Halloween Fun!

Now to figure out what to do with all this candy that needs to not be in my house. Any suggestions??

Curried Apple Potato Soup

Every Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer has a Food section. It has some food related articles and usually about 6 recipes. I make sure to pull this section out so I can find some fun new recipes. This soup was in last weeks paper.

• 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
• 5 cups water
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 leeks, whites only, thinly sliced
• 1 tart green apple; peeled, chopped, and cored
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Over high heat, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until veggies are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer soup in batches to a blender to smooth

The only change I made to this recipe was to use 5 medium sized potatoes instead of 3 large.

Sophia didn't like this soup too much. I enjoyed it, but probably wont rush to make it again. It was very simple to make and not at all time consuming like most soups. The soup needed some salt and pepper for flavor. I served this for lunch with some buttered toast. It was satisfying at lunch time, but two hours later I am very hungry. A hungry mommy is not a happy mommy :(

Happy Halloween!!!

White Bean Turkey Pumpkin Chili

I really need to get into the habit of putting my memory card right back in my camera as soon as I am finished uploading my pictures. Tonight when I was finished cooking I took a picture of my meal with the intent of posting it on this blog. As I sat down to do so, I realized the memory card was still in my computer, not my camera. Luckily I had some leftovers I could take a picture of to share with you.

I found this recipe on a the facebook page called Skinny Crock Pot . They have a bunch of recipes that I would love to try, especially since they are lower in calories and I am on the constant battle to lose my muffin top. I 'like' a lot of recipe pages on facebook. It makes finding new recipes and ideas super easy since they just pop up right on my news feed.

• 1 1/4 lb ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 chopped yellow pepper
• 1 chopped orange pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 14.5oz can chopped green chilies

Heat a skillet over medium heat to brown the turkey. Drain and add onion, garlic, peppers, and all spices except the bay leaves. Saute a few minutes. Put in crock pot with pumpkin puree, broth, beans, chilies, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

I made a few changes to this recipe:

1. I used a green pepper instead of the orange pepper. I am not a fan of red or orange peppers at all. If something is cooked with red pepper I can't even just pick the pieces out or eat around them. The flavor infuses the entire meal and I just cant eat it. This is my own personal preference, everyone has a few things they just don't like no matter how it is prepared.
2. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. No personal preference here, I just have my vegetable broth on hand in the freezer. I would rather use what I have then spend the money. Especially when my vegetable broth was homemade from fresh veggies, while store bought chicken broth is bound to be loaded with lots of sodium and who knows what else.
3. I left out the green chilies entirely. I felt they would make the meal too spicy for Sophia. It had a little bit of spice from the chili powder so the extra heat was not needed for my family.

As I chopped the onion and peppers, I saved the top and skins from the onion and the core of the peppers. I put them in a big Ziploc bag and tossed it in the freezer. As I come across scraps from veggies I will add them to this bag. When the bag is full and my supply of vegetable broth runs low, I will use the contents of this bag to make new broth. I used to just throw these "un-useable" pieces of veggies right down the garbage disposal. It took less than a minute to save these pieces and will save a few dollars in the long run. I will not have to buy as many new veggies when I want to make broth nor will I ever have to buy premade broth. Plus by making homemade broth, I am able to better control the quality of food Sophia and I consume.

This was pretty good. Maybe not my favorite meal I have cooked, but something I would do again. I usually don't have to add salt to much, but I did have to add some salt and pepper when I sat down to eat. The pumpkin flavor was not overpowering at all. Some pumpkin flavored foods are too strong for my liking. My sister, Chrissy, stopped by and I made her try some. She is not a fan of pumpkin and even she said she couldn't taste it in there. The only taste she didn't like was the cumin. It is one of her least favorite flavors. I didn't notice a very strong cumin flavor, but maybe it is just like how I am with the red pepper. If there is one flavor in a meal that you do not like, that is what will probably stand out the most. I sent her home with some home to give to her husband and I will be bringing some to my mother tomorrow. I look forward to hearing their reactions as well.

This recipe made way more than I needed for just one night. After I separated some for my brother in law and my mom, I was able to freeze about 2 cups and still have some leftovers to have later in the week.

Upcoming....

I decided my next two recipes to try. Tomorrow I will be doing Turkey Pumpkin Chili in the crock pot and  Monday I will do Potato, Leek, and Apple soup for lunch. Later in the week I will be using some of my saved Lentil Sauce and will share that recipe as well!
I have also decided that after the Turkey Pumpkin Chili and an attempt at a homemade pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, I will be done with cooking fresh pumpkin for the season. I have enough fresh pumpkin puree saved in my freezer for both recipes and I do not fancy carving or cleaning any more pumpkins for a long while.
Lastly, I am excited and honored to announce a new project in the kitchen that will start within the next few months. My sister and brother in law asked me if I would like to make fresh homemade baby food for my newest nephew, Christopher, once he starts eating fruits and veggies. He holds a very special spot in my heart. I can't wait to start. I will need to stock up on ice cube trays!

Stay tuned...

Day Off!

For Sophia's 4th birthday, I got my baby girl a kitten. We had just moved into our own apartment, so it was about time she had a pet of her own. I searched for a Russian Blue, because they are hypoallergenic and that was the type of cat I had as a little girl. My step-father is allergic to cats and I never wanted to live in a home that he could not come to visit comfortably. He actually was the one who found the cat that would eventually be Sophia's. Her name is Tina Ballerina. She is most likely not a full Russian Blue, because she was a rescue, but her dander count is way lower than almost any other non-hypo cat. Most of the people I know who are allergic report back that their symptoms are not as severe in my home as opposed to any other place that has cats. Tina is a bit feisty. She bites at times, but is very good with children. She is great with my nephews. Collin who is scared of most animals, except bugs, searches her out when he comes over. The only time she acts out on Soph, is when my darling angel is way too rough with her. Sophia is like that Loony Tunes character who gets ahold of a pet and exclaims, "I wanna hold you, and squeeze you, and love you forever" as the cats eyes pop out of its head from being squeezed too tightly. I can't blame Tina at that point. I even had to set up safety zones, so if the cat needs to get away, Sophia is not allowed to get her. Ms. Ballerina does love Soph though. Every night Tina stands guard in her room as she goes to bed. This is the one time Sophia doesn't want her cat around and she makes me take her out of the room.
Tina has never had much interaction with other cats since I adopted her. Tonight one of my girlfriends offered to cook us dinner, so we can bring Tina to her house to play. She has 3 cats, so it will be interesting how Tina manages with other feline companions. Sophia loves my friend's one cat, Dexter. Dexter will let her drag him all around and not put up a fight. Tina could use a few pointers.
Not having to cook today left me wondering what I was going to post. I am not obligated to post here everyday and there will be days that I don't cook for some reason or another, but I enjoy blogging. I came up with two things to share:

1. Halloween is on a Monday this year. It is a tradition in my family for everyone to congregate at my sisters for pizza and then my brother-in-law and I take the kids trick-or-treating. Until I realized this coming Monday was Halloween, I had fully planned to use some of the Lentil Sauce I have frozen for dinner and share the recipe. I guess I will do that one other day during the week. Looks like 2 dinners out of next week are already planned. I may look for a fun vegetarian lunch to make and share for Monday.
2. Neither Soph or I will use the end pieces of a loaf of bread. I usually save them with the intent to take her to feed the birds, but they wind up getting moldy and then trashed. This morning I finished a loaf of bread and decided to put the two end pieces in the freezer. They can be used when making a whole chicken or turkey to hold the stuffing inside the cavity. Maybe I will make some home-made croutons, since I never buy them. Also, I could save up some ends and make a batch of breadcrumbs. I don't know exactly what I will do with them right now, but they will be used!

Leftovers with Pressured Potatoes

Tonight was Sophia's dance night, which is synonymous with leftover night. Good thing she dances in the middle of the week. If she had dance on a Monday, my recipe schedule would be screwed. I combined Sunday and Monday's dinners and added potatoes. In effect, I am a very stuffed lump on my sofa shaped log.
I had one boneless rib left from Sunday. When I was younger, less responsible, and had more money there is no way I would have saved ONE rib. Into the trash it would have went. Now I am broker than a joke, so no wasting if possible. I cut this rib up into small pieces and added it with its BBQ sauce to the 2 cups of leftover Mexican Chili from Monday. I was not sure exactly how this would taste combined, but the idea of a BBQ Mexican Pork and Beans seemed like it could work. It was pretty good. I served that with the green beans from Sunday.
I also decided I wanted a baked potato. It is a shame they take so long to bake since their ingredient list consists of 2 items. Tin foil and potato. My craving got me thinking, "If only I had the means to speed up that cooking process." AHA! Enter the pressure cooker. The guidelines in my pressure cooker cook book says to cook whole potatoes with one cup of water for 5 minutes on high. Remember, liquid is VERY important when pressure cooking, since it creates the steam that builds up. I thought the water might turn my "baked" potato into boiled potato, so I decided to still wrap it in foil to protect the skin. I wound up having to cook it for 15 minutes total and performed a quick release. Worked like a charm. I may never wait the hour+ it takes to bake a potato again. I'll just pressure it. The cooking time could vary if you have a bigger potato. Mine was medium sized. Test it with a fork before serving.
With a little margarine and some sour cream, this meal left me fully satisfied. I actually went back for seconds on leftover night!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Tonight I did not plan a big meal. I pulled chicken out of the freezer, but was not quite sure what I wanted to do with it. I am beginning to feel a tad bit of pressure to make outrageously impressive meals, because now my dinner audience is not only a 4 year old and the occasional guest. It is you! And I strive to impress you! Well, kinda. I strive to do my best and make this blog an enjoyable experience all around, but like I said before: I am no chef! New recipes aren't going to happen everyday, though I strive for them at least twice a week. Monday is almost definitely always going to be a new recipe day. At least until I get to the point of having to redo some favorites. This is about the everyday mom who doesn't like to cook plain and bland.
So tonight's dinner consisted of 3 basics. Chicken, potatoes, and corn. I marinated the chicken in the Hawaiian flavor of Lawry's 30 minute marinade. I highly recommend Lawry's marinades. They are very inexpensive and lots of times you can find a coupon. I have used the Hawaiian, Steak and Chop, and a Lemon Garlic flavor. 30 minutes is the minimum for the marinade, but you can have it in longer. I put mine in for about 2 hours. If you store your frozen chicken in a Ziploc bag, pull it out of the freezer the night before you cook it and add the marinade then. It will infuse the chicken as it thaws and you will be able to cook with it right away after work without waiting the 30 minutes to marinade.
I tried to jazz up my mashed potatoes a bit. I boiled and mashed 4 medium sized potatoes. As they were getting mashed, I added a tbsp margarine, some milk, rosemary, and garlic powder. Usually I just use milk and butter or margarine, but I was in the mood for something more. Sophia was not too thrilled over the strings (rosemary) in her mashed potatoes. Next time I want to jazz up the flavor of my mashed potatoes, I will go with flavors that are less visible. She loves to use the mixer to make mashed potatoes, so I am no longer allowed to do that by myself. Once the potatoes are done being mashed, she loves licking the mixer prong. We call it a mashed potato lollipop.
I didn't do anything to the corn. Just steamed it in a bit of water. No butter needed. Who wants those extra calories? My mother is what I call a Butterington. She likes to add a ton of butter to everything. At least that is what she did when I lived there; it drove me nuts. Any vegetable that was steamed would be covered in butter. Now that I am able to cook for my little family, I use the least amount of butter possible. I tend to use margarine if butter is needed.
Sophia's favorite vegetable combination is mashed potatoes and corn, so this dinner was bound to be a winner before it was even served.