Spicy Chicken Soup

• 2 quarts water
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
  
  

  Directions

• In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, or until chicken juices run clear. Remove chicken, reserve broth. Shred chicken.
• In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until slightly browned. Stir in salsa, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato soup, chili powder, corn, chili beans, sour cream, shredded chicken and 5 cups broth. Simmer 30 minutes.

Spinach Basil Pesto

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 12 frozen cubes Change Servings

• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered 
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ingredients

• 2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz each) softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 5 pieces of bacon (optional) cooked and chopped
• 1 small can chopped jalapenos (you can use fresh jalapenos too and keep the seeds if you want it spicier!)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
TOPPING ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cup crushed ritz crackers
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 stick melted butter

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Combine all the top ingredients and mix together well
3. Pour in 9x13 glass dish (or something similar)
4. In a separate bowl combine all of the topping ingredients
5. Pour over top jalapeno mixture
6. Bake for 20 minutes
7. Broil for 2-3 minutes until crackers are browned a little
8. Serve with chips or crackers (we love it with pita chips!)
9. Enjoy!

Rosemary Turkey

Rosemary Roasted Turkey Breast

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 4 hours

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 bone in turkey breast (approximately 8 pounds)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium onion, quartered

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, basil, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt; set aside.
3. Wash the turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Remove any large fat deposits. Loosen the skin from the breast by slowly working your fingers between the breast and the skin, being careful not to tear the skin.
4. Using your hand, spread a generous amount of the rosemary and olive oil mixture under the skin. Rub the remainder of the rosemary mixture over the outside of the breast. Use toothpicks to seal skin over any exposed breast meat.
5. Place the turkey, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.
6. Place the quartered onion pieces (as many as you can fit) inside the breast cavity.
7. Add about 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the pan.
8. Roast in the preheated oven for approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the bird reaches 165 degrees.
9. If desired, turn the turkey breast over with about an hour left of cooking time to allow the top to brown. Let sit for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Tangy turmeric hummus

1/2 lb garbanzo dried beans soaked well and cooked (or soaked, sprouted then cooked.. i have done both, they are both good but sprouting is more work and a more bitter taste so you'd use more sweet in the form of a date or more orange juice)
juice from a large orange, or two smaller oranges
a fresh clove of garlic
fresh turmeric, a few inches or more if you want the more medicinal qualities of turmeric. 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice (using fresh citrus is tastier)
salt 
olive oil.  For garnish or add a few tablespoons to make more rich

It's easiest to blend garlic with turmeric, lemon, orange juice, and (optional) olive oil, and a pinch or two of salt.  Start with a few inches of turmeric so you can experiment with flavor.
Add tahini and gradually add garbanzo beans.  if the mix gets too dry to blend well, it's fine to add more citrus or water to taste.  Add more of whatever you think it is missing according to considerations below:

Customizing:  This hummus has a good balance of savory (beans), nutty (i think turmeric and of course tahini), sweet (orange juice), bitter (lemon), spicy (garlic), salt (a little of this quality can come from the turmeric).  So if the balance is not according to how you prefer when you are making it, up the quantity of whichever ingredient you need more of and it'll be great!

  

Zucchini Pie -- Brett Broadhead

1 C Sugar
1/3 C Flour
1/2 to 1 T Ground Cinnamon
1/2 to 1 T Ground Cloves
1/2 C Lemon Juice
8 Cups Zucchini
1 9" Pie Crust
1 T Coarse Sugar for crust

Zucchini should be soft where you can push into it with a fingernail, quarter zucchini, peel, remove seeds and slice 1/8" to 1/4" slices.  They should look like apple slices.  Saute with lemon juice (covered) until translucent.  Drain off juice and let rest for 5 minutes, drain again; should be cooked down to 6 cups.  Combine sugar, flour and spices and pour into pie.  Put on top crust and make cuts into top crust about 8 in all.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown crust.  Let cool down and try to taste the difference between apple pie and zucchini pie.

Zupas Copycat Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Cafe Zupas is one of my most favorite places to eat! I love their soups and sandwiches and salads....well... I guess I love everything there! I was mailed some canned tomatoes from Muir Glen Organics with it came a recipe of fire roasted tomato soup. I just can't resist a new recipe so I made it. It tasted exactly like Zupas Tomato Basil Soup - so I thought I would share! 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz) of fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (I used Muir Glen Brand)

1 can (14 oz) fat free chicken broth (you can also use vegetable broth)

2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup skim milk

(The recipe calls for 1/2 cup heavy cream instead of using skim milk... but the skim milk worked out just fine! - and much less fattening!)

Directions:

In a 3- quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, 1 Tablespoon of basil, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and then cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, place half of your mixture into a blender and puree. Pour the puree back into the saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat. Stir in cream, milk and 1 Tablespoon of chopped basil. 

Serve while it is hot with Whole Wheat Bread.

Servings: 10 

(I froze about half of my soup after it was cooked and had it the next week for dinner- it thawed perfectly)

http://www.todaystaste.com/2013/08/zupas-copycat-tomato-basil-soup.html

Cookies & Cream

1 bag Oreos, crushed
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 C butter
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 large box instant pudding, prepared
12 oz Cool Whip

Cream together cream chees, butter,  powdered sugar & vanilla.  In separate bowl mix milk & pudding chill until set.  Fold in cool whip after pudding has set.  Add cream cheese mixture.  Layer with Oreos.  Chill until ready to serve!

Sweet Potato Paleo Brownies

Sweet Potato Paleo Brownies

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Dark chocolate
• 2 med Sweet Potatoes, boiled purple or red skinned firm fleshed
• 1/4 cup Unpasteurized Local Honey
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 tbsp Vanilla
• 1 tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Method:

1. Melt the dark chocolate in the coconut oil in either a double boiler, a steel or glass bowl over a pot of boiling water or in the microwave. I generally use the microwave at 30 second bursts , stir repeat until melted (usually in 1 1/2 minutes)
2. Puree the sweet potato in a food processor until smooth, making sure there are no lumpy bits.
3. Add in all of the other ingredients, and mix until very smooth and creamy.
4. Transfer the batter to an oiled 8×8 or a 6×11 baking dish.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer into the middle and seeing if it comes out clean. If not cook for another 5 minutes and test again.

Salsa

Simple and delicious: Chop 5-6 Roma tomatoes,1 small onion and 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro. Mince 2 seeded Serrano or Jalapeño peppers and 1 clove of garlic. Add 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and let sit overnight for flavors to meld.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft
1 cup of mayonnaise
4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded. The seeds will make it fiery hot.
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup diced green onion

Topping:

1 cup of crushed crackers ( I used Ritz)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick of butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all of the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well.

Transfer to an oven proof dish. The size of the dish depends on how thick the dip is. The thicker the dip the longer it may need to warm up. I used this stoneware dish that is round and measures 12 inches across. My dip is usually about an inch thick.



Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle all over the top of the dip.

Bake the dip for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

This ranch is AMAZING and has quickly became our new favorite. You can use LITE buttermilk, sour cream and mayo and it is STILL really good. It doesn't taste at all like the lite version in the stores. So much yummy ranch flavor!

1/4 cup Black Pepper
1 1/2 cups Parsley Flakes
1/2 cup Garlic Salt
2 Tbsps Kosher Salt
1/4 cup Granulated Garlic
3/4 cup Granulated Onion
2 Tbsps Dill Weed

Combine all ingredients, store in an airtight container. Makes about 3 ½ cups of dry mix. Will only use 2 Tbsps of this mix for each batch.

To Make Dressing, whisk together:
2 Tbsps of mix
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups buttermilk (trying this with kefir, which I hear is a great substitute for buttermilk)
1 1/2 Cups sour cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Makes 1 3/4 Quarts

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

2 medium sized ripe avocados
1/3 cup raw cacao powder, or more to taste
5 fresh dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut milk, nut milk or filtered water
1tsp natural vanilla extract or pure vanilla bean powder
A pinch of unrefined sea salt

Optional

Dried coconut, grated dark chocolate or berries to serve

Method

1. Soak the dates in the milk or water for 10-30 minutes to soften. In a blender, add the avocado flesh, dates, milk, vanilla and salt and cacao powder. Blend until smooth. You may need a little more liquid to facilitate blending and scrape down the sides of the jug a few times.
2. Adjust ingredients to taste, adding more cacao powder if it needs it. Serve and garnish with your choice of toppings.

Kefir Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients: 2 cups Kefir (can substitute yogurt, buttermilk or whole milk) 1 cup Kefir Cream made with Heavy Cream (can substitute non-kefired Heavy Cream) 2 eggs 2 tsp Vanilla Extract ¾ cup Organic Sugar (can use raw honey or agave but reduce the amount by approximately 40%) Beat eggs together well then beat in sugar (start with a conservative amount of sweetener and add in small increments to taste; keep in mind that the finished ice cream will be slightly less sweet than the kefir mixture before it’s frozen).  Blend in the kefir cream and vanilla.  Transfer to the ice cream maker and follow the instructions that came with the machine.

No-Flour Black Bean Brownies (Gluten Free)

• This time I cut the maple syrup about in half and added an egg...yummy!
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder- dutch or regular (10g) (add a little extra if desired)
• 1/2 cup quick oats (40g) (See nutrition facts link below for all substitution notes.)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, but not for strict vegans.) (75g)
• 2 nunaturals stevia packs or 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g) (See “nutrition facts” link for all substitution notes.)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (115-140g) (Not optional. Omit at your own risk.)
• optional: more chips, for presentation

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. Makes 9-12 brownies.

Per Brownie:

• Calories: 115
• Fat: 5.5g
• Carbs: 15g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 2.5g
• WW Points (new system): 3 points

Primal Fudge

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup high quality cocoa powder
1/2 cup smooth almond butter
1/4 cup raw honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt coconut oil.  Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.  Pour into paper-lined muffin tin cups or silicon muffin cups and fill half-inch full.  Makes 10.   Chill for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.  When firm, remove.  Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  Mmm-mm!

Chicken spinach florentine Lasagna

Put together this recipe from eating one someone else made and doesn't share recipes.

Chicken & Spinach Florentine Lasagne

2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded or cut up
1 pkg.  mushrooms,  cut or chopped
1 lb. spinach fresh or frozen, chopped
1 jar alfreado sauce w/ cheese
 1-2 cups mozarella cheese grated
About 9 lasagna noodles cooked.

Assemble by started with a little sauce on the bottom of a 9 X 13 casserole. then in this order
Noodles, chicken, mushrooms, spinach, sauce, & cheese, repeat and end with noodles and cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and hot.  I thought it turned out yummy.

Chia Seed Pudding

Chia Seed Pudding Recipe

Servings:	2
Prep Time:	4 hours 5 mins
Total Time:	4 hours 5 mins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond milk
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated

Directions

1. In a large jar (or two small jars, if you divide the ingredients), combine the almond milk and sweetener. Close the jar and shake to combine. Add the chia seeds and orange zest to the jar, then close and shake well.
2. Refrigerate until thick and pudding-like, at least 4 hours or overnight, shaking or stirring occasionally.
3. Serve with fruit, a drizzle of honey, cinnamon, or whatever other toppings you like.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Original recipe makes 18 tortillas

 1 cup all-purpose flour
 4 cups whole wheat bread flour
 1/3 cup shortening (I use coconut oil)
 1 T salt
 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, and salt. Rub in the shortening by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.
Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked. Tortillas can be refrigerated or frozen.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

*Makes 12-18 pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup wheat berries/kernels
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
5 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the wheat berries/kernels and the buttermilk in a blender and blend on high for 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and thick. Add the 1/2 cup milk and continue to blend for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the batter is smooth. Cook the batter on a hot griddle for pancakes or in a waffle iron for, well, waffles!