Tomato, Basil, and Cheddar Soup

We've had cooler weather days lately and I was in the mood for soup.  Delicious!


2 28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth 
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup basil, chopped, loosely packed
2 tsp of oregano
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, add the olive oil to a large pot. Add the chopped onion and allow to cook until tender, about three to four minutes. Add in chopped garlic and cook for an additional two minutes. Pour in the two cans of tomatoes (juice and all) and the vegetable stock. Stir in the basil, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper. Place the lid back onto the pot and allow to simmer ten minutes. At the end, stir in the Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese until well blended. Use either an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup if you prefer a smooth texture. Garnish with chopped basil and grated cheddar cheese if desired.

Cocoa-Banana Pancakes

Saturday mornings in our home typically mean special breakfast.  These pancakes tasted special!  The banana, chocolate, and coconut were all subtle but went together well.



1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
1 banana, the riper the better
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tablespoons coconut (optional)

Combine yogurt, banana, milk and vanilla in a large bowl and pulverize with a hand blender until smooth. Crack in the eggs, add a pinch of salt and mix together thoroughly.

In another bowl, sift together flours, cocoa, and baking soda. With a wooden spoon, stir in wheat germ and coconut, if desired. Add entire dry mixture into the wet mixture and fold gently together. Pour in melted butter and mix just to combine.

Heat a cast iron pan (or nonstick) over medium heat and then grease with vegetable oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter onto the pan to make several small, round pancakes. Cook on even medium-low heat until bubbles start to form.

Flip pancakes and continue cooking.

 Remove from pan and serve warm with maple syrup or Nutella and fresh banana slices, if desired.

Summer Spaghetti

The name for this from the original recipe was too long, so I called it "summer spaghetti" and you should make it quick - because it's yummy and because summer is fleeting!  The garlic "gravy" was deliciously light.  And I think it tasted even better eaten on our patio table.



500 grams spaghetti pasta (cooked al dente)

1 pound chicken breast fillets (sliced into 1 inch chunks)

For the chicken marinade:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped (I didn't use this)

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (if using dried, use half of the amount)

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ a lemon

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon coarse salt (not table salt)

½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to sauté the marinated chicken)

Add all the marinade ingredients into the chicken and marinate for 20 minutes (if making this dish in pronto) or overnight (if making this dish the next day… much better).

Saute the marinated chicken in extra virgin olive oil until cooked (about 4-5 minutes) then set aside.

For the garlic gravy:

½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups chicken stock

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup parsley, chopped (to sprinkle/finish the pasta)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups whole cherry tomatoes

Place sauté pan over medium heat and add butter and olive oil.  Saute garlic until fragrant and soft.  Add the flour and cook for a minute.  Add chicken stock and simmer gravy until thickened then add the chopped basil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the sauteed chicken in the gravy then toss the cooked spaghetti into this sauce.  Add the cherry tomatoes and finish the dish with the chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese (serve extra on the side).

Makes 5-6 servings

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted to try another recipe that used malt powder.  These were good, but flat cookies aren't my favorite.  So if you like your cookies thin and a little crunchy, my guess is you'll love these.  I would have enjoyed another batch of these bars better, but as you can see - my family didn't have a problem eating this batch.



1 cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter Softened
3/4 cups Golden Brown Sugar
3/4 cups Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1-1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup (rounded) Malted Milk Powder
1 bag (12 Ounce) Milk Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. Add malted milk powder and beat until combined.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.
Add chocolate chips and stir in gently.
Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Talk about easy and sure to turn out great!  I threw everything together while the kids were eating lunch (do you know how fast little kids eat?!) then left the dish in the fridge until I popped it in the oven in between jumps on the trampoline!



1/4 to 1/3 cup smooth Dijon mustard
1/4 to 1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 pounds chicken thighs (or legs)
Salt
2 sprigs rosemary (or a generous sprinkling of dried rosemary)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix mustard with the honey, and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and taste. Add more salt and mustard until you get the flavor where you want it.

Salt the chicken lightly and lay the pieces skin-side up in a shallow casserole dish. Spoon the honey mustard sauce over the chicken. Place the rosemary sprigs in between the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the thighs read 175° on a meat thermometer, or the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife. Remove the casserole pan from the oven, use a spoon to spoon off any excess chicken fat that has rendered during the cooking.

Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over the chicken before you serve over rice.

Prosciutto Lemon Egg Bread

This was delicious!  We enjoyed it for dinner, but it would be perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even as an appetizer, cut into smaller slices.  And if you want to save some pennies, I think thinly sliced black forest ham would work in place of the prosciutto.

• 1 baguette (15 inches long)

• 5 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 3 tablespoons whole milk

• 1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves (I used several shakes of the dried stuff)

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto (I think thinly sliced black-forest ham or something similar could also work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice 1/4-inch off the top of the bread, and hollow out bottom, discarding the crumb (soft interior) of the loaf. Cut top into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, zest, milk, parsley, and Parmesan. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup bread pieces.

Place hollowed-out bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I didn't use parchment paper). Press prosciutto slices along inside of bread to cover. Slowly pour egg mixture to the brim. Bake until eggs are puffed up and cooked through, 30 to 33 minutes.

Slice into 2-inch pieces. Serve immediately.

S'mores Pudding Cookies

Hello yumminess!  These truly tasted like s'mores in cookie form.  Some of the marshmallows crusted on the pan while baking, so I had to wash between each batch, but it was worth the extra effort. 

• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding dry
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 sheets graham crackers finely crushed (about 1/2 cup of crumbs)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups flour (may need to add up to an additional 1/4)
• 1/2-2/3 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 cup chocolate chips 

Cream butter and sugars together.  Add in pudding mix and beat until well incorporated.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.  

In a small bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and flour until evenly mixed.  Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until well incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips and mini marshmallows until evenly mixed in.  Add more if desired (sure, why not?!).

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes.  You want these cookies to be slightly undercooked.  It helps make them extra soft.  Let sit on pan for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  

Chicken Tamale Pie

Oh.  Yum.  I will definitely be making this again.  I left out the cayenne, hoping to keep things mild for the gingersnaps, but it was still too spicy for their taste.  So my husband and I ate our servings, then theirs!  The tamale "crust" is soft and sorta mushy, but firmed up as it sat, so let the dish rest for a few minutes before serving and I think the "slices" will hold together better.

Update: I made this again, making sure to get mild enchilada sauce and mild diced chilies.  I left out the cayenne again and the kids were able to eat it.  Although my husband and I liked it much better with more of the spice.  

1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I left this out for the kids)
1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce 
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
3/4 cup shredded white cheese
cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine the first 7 ingredients (milk through green chiles), using just 1/2 tablespoon of the taco seasoning, in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a round pie plate (mine was glass) coated with cooking spray.  I used my pie plate, but it wasn't big enough to hold everything without spilling over (see photo above!).  My round casserole dish is deeper and would have been a better choice.

Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes. While corn is baking, toss the chicken in the remaining 1 tablespoon taco seasoning. When corn is done – it will be just barely set and golden brown – pierce entire surface liberally with a fork (it might stick a little bit to the fork). Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with cilantro and Cotija cheese.

Malt Cookie Bars

Jessie raved about these, so I had to give them a try.  I wasn't entirely sure what "malted milk powder" was and ended up coming home with Ovaltine chocolate malt.  It did the job.  And the bars were delicious!  Think chocolate-chip cookie meets a whopper-flavored brownie (as in, the candy - not the burger!).  YUM!




1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup malted milk powder
2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Beat butter, brown sugar, malted milk powder, chocolate syrup, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until well combined.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir to combine.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix well.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper (I just coated an 8x8 with cooking spray). Press the cookie dough into the dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes. They will still seem gooey in the centers so let them cool completely before cutting into them.

Jessie suggested I keep them in the fridge and serve cold.  We ate them too fast to try it them that way, but that just means I'll have to make another pan!

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

These were yummy and a bit addicting.  I made a few changes from the original based on what I had on hand.  I expected the bites to be more dry and firm, but mine came out fairly wet after 20 minutes of baking time.  I might have put too much mixture in each muffin cup and probably could have baked them longer, but we just used forks instead of fingers and still enjoyed them!

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 large eggs

2 carrots, shredded

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

2 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Add quinoa and broth to a medium saucepan.  Bring liquid to boil.  Cover and turn heat down to simmer.  Cook 15-20 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients together, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Using a melon baller or a tablespoon, place rounded drops of the mixture into each cup of the muffin pan, pressing each one down lightly with your fingers to make sure that they are firmly packed.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.  

Bake until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately.