Throw it together soup...

Having one last cold snap(we hope) here in northeast Texas means I have one last time to make a healthy, comfort soup.  This didn't disappoint and was a clean out the fridge and freezer meal bonus!

2-3 quarts turkey or chicken stock(I used both).
2 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can petit diced tomatoes(or 2 cans of the former)
1 small can Rotel sauce(not their diced tomatoes, its like a tomato sauce-use plain or a seasoned kind if you can't find the Rotel) *by the way, all my canned goods are no salt added.
Add some salsa if you feel like it, the Rotel stuff is spicy but not overly so.
1 can black beans, undrained
1 large baking potato, cubed
1 cup brown rice
1 tablespoon spearmint
1-2 teaspoons Balti seasoning(I get mine from Penzey's, LOVE them!)
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chicken in the broth with the tomatoes, Rotel, beans, and potato until tender and done, about 35-45 minutes maybe.  Add rice and seasonings.  Simmer, covered for 2-3 hours total(from adding the chicken).  

Eggs in tomatoes

I'm always looking for ways to stretch my eggs into a filling meal.  This morning I did the following:

1 cup petit diced tomatoes
dried seasonings of your choice:
basil, oregano, garlic and onion powder
black pepper, salt, savory, paprika
red pepper flakes
spoonful of honey

Cook this in a skillet til thickened and seasonings are softened.  Make two small hills of the mixture and crack an egg over the top so the yolk stays elevated.  Mix the whites with some of the tomato sauce to cook through.  When all the whites are cooked to satisfaction then dump into a plate, keeping the yolks on top.  Break them and enjoy!

Kale with Prunes and Onions

We had no idea what was for supper tonight.  Mark and I are both tired and didn't feel like doing much.  I knew I wanted something healthy and "green", no more nachos or baked potatoes, or whatever is in the pantry.  I raided the fridge instead and we are ever so glad.

Kale with Prunes and Onions

1 large bag of chopped/pre-washed kale(or 2 bunches, torn and rinsed)
1 small red onion, in slivers
7-8 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
red pepper flakes to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup water

Heat oils and add onion.  I cooked mine in a 13-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.  When onion is soft, add garlic and pepper flakes and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Add kale by the handful, pressing down with a large spoon or spatula.  Turn over carefully for a few minutes, add water and cover.  Let cook for 10 minutes or so, until wilted but not too soft.

1 tablespoon each, lemon juice and soy sauce
12 bite sized prunes, cut in thirds
1/2 cup water

Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and let cook over med-low heat until kale is soft and prunes are mooshy.  Serve in bowls by itself, over pasta, polenta, mashed potatoes, or quinoa.  We ate it plain and LOVED it!!!

Devilish!

I have a thing for Deviled Foods.  I love spice but not flaming hot.  Flavor is important and spicy heat just kicks everything up a notch.  Deviling foods gives just enough heat to be intriguing.


Deviled Party Mix

1.5-2 larger boxes Corn Chex cereal
1 large can mixed nuts
1 bag gluten free pretzels(we used Glutino brand-sticks)

1 stick butter
1/2-2/3 cup horseradish mustard
several good shakes balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
dashes of sriracha sauce, cayenne pepper, worchestershire sauce, and garlic powder to taste.

Melt butter and mustard in a large roasting pan.  Add liquids and spices, mixing well.  Add cereals, nuts and pretzels and stir very well to coat all pieces.  Heat at 265(250 but I'm impatient), stirring after every 15 minutes or so.  I do this sometimes 6 times to make sure its dry enough.

Gluten Free Vinegar Pies Two Ways

We have recently discovered my husband is gluten intolerant so when I saw this recipe at Surprise! Vinegar Pie... Oh,My! I knew we'd be having it with our Thanksgiving meal. I doubled it and made two amazing pies!  My changes were to the flour/baking mix called for.  I used gluten free Bisquick and baked it at 350 for less time(because I didn't read the recipe while I was actually making it).  They were practically inhaled but we all thought they were way too sweet.


So, here's where I veered off the second time around...

I added about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup more of the gluten free bisquick mix and cut back on the sugar by just over 1 cup(all changes as per the doubled recipe).

The texture is way different; lighter and less gooey than a brownie but not dry like a cake either, and definitely not custardy like the first version.  Both are fabulous and SOOOO easy!  Go ahead, make one(or two)!  Of course, if you are going for a super sweet, custard texture just add some cocoa powder to the first version, I'm sure it would work just fine.

Gluten Free Chocolate Vinegar Pie(makes 2)

preheat oven to 300 and grease two pie plates(I used coconut oil)

2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled a bit.
6 eggs
2/3 to 3/4 cup gluten free Bisquick baking mix
1 and 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder(I used Hershey's Special Dark)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix dry ingredients, add eggs to butter and whisk til well mixed. Add wet stuff to dry stuff and whisk really fast. Add vinegar and vanilla, mix some more. Poor into pie pans and bake for 50 minutes. Cool completely, or until you can't stand it any more. I waited about 15 minutes I think. Maybe.

Decadent Dip

This is SUCH a wonderful dip! Two years ago I happened upon a woman selling packets of powdered dip mixes for $4.50 each at a festival. One of them was a Cajun spiced dip that was oooohmygosh good! I came home with a package and was disappointed that it only made one batch. We had just become acquainted with Sriracha sauce and I thought that might make a good substitute mixed with mayonnaise and sour cream. It did. But I wanted a more substantial dip with more flavor. Here is what I've arrived at...

Decadent Dip(makes a ton)

2 8oz pkgs cream cheese, very soft

1 8oz block of cheddar cheese(mild or med, you choose), grated

1 24oz container sour cream(I use full fat everything)

1 3.5oz pkg nitrate free real bacon bits(or regular real bits)

3-4 green onions, sliced very thin

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and dill to taste

Combine cheeses, sour cream and sriracha sauce, its good exercise for your arms! Add bacon bits and seasonings and mix some more. Refrigerate for 4 or more hours to blend flavors and let it thicken back up. Serve with corn chips, fritos, or use as a filling for lavash or tortilla roll-ups. This is a very forgiving and adaptable dip, leave things out, add some chopped nuts or olives, etc., etc. Enjoy!!!

Easy Italian Chicken Veggie Soup...

Imagine, if you will, the soup in my header picture with lovely chunks of zucchini, freshly wilted spinach, chicken breast cubes, fluffy quinoa, and a few more dark flecks of spice and you'll have a mental image of what went down tonight. It was soooo good and healthy on this chilly night.

Easy Italian Chicken Veggie Soup

2-3 quarts homemade chicken stock
1 jar(23-24oz) spaghetti sauce of choice, I use one that has no added salt.
Combine in large stock pot and bring to simmering.
Meanwhile, cube 3-5 medium boneless/skinless chicken breasts and add to liquid.  Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Quarter 4-6 medium zucchini squash and add to soup along with 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa.  Let simmer another 10-15 minutes.
 Add 2-3 tablespoons balsamic, red wine, or apple cider vinegar and olive oil.  Season to taste with basil, oregano, garlic powder, and parsley, salt and pepper.
Add about 3-4 cups fresh spinach and let it get good and wilted.  Adjust seasonings and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese!

This makes a ton so we'll be set for tomorrow night and I even froze a few servings.

Paleo-ish Chili Eggs

Or something like that. I made these because I don't care for plain eggs unless I have toast for the yolks to soak into. Since I'm not doing bread and I love savory, spicy breakfasts, this came about.

Chili Eggs(serves 1 hungry person)

1-2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup leftover homemade chili(*mine had beans, I'm a 2012 paleolithic so deal-leave them out if you are devout). you can also use taco meat, spaghetti meat sauce, or other saucy-meaty combo that sounds like it might taste good with eggs.

2 farm eggs

**cheese

Melt butter in a 8-inch cast iron skillet. Add chili and spread around, leaving some spaces for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the spaces and mix the whites into the chili being careful not to break the yolks. When they are heated thru and white, quickly break the yolks and mix it all up. Dump it in a bowl and enjoy!

*I made my chili from leftover taco meat(spiced ground turkey with ground chicken livers mixed in), canned diced tomatoes, black beans and spices.

**if you are doing dairy, I used about a teaspoon of cream cheese.

Sarah Boop's Campfire Cookie Treats

It was Mark's birthday on Thursday so that meant he didn't have to work(isn't that cool?) and he had Good Friday off too.... So we decided to go camping! We headed out Wednesday afternoon for Lake Bob Sandlin State Park near Pittsburg, Texas. It is one of our favorite spots and just over an hour from home.



I woke up frrrreezing on Friday morning so I stoked the fire and got a good one going with the last of our firewood. By the time it died down the girls were awake and hungry. Sarah thought it would be awesome to have grilled Chips Ahoy cookies, and she was right! But what really made them special was what she did next....




2 cookies per person
1 marshmallow per person(or treat, however you choose to see this, I don't judge!)

Put the cookies on a cooler part of the grill. Wasn't our fire ring the best? I LOVE the flip grate!! Roast the marshmallows over the coals to desired doneness. I do mine ever-so-slowly so the insides are pretty much liquid while the outside is a nice golden brown. The girls burn theirs. Anyway, carefully lift a cookie off the grate, apply a marshmallow, and then another cookie. Eat up and thank Sarah later!!





(Sarah and friend)

Decadent Coconut Oil Chocolate

First, I didn't measure anything here except the powdered sugar(sort of). You should do this to taste and make adjustments accordingly. Sorry no pics, camera batteries are dead.


Coconut oil
Cocoa powder
vanilla or maple extract
stevia
powdered sugar
nuts
chia seeds
cinnamon(optional)
foil or waxed paper

Mix about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup coconut oil with 4-5 tablespoons cocoa powder. When its well combined, add a few squirts of liquid stevia, or powder to taste. Add a tiny glug of vanilla or maple extract, whichever you prefer, and maybe some cinnamon. We liked this taste but the stevia had enough of a bitter edge that I decided to try 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar in the mix. It helped tremendously and I wouldn't recommend leaving it out. I think it even made the texture better!

Stir in about 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and about 1/2 cup nuts of your choice, toasted or not, chopped small but not too fine. I used sunflower seeds because they were handy and I did not chop them. It starts getting harder to mix at this point! Taste to see if it needs adjusting. Taste again. Lay out a square of foil or waxed paper and plop all of the chocolate onto it, stop sampling! Working in small circular movements, spread it out little by little with the back of a large spoon(not wooden, it sticks too bad) until its about 1/4th inch thick. Mine made about a 10-inch diameter pancake.

Transfer the paper/foil onto a cookie sheet or a plate and freeze for about 30 minutes before eating. Keep this in the freezer until its gone. It breaks off quite easily and melts very fast!

Enjoy!