1-2 eggs.

2.  This meatloaf is moist but because it does not contain eggs it will crumble but worth the flavor.

3.  Another time I might  add in maybe another vegetable like carrots or spinach.

4.  Does this freeze well yes.  Once the meatloaf is competely cooled down line a cooke sheet with wax paper slice meat loaf into slices and lay on the cook sheet and freeze.  Once they are frozen  they can go into a bag.  I did this so I would have a fast food for a quick meal in a pinch.

Apple Bread

 A couple of weeks ago I made this apple bread and some orange juice muffins but didn't post either one because the recipes need some improving.  The muffins are on hold for now but I did remake this apple bread and it was sweet, yummy and ready to share.

APPLE BREAD

1 cup whole pastry flour

1 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a cup mix 3 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons water and 2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup dairy free margarine

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 cups peeled and grated apples

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

2.  In a bowl mix all dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl cream together baking powder mixture, sugar and margarine. 

3.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients stir together.  Then fold in apples. 

4.  Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour till golden brown or insert a tooth pick and it comes out clean. Cool completely

Goes well with coffee, tea or freeze till read to eat.

Note:
1.  The orginal recipe uses 2 egg which replaces the baking mixture.
2. Chopped  pecan or walnuts would be yummy!

I wasn't sure if everyone would like it but it turns out they do.

Sweet Wheat Bread

I came across this recipe for wheat bread and have been wanting to give it a try for a couple of weeks and finally got to it this weekend.  I thought it was going to be a loaf of wheat bread to make sandwiches but it turns out it's too sweet and would be better for breakfast. 

Sweet Wheat Bread

2 cups soy milk mixed with 2 tablespoons apple cidar vinegar (or 2 cups of buttermilk)

2 tablespoons dairy free margarine (or butter) melted

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  In bowl mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquids.  Stir till smooth. Spread the battter evenly into the loaf pan bake for 1 hour till golden brown. 

Enjoy for breakfast :)

The Baking is On

With all the vegetables frozen, apples are in full swing around here so let the baking begin. 

 This a first for me fruit in the crockpot.  We love to freeze apple sauce and fruit sauce for later on in the winter to go with our pancakes. I tried this recipe first and then made my own variation to make it a fruit sauce.

Fruit Sauce

10 apples peeled and sliced

a handful of strawberries and blueberries

1 peach peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons dairy free margarine (or butter)

3/4 cup water.

Put everything in the crockpot and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.  Using a spoon mash the fruits and stir after 2 hours.

 There was tons of bread.

 The first pies of the season.

 Our favorite lemon bread that always crumbles.

This year I'm trying something new out.  As much as I like to bake and cook I usually get turned off from a recipe when it calls for a pre-made pie crust (which I never have on hand ).  Since I was on a roll for making pie crusts I made a few extra pie crusts to freeze.  After rolling them out I spread them into the pie plates and froze them.  Once they were frozen they slid right out of the pan and each one went into a bag.  (My intial thought was stack them with wax paper in between but they all wouldn't fit in the bag.)  Now a stack of pie crusts are already in the freezer for a new recipe or pies. 

Zucchini Salsa

I came across this recipe in my csa newsletter I wouldn't consider it a salsa but a really yummy side.

Zucchini Salsa

2 tablespoons white or red vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 garlic clove crushed (or a sprinkle of garlic powder

2 cups fresh or frozen cooked corn kernals

1 cup coarsley chopped zucchini

1 cup chopped, seeded red bell pepper (optional)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil.

Combine vinegar, oil, cumin and garlic: mix well.  Stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate or serve immediately if you can't help yourself.

Sweet Raspberry Oats

Lately I have been taking fruit inventory in the freezer and the last thing in there from last summer were the raspberries.  There was probably almost 2 cups so I went to one of the recipe binders and modified another recipe and came up with this

Sweet Rasperry Oat Bars

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dairy free margarine

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a cup mix 1 1/2 Tbs. water, 1 1/2 Tbs. canola/vegetable oil and 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups oats, divided into 1 3/4 cups and 1/4 cup

1-2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch square baking dish or pan.

2. In a bowl mix sugar, dairy free margarine, vanilla and baking powder,water, oil mixture.  Mix till smooth and creamy.

3.  Add dry ingredients flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Mix till well combined then stir in 1 3/4 cups of oats. 

4.  Now take 2/3 of the batter and spread evenly in greased pan.  Then gently spread the raspberries. 

5.  In the bowl mix in the remaining 1/4 cup of oats.  Take the remaining batter and spoon over the raspberries.  This doesn't have to spread evenly just cover most of the raspberries.

6.  Bake for 30 minutes or till gold and crisp.  Cool and enjoy :)

Note on this recipe the baking powder mixture is to replace 1 egg and if allowed I think pecans would go great with this.

Lately in the kitchen

It's been a slow week in the kitchen lately between summer fun, swimming, checking off my list of major projects and some crochetting and gardening.  But here is what did happen.

::  Spent time browsing The Big Book of  Preserving The Harvest.
::  Dried out herbs parsley, dill and cilantro.
::  Enjoyed from the garden lettuce and broccoli and more herbs.
::  Froze garlic scapes pesto.
::  Made smoothies and homemade popcicles.
::  Spent afternoons at the pool cooling off.
::  Collected more sea glass and pottery.

Today's smoothie

Cherry & Peach Shake

1 1/2 cups fresh cherries cut out the pit

1 peach washed, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1 1/2 cups of ice

Put everything in the blender and blend till smooth about 45 seconds.

Favorite popcicle this week

Berry Popcicles

1/4 cup  blueberries

1 cup strawberries

1 peach or nectarine

1 cup of oranage juice

2 cups of ice cubes

Put everything in the blender and blend till smooth 1 minute.  Pour into popcicle molds and freeze. 

Enjoy your summer treats!

Pudding Plants

We had a weekend celebration and I came across these plants on Friday and thought they would make a fun dessert.  I made a variation to this the recipe instead of pudding and crushed oreos I did pudding and chocolate cake.   While the pudding sets and the chocolate cake is cooled down I just mixed it with a fork to crumble it then sprinkled it over the pudding and chilled it a while longer.  They were too cute with the mint sprigs.
For the pudding I used this recipe.  It was great because it makes a lot of chocolate powder I can keep on hand.   I was able to make it allergy friendly too.  When it was time to prepare add 2/3 cup of powder mixture, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon dairy free margarine, 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 cups of soy milk to the sauce pan stirring constantly till it boils then keep stirring for 1 more minute.  I find when substituting milk with soy milk a little extra cornstarch is needed.  As always enjoy.  Expect to see this pudding again later this week I'm thinking about pudding pops. 

Cherry Sunday Part 2

 A couple of years ago I saw this yummy recipe for pre-breakfast muffins on soulemama's blog and thought they might be good with cherries.  I thought Sunday great why not give them a try but I didn't have any maple syrup and had to make a few changes.  So here I go again finagled another recipe.

Morning Cherry Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Baking powder mixture: Mix 1 1/2 Tbs. water, 1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil and 1 tsp baking powder.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dairy free margarine

Mix 1/2 cup soy milk and 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup frozen cherries (chopped)

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin tins.

2.In a bowl mix driy ingredients flours, salt and baking soda and set aside.

3.In another bowl mix togeter baking powder mixture, sugar, dairy free margarine, soymilk mixture and vanilla.  Mix well then add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix well the batter maybe thick and sticky.  Fold in the chopped cherries.

4. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy for breakfast with a smoothie.  In a blender mix soymilk, cantelope, cherry and ice till smooth.  Went really well together and not too sweet for breakfast.

Cherry Sunday Part 1

 Woke up Sunday thinking I might actually do some baking and try to use up the last of the frozen cherries from last summer.  I was thinking of muffins or may be something with oats. 
So I went to one of my recipe binders and finagled another recipe.  I pulled 2 bowls and the ingredients and  began mixing wet ingredients, dry ingredients and stirred in the oats. 

 Rewrote the recipe as I mixed. 

 Put two thirds of the batter in a baking dish.

 Spread the chopped frozen cherries and added more topping and baked.

 Later on enjoyed with a cup of coffee.  It tastes better than it looks and reminds of apple crisp but with more topping and less fruit.  The family agreed to call this Fruity Oat Bars or Lulu Bars. Either way here is the finagled recipe for Fruity Oat Bars.

Fruity Oat Bars

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dairy free margarine softened

Baking powder mixture: In a cup mix 1 1/2 Tbsp water, 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil and 1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups of oats (divided 1 3/4 cup and set aside 1/4 cup)

1 1/4 cup  frozen cherries chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch square pan.

2.  In a bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In another bowl stir together brown sugar, dairy free margarine, baking powder mixture and vanilla.  Stir together till creamy and smooth.  Then add flour mixture to the wet mixture.  Mix till well combined.  Then stir in 1 3/4 cup oats.

4.  Spread 2/3 of batter evenly into prepared baking dish.  (Leave 1/3 of the batter in the bowl.) Then spread a layer of cherries evenly. 

5.  In the bowl add 1/4 cup of oats to the batter and mix. Then crumble over the cherries.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool then cut into squares.

Note:  The baking powder mixture replaces 1 egg.

Enjoy for breakfast or with your afternoon coffee/tea :)

In the kitchen: salmon burgers & fennel salad

Well friends it's been a while since I posted any recipes there has been some cooking in the kitchen and some frozen to the oven quick meals.  Too bogged down by tax filing, papers organizing and  reciepts.  Now that's all done I feel a load has been lifted.  A few weeks ago I tried a Better Homes & Garden recipe for salmon burgers but they looked burnt so here is a better picture and an allergy friendly recipe.  I'm not sure how much longer we'll be eating salmon but this is definitely a family favorite.

Salmon Burgers

1 lb salmon fillet washed, skinned and diced into small pieces

1 cup panko (Japanese style bread crumbs)

2 green onions thinly sliced

1 tsp ground ginger (or 2 tsp fresh grated)

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 garlic minced)

1/4 cup soy milk

1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp lemon juice

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Put diced salmon in a bowl after it's rinsed and skinned.  I didn't do this but if you think it's too chunky it can go into the food processor to make smaller but don't grind too much. 

2. In a separate bowl combine panko, onion, ginger, garlic, soy milk, soy sauce and lemon juice.  Then add to salmon and mix well.  You can either shape and cook immiedately or cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.  It will be easier to work with if chilled but if time does not allow it can be cooked right away.

3.  Heat oil medium-high heat in skillet.  Shape patties and cook 4-5 minutes each side till golden brown temperature should be 160 degrees.

Enjoy in a bun like a burger or on the side with rice and vegeatables.

One of our sides is a fennel salad.  Take a whole fennel wash, dice and chop into smaller pieces then drizzle with olive oil, squeeze half a lemon and salt to taste.  

Random ::
:: Well I have been very inspired lately especially cleaning up that my pantry is done.  We still buy packaged snacks and pasta but it looks much prettier in glass jars, mason jars and containers from Ikea.  Inside my pantry I also keep a shelf for some of homeschooling needs flash cards, scrabble letters, dice, pens, pencils, scissors, etc. Just feels good to check one thing off the list.

:: In the kitchen I was inspired by soulemama and their family egg coloring with natural dyes.  I decided why not give it a try.  I had the beets, blueberries, red onion, yellow onion and cherries.  I had 4 burners going and now I have to buy eggs.  Hope to have pictures for you tomorrow.

A wintry spring day

 I would love to say happy spring but today it looks more like a nice winter day.  Yes first spring day and we get a nice dusting of snow with beautiful snowflakes.  As lovely as it looked today I'm ready for spring.  Today was one of those days where I kept the stove busy baking a birthday cake and trying a new soup.

This was warm and yummy for lunch while watching the snow outside.  I modified this recipe from People magazine. 

Swiss Chard Soup

2 lbs swiss chard cut leaves and stem into small pieces but discard the tough ends of the stem

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 can cannellini  beans (drained and rinsed)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a large pot of boiling water add swiss chard and simmer over medium heat for 8 minutes till tender.  Drain and cool slightly.  Then squeeze out excess liquid. 

2.  In the same pot heat oil then add garlic and red pepper.  Keep heat low so garlic doesn't burn 1 minute. 

3. When garlic is tender add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Cook on high heat for 3 minutes.

4.  Add the beans, swiss chard and black pepper.  Keep on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Great for wintery spring day :)
Note:
A note on the swiss chard from my mom's kitchen.  The day it's bought she boils it, cools it down and then squeezes the excess liquid. Then it goes in the freezer so it's ready for another time.  I thought this would be helpful in the summer. 
Enjoy on a winter spring day.