Chicken Vegetable Soup with Pasta

After the cold weather came in after Halloween I made a pretty easy and fairly adaptable chicken soup for us.  We have been passing around a pretty nasty cold and cough around here for almost a month! Luckily (well not so much for me)  I have had it the worst, but that is better than Savanna.  The doctor finally perscribed a z-pac and I think that may have finally kicked it!  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  

Healthy Chicken Vegetable Soup

INGREDIENTS

6 cups chicken broth*

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 cup onion

1 cup baby carrots, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I like zucchini actually but did not have any so used a carrots, peas, green beans and lima bean mix)

1/2 small tomato chopped up

1 tsp salt

1 cup uncooked tiny pasta (I used Ancini di Pepe)

Parmesan Cheese for topping

*The pasta soaked up A LOT of liquid which I believe is from the type of pasta so I would either recommend cooking separately or adding more broth/water depending on the type you use.  I added 4-5 more cups.

**I also added 1 cup of spinach to my bowl and the hot soup wilted it nicely.  

PREPARATION
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté onions until translucent.  Add in carrots, tomato and garlic, sauté for 5 minutes.

2. Put broth, chicken, and salt in, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.

3. Add in frozen mixed vegetables and cook for 5 more minutes. 

4. Remove chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Add pasta to soup; cover and simmer 10-15 minutes minutes, or until tender.

5. Meanwhile, shred chicken with fingers or 2 forks. Add to soup along with the parmesan cheese (I left the cheese out of Savanna's and served hers at room temperature.  

Dairy Free Pumpkin Apple and Sweet Potato Soup

Where do the days go?? I cannot believe it is Friday already! Savanna started to really walk this week (about 5-10 steps at a time) so she has kept me on my toes! I have been wanting to share this pumpkin soup with you all week :)

Whenever fall arrives, all I crave is pumpkin! I have shared my love for pumpkin and the recipes for pumpkin mousse and pumpkin cookies, in the past.  This year the first thing I wanted to make was a big batch of pumpkin soup so I could stock up and have some easy lunches.  I also had a lot of apples and sweet potatoes so I thought it would be fun to add those as well.  I like a lot of spice in my soup so feel free to adjust the spices to your taste! This makes 12 cups of soup so there was plenty to eat this week and plenty to freeze :)

Happy Friday!

Dairy Free Pumpkin Apple and Sweet Potato Soup (Loosely adapted from The Family Kitchen)

3 TBS Olive Oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 apples (about 3 cups) chopped

1 large sweet potato (about 3 cups) chopped 

6 cups of water or stock

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp nutmeg

30 oz pumpkin (2 cans)

Directions:

1. Boil the sweet potato for 15 minutes to soften (takes longer to cook than everything else).

2. Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it simmers. Add the diced onion, apples and salt. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.

3. Add the water/stock, sweet potato and spices and bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender, about 5 more minutes.

4. Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat. In batches puree in your blender or food processor.  (You can add more water(or cream if you can have dairy), if desired, to thin out more.))

5. Top with pumpkin seeds and serve.

Leftover Baby Food Puree Ideas and Recipes

Once Savanna got a hold of finger foods, she said bye-bye to purees (if we are on the go she will eat some out of a pouch once in awhile).  I had made some of Savanna's food and bought some jars and pouches for when we were travelling.  Of course she gave up the purees as soon as I stocked up on jars.  I decided to make use them in baking and making other meals. Fruit purees are easy to make use of.  Here are some great ways to incorporate them:

• Stir into oatmeal
• Replace the butter or oil in pancakes or muffins (apple and pear are best for those)
• Make a smoothie

Some ideas for veggies: 

• Carrots and winter squash are great to add to mac and cheese
• Tomato and Carrot Purees are great for making pasta sauces 
• Winter Squash can be used for Giada's Butternut Squash Lasagna :) 
• Most veggies (maybe not broccoli or string beans) can be added to make a savory muffin
• Broccoli can be used for making soup (add some chopped pieces for texture) 

If you have any tomato carrot purees leftover, I made a yummy turkey meat sauce.  I didn't write down the exact recipe, but it was fairly simple. Saute a 1/4 of an onion, a few carrots and turkey chop meat (about 1/3 cup), add in 2 jars of puree and add little salt and pepper.  I tossed it with some small pasta and had dinner for Savanna for 3 nights! I altered my favorite pumpkin bread recipe to make it healthier and use some leftover apples and sweet potatoes (see recipe below). Savanna has almost always hated the purees with meat in them and I have no idea what to do with them so if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!  Do you cook with your leftover purees?  If so please share your ideas as well!

Sweet Potato and Apple Muffins

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1/4 cup oil

1/3 cup apple sauce 

3/4 cup sweet potato puree

1/3 c + 1 Tbs milk (we used coconut)

1/2 tsp vinegar

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 + 2 TBS oat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and apple sauce

2. Whisk in squash, milk and vinegar 

3. In another bowl sift flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves

4. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined

5. Pour into loaf pan

6. Bake for 55 minutes or until tooth pick clean

7. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan 

Almond Milk Chocolate Pudding & Allergy Update

One morning Savanna finally took a bottle with formula.  I had a friend who recommended trying in the morning with the first feeding of the day because that is when babies are usually the most hungry.  After a couple of mornings of trying (over 2 weeks) it worked! Ironically after, I read a blurb in parenting magazine that said it sometimes takes babies 6-10 trys to like a new food and a lot of parents do not try that long.  I still wanted to nurse because I wanted Savanna to get all of the health benefits from it because she still was not even 3 months old.  It was really nice that she was able to take it because it gave me a little break and allowed me to build a supply so I did not have to worry as much when I had things to do.  We were doing well for about 2 weeks and then she started getting upset at the bottle and while nursing again.  She would only nurse for about 5 minutes and then get upset and it was a constant struggle.  So we decided to try all formula for a week and see how that went.  It went ok for the first few days but then she started to get upset again.  So we spoke to one of the nurses at the pediatricians office and she recommended we try the liquid Hypoallergenic Formula.  Yay finally two weeks later on that she is eating well and still happy!  It was been a long struggle and a lot of trial and error (which is what I learned most of parenting is :) ) but I am glad she is finally happy.  It was tough to give up nursing because there is so much pressure these days about how breast is best.  At the end of the day it wasn't for Savanna and all of the joy and bonding that comes from nursing was lost because it was not enjoyable for either of us anymore.  So there is always the next one (God willing) and for now I am just happy to have a happy baby.  I am still going to post some dairy free and soy free recipes since there are not a ton out there and I want to  hopefully help some other mothers who may have the same problem.  Plus the recipes are usually healthy and good to make even if you do not have an allergy :)

Almond Milk Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups low fat milk (almond or regular)

1. Measure cocoa, sugar and cornstarch into a small saucepan.  Whisk together until all large lumps are gone.

2. Over low heat slowly whisk in milk.

3. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil (should take about 5 mins).  Periodically whisk as you bring to a boil and be careful to get the sides of the pan. 

4. After it comes to a boil lower heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Continue to whisk. 

5. Take off heat and put through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl (this is to get rid of any remaining lumps, if you do not have a mesh strainer or you are lazy and do not mind some lumps you can skip this step).

6. Place a piece of plastic wrap right on the pudding to prevent the film from forming.  Then chill for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Leftover Buttermilk Recipes

Happy Monday, hope you had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day!  If you made Irish Soda Bread like me you are sure to have some leftover buttermilk.  I am always looking for alternative ways to use my leftover buttermilk when I do not want to bake a bread or a cake with it so I thought you may be too. I love this buttermilk roast chicken from Smitten Kitchen.  I made it last year for Super Bowl and I will be making it again tonight:) Buttermilk gives a nice tang to a smoothie.  If I had a mango I would make this one, but all we had were bananas so I made a peanut butter and banana smoothie (my recipe is below).  If you are still looking for ways to use it, it is great alternative to regular milk in your mashed potatoes :)

PS I realized after these last two posts, I did not post an update that Savanna was now on hypoallergenic formula so I could have dairy again.  I will post an update later this week :) 

Peanut Butter Banana and Buttermilk Smoothie

1 medium banana

1/2 cup light buttermilk

1 tbs peanut butter

1/2 cup ice

1 tbs flax seeds (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in blender

2. Let stand 5 minutes (so ice melts slightly)

3. Blend and Enjoy!

Homemade Yogurt and Granola

One of my favorite gifts from our wedding registry is my automated yogurt maker from William-Sonoma. If you love yogurt and enjoy using fun gadgets I highly recommend a yogurt maker. Our’s is super easy to run, does not require much manual work AND is a big money saver. As much as I love it, there are some downsides to consider. First, you have to wait overnight for the yogurt to ferment and this model doesn’t produce as much as we’d like. I have done some research lately and found there is a 2 quart version available. I recommend this over the William-Sonoma one (if you’re not putting it on a registry) because you do not get a lot for the amount of time that you have to wait. 

The second downside is really just a personal preference. The William-Sonoma model produces a plain yogurt consistency, while I have become a big fan of Greek yogurt. Food & Wine was my savior this month as their article on homemade yogurt (this month’s edition) described how to strain the yogurt to get more of a Greek yogurt consistency. 

This is how is will look if you do not strain it

To strain just place your cheese cloth in a strainer over a glass bowl

Making yogurt is actually pretty simple. You need the live culture to transform the milk to yogurt and then keep that cultured milk at a specific temperature. The yogurt makers keep that yogurt at the right temperature for you, but Food and Wine says you can actually just do this right in your oven (If you do I would recommend you get a thermometer to make sure your oven is between 105-110 degrees F) . I have not tried this method so let me know how it goes! 

I love granola with my yogurt, but I hate when that granola is soaked with oil. I lightened up a granola recipe for you by using some apple juice :) (The apple cooks off so you won’t taste it) Enjoy! 

Yogurt with cherries honey and homemade granola to go!

Homemade Yogurt

42 oz 1% of 2% yogurt (I have done it with skim too!)

1/2 cup plain yogurt containing active yogurt cultures OR Yogurt Starter

Need: Thermometer, Double Boiler and Yogurt Maker or Oven

1. Place a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and pour the milk into the bowl.
2. Heat until the milk reaches 180 degrees (this will take awhile, about a 1/2 hour to 45 mins).
3. Once it has reached 180 degrees take the bowl off of the double boiler and cool to 110 degrees (will take about another 1/2 hour).
4. Once cooled whisk in the yogurt or starter, whisk for 3 minutes and then pour into glass jars. 
5. Put the jars in the yogurt maker (I have done it with and without the lids and it does not seem to make a difference) or oven if you do not have a yogurt maker.
6. It will then take between 6 and 7 hours to be ready.  It is ready when it is thick and surrounded by a clear liquid (whey).  
7. Refrigerate until chilled.
8. It can then be eaten just like this and you will have 42 oz of Yogurt. 
9. If you like thicker yogurt, line a strainer with cheesecloth (this can be found at any local grocery store).
10. Let strain for an hour.  Make sure there are no spaces and then squeeze the remaining liquid out.  You will have 2 cups of liquid.  When you strain the whey out you will be only left with about 20oz of yogurt.  

Low fat Walnut and Dried Cranberry Granola

2 1/2 cups Oats

1/3 cup Bran

1 cup chopped Walnuts

1/2 Honey

1/3 cup Apple Juice

1 tbs Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 cup Dried Cranberries

2 tbs Flax Seeds

2 tbs Pumpkin Seeds

325

1. Spread nuts and oats on a baking sheet and toast for 12-15 mins
2. While toasting whisk together oil, honey, salt and cinnamon
3. Remove oats and nuts from oven and immediately pour it into the wet mixture
4. Fold ingredients together and make sure all dry ingredients are covered
5. Spread mixture in an even layer on a baking sheet
6. Bake for 20 minutes (rotate halfway in-between)
7. Toss Fruit in when it comes out of the oven

Note: Granola is a very flexible recipe if you want the full fat version you can use 1/3 cup of oil.  You want to add more/different nuts go for it, it is personal preference.  I prefer mixing regular fruit into my yogurt and having less dried fruit in my granola. When I add almonds I like replacing the vanilla extract with almond extract and using dried apricots.  When I use pecans I love to replace the honey with maple syrup.  You can make a tropical granola with toasted flaked coconut, macadamia nuts, and dried pineapple.  

Super bowl

Yayy for the Giants!  My husband is a huge Giants fan so he was really excited about the win last night! He wanted to be able to actually watch the game so we had a few of his close friends over to watch.  I was instructed NOT to go crazy with food so I tried to just keep it simple :)  

On the menu was:

Chips and salsa 

Chunky guacamole 

Truffle quesadillas

Ginger and garlic turkey meatballs 

Roasted Buttermilk Chicken drumbsticks (thanks Smitten Kitchen - I substituted her paprika for old bay)

I wanted to share my guacamole and quesadilla recipes

Guacamole: The guys thought this tasted lighter than normal guacs

2 avocados

10-15 grape or cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic 

1/2 large onion

lemon juice

1 tsp salt (approximate - I always do it to taste)

1. Dice the onion into pieces that are about 1/8 of an inch

2. Mince the garlic

3. Cut the tomatoes in quarters

4. Halve and pit the avocado, then make a cross hatch using your knife (see photo below) and be careful not to cut through the skin.  

5. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl squeeze and toss with lemon juice.

6. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, onion and salt (taste it and add more salt if needed).

Truffle Quesadillas - These have a story :)

We were really upset when our staple Mexican restaurant Zocolo left a few years ago and we could not find a replacement.  This past winter Toloache opened actually right next door to where Zocolo was. We were excited when we went in to hear that it was the same chef from Zocolo.  The food was just as good if not better than Zocolo (the only complaint from my husband is the portions shrank a little :)  Anyhow our favorite is their truffle quesadilla which is very simple so I try and recreate a version of my own at home.  

Serving 2 Quesadillas:

2 Medium Flour Tortillas 

1 1/2 cups shredded chedder and manchego cheese

1 tsp truffle oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400

2. Put each both tortillas flat on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil (these are not sandwiched like regular quesadillas)

3. Spread 3/4 cup of shredded cheese on each tortilla 

4. Bake for 5 mins and then put your brolier on low for 1 minute

5. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/2 tsp truffle oil

6. Cut in quarters and enjoy

                                                                                                                                                                 

PS  I am trying to add some diversity to my blog- let me know what you think!

Pumpkin

I also love fall because it means the return of pumpkin spice latte's at starbucks and an excuse to make pumpkin everything! On a chilly morning, I love to make smitten kitchen's pumpkin butter and stir some in my oatmeal. I am very upset about the pumpkin shortage this year, it is only September and I had a really hard time finding some.  I may have to limit the pumpkin items on my fall menu :(

I made pumpkin mousse for a dessert party on sunday and I have been craving it since then!

I wanted some myself Sunday night but since the wedding is on Saturday, I decided to search out a lowfat version.  The lowfat version is not as "home-made" as the real version but besides the whipcream (nothing beats real whip cream) it tasted almost the same and took about 10 mins to make!  

Here is the recipe:

1 box instant sugar free fat free vanilla pudding
1 cup skim milk 
1 cup organic pumpkin 
1/2 cup fat free whipped topping
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Whisk the pudding and skim milk until there are no lumps.  Let sit 5 minutes.  

2. Whisk in the pumpkin and spices

3. Fold in the whipped topping

4. Enjoy!