Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is probably one of my favorite soups.  Even though it is October, it doesn't fell like fall quite yet.  Yesterday I decided  like I would pretend like it was cool enough to make soup.  I already had all the ingredients on hand, so I got to work chopping all the vegetables.  It turned out to be a perfectly tasty, comforting, and nourishing bowl of soup.

1 lb sausage (I used a sweet chicken sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
2 small zucchini chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup small pasta
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1. brown sausage in a frying pan.  When halfway cooked, add onion and carrots and cook until sausage and vegetables are cooked through.

2. In a large pot add sausage and vegetables, tomatoes, and broth.  Add zucchini and pasta.  Cook until pasta is almost cooked through and zucchini is tender.

3. Add kidney beans, spinach, and seasonings.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Serve!

Almond Coconut Muesli

We have taken a little hiatus from this blog.  Part of my hiatus was due to a pretty epic trip to Europe and another part has been to cooking, but not measuring ingredients.  The good news is I am back from Europe and actually took the time to measure the ingredients for this recipe.  This was inspired by lovely Italian breakfasts.  Is it just me that finds memories and food closely intertwined?  My first morning in Italy we woke up at a charming hotel and there was a wonderful breakfast.  Among the options were plain yogurt, muesli, fruit, and honey.  I had never tried muesli before, but it looked wonderful.  I mixed it with the tangy yogurt, topped it with fruit, and drizzled a little honey on top.  It was wonderful and inspired me to see if I could recreate it back home. I think it comes pretty close.

5 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup mini dark chocolate chips (optional)

1. Mix oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.

2. Add maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla.

3.  If desired, spread ingredients out on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly toasted. Once cool, mix in chocolate chips, if desired.

4. Store in an airtight bag or container in the freezer.

Serve with milk or yogurt and top with fruit.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Ganache, Berries, and Cream

Last week I was looking for a recipe that would serve a crowd, but would still be Sunday worthy.  I generally think desserts Sundays should be a step up from the ordinary.  Now is the tail end of zucchini is in growing in gardens and cheap in the stores, so it is the perfect time of the year to make this cake.  My sister told me she is generally disappointed in the texture of zucchini cakes, because the end up almost gummy and gelatinous.  (Is that even a word?)  This cake was nothing of the sort.  The cake was moist and the crumb was tender.  I'm pretty sure the combination of tender zucchini cake, ganache, berries, and cream was a match made in heaven.  Fun little fact, the plate below is part of my great grandmother's china set.

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups grated zucchini

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

2. In an electric mixer, add eggs and lightly beat.  Add sugar and vanilla mix until well combined.  With mixer running, slowly add oil and buttermilk.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Fold in grated zucchini.  Add hot water and mix until combined.

5. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Ganache:

8 ounces of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup cream

1. Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl.

2. Heat cream on medium low heat until it is almost boiling.

3. Pour cream over chocolate chips and stir until all the chocolate chips are melted.  If they don't completely melt, microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval.

Cream:

3 cups cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar or pure maple syrup

The cream is good either just drizzled on top of the berries and cake or whipped. 

If you choose to whip it, whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and sweetener.  Whip until cream forms stiff peaks.

If you choose to drizzle the cream, just mix in the vanilla and sweetener and serve in a pitcher beside the cake.

Berries:

3-4 cups fresh raspberries or diced strawberries

To assemble the cake, cut the cake into squares, top with berries, and drizzle or dollop cream on top.  Enjoy!

Recipe simplified and adapted from Simply So Good.

Lemon Rice

More carbs, I know.  I promise we'll get some healthier recipes out there soon.  But for now, enjoy carb overload.  This lemon rice is to die for.  The first time I tasted it, I'm pretty sure my eyes popped.  The lemon was stronger than I expected and in a good way.  I've had a lot of bland "flavored" rice dishes in my day.  This one far exceeded my expectations.  Not under or over doing it with flavor.  It is just perfect in my book.  I'm salivating just thinking about it.  

I always serve this rice with lime chicken, though I'm sure it would be delicious with many other dishes.  It also is delicious as breakfast.  I may or may not be guilty of eating every tasty morsel for breakfast the day after.

Lemon Rice

1/3 cup lemon juice
4 tbs. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 cups brown rice
3 & 3/4 cups chicken broth, hot
black pepper to taste

In a large, wide saucepan bring the lemon juice, butter, and salt to a boil. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed. 

Add the hot chicken broth, cover, and cook on low until the rice is cooked, about 45 minutes.  Remove from heat with lid still on and let rest for 10 minutes to ensure the moisture is all absorbed.  Stir in black pepper and more butter, if desired. 

Recipe from my mother-in-law.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Okay guys, it has been a while.  Can I just say that I was moving to another state and be forgiven for my absence?  Thanks for being patient while I packed up and unpacked all my belongings.  I haven't cooked nearly as much in the past month since we were searching for an apartment, packing, moving and unpacking.  But I am back on my game!  I have gone to the store a million times and feel like I am finally stocked up on my staples.  I may have cringed and pulled my hand back when I saw the prices, but at last I have realized I have left cheap Utah prices behind.  Sigh.  The food may not be cheap in California, but it is a beautiful place to live!  And farmer's markets year round?  Yeah, I'll take that.

This recipe doesn't take anything from the farmer's market, but is absolutely divine.  This lightly sweetened bread is my husband's favorite.  In fact, it was his birthday "cake."  He'd much rather have this than actual cake.  I'm alright with that.  Though not the healthiest bread to down, it certainly is one of the most delicious.  Light and fluffy and delicate lemon flavor combine to make the most addicting bread.  It never lasts long in our house!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

1/3 c. milk
2 tbs. instant mashed potatoes
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, cut into chunks
1 tbs. yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 - 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tbs. melted butter

Heat milk until boiling. Remove from heat and immediately stir in instant mashed potatoes, sugar and butter. Let cool until just warm.

In a stand mixer or bowl, sprinkle yeast over water and let stand for 5 minutes. With the dough hook, mix the beaten eggs, salt, lemon zest, vanilla, potato mixture and flour. Start with 2 cups of flour and mix until combined. Keep adding flour slowly with the mixer going until you have a soft dough. It will no longer be sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour or the dough will become too stiff.

Cover dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  If you poke an indentation in the dough and it doesn't spring back, it has risen enough. If you are in a hurry, my sister-in-law taught me a great trick. Warm your oven up just slightly and then turn the oven off. Leave the dough in the oven to rise and it will rise quicker. Just make sure it is mildly warm in the oven. If it is too hot, let it cool down before putting the dough in. We don't want to cook the bread yet!

Knead dough breifly to release air bubbles. Let dough rest 5-10 minutes.

On a lightly oiled surface, roll dough with your fingers into a 30" rope. Coil rope, twisting slightly as you go, into an oiled 9" pie pan, starting in the center and moving out.

If desired, brush with melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 40 minutes.

Uncover and bake in a pre-heated over at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.


Slightly adapted from my mother-in-law.

Banana Cream Pie

Often when I think of making pie I think of a long time intensive dessert.  Pies aren't hard to make, but they take longer than whipping up a batch of cookies or a pan of brownies.  I love pie, but don't often have the time to make one.  This pie is almost more "assembly" than "cooking".  The boxed pudding makes this come together in a snap.  I rarely buy boxed mixes, but I think the cook-and-serve pudding is pretty tasty and sometimes you need to take the short cut.

I am pretty particular when it comes to banana cream pie.  I usually don't like store bought ones and although I love bananas, I don't like things with fake banana flavor.  I really prefer vanilla pudding in this pie.  Graham cracker crusts are so tasty, because they have butter!  This one has just a hint of cinnamon, which adds a subtle dimension to the pie, that is fantastic.  If you want to get all fancy, feel free to pipe the whipped cream on, but I just spread it on the top and called it good.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/3 cups crushed graham crackers (I crushed them in the blender)

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together until well combined.  Press into a 9 inch pie plate along the bottom and up the sides.  Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.  

Filling:

1 large box cook and serve vanilla pudding, prepared and cooled

3-4 bananas, sliced

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

The rest of the pie is mostly assembly.  Whip the cream until thick, add vanilla and sugar and whip until soft peaks form.  Slice 2-3 bananas into the bottom of the crust. Pour pudding on top, then spread whipped cream on top.  Slice and add the last banana on top.  Serve immediately.

Crust recipe adapted from my cousin Emily.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my go to meals when all I have are a few scraggly vegetables left in the fridge.  I pretty much always have rice and eggs on hand and have started picking up ham steaks when the go on sale to keep in my freezer for this very purpose.  You can switch this up with different vegetables and types of rice depending on what you like and have on hand.  This is one of my favorite combinations.  I bet bean sprouts or a bell pepper would be awesome in this.  Once I added some purple cabbage and while it tasted good, it turned the ham and rice purple!  I don't think I will do that again.  One trick is using cold rice, since it isn't quite as sticky, making this is a good meal to use up leftover rice.

4 1/2 cups cooked rice (1 1/2 cups uncooked).  I usually use brown rice, but any kind will work.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped ham
3 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 small head broccoli, chopped (I even peel and chop up the stem)
1 zucchini, chopped
1-2 green onions, sliced
2/3 cup frozen peas
2-3 eggs
1 cup fresh
Soy sauce to taste
Fresh cracked pepper

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Add chopped ham and cook, stirring occasionally until ham is lightly brown.

2. Add onion, cook for a couple minutes, then add garlic and carrots and cook for another couple minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables, except the peas.

3. In a separate small frying pan, scramble the eggs, breaking them into smaller pieces.

4. When vegetables are slightly tender, add rice, eggs, green onions, and peas to large frying pan.  Stir everything together.  Season with soy sauce and pepper and cook until rice is hot.  Enjoy!

Variations: Add 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped.  Instead of scrambled eggs, top each serving with a soft fried egg.