Zesty Tortilla Soup

Sigh. November 5th and it's still 90 degrees.  One of these days, it really will feel like fall outside.  Until then, let's pretend! Crank up the A/C, throw on a sweater & boots, and enjoy some hearty tortilla soup.

{Zesty Tortilla Soup}

Ingredients:
Shredded chicken from 1 rotisserie chicken
2 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3-5 cups chicken stock (depending on your preference for thickness)
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2-4 seeded jalapeno peppers, diced
2 seeded habanero peppers, diced (optional)
1 T ground cumin
1 T ground chili pepper
Salt & pepper
6 corn or flour tortillas, toasted

1. Heat oil, onions, celery, and carrots in large pot over medium heat for 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic.  After 30 seconds, stir in chicken stock, tomatoes with puree, peppers, salt, pepper, and spices to taste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
A note about the peppers: If you're a "live on the edge, bring on the spicy" type, add some of the jalapeno seeds and throw in the habanero peppers.  If you like things a little tamer, leave out the habanero peppers and do not include seeds.  This recipe gets spicier with time, so if you freeze it and come back a week later, it will be even hotter!
3. After cooking soup for 25 minutes, toast the tortiallas and cut into 1/2" x 2" strips.  Stir the tortilla strips and chicken in with the soup.  Add more spices and/or stock until you reach the right texture and spiciness.  Enjoy!

This can be served with avocado slices, cilantro, and sour cream if desired.

Best Pumpkin Muffins. Ever.

Oh fall. Sweaters. Scarves. Boots. Leggings. Perfectly aged leaves. The scent of pumpkin & spices fills the entire house. Then walk outside to be greeted by the cool, crisp breeze. Oh wait, scratch that part.  It's 90 degrees!  In OCTOBER!  While fall may not be in the air, it is certainly all over my home.  I ache for the day that I can (comfortably) bust out the boots, but until then I'll stick to soaking up fall through food & decorations :)

I've always been a huge proponent of Trader Joe's pumpkin bread/muffin mix, but I thought I would branch out and try something new...something different...homemade pumpkin muffins!  Good decision. They are so perfectly moist, loaded with spices, and just the right amount of pumpkin flavor.  I think the secret kick is the molasses...mmmhmmm.  Sorry TJ's, you can cancel that extra order of pumpkin mixes, I won't be raiding your shelves any more this year!

{Pumpkin Spice Muffins}
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pureed pumpkin (Fresh or from a can; do not use pumpkin pie mix**see below for that story!)
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, soy milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Enjoy!  I originally heard about this amazing recipe from Isa's blog - thank you so much Isa!

**SIDE NOTE: I accidentally bought the can of Pumpkin Pie Mix (shows how often I make pumpkin anything from scratch!).  Soooo I ended up going back to the store to buy pureed pumpkin, AND I made my first ever pumpkin pie with the can of Pumpkin Pie Mix!  Double whammy...2 firsts in one day!

I triple dog dare you: Green Smoothie (awesomeness)

Eat TWO-AND-A-HALF POUNDS of spinach in one week
without consuming a single salad

It's official: I've gone off the deep end. Totally lost it.  I never thought this day would come, but I have officially fallen for this crazy madness of green smoothies.  Before you de-friend me, shake your head in disappointment, or close the browser in disgust, you have to hear about how good this is! ...and don't worry, this girl hasn't totally lost it - still a regular consumer of brownies & the occasional whiskey ;)

So this is probably the easiest breakfast I've ever head.  I'm very much the sleep-in-until-you-absolutely-have-to-get-up kind of person, so the ease & portability of this drink makes my morning self much happier.  All I do in the morning is throw things into the blender, hit "ON", pour, and go.  This usually produces 2 20-oz cups of smoothie, so I'm good to go for breakfast & morning snack. (side note: it is VERY rare for something, or even many things, to fill me up until noon, but this does!)

Not only is this recipe both light & filling at the same time, it also offers loads of nutrients which are amazing for providing anti-oxidents, fighting cancer and sickness, improving brain function, stabilizing blood sugar, protecting against aging, strengthening your bones, improving vision, speeding up your metabolism, curbing your appetite...and I could keep going...

So here it goes: I triple dog dare you to try a green smoothie tomorrow morning.  It takes less than five minutes to make, and it's a great way to get your day off to an awesome start.  Give it a couple of weeks, and you will see a difference in they way you look & feel and the other health choices you make.

The Recipe:

Spinach (I'd recommend starting with 2 cups and building up to 6-8 cups)

1 banana, chopped & frozen

1/2 peach, chopped & frozen

4 strawberries, chopped & frozen 

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite milk/fruit juice)

1 serving whey protein powder (or your favorite protein powder)

I typically chop & freeze the fruit at the beginning of the week in separate bags for each day.  When you wake up, throw the spinach, fruit, and milk into the blender and blend on low. Add additional liquid if needed.  Add the whey protein powder and blend for another minute or until milkshake texture is reached.

Let me know how it goes!  If you create your own green smoothie combo, let me know the ingredients so I can try it!

Popeye would be so proud!

Gnocchi Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon

It's official...three of the most delicious foods known to man have come together to bring you the pinnacle of flavor and delight.  Bacon, Mac 'n Cheese, and Gnocchi unite for a mealtime experience that will ignite your senses and render you speechless (as you stuff your mouth with seconds).  Wipe off your drool, give in to your growling stomach, and enjoy this surprisingly easy meal.  This recipe came from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, with a few modifications by yours truly.

{Gnocchi Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon}


Ingredients:
2 pounds gnocchi (found in the pasta aisle)
4 Tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
8 strips of bacon (at least!)
2/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
A few basil leaves, diced and separated into two parts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an oven-safe baking dish (8x8 or 13x9 both fine) with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  After cooked and drained, mix gnocchi with salt, pepper, and half the basil, and place in prepared baking dish.
3. Cook bacon in frying pan until cooked.  When cooled, crumble into pieces and set aside.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, mix in bacon crumbles, salt, pepper, and remaining basil leaves.
6. Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.  

Lovely photos taken by Lisa of The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Chocolate Chip Banana Goodness

Ohhh sweet goodness.  This bread is the sure cure to any Monday morning blues!  My co-worker, Rachel, had this bread in her lunch, offered me a bite, and I have not stopped eating it since.  No really, every time we eat the last bite, I make another loaf!  It is simple to make and perfectly moist...I know you are going to love it :)

{Chocolate Chip Banana Bread}

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream

3-4 ripe bananas, diced

3/4 cup chocolate chips (or more/less if you want)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom of a bread loaf pan.

2. Stir together the sugar, flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

3. Stir in the butter, eggs, and sour cream, just until mixed (do not overmix).

4. Stir in the bananas and chocolate chips.

5. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until middle is mostly set.

Enjoy!

Why Thank You...

{Gray & Yellow Thank You Notes}

It does not get better than this. Sunday afternoon.  Birds singing.  Sun peaking in through the trees.  Brownies baking.  Dog peacefully snoring (just like her daddy). Ahhh...time for a craft.

Don't tell my mom this, but I am pretty terrible at thank you notes.  I love the idea of hand-written notes, but often between figuring out the address, finding a stamp, and remembering to put it in the mailbox, something goes wrong.  A quick text or email ends up winning, which is still nice, but there's just something about opening a card in the mail that means so much.  Well, after today I'm at least stocked with cute thank you notes (we'll see if they actually make it to the mailbox!).

I'm on a gray and yellow kick, so I found some scrap paper and other supplies and decided to go for it.  The cards all a little different, and each was fun to make.  To top it off, the whole project used about $2 worth of supplies!

To start, I stamped thank you onto yellow and white cardstock using a small black ink pad and mini letter stamps (ink & stamps can be found in the dollar bin at Michael's).  My stamping skills are far from perfect, but I think the little imperfections add a nice homemade touch.  Next, I used different shaped punches (also from Michael's) to cut out the thank you in different shapes.  From there, I glued on paper, lace, and twine to create simple, sweet card.  Here are some of the supplies that came in handy:

Whatever the occasion, whatever the colors, I hope these cards bring a smile not only to the recipient, but also to you!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls ...just like Cinnabon!

As a kid, on special occasions our family would visit the mall after church to visit the pet store & eat humongous cinnamon rolls.  It was a rare occasion, but I remember thinking this is the life!  The other day I had a major craving for those larger-than-life, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls.  After perusing through a bunch of recipes, I finally settled on this one from Beauty and Bedlam, which yielded goey, rich, cream-cheese frosted cinnamon rolls, just like at Cinnabon!  I brought them to work for a sweet co-worker's last day, and they were a delicious hit!  It was a labor of love, taking around 3 hours from start to finish, but totally worth it.

Ingredients

Dough:

- 1.5 cups granulated sugar

- 3 tablespoons cinnamon

- 2 packs of .25 oz yeast

- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (to activate yeast)

- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

- 2/3 cup butter

- 1 cup hot water (approximately 110 degrees)

- 1 cup warm milk

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 eggs slightly, beaten

- Approximately 8 cups flour

Coating:

- 1/2 cup melted butter

- 1.5 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, but highly recommended!)

- 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar

Icing:

- 8 oz cream cheese

- 8 oz margarine (2 sticks)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

- 16 oz powdered sugar (2 cups)

Instructions

1. Mix together 1.5 cups sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside for later.

2. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in hot water.  Set aside.

3. In large bowl, mix together milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup butter, milk, salt, and eggs.  Add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add flour if necessary until dough is stiff.

4. Place dough on well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.  Great for anger processing!  Dough should be stretchy/elastic-y when finished.

5. Place dough in greased bowl and store in a warm place until it has doubled in size (approximately 1 hour).

6. Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.

7. Roll dough out on floured surface into a 15"x20" rectangle.  Brush 1/2 cup butter on dough, and top with cinnamon & sugar mixture and nuts.

8. Tightly roll the dough.  Cut into 12-15 thick slices using dental floss.

9. Coat the bottom of a 13"x9" baking pan with 1/2 cup butter and remaining sugar.  

10. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan; cover and allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

11. Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden in color.

12. Finally, mix together cream cheese frosting and top warm cinnamon rolls.  Devour immediately... enjoy!