Wednesday, November 20, 2013

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! 

2 comments:

  1. Those looks so yummy!! I think I could eat soup every day in the colder months! Tell Jason to read up in coconut oil! It's low melting point (76 degrees) makes it a "healthy fat", and everybody needs that! Plus I told you other things I use it for. It's been a real blessing to have discovered it!
    Shan

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  2. Here is a good article:
    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/surprising-health-benefits-coconut-oil

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