Tortellini Soup

 

1 tsp. butter 

3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

2 cans (14 oz. each) vegetable broth 

1 pkg. (9 oz.) tortellini 

1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes 

1/2 bunch fresh spinach, cleaned, stemmed, and torn 

6-8 fresh mushrooms, sliced 

6 fresh basil leaves or 1 T dried basil 

1/4 c. shredded parmesan 

Saute garlic in butter.  Add broth and bring to boil.  Add tortellini and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and basil.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in parmesan and serve.  This is great with fresh bread! 

Liege Waffles/Copycat Waffle Love Recipe

If you're looking to make some quick waffles, these are not it. If you want some with a lot more flavor than the typical waffles, then this is the recipe for you. The difference, aside from the ingredients, is that these waffles are made with a dough rather than batter. The waffle is also pretty sweet so you usually don't use syrup with this recipe either.

Ingredients

·         3/4 cup milk, scalded and cooled to warm milk

·         2 tablespoons water, waarmed

·         1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

·         2 teaspoons instant yeast

·         2 large eggs, lightly whisked

·         1 cup unsalted butter, softened

·         3 tablespoons honey

·         1 tablespoon brown sugar

·         2 tablespoons white sugar

·         3 teaspoons vanilla

·         4 cups bread flour

·         1.5 cups belgian pearl sugar (we bought ours from orson gygi, but you can also order it online from somewhere like Walmart)

Instructions

1.      Mix the milk and water together

2.      Add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, then add the yeast, stirring to combine. Allow the yeast to grow.

3.      In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars. Add the egg, honey and vanilla. Stir together and add the yeast mixture.

4.      Place in a standing mixer with the dough hook (or bread maker on the dough setting) and add 2 cups of flour. Mix until the dough is thoroughly incorporated. Add the remaining flour, mix in, then cover and allow to rest for 4-24 hours.

5.      Punch down and knead in the pearl sugar. Separate into 8 to 10 balls and place on a hot, greased waffle iron. The pearls should melt somewhat on the waffle iron. Cook until golden brown and serve with biscoff, whipped cream and fresh berries.

This recipe is adapted from: http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/2013/12/copycat-waffle-love-recipe.html

No-bake Energy Bars

For those of you who don't have any peanut allergies, I have a great, healthy recipe for you! One of the nutritionists at the hospital I work at came up with this recipe as a way to provide healthy energy! And it keeps the husband from snacking on candy and chips :)

Makes 10 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup rice krispies
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or whatever your preferred chopped nut)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tbsp metamucil
• 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries or mini chocolate chips

Directions:

• Blend together peanut butter, honey, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon until smooth.
• Pour in oats, rice cereal, seeds, flaxseed meal, metamucil, and cranberries/chocolate chips and mix until well coated. 
• Press mixture flat into a dish and refrigerate for an hour. 
• Cut into bars (or roll into balls) and eat within two weeks!

Nutritional Facts: 

Amount per serving (depending on the ingredients you choose):

• Kcals: 200
• Carb:24 g
• Fat: 9 g (unsaturated fat: 8 g)
• Protein: 6 g

Easy and quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls

I actually found this recipe here, but I wanted to repost it for the rest of you to try:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/02/quick-brazilian-cheese-rolls-pao-de-queijo-2/



Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo} – Gluten Free!
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese* (preferably medium or sharp)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
*you can play around with the cheese.  I’ve used Monterey Jack, low-moisture mozarella, swiss, and even gruyere in place of the cheddar.  All great!

Optional:  extra cheese to sprinkle on top and any herbs/flavorings you’d like to add.  Try rosemary and or garlic powder, my favorites!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth.  Add cheeses and pulse 2 times.  Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.  If desired (and I recommend), sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and/or a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden.  Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan.  Serve warm. These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill  mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.

Here's what I ended up doing: I had a hard time finding tapioca flour so I ended up just ordering it off of amazon and I'm so glad I did! didn't have a mini muffin tin so I used a normal sized one, filling each well up halfway. We filled six wells for the two of us and that seemed to be the perfect amount with no leftovers. In the mix I added some garlic powder, and on top I sprinkled parmesan cheese, salt, and rosemary. The rolls should sink in the middle but they'll be chewy and amazing!

Apple Enchiladas

It's just as amazing as it sounds. I can't believe I hadn't stumbled across something like this before. If you use canned apple pie filling it takes about 10 minutes to prepare, but tastes AMAZING.

Apple Enchilada

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter  

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

• Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla.
• Roll up, tucking in edges; and place seam side down in prepared dish.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.  
• Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pineapple Mango Sorbet

Very refreshing and a perfect end to a summer barbeque!

1 fresh pineapple
2 mangoes
3/4 c. sugar

Cut up pineapple, add sugar and blend in blender or food processor. Pour into bowl and set aside. Cut and blend mangoes (may need to add a little bit of water) until smooth. Add to pineapple/sugar mixture. Pour into ice cream maker and serve. Can also be made without ice cream maker, just put bowl in fridge and stir every 30 minutes until ice cream consistency.

Also I occasionally serve it like it is pictured above if you are going for a wow! factor.

Caramel Oatmeal Cake

This is my friend Angela Heider's recipe.  It is awesome!  I am actually posting it here because I just found it again in my email and don't want to lose it. If you are looking for a yummy dessert, this is definitely worth a try!

Pour 1 1/2 cups of boiling water over 1 cup of quick oatmeal.  Set aside.

Cream together:

   1/2 cup of butter

   1 cup of sugar

   1 cup of brown sugar (packed)

   2 eggs

Add (and mix) oatmeal into sugar mixture, then add:

   1 1/2 cups of flour

   1 tsp. baking soda

   1 tsp. cinnamon

   1/2 tsp. salt

Mix everything together.  Pour into greased 13 x 9 in. pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Frosting:

In saucepan on stovetop, combine:

   1/2 cup of butter

   1 cup brown sugar (packed)

   1/4 cup evaporated milk.

Mix together and boil for 1 minute.  Add:

   1 cup of shredded coconut

   1/2 cup chopped nuts (I left the nuts out, but it's really good with them)

Spread over top of hot cake.

Avocado Salsa

One of my favorite recipes - especially in the summer!!

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb frozen corn, roasted @ 450* for 20 min, stir every 5 min or so
1/2-3/4 c cilantro
1/2 red onion
1 orange pepper (or red or yellow)
1-3 jalapeno peppers, for more mild salsa - seed and use only 1
4 tomatoes
3 cloves minced garlic
1 T salt
2 t cumin
6 T lime juice (can use lemon)
2 T apple cider vinegar
2-3 avocados

Chop all veggies and stir.  Avocados are best when added just before serving.

Aunt Annie's Soft Pretzels

I've tried making pretzels in the past but they never worked out quite right.  We made these last night for family night and they were awesome! Packer did the lesson on how Satan twists the truth, I was impressed.  The kids had a lot of fun making the pretzels - we had them in the shape of figure eights, swirls, hearts and even a sword. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

DIRECTIONS:

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in 450 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Toppings: after you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!

* The longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Auntie Anne's they will be. (Of course I don't have the counter space!)

*Sweet butter, not regular butter, is one of her secrets!

Granola

This recipe was a family favorite growing up.  I haven't ever tried any other home made granola recipes, but I think this one is really good and Clark loves it too!

14 c. oats
2 c. wheat germ
2 c. coconut
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 t. salt
1 c. water
1 c. vegetable oil
3 t. vanilla
Honey

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  I usually just add a little honey (a couple Tbsp.) but the more honey you add, the more clumpy the granola will be.

Bake at 210 degrees for 2 hours. Don't over bake.

Our favorite as kids was to eat this like cereal with milk over it, but it would also be great served with yogurt.

Enjoy!

Lemon-Lime Sorbet

We have tried quite a few homemade ice cream and sorbet recipes around here since we got our electric ice cream maker a couple years ago.  We found this recipe this week and it is now one of our top favorites! So good! And even better the day after you make it! 

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup plus a little extra of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup plus a little extra of freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 Tbsp of finely chopped/grated lime and/or lemon zest

Combine the sugar and water in a larges saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Cool completely (about 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator).

When cool, add the lemon and lime juice and the zest.  Stir to combine.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker and mix about 25 to 30 minutes.

For firmer consistency, freeze in tubberware overnight.

Peanut Butter Candy

My friend brought this to Kin's baby blessing - Sinfully yummy!

3 cups peanut butter
2 pkgs graham crackers, crushed
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter melted
1 lb powdered sugar

Mix above ingredients together and press into bottom of 9x13 pan

1 pkg chocolate chips, melted (Spread on top and let set)

ENJOY!!

Berry Fruit Salad

EASY!!  We made this for Kinley's baby blessing and everyone loved it! 
Bonus - it is so easy!

1 small box vanilla pudding
1 small vanilla yogurt
1 tub whipped topping
Frozen raspberries - I used the triberry mix from Costco
    Should still be mostly frozen.  I thawed just enough to break them up.

Mix pudding and yogurt.  Add whipped topping.  Stir in as many berries as you like - I like Lots!
It was still good the next day even though the berries had completely thawed.

Black Bean Hummus

We love Hummus around here. Thank goodness for Costco or we would have to take out a small loan to feed our hummus habit (do they have small hummus loans?). Well Greg likes to tease me that anything I make ha a combination of black beans, corn and cumin in it. Black bean burgers, Black bean soup, Black bean enchiladas, Black beans chicken casserole; what can I say? If it isn't broke...

Well when I tried this recipe at an emergency preparedness function, I was excited, another variation on black beans! And in a form I know my family will love. We made it last night for some friends for the first time and it turned out really good (which was risky because I didn't have a chance to test in advance because of fast Sunday) The only tricky part was finding one ingredient: tahini. It was in the kosher/ethnic food aisle. It's a paste so it was in a can. Several stores I checked didn't carry it but I finally found it last weekend at our closest grocery store. Go figure.

Easy to make, (2 minutes in the blender) cheap, and can easily be doubled and frozen. Plus it uses all shelf stable ingredients so it's a great food storage recipe.

Black Bean Hummus
via allrecipes.com


1 clove garlic (or garlic powder equivalent)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika


Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add rinsed black beans, water and olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, tahini, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add additional seasoning and liquid to taste. Garnish with paprika. Serve with pretzels, pita chips, tortilla chips or crackers.

Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars

jacob & I were assigned to the treats for Barlow FHE last night and I wanted to make something fruity.

i got this app [for android] and found this recipe on there >>> all recipes 

it was delicious!

the recipe you can find online here >>> Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars

i doubled the recipe for the FHE and i also added cinnamon to the oatmeal mixture.

and i added cream cheese to the top!

i found those little additions in the reviews part.

pre baked cookie bars!

i just randomly dolloped [is that even a word?] the cream cheese everywhere. 

[it is, just looked it up in the dictionary.]

baked raspberry oatmeal cookie bars!

and you can try it with any fruit you'd like. so yum!

Black Bean Enchiladas

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 c water
7 flour tortillas
1 can green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup cheddar or pepper jack cheese

In blender mix beans, bouillon, salsa, and water until smooth. Spoon black bean mixture equally into seven tortillas, roll up and place in greased 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Voila! You have an easy, delicious, and healthy meal!

Side note: tonight halfway through making this I realized I was out of green enchilada sauce (and it can sometimes be hard to find in stores around here) so I made my own and it was delicious and fast: mix 3/4 c chicken broth, 1/2 cup sour cream and one can diced green chiles in the blender

Muffin tops and bran butts

My kids turn into dictators in the morning. They have a very specific breakfast regimen which is a bit difficult to muster the energy for every morning. Probably because they eat more at breakfast than they do all day. That said, here are two of our favorite muffin recipes. Since the only "healthy" food Ellen eats is Greek yogurt, I have been trying to use it a lot. I absolutely love how moist Greek yogurt makes pancakes and muffins--so thick with uber moist deliciousness. Here are two recipes from Chobani that are most excellent:

Chobani Banana Muffins
Chobani Perfect Pancakes

And another favorite round these parts is Kellogg's All Bran Muffin recipe. They are most delicious but beware that you will be scraping bran off your child's butt for quite some time...just sayin. Sorry for no pictures of the muffins! Phone issues...

Smoothie Roundup

We are very into smoothies around here, especially as the weather warms up. What's not to love about a smoothie? It's super fast, delicious, my kids and I love them and they are healthy. We serve them with our breakfasts, lunch and dinner, and often for dessert. We have 3-4 smoothies a week on average. I even top them off with a little whipped cream if I'm feeling super fancy.

Here are a few smoothie basics for all you smoothie novices out there.

1. Most of our smoothies are a concoction of only a few ingredients: frozen fruit, sugar, skim milk and lowfat vanilla yogurt. This is a winner every time.

2. If frozen fruit isn't something you have on hand, 6-8 ice cubes can be thrown in the blender.

3. The key to a perfect smoothie is adaptation. If you have don't have frozen strawberries but still want it cold, mix with frozen orange juice concentrate. Want more fiber? Add some ground flax or grind up some oats first. If you don't have fresh fruit, try canned. Some unlikely things I have put in smoothies are: pineapple juice (saved from when I drain canned pineapple), coconut milk, applesauce, white grape juice, powdered milk, ground flax seed, nutella, and peanut butter.

4. Frozen fruit can sometimes be expensive. Freezing bananas about to go bad is a great way to have smoothies inexpensively. Our local store sells old bananas super cheap, I just chunk them and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Also the Dollar tree sells small bags of frozen peaches. A great deal! Costco is always a great place for berries and strawberries. And for Amber, blackberries grow everywhere and are great for smoothies.

Here are some of our favorite recipes:

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
2 bananas
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons honey (depending on sweetness preference)
6-8 ice cubes
Blend until smooth. Ice can be omitted if bananas are frozen.
Serves 4

Strawberry Orange Banana Smoothie
1 1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups strawberries
1 banana
6-8 ice cubes
Serves 4

Peach Orange Banana Smoothie
3/4 cup orange juice
2 cups frozen peaches
1 cup skim milk
1 banana
Serves 4

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons white sugar
6 ice cubes
Serves 2

Fruit Crepes

CREPE INGREDIENTS

2 Eggs

1 cup Milk

1 cup Flour

1 ½ TB Margarine (melted)

½ tsp Vanilla

Pinch of salt

OTHER INGREDIENTS

Strawberries

Bananas

Heavy Whipping Cream (liquid)

Powdered Sugar

Syrup

Nutella (optional but amazing :)

Beat eggs in mixing bowl and add milk. Add rest of the ingredients. Set stove at Medium heat and spray frying pan with PAM. Use 1/3 cup for each crepe, put 1/3 cup mixture in frying pan on the stove. Flip crepes. Makes 6 crepes.

Use liquid Heavy Whipping Cream. Stir in bowl with beater until fluffy. Add sugar.

Cut fruit: Strawberries, Bananas, etc.

Kandis