Veggie Packed Minestrone

Good afternoon!! I made this awesome minestrone the other night!! SO good! It's vegetarian, and would be vegan if you omit the parm at the end. It's very filling and flavorful, so great for omnivores and herbavores alike! I made this in my slow cooker, but you can definitely make it on top of your stove.

This is D. Licious!

To get this in some of your bowls;

This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep and 6 to 8 hours to cook!

6 cups vegetable stock

2 carrots, chopped

1 large red onion (By large, I mean enormous!) or 2 medium

3 ribs celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 zucchini, cubed

2 red potatoes, cubed

3 handfulls kale, slightly chopped

1 cup dry barley

1 can white northern beans, rinsed or drained (Or a thawed bag, liquid and all if you make your own.)

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1 28 oz can Italian crushed tomatoes

salt

pepper

2 sprigs fresh oregano

4 or 5 big basil leaves

freshly grated parmesan

Combine all ingredients besides oregano, basil, and parmesan in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Aim for 8, you get better flavor the longer you let it simmer. Ladel into bowls. Grate some Parmesan over the soup. Tear the oregano with your hands, chiffonade the basil, and sprinkle both atop the cheese. Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 12!

Because the barley will suck up the liquid, when you heat up your leftovers, you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water or stock and stir it in prior to reheating.

If you wish, serve it up with the Roasted Garlic and Grilled Scallion Buttermilk Biscuits I made with the Florentine soup!! I also served this for lunch with a pannini made with spicy brown mustard, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and deli ham on whole wheat bread, grilled and pressed until the bread was crisp and cheese melty! It's amazing with both, as well as on it's own!!

 

If you don't want to wait all day, or don't have a slow cooker, you can make the soup this way;

This method would take 1 hour and 15 minutes to prep and cook!

Saute onions and garlic in a large pot sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add in the rest of the vegetables, except the beans and kale, and saute 5 minutes. Add in the kale, broth, barley, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 50 minutes. Add the beans and parsley and simmer 10 more minutes. Ladel into bowls and top with freshly grated Parm, torn oregano, and chiffonaded basil.

Roasted Veggies Shells and Cheese

Okay. I don't typically buy prepackaged foods. They're usually made with preservatives and artifcial ingredients, none of which are good for you. However, I was browsing the banged up packaging, very well concealed isle at the store, and found this box of organic, all natural shells and cheese! Then I looked at the price and decided to get it for a day I'm tired of leftovers but don't feel like going all out with cooking. Tonight was the night! To prove this was really all natural, I'm going to show you the box!

I paid a dollar for this!!! I had to get it when I looked at the price! The only defect was a slightly smashed top!! Look at the ingredients, kindergarteners could pronounce the words, and I know what each of them are!!! Annatto, by the way, is a natural ingredient. It is made from the pulp that surrounds the seeds of the achiote trees in the tropical areas of the Americas. It's used as a coloring agent in cheeses and makeup, and is used as a spice in Latin America, Spain, and the Carribean.

I served this with the leftover chicken from the White Girl Chicken and Waffles!

To put this delicious cheesy pasta love in your belly;

This recipe takes about 25 minutes to prep and cook.

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen french cut green beans

1 carrot, diced small

2 red potatoes, diced small

cajun seasoning

cooking spray

1 box organic, natural shells and cheese

3 tablespoons fat free milk

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish

salt

pepper

basil, cut into a chiffonade

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all frozen vegetables in a collander and set under running water, tossing often, until thawed, about 2 or 3 minutes. Meanwhile dice the carrots and potatoes so everything is roughly the same size. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread the thawed vegetables out onto a paper towel and blot until dry. Add all vegetables to the baking sheet, sprinkle with cajun seasoning and pepper, toss, and spread out in an even layer. Spray more cooking spray on top and roast for 10 minutes, stir, and roast for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until Al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and add cheese packet, milk and butter. Stir until cheese has reconstituted in the milk. Stir in mozzarella and parmesan cheese until melted, then stir in roasted vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Plate and top with additional parmesan cheese and basil! Enjoy, it's fantastic!!

This recipe serves 6 as a side dish.

Waffled PBPSB!!

For a snack for myself and my son, I made a Waffled Peanut Butter and Preserves with Strawberries and Banana sandwich! We shared it, and it was super yummy!!

This is super super cinchy to make!

This takes about 5 minutes to prep and cook.

2 slices whole wheat bread

1 tablespoon all natural peanut butter (For the same price as the other, choose the one without hydrogenated oils!!)

1 tablespoon apricot preserves

2 strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 banana, sliced

butter flavored cooking spray

Heat up your waffle iron (Or you could use a panini press if you don't have one, or just toast the bread!). Spread one slice of bread with peanut butter, and the other with preserves. Layer strawberries and banana slices over peanut butter and top with the other slice of bread. Grill in your waffle maker until toasty! Yummm!!

This recipe makes 1 sandwich.

Mexican Tortilla Soup with Cumin-Lime Black Bean Quesadillas

I love tortilla soup! Any time I go to a Mexican restauraunt that offers it on their menu, I tend to get at least a cup of it! Boston Market used to have a great one, then the one by my parents closed down. I haven't been to one since, because there are so few, I haven't seen another one recently!! I can never just have a bowl of soup for dinner, it just doesn't fill me up. Unless that soup is Pho. Then all I need is an enormous bowl and I'm set!! For tummy filling purposes, I had to make some sort of sandwich, so this time I marinated some black beans in cumin and lime juice and made it into a quesadilla! Yumm!!

I was a little indecisive and couldn't settle on one picture!!

For that yummy yummy soup:

This recipe takes 25 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes to prep and cook, depending on simmer time.

4 corn tortillas

cooking spray

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (If you like it spicy, leave in the seeds, if not, take them out. I leave them in!)

2 onions, finely chopped

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 pound), cut into bite sized strips

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken stock (If you're going to simmer it for a long time, you can use all or partial water if you want, save some money! However, if you're going to quick simmer it, you need the flavor of the stock.)

1 14-1/2 oz can diced tomatoes

hot sauce

lime wedges

low fat yogurt

shredded pepper jack cheese

1/2 avocado, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

cilantro, chopped

pickled jalapeno slices or 1 fresh jalapeno, sliced into rounds

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large pot sprayed with cooking spray, cook onions and garlic over medium heat until they start to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, carrots, bay leaves, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper, and cook until chicken begins to brown and carrots start to soften. Add the chicken stock or water and tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes to an hour (I like long simmered soups, and have the time, so I simmered mine for an hour.).

Meanwhile, cut the tortillas into 1/2 inch strips, and cut the long ones in half. Lay out on a baking sheet in a single layer, and bake for 20 minutes, until crisp.

Remove and discard the bay leaves. Ladel soup into bowls and top with cheese, a dollop of yogurt, tomato, avocado, cilantro, and tortilla chips. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze into soup, hot sauce, and pickled or sliced fresh jalapenos (The only reason you see no pickled jalapeno on mine is because I had none, and used my last jalapeno in the soup, but if I had some, you know they would be in there!)

This recipe serves 6.

For the highly tasty Cumin-Lime Black Bean Quesadillas;

This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep and make.

juice from 1 lime and 1 teaspoon zest

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
salt
pepper
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 red bell pepper, funely chopped

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

4 scallions, thinly sliced

4 whole wheat fajita sized tortillas

pepper jack cheese, shredded (How cheesy do you like it? Use that much!)

1 avocado, sliced

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

chopped fresh cilantro

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, zest and olive oil. Stir in parsley, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper. Add beans, bell pepper, tomato, and scallions, and toss to distribute dressing evenly.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.

Sprinkle some cheese on one half of each tortilla. Top with the marinated beans, avocado, tomato, bell pepper, and more cheese. Fold the opposite side over to cover the filling. Spray the skillet with cooking spray and grill the quesadillas until the tortilla is crisp and the cheese is melted, flipping once. Cut the quesadilla in whichever way you prefer, and sprinkle with cilantro.

This recipe serves 4.

Enjoy everyone! This was awesome!!

You can also serve this with cornbread! I have a couple of really good cornbread recipes on previous posts!!

White Girl Chicken and Waffles

I finally used up all the buttermilk!! Yayy!! Oh my God, though, this was AWESOME!!! I am definitely making this for dinner when Husband comes home! I was bored of making sweet waffles, so I thought I'd make them savory for dinner, and the first protein that came to mind was chicken! This whole recipe came from me tossing stuff together as I went, I didn't make myself any kind of plan, I just tossed things in as I felt like it! It was really really good!!

I made Maple Bacon Waffles, using my normal waffle recipe and adding to it, seared oven fried chicken, and Smashed Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans! Yummm!!

Here's how to get this in your belly tonight, because you know you want it!

For the Maple Bacon Waffles;

This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep, cooking time depends on your waffle iron.

4 slices meaty bacon, diced (Check the back when you're buying bacon so you can see if it's all fat or mostly meat. Meaty is yummier than fatty!!

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons Splenda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup apple sauce
3 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup (Don't use the kind made of high fructose corn syrup and maple flavoring. That's just not good for you, nor nearly as tasty as the real stuff!)

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-low to medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon becomes crispy, about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the setting. Make sure you cook it low and slow. If you use too high heat, the fat won't render off, and your bacon will go from fatty to burnt. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Blot the top with another paper towel to remove the excess fat. You want the bacon nice and dry.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In another medium bowl, beat together the eggs and buttermilk. Stir in the applesauce and maple syrup. Add all at once to the flour and stir until moistened. The batter will still be lumpy. Gently stir in the bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon for garnish, so you don't break it up.

Pour 1 to 1 1/4 cups batter onto the grids of a waffle iron coated with cooking spray. For this recipe, I only needed to add 1 cup, as opposed to the 1 1/4 I needed before. Make sure to add the batter to the middle of each grid, not the middle of the iron. Close lid quickly and keep closed until done. Bake according to the directions for your iron, as each different one takes a different amount of time to cook. When done, lift off the grid with a fork and repeat with the remaining batter.

If you want to freeze them for a later use, pull them out just before they are completely done. Place the waffles in a Ziplock bag, press out all the air, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pop the bag(s) into the freezer. Refrigerating them before freezing brings down the temperature slowly, decreasing the size of the ice crystals that will form. Big ice crystals will lead to mushy waffles, and no one wants that!!

When ready to serve, drizzle with a little more maple syrup and enjoy!

This recipe makes 10 to 12 waffles.

To pair these waffles with the amazing oven fried chicken;
This recipe taked about 15 minutes to prep and cook.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved diagonally through the middle
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup low fat milk
1/2 cup panko bread crunbs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt
pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
cooking spray
100% pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Pour milk into a second small bowl. On a large plate, combine panko, cornstarch, salt and pepper to taste, and cayenne pepper. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour, then milk, then breadcrumbs. Set on a wire rack to dry slightly while you bread the remaining chicken and heat the pan.

Heat a large skillet coated with cooking oil over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides for two minutes, until golden brown. Before flipping, spray the top with more cooking spray so that side browns as well. If the handle of  your pan isn't oven safe, wrap in a couple of layers of foil. Place the skillet in the oven, and bake for 8 minutes, until cooked through.

Plate over waffles, if desired, and drizzle with maple syrup.

This recipe serves 4.

Care for a little veg with your chicken and waffles? Make my Roasted Potato and Green Bean Mash! Here's how;
This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.

6 red potatoes, diced (You're leaving those delicious, nutrient-packed skins on, right??)
1 cup french cut green beans, thawed and patted dry
salt
pepper
cooking spray
1/2 to 1 cup fat free milk
freshly grated parmesan cheese
fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Toss potatoes with salt and pepper and lay on the baking sheet in an even layer, and spray the top with additional cooking spray. Toss the green beans with salt and pepper and lay in a single layer on a sprayed baking sheet, spray the tops with additional spray. Roast for 10 minutes, stir, and roast an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Puree the green beans with a little milk until smooth. In a large bowl, add potatoes and pureed beans, and mash with a masher (Or with a ladel, in my case!), or whip to desired consistancy. I like mine rather chunky, so I just work them with the bottom of a ladel. Season with salt and pepper and add in milk as needed. Spoon onto plates and top with cheese and basil.

This recipe serves 4.

Enjoy! This was a really taty meal!!

Tuscan-Style Florentine Soup

As with every soup I make, my son LOVED to help me make this "Shoup"! Soup is one of the easiest meals for him to help me for, since it's mostly adding things to a pot and stirring, which are easy tasks for a two year old to do.



This soup is super delicious! I managed to resist the urge to be super corny and spell it "souper", by the way! I hope you appreciate the effort that took! Haha!

So, now, the moment you've been waiting for, how to make it!!
This recipe takes about 1 hour to 1 hour 50 minutes to cook, depending on how long you let the soup simmer.

1 pound pork loin (You could also use tenderloin.)
lemon pepper seasoning
olive oil cooking spray
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
5 cups chicken stock (1 box plus 1 cup)
1 can or bag Great Northern Beans (Remember, cook and divide a pound of beans for money savings and lower sodium.)
1/2 cup Orzo pasta (Whole wheat is best if you can find it, but I can't always find it.)
1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheat with foil and spray with cooking spray. Rub the lemon pepper seasoning all over the meat. If there is a skinny end, tuck it under so it is all the same thickness. Roast for 40 minutes. The meat may still be a little pink. That's fine, it will continue to cook in the soup. Let the pork cool and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large pot or dutch oven sprayed with cooking spray, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in tomatoes (They tend to splatter.), dried herbs and chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes to an hour (I simmered mine for an hour. The longer you let it simmer, the more flavorful the soup will be,). Increase heat to high and add in the beans, with liquid if you're using beans you made yourself (If you are using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans first, then add a half cup of water or chicken stock to the soup.) and Orzo pasta. Cook according to the box directions on the pasta for Al dente doneness. In the final two minutes of cooking time, stir in the spinach and let heat through.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with Roasted Garlic and Grilled Scallion Biscuits! Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 6-8.

Roasted Garlic and Grilled Scallion Biscuits

So, a half gallon of buttermilk really goes a long way! So far I have made one recipe of ranch, two cornbread recipes, waffles, and now my biscuit tally is up to two! I'm going to be obsessed with making breads before I use it all! I have been wanting to buy a loaf pan and make my own loafs of bread, maybe I'll do that sometime soon. I love the smell of baking bread! I STILL have about a cup of it left. Hopefully they have the smaller container of buttermilk next time I need some! I made these to go with the Tuscan-style Florentine Soup I was making for dinner, and thought roasted garlic and grilled scallions would be a good accompanyment.

To make these super yummy biscuits, all you need to do is;
This recipe takes about 55 minutes to prep and bake.

1 head garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 scallions
1 2/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and chilled
3/4 cup buttermilk
butter flavored cooking spray
black pepper
garlic powder
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice 1/2 inch off the top of the garlic, sprinkle the cut side with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until soft and golden. Squeeze the cloves from the head and chop.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Cut the scallions in half, if necessary, and cook until softened and charred on all sides. Remove from the pan and chop finely.

While the scallions cook, sift together the flour, bakind powder, baking soda, and salt. With your hands, combine the flour with butter until no pieces larger than the size of small peas remain. Stir in buttermilk until moistened. Work in garlic and scallions until evenly distributed.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times. Press out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. With a 2 1/2 inch cutter, or a glass, cut out as many biscuits as you can and lay on an ungreased foil lined baking sheet. Roll the dough into a ball, press back out, and continue cut out more biscuits. Continue gathering up dough and cutting until there is not enough dough to make any more biscuits. Roll up the remaining scraps to make a biscuit ball, if you'd like! Spray the tops of the biscuits with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic powder and plack pepper.

Bake for 12 minutes, until the biscuits have risen and have turned golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

This recipe makes 12-16 biscuits.

If you want to freeze these biscuits, allow to cool to room temperature. Place in a Ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as you can. Refrigerate overnight and freeze in the morning. To reheat, simply microwave for 30 seconds for steaming hot biscuits!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

Again, trying to use up buttermilk that was close to the date, I decided to make some waffles! I slightly undercooked the waffles so I could freeze them and toast when I the mood for waffles strikes, that way they won't overcook in my toaster! I made them without adding nuts or fruit like I usually do, because I made them to eat later, so this way I can top them in any which way and not have to worry about the topping not complementing the flavors inside. That said, I make awesome banana nut waffles and sweet potato waffles!!

As I serve them with different toppings, I will add the pictures and recipes for how I top them!

Here's how I made them;

This recipe takes 10 minutes to prep, cooking time will differ depending on your waffle iron.

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons Splenda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup Canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Don't buy the imitation. It's cheaper, but it's not as good as the real stuff.)

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In another medium bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add all at once to the flour and stir until moistened. The batter will still be lumpy.

Pour 1 to 1 1/4 cups batter onto the grids of a waffle iron coated with cooking spray. For a regular iron, 1 cup should be fine. I use a Belgian Waffle maker, so I use 1 1/4 cups. Close lid quickly and keep closed until done. Bake according to the directions for your iron, as each different one takes a different amount of time to cook. When done, lift off the grif with a fork and repeat with the remaining batter.

If you want to freeze them for a later use, pull them out just before they are completely done. Place the waffles in a Ziplock bag, press out all the air, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pop the bag(s) into the freezer. Refrigerating them before freezing brings down the temperature slowly, decreasing the size of the ice crystals that will form. Big ice crystals will lead to mushy waffles, and no one wants that!!

This recipe makes 12 to 16 waffles. (Remember, one 4 inch square counts as one, not the whole big grid! Sorry!!)

The next morning, I toasted some up for me and the little man. I slathered them with Nutella and topped with walnuts! For the man, I made sandwiches which are, at times, slightly less messy! I served them with sliced up apples. Yummy!!









Handsome's Waffle Sandwich and my waffles!!

The other day, I topped them with an apricot and yogurt sauce. It was very delicious!!

This is how I made the Apricot Yogurt:

2 tablespoons plain lowfat yogurt

1 tablespoon sugar-free apricot preserves

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

With a fork, mix all of the ingerdients together! This makes a great spread, as well as a tasty dip for fruit!

For this one, I topped it with some fat free yogurt I mixed with basil, salt and pepper, and used that as a bed for sliced cucumber, roma tomato, and quartered artichoke hearts seasoned with more S&P! Yummy!! Tiny Man gobbled his up!!

Scallion and Mozzarella Biscuits

So, I was making more ranch dressing and noticed my buttermilk is nearing it's date. When I bought it, they didn't have any more of the smaller containers, just the half gallon, so I had only used half of it! Not wanting to waste my money on allowing it to spoil, I decided to bake! My first adventure was to make biscuits, which, I have to admit, I haven't made before. They were super good, though!!

If you want to stuff your face with these (I don't want to mention how many I ate! Behbeh ate a few, too, though! I'm not the only pig!!);
This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and bake!

1 2/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unalted margerine, diced and chilled
6 scallions very thinly sliced
3/4 cup buttermilk
cooking spray
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add butter and use your fingers to work into flour until pieces no larger than peas remain. Stir in scallions and buttermilk until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball and knead a couple of times. Press down dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch cutter, or a glass (I lucked out and have a glass that exact width at the top! Place onto an ungreased, foil lined baking sheet. Press scraps together, press down to 1/2 inch thickness, and cut. Continue until you no longer have enough dough to make a full biscuit (I rolled the remaining into a ball and made a donut hole looking biscuit! I don't want to waste!!). Spray the tops with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Bake until biscuits have risen and are just golden on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve warm!

This recipe made me 16 biscuits, but will differ based on how big you cut them.

These were super delicious!! What I did with the extra was seal them in a ziplock and refrigerate over night, then popped the bag in the freezer in the morning. This way, I won't get as many large ice crystals, and I can have biscuits ready to heat in the microwave whenever the mood hits!!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

I love, love, love chicken pot pies, so I was super excited while making it! It was so so good!! My little man sucked his down, and loved watching the "Paw Pies" bake in the oven! I served it with a super simple salad of chopped red leaf lettuce tossed with a balsalmic v1negarette I made (1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar, salt and pepper) and topped with some shaved parmesean. Mmmmmm!!


Ya, I'm not gonna feed my two year old out of a ceramic ramekin, so I dished his out like this! And, look! You can see what the filling looks like! Genius, I am!
















To put this in your belly;
This recipe takes about 50 minutes to prep and cook.

cooking spray
1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, whichever you prefer, cubed
salt
pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup carrot, diced (3 or 4, size dependant)
1 cup celery, diced (4 or 5 stalks, depending on size)
1 medium potato, cubed
2 1/4 cups milk
1 can 99% fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon chicken buillon (or 1 cube if using cubes)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 sheet puffed pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large pot or dutch oven sprayed with cooking spray, cook the chicken over meduim heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, 2 minutes. Stir in carrots and celery and cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in potato, milk, soup, buillon, nutmeg, and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until potato is soft.

Meanwhile, roll out the puffed pastry to about half it's original thickness. Lay a ramekin, top side down, and, using a paring knife, cut the pastry 1/2 inch wider than the ramekin. When needed, roll the pastry into a ball and roll back out until you have made enough rounds to cover all ramekins (I was able to make 6 rounds out of mine.)

Add peas. With a fork or whisk, in a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Add in a few spoonfulls of the liquid from the pot to bring the temperature of the slurry up. Stir the slurry into the pot pie filling, bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer until thickened. Stir in parsley.

Ladel the filling into each ramekin. Wet your finger and dampen the edges of the pastry round. Lay on top of the filled ramekins and press the edges down so they stick to the sides of the ramekin and form a seal. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet (Or 2 if they weigh down the pan too much), spray with butter flavored cooking spray, and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top. Cut a slit or three in the tops of each pastry and bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry puffs up and turns a pretty light golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes so you don't render yourself unable to taste!

Place each ramekin on a plate (Since it's hot and no one wants to touch hot bowls!), and sprinkle the top with some freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy!! Be careful, it's hot!!

This recipe makes 6 to 12 pot pies, depending on ramekin size!

I made mine with 8 oz ramekins, because it's what I have and I'm into the smaller portion size, so it made 12 for me, but if you have 10 oz ones, it will probably make 8.

Chicken with Corona Lime Sauce, Chili Lime Corn, and Baked Potatoes

Husband's cutter came into port for the weekend, and he had 3 days off, so I was able to pick him up and bring him home! He wanted chicken, corn, and a baked potato for dinner, so I went through my fridge to figure out how to jazz it up! This is what I did!

This was really really good! You can't see the seasoning on the corn in the picture, but when you make it, you can see it!!

To make the chicken;
This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook.

2 chicken breasts, halved diagonally (I know the picture shows a full breast. Hubbs wanted a whole one!)
cajun seasoning
cooking spray
1 bottle Corona
1/4 cup fat free, low sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon lime zest
juice from 1/2 of a lime
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour, if desired
chopped cilantro

Season chicken on both sides with cajun seasoning. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat, and cook chicken until no longer pink, about 10 to 12 minutes, flipping once. Remove from skillet and either tent with foil or place into a warmed oven.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour in 1/2 cup of the Corona. Stir, scraping up the brown bits off the bottom. Stir in the chicken stock and lime zest, and simmer until reduced by half, around 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice, and 2 tablespoons more Corona (To give the sauce a fresh beer flavor.), and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce isn't thick enough for you, whisk in the flour, bring to a boil, and reduce back to a boil to allow the flour to thicken the sauce. Plate the chicken and spoon sauce over. Squeeze with a little bit more lime juice, garnish with some cilantro, and enjoy!

Okay, mine didn't have cilantro, because I was all out and also had run clear out of parsley! But if I had some cilantro, I would have put some on there!

This recipe serves 4.

For the super yummy Chili Lime Corn;
This recipe takes about 5 minutes to prep and cook.

3 cups frozen corn (You could also make this with 4 whole ears of corn!)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
lime juice

Heat a pot of water to a boil. While you're waiting for the water to boil, make the seasond butter. To do that, in a small bowl, mash together the butter, lime zest, salt, chili powder and cayenne with a fork. Refrigerate until ready to use. When the water has reached a boil, add the frozen corn and boil for about 2 to 3 minutes, until heated but not soft. If you're using ears, boil for 5 to 7 minutes.

When the corn is done, drain and add back to the pot, and toss with the butter (If using ears, slather the corn with butter). Squeeze a little lime juice over the top and serve!

This recipe serves 4.

For the baked potatoes;
This recipe takes 40 to 50 minutes to cook.

4 baking potatoes
Whatever you like in your potato!


Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Scrub and dry the potatoes. When your oven is ready, place them in the oven, directly on the rack. Don't prick or rub with oil, just toss them in there! Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until tender in the middle. Cut it open in an X shape and load it up however you like!

This recipe serves 4.

Roasted Veggie Frittata

As much as I do like breakfast tacos, I get bored of eating the same thing over and over, so I decided to make a frittata! Oh, lord, it was so good!!



To have this on your table;
This recipe takes about 25 minutes to prep and cook.

1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen stir fry vegetables
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh basil, sliced into a chiffonade, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Thaw the vegetables in a collander under cold running water, tossing occasionally with your hands. This should only take a couple of minutes. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread out the vegetables in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes, stir, then bake another 10 minutes, stirring once.

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until tender, 3 minutes. In a small bowl, beat together eggs, buttermilk, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the basil.

Add roasted vegetables to the pan and spread evenly. Add in egg. As mixture sets, run a apatula along the edge of the skillet to allow uncooked eggs to run underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edges until mixture is almost set and still moist on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

If your skillet's handle isn't oven safe, wrap it in a couple of layers of aluminum foil. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the top is set and cheese is melted. Run a spatula around the edges of the frittata and invert onto a large plate, then flip, cheese side up, onto a cutting board. Cut into 4 wedges and sprinkle with grated Parmesan and reserved basil.

Enjoy! It is super delicious!!

This recipe serves 4.

Turkey Chili and Buttermilk Cornbread

So, okay, I have to admit, I am TOTALLY one of those Texans who does not believe beans belong in chili. Texas chili came from a Mexican chili made of simmered peppers. Being Texans, they had to add meat! I did put beans in this recipe because it helps stretch the meat, and when you're trying to save money, you want to stretch out your protein as far as you can. It was really good, I must admit! I still prefer beanless chili, but this really was a great dish! The day I made it, I had a leftover roll from the BBLT's I made(http://http//awesomenoshin.blogspot.com/2010/08/broccoli-and-cheddar-soup-with-bblt.html), so I hollowed it out and made a bread bowl. I took the bread I scooped out and seasoned it, then baked it off to make rough croutons. I also made more cornbread using the same basic recipe I did when I made it with the Roasted Corn and Crab Chowder, but I changed it up some!

This is really good, both in a bread bowl and in a soup bowl with cornbread!!

If this is causing you to salivate, here is how to alleviate that problem;
This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.

olive oil cooking spray
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground 93/7 turkey breast
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 can red kidney beans, rinced and drained, or 1 frozen package, thawed, keeping liquid
1 14-1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices.
1 1/2 teaspoons siracha sauce
2 teaspoons Tobasco sauce
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 red onion, minced
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

In a dutch oven coated with cooking spray, cook onion and garlic over medium heat until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the turkey, bell peppers and jalapeno and cook until peppers start to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain off any fat. Stir in chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the beans and tomatoes and let come to a simmer. If you used canned beans, add 1 1/2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken stock. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in siracha and Tobasco.

Ladel chili into bowls and top with tomato, avocado, red onion, cheeses, and cilantro. Serve with cornbread and go to town!

This recipe serves 6.

For the cornbread, follow the recipe here;
http://awesomenoshin.blogspot.com/2010/07/roasted-corn-and-crab-chowder-and.html

But make these changes;
Add 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the dry ingredients, omit jalapeno and chipotle pepper. Substitute the cheddar cheese with Pepper Jack and bake. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley and serve alongside the chili!

I hope you like it as much as my son and I did! He annhialated his bowl!!

Huevos Rancheros

So, yesterday I had run out of soup for lunch, and I didn't want to make what I was making for dinner that night, so I searched my kitchen for what I had to figure out what to make for lunch, and ended up on Huevos Rancheros! Yummy! I love spicy fried eggs! I have eggs drenched in tobasco every morning, usually in the form of an omelette or scrambeled for tacos or quesadillas. That's how I use up leftover veggie side dishes, or extra raw veggies I have. I always sautee them up and either fold them into an omelette or use them in a ta co or quesadilla. I'm not terribly creative in the morning. I used to make a lot of waffles, I just haven't in a while for whatever reason. Probably because a breakfast of egg, veggies, a bread and some milk is more balanced. When I have waffles, I only eat waffles, not fruit or protein, just 2 enormous waffles! If I make them with fruit in them or a fruit topping there's fruit in there!

Anyway, I digress. Here is my huevo lunch!!



Here's how to get this on your table:
This recipe takes 15 minutes to prep and cook.

cooking spray
5 corn tortillas
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, plus extra for garnish
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
4 eggs
salt or cajun seasoning
pepper
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese

Thickly spray cooking spray into a small pan and heat over medium high heat. When hot enough to sizzle the tortillas, add them, one at a time. When the bottom has crisped, about two minutes, spray the top of the tortilla and flip. Cook until crisp and remove from skillet on to paper towels. Blot and keep 4 warm on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven. Reserve the 5th tortilla.

For salsa, cook onion and garlic in a pan sprayed with cooking spray over medium-high heat until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Tear reserved tortilla into pieces and add to blender. Cover and process until it becomes a coarse puree.

Coat the skillet with additional cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Carefully break eggs into the pan, sprinkle with salt or cajun seasoning and pepper. Fry to desired doneness.

Place a tortilla on each of 4 plates, top with an egg and spoon some salsa over. Sprinke with cheese and reserved cilantro.

This recipe serves 4.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup with a BBLT (Better BLT!)

Hi, all! I'm sorry I have been bad about updating my blog much! I've had a lot to do around the house with Hubby being gone. I'll try better, I promise!!

So I made a really yummy Broccoli Cheddar Soup! It's not like most, where the soup is really just liquid cheese with a skant amount of broccoli floretts tossed in. This is mostly veg with some cheese stirred in at the end of cooking. So it isn't the vibrant yellow you usually see, but it is super yummy! I actually think it's better, because you can taste both the broccoli and the cheese, instead of it all being the cheese. I call the BLT a Better BLT because I use a white bean dip instead of mayo, and instead of loading up with a quarter pound of bacon per sandwich, I just use two slices. Don't worry, you can still taste the bacon and pick up that nice crunch! If you want to make it even healthier, use turkey bacon or veggie bacon. I prefer pork, and pork bacon saves me money! I'm not the biggest fan of veggie meat, I don't find it very good, but if you do, then go for it, your arteries will thank you! Of course, I use whole wheat rolls inestead of white. It's not only a Better BLT because it's healthier, but it's also tastier than one loaded with mayo on tasteless white bread!

When I make recipes calling for canned beans, I make my own. For the cost of a can, I can buy a pound of beans (Actually, dry beans are cheaper.), and make enough beans for 4 cans! What I do is soak them over night when I bring them home and cook them the next morning while I make breakfast. I let them cool slightly and put the beans and liquid into 4 quart sized zip top bags. I measured it up, by putting beans and liquid into a can and seeing how much of each fits. A 15 oz can of beans equals 1 1/2 cups of beans, and 1/2 cup liquid. Then I write on the bag the type of bean, since color isn't always the best clue, and refrigerate all day. Before I go to bed, I flatten out the bags, and pop them in a single layer in my freezer, and stack them up the next morning once they're frozen hard. When I need to use them, I just pull them out of the freezer into the fridge the night before when I'm moving my meat. Not only does this save money, but it helps you control the sodium level of your beans. I don't salt them when I cook them, so that when I cook with the beans, I can better control the overall saltiness of my dish. It's not inconvenient, so why not save a little money and a lot of salt?


Okay, the soup is not the prettiest thing ever, but it is awesome!!

So, if you want to make the soup, here is what you do;
This takes about 20 minutes to prep and make.

cooking spray
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 heads broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces and stems chopped
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, diced
2 red potatoes, diced
3 cups low fat, low sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
salt
pepper

In a saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and garlic over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes

Add broccoli, potatoes, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer, covered, until the broccoli and potato are softened, about 7 minutes.

Transfer 1/2 to 3/4 of the soup into a blender. Cover with a dish towel and puree until smooth. Return to the saucepan. Add the cheese, reserving just enough to garnish, and the buttermilk, and cook over low until the cheese melts, but do not allow to boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladel into bowls and top with the reserved cheese.

This recipe serves 6.

That BBLT is fantastic and you need it in your belly, so here is how you do it!
This recipe takes 10 minutes to prep and cook.

4 whole wheat rolls
1/4 cup white bean dip (recipe follows)
8 leaves red leaf lettuce (Or you can use watercress or arugula!)
2 carrots, grated
8 slices bacon
1 avocado, sliced
8 thick slices tomato (1 or 2 tomatoes, depending on size.)

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet until crispy. Transfer to paper towels and blot off excess grease.

Halve the rolls. In a dry pan, toast, cut side down, over medium heat until crispy and slightly browned. Spread with the white bean spread, then top each bottom with 2 leaves lettuce, 1/4 of the carrots, 2 clices of tomato, 1/4 of the avocado, and 2 slices of bacon. Top with the other half of the bread, and enjoy!

This recipe serves 4.

White Bean Dip
This takes 2 minutes prep and make.

1 large clove garlic, coarsley chopped
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons coarsley chopped parsley
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

In a blender or food processor, add garlic, beans, parsley, and lemon juice, and pulse until pureed. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve it warmed up, at room temperature, or chilled! This is also great with veggie dippers and pita bread!

This recipe makes about 1 cup.