Mama's in the Kitchen

With the holiday season and my brain no longer being taken over with training came the renewed interest in Pinterest and trying out new recipes!  I have had so much fun with it.  I like perusing the recipes, finding ones I like, making the grocery list, shopping (yes, even grocery shopping), and finally getting in the kitchen and giving it a go!  My confidence has improved somewhat when trying new recipes... this could be a good thing or a bad thing.  I still make substitutions and changes mid-recipe if I don't have something or if I don't like an ingredient.  But with this week's recipes, it has turned out okay... so far.

First up is pumpkin bread!  I chose it because it said, "easy" pumpkin bread.  It got this recipe from The SITS Girls, and my only complaint is there was no good way to print it.  I had to keep running into the study to check the recipe and then going back into the kitchen (yes, I have an iPhone, no I didn't feel like using it for this).  

Here is the recipe (see the link above for complete instructions):

Note: I am not a food photographer.

2 ½ C flour
2 t baking soda
3 C sugar
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
½ t cloves
½ t allspice
1 large can (30 oz) or 2 small cans (15 oz) of pumpkin
4 eggs
1 C oil

I made two changes.  I only used 2 cups of sugar and I used coconut oil (although it doesn't specify).  And it was DELISH!  I was quite proud of myself.  To me, they did not need 3 cups of sugar and I have a serious sweet tooth.  The spices are PERFECT and you can taste them all.  It was a superb fall treat.


Next, I made slow cooker chicken noodle soup from Cooking Classy.  I am actually in the process of making this right now.  The ingredients are all cooking in the crock pot now, and I'll shred the chicken and add the noodles in a few hours. Now that it is cold, soup is the perfect meal for my little family, but I wanted to find some soups that do not include Campbell's soups.  I'm not bashing Campbell's, I'm just seeking a healthier option. 

Here is the recipe (see the link to Cooking Classy for further instructions):

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
   
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (1 3/4 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 4 stalks celery, chopped (1 1/4 cups)
   
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (3 - 15 oz cans)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 tsp celery seed, finely crushed*
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
• 3 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

I didn't have any celery seed or bay leaves, so I hope it turns out okay, but I had everything else and followed instructions.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Next up I intend to try easy pumpkin swirl brownies (again, I was drawn in by the word, "easy"). They look DELISH!  I may make them today and serve them to some friends tomorrow as my taste-testers.  Then I may need to try my pumpkin bread again, but I will substitute butter for the oil, or maybe Greek yogurt.  I want to make a version my husband will eat (he's anti-oil).

Yep.  Mama is in the kitchen!