Homemade Tomato Soup (GF, V)

Baby it's cold outside!  Well, maybe not that cold here, but maybe where you are it is!  :)  One of the best meals for lunch or a quick dinner is good old tomato soup and grilled cheese.  I know it's one my family's favorites. 
A good friend of mine follows a vegan diet and when she would be coming over I was terrible at trying to figure out what to make.  Then she had my hubby and I over and made this soup.  Then it was like everything clicked.  Changing food to be vegan or gluten free doesn't have to be that hard.  You don't have to stop eating everything you've always loved, you just have to be willing to change a few ingredients a bit.  Now, I change everything!  Shhh, just don't tell my husband and kids!
I still make regular grilled cheese sandwiches for my family.  For me, I make a "kind of" quesadilla.  I use corn tortillas and I like provolone cheese for these.  Butter the outsides of the tortillas and cook until lightly browned, flip and do the same on the other side.  I cut them into quarters.  They make perfect dippers!
What are some of you favorite food that you enjoy but are afraid to change?  Give it shot!  You might like it better.

Tomato Soup

-Saute in 1/4 cup of evoo or butter:
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
-Add: 1/4 cup flour (all purpose or GF flour blend), stir until dissolved
-Stir in:  1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 28oz cans of crusted tomatoes
1-2 T brown sugar or honey
-Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes
-Remove and discard bay leaf
-In small batches pour soup into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth (you may want to let cool slightly before doing this so it doesn't splatter everywhere)
-Return to pot and add: 1 cup soy creamer or 1/2 & 1/2
-If you'd like it a bit thinner add in some vegetable stock
-Season with additional salt, pepper and/or sugar/honey to taste
ENJOY!

Triple Chocolate Nut Clusters

I don't know about you, but am so ready for this month to fast forward to Thanksgiving.  I want to enjoy a day of food, friends and fun and then move onto Christmas!  I'm one of those crazy people that has already pulled out my Christmas dishes and is thinking about starting to decorate for Christmas.  I start my Christmas baking sometimes as early as October and keep on going.  I like to do my baking before Thanksgiving, freeze it all and then it's done and I can pull my baked goods out to make platters of cookies anytime I need to during the whole month of December.  I love it!!  I've made over 20 different types of cookies and candies some years.  To me, that is right on the top of my list of favorite Christmas time things. 
This year I'm cutting way back with how much I'm baking since we are getting ready to move.  One of my favorite chocolate candies to make are Triple Chocolate Nut Clusters.  They are super easy, you make them in a slow cooker, it makes a lot and they also make excellent gifts to put in mugs, jars or bags to give out.  Try them  and let me know what you think!

Triple Chocolate Nut Clusters

1-16oz jar dry roasted peanuts
1-9.75oz can salted whole cashews
2 cups pecan pieces
36oz chocolate bark, squares cut in half
1-12oz package semisweet chocolate chips
4oz bittersweet chocolate
1T shortening
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine first 7 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker, cover and cook on low 2 hours or until chocolate is melted.  Stir, add vanilla, stirring well to coat.
Drop by heaping T onto wax paper.  Let stand at least 2 hours or until firm.  Store in an air tight container.  (Or freeze in zip-lock bags like I do.

Yummy Deliciousness!

)

Skylander's Birthday with Oreo Cake

Another birthday down and celebrated in our house.  With my husband and kids birthday's all in the fall/winter I feel like it is non-stop!  My little guy turned 6 and he is all about the Skylander's right now.  That is all he has asked for and wants to play.  We got him the game and now everyone else has been filling in the "guys."  He has made his huge list of the ones he still wants for Christmas and it keeps growing. 
We did a low key party for him this year with just a couple friends and cake. My favorite part was the favors.  I put together Skylander Element Boxes filled with candy for the favors and they turned out really great!  I think I was just as excited about them as he was.  I got the idea from here. 


So cute!  Right?



I printed off a Skylanders logo and elements pictures and taped them onto tackle boxes.  I tried to match the candy with the different elements.  Don't worry, I had to research what they all were too! 
Water-gummy fish, Fire-fireballs, Earth-chocolate rocks, Undead-chocolate eyeballs, Life-green licorice, Air-airheads, Magic-purple chocolate covered pretzels, Tech-orange jelly beans
This would be a fun favor for lots of different parties I think.  The tackle box idea you could use for a craft party, Legos and so many others!  It's cheap, versatile and you can use it afterwards for things too! 
My son requested an Oreo cake, so that is what I made.  I used this recipe for a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake and then made a creamy Oreo filling. 

Oreo Filling
Mix together:
1/4 cup butter, soft
4 oz. cream cheese, soft
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Fold in 8oz whipped cream until mixed well
Crush 1 1/2 rows of Oreos and fold into cream mixture.
Layer 1/2 of Oreo cream in the middle of the 2 layers of cake and the rest on top.
Melt 6 oz chocolate chips and 3 T butter until melted and smooth.  Drizzle and lightly spread on top.  Top with more Oreos if desired. 
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

I think we had a successful party!  The birthday boy was happy and everyone was full of sugar.  What's your favorite birthday themes?

 

Sweet Potato Dumplings (Paleo)

This week is my husband's birthday so I've been trying to make dinners all week that are meals he loves.  One of his favorites is his grandma's Dumplings.  I usually make them quite a bit during the winter.  The whole family loves them and they are pretty simple to make.  Although, now that I've cut out the gluten from my diet I can't have them anymore.  Bummer!  I had pinned a recipe for sweet potato gnocchi and thought I'd give it try.  I made a few alterations and voila!
So in one pot I made regular Dumplings for everyone and in the other I made a small pot of Sweet Potato Dumplings.  Everyone is happy.  I started with my regular recipe for Chicken Soup with Dumplings recipe and just added my Sweet Potato Dumplings instead.  They turned out pretty good!  These actually made the broth turn a little creamy and thicker and it was really good. 
I even think if you made the sweet potato mixture into patties to brown in butter or oil they would be yummy.  What do you think?

Sweet Potato Dumplings

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, baked and peeled
1-1 1/2 cups almond meal
3 T tapioca flour

Directions:
Mash sweet potato and stir in almond meal and tapioca flour until you get a thick consistency.  Next time I might try adding an egg.  It was thick, but the dumplings were still very soft when boiling.
Drop by tablespoons into boiling broth or water until they float to the top.

Great Grandma's Zucchini Bread

Fall is my favorite time of year, hands down!  I love the weather, but even more I love the food of fall.  Soups, stews, roasts, sweet breads...  Yum!!  I recently made Zucchini Bread.  I love it!  Any flavor, any add ins, I love it.  This recipe is my Great Grandma's recipe and it is a no fail one.  I love it because it makes 3 loaves and you can make it any flavor you want.  How great is that?!  These freeze well too.  Give as gifts, save for a pot-luck, pull out for a special breakfast or serve for company with coffee.  Enjoy!!

 

Chocolate chip, Chocolate chocolate chip and
regular zucchini bread

 

Great Grandma's Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded zucchini (try to get out as much water/moisture as possible)

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Beat sugar and eggs.  Add vanilla and oil.  Add all dry ingredients and zucchini.  Stir in up to 3 cups of mix-ins*.  (I divided batter into 3 portions and flavored them 3 different ways, or you can make them all the same)  Divide between 3 greased and floured bread pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Mix-ins: 1 cup raisins, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup coconut, 1-2 cups chocolate, white chocolate or cinnamon chips or anything else you can think of. 

*To make chocolate zucchini bread decrease flour to 2 1/2 cups and add in 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.



Homemade Vanilla Extract

I realize that it is only the first week of October, but for me, once school starts it is fall/holiday time.  I get so excited for the parties, food, cookies, gifts and celebrations!  I just love fall and all that brings.  The unfortunate part is that living in Vegas doesn't make it always feel like fall, but I just play pretend from inside my house and then all is good in my world.  :) 
I love to make homemade gifts for teachers, neighbors, friends and family.  I think when you take the time to make something special, the person receiving always appreciates it a little extra.  I love to see people enjoy what I make, don't you?  Plus this is one that you'll want to keep one for yourself too!
I go through vanilla extract fast!  Although I'm picky about the kind I buy.  I only use the real stuff and it can get expensive, especially at the holiday time with all the cookies and other baking I do.  I found this recipe to make Homemade Vanilla Extract and I love it!  It is so simple.  Initially it can be a little costly, but overall saves tons of money.  So look at it that way.  All you need is vanilla beans, vodka and nice bottle.  How amazing is that?!
For the bottle(s), if you are making it just for yourself, you can always make one big batch and use the vodka bottle itself which makes it even easier.  If you want to make smaller bottles to have you can find nice glass bottles at Wal-mart and craft stores.  Just make sure they have a good seal.  I had gotten some single serve wine bottles and they were the perfect size.  I just washed them up, after drinking/using the wine of course, and they worked great and I didn't have to spend anything extra on bottles.  I made 4 bottles of this size with one bottle of vodka.  I took 3 home to Ohio to give as gifts and kept one for myself.  Yum! 
The only bad part about making your own is that you have to let it seep for 4-6 weeks before using.  So, if you do want this for your own holiday baking or to give as gifts, start now!

After 1 week of shaking, it will keep darkening
as the beans continue to seep.

Homemade Vanilla Extract
from Akshayapaatram

• 2-3 Vanilla beans, split lengthwise
• 3/4 cup - Vodka
• glass bottle with lid/cork

Pick a glass bottle that can hold a whole vanilla bean. Clean and dry completely. Place vanilla beans in the bottle and cover completely with vodka. Seal well and place in a cool, dark place in your kitchen. Give it a shake every day or so for the first week.  Can use after 2 weeks, but for best results let seep for 4-6 weeks.

Notes: Within 3 days you will begin to notice a light brown color and the extract was strong enough to use within 2 weeks. A month would be ideal but if you want to use it sooner start off with extra vanilla beans. I used 4-5 beans in my current batch and add more vodka as I use some of it. I buy my vanilla beans on Amazon from this supplier, its a great deal and the quality has been great. You can use vanilla beans in the extract for recipes as well. They will be super moist and you can squeeze out the seeds easily.

When your extract is all gone and you have super moist and amazing vanilla beans to scrap, it is the perfect time to make Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding.  Delicious!! 

Filling the Freezer Part 2

Freezer Cooking is such an underground cooking way of life I think.  You have the die hard freezer users, some that freeze leftovers sometimes and then those that think the concept is completely gross, that unless it came frozen it shouldn't be in there.  Where do you fit?  Me, I'm all about filling my freezer to the max.  I love to buy and cook in bulk.  It saves not only time later on but usually money too.  There are so many things you can freeze from whole gallons of milk to pre-made casseroles and dinners to bread to produce to cookies.  There are some things that freeze better then others, but as a whole, you can pretty much stick anything in there. 
At holiday time I always start my Christmas cookie and candy baking anywhere between October and November so that it is done by Thanksgiving.  I freeze them all and then pull them out as I need them to make a tray to take to a party or have for dinner or whatever it may be. 
I love to freeze leftover coffee in ice cube trays for iced coffee or juice lemons or limes that need to get used.  I haven't done it, but I've heard to do this with left over buttermilk and heavy cream too.  You always have some of those left over after you use them for that one recipe! 
Breads of all kinds freeze great.  Go buy day old artisan breads from the bakery when they are on sale and freeze them to use for garlic bread, French toast, bread pudding or just to heat and eat! 
Cheese is another one that I do ALL the time.  I prefer to buy blocks of cheese.  You can freeze the whole block, or slice or shred it and freeze that way, pulling out what you need when you want it.  Lunch meats in the same way freeze well. 
Pre-make pancakes or waffles and save money and time instead of buying the boxed ones for 1/2 the price. 
Left over spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagna, and casseroles all freeze great too.
This freezer cooking that I'm talking about today though is for Crock-Pot Freezer Meals.  You dump the ingredients into  a freezer gallon size zip-lock bag and freeze.  When you want to make it just empty the bag into your Crock-Pot and let it cook.  Cannot be simpler!  This time I really wanted to stay away from the cream of whatever soups and we learned from last time that we didn't always like the chicken recipes that weren't a soup as much as some of the others.  Here is the link for my first round of Freezer Meals.

 

This time I made these Crock-Pot Freezer Recipes....
Jambalaya
"Creamy" Chicken Tomato Soup (paleo)
Honey Apple Pork loin (paleo)
Taco Soup
White Chicken Chili
Pizza Sauce
I also made Freezer Friendly Pizza Dough, which I doubled and also made a 1/2 recipe to try with gluten free flour.  The gluten free turned out ok.  I think it needed a little less flour, it got really stiff and cracked easily, but tasted great.  This recipe is super fast and easy and doesn't require time to let rise.  I froze 3 portions of the pizza dough and with the 4th I made Calzones using The Pioneer Woman's Calzone filling recipe.  My family loved them and then I froze the left over ones for later.  (Just to clarify, I froze fully baked calzones)

 

Lastly, I made, what I call, Egg McMommies.  I stole this name from a childhood friend's mom.  She used to make her version of these for us after sleep overs.  My version I bake the eggs and make them a little bit healthier.  I first got the idea (again) from The Yummy Life.   Here is what I do...

Egg McMommies
Start by lightly spraying a jumbo muffin pan, ramekins or Pampered Chef Brownie Pan with cookie spray.  Crack an egg into each, sprinkle with a little pepper if you like.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until set.
Lightly brown Canadian bacon just long enough to sweat the water out.  *You could use fully cooked sausage patties if you prefer.
Split whole wheat English muffins (Toasted if you like) in half and layer with 1 slice of cheese (your choice, I usually use Cheddar or Colby Jack), 1 piece of Canadian bacon and 1 baked egg.  Put the top of the muffin on and wrap in parchment or in sandwich size zip-lock bags.  Freeze.  Heat in the microwave about 3 minutes on 1/2 power.  My hubby loves these!

Have fun filling your freezer with something new.  What is your favorite things to freeze?