Butternut Squash Soup

Can I just tell you that while I was making this I thought it was going to turn out absolutely disgusting. I was SO pleasantly surprised! I doubled it and made 2 extra freezer meals of it. AND we have eaten them all and I am making more to freeze and eat this week. We LOVE it!

My kids snarf it too. That is a big deal! It is an awesome substitute for tomato soup on those cold days. It has that creaminess and that hearty goodness that just fills you up with warm fuzzy's!

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (just use a peeler and go at it like a potato)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

3 1/2 cups chicken broth (low sodium of course)

2 slices stale wheat bread, cut in to pieces

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried basil

Directions: simmer the first three ingredients for about 20 minutes or until the squash is tender. Add bread, pepper and basil. Simmer 2-3 minutes longer. Puree in a blender until smooth. Put in a prettier bowl than mine and EAT IT UP!

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti

Holy Smokes y'all, this one is SO.GOOD!! Serious. Like restaurant good! We made this last night and my entire family (including 4 yr old, 2 yr old AND 1 yr old) DEVOURED it. I seriously should have made more. Serious YUMMINESS! (oh, and SO EASY peasy!)

I made some tweaks to her recipe so I will write them here. Go to her site (i nom things) for pictures of HOW to make it and everything. This picture is hers...I made min with thin wheat spaghetti noodles.

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti – serves 2

4 oz dry spaghetti (I used whole wheat, thin spaghetti noodles)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon (I used the stuff in a little lemon bottle)
2 tbsp pine nuts (didn't even use these...didn't have 'em)
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded (I used 1 tsp of dry)

Start a small pan on low with the oil and minced garlic. Cook on low until the garlic begins to brown (mine took about 15 min). Once that is going boil your noodles.

When the garlic is done, add the garlic (with the oil) to the noodles. Add the rest of the ingredients and serve.

YUM!...I think I will make this tomorrow too....

Next Monday, my AMAZING Butternut Squash Soup...AND IT FREEZES!!! Get excited. I AM!

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

OK y'all. This is my FAVORITE soup and my kids love it too. It is SO divine. I got it from here. I am going to post how I make it though. I make some very slight changes. We also freeze the left overs of this one. From one pot I fed my family and another family in need. THEN I made and extra batch without the cilantro to freeze. We have frozen it with the cilantro in it and it is just as good either way.

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves fresh or roasted garlic, minced

80 oz (10 c) chicken broth (I use the reduced salt bullion cubes)

10 oz can Rotel tomatoes, mild

7 oz can diced green chilies

4 medium chicken breasts, shredded

2 1/2 cups cooked rice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Pinches Kosher salt

fresh cracked black pepper

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

3 diced avocados, drizzled with lime juice

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook chicken in a crockpot; shred.

2. Spray a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes then add in garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, chicken breast, rice, lime juice and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes; taste and season according to your liking. Right before serving add chopped cilantro.

3. Serve soup with fresh diced avocado, shredded cheese.

10-12 servings

Black Bean Butternut Squash Crockpot Chili

For the life of me I cannot remember where I got this recipe so if you know, let me know so I can link it up. We love it though. My husband was shocked when he was mid-meal and I told him there was no meat in it. We had A LOT left so I stuck the rest of it in a gallon freezer bag and froze it for later. It was as good as the first time.

Here we go:

3 onions, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 14.5 ox cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes (or regular)

4 15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 8 cups of your pre-made beans)

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and shopped into 1/2 inch cubes

salt and pepper

Spray large skillet with pan spray and add onions, peppers and garlic until tender. Put in slow cooker and everything else, except the squash. Arrange the squash over the chili. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Update: I found this recipe on Crockpot Girls site.

Dried Fruit

I have loved all this fruit going on sale for 77 cents a pound! I have been buying it in the truck loads to freeze and dry. My lovely momma has a dryer. I was SO excited to dry TONS of plums this year. They are my favorite dried, next to pears. They are awesome for food storage AND for when you need fruit and run out. We love to snack on them too.

Give it a try!

EASY Peasy Jam!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have been opting to make my own jam lately because I am sick of feeding my kids sugar by the sandwich-full!

Get this: all you need is fruit, sugar, and modified cornstarch...SERIOUSLY...totally not kidding.

I wish there was a step by step instruction for you to follow on this one but there isn't. You just guess and throw it together.

I, so far, have made: Strawberry, apricot and peach jam...all the exact same way.

I chop and pit my fruit, puree it, stick it in a pot with about 8:1 ratio of fruit:sugar and then add some modified cornstarch (I use stuff from Kitchen Kneads). I boil it until it thickens (sometimes I have to add about 2 cups for 16 cups of pureed fruit). Put it in bottles or 2 cup tupperware and either bottle it or freeze it after it cools.

THAT IS IT! Feel free to ask questions if you need to. We LOVE this. We can actually TASTE the fruit and it is SOOOO yummy on toast or PB&J's!

Rainbow Fruit and Veggie Tray

This was SUPER fun to make. It was also SUPER delish. Here is what I used:

Red: strawberries and red peppers

Orange: Carrots (could also use orange peppers)

Yellow: pineapple (could also use Yellow peppers)

Green: cucumber and broccoli

Blue: (you could use blueberries)

Purple: Plums (you could also use cherries since they have such a dark color)

Pasta or Zucchini...you choose.

You can either pan fry it to eat with a different texture OR you can shred this zucchini with a peeler and use it in the place of noodles. That means you have the option of spaghetti squash OR zucchini as a veggie replacement for a car. Just peel it until you get to the seeds and discard the seeds. This is from 1 small zucchini. If I were to do it again I think I would make slices in the zucchini and THEN shred. I really liked this. The nice thing about Zucchini is it takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking. LOVE IT!

Watermelon Popsicles

You kids will think these are SO COOL and you have to do virtually NOTHING. Just slice watermelon, cut it with a cookie cutter, stick it on a popsicle stick (i got 100 pkg at dollar tree) and put it on foil n plop it in the fridge!

I know it is a little late in the year. Remember for next time :)

Avocado and Tomato Melt with balsamic vinegar

This is another one of my momma's masterpieces. I LOVE this...and it has a little kick of flavor.

This one is very similar to the Turkey Avocado melt but this one has a little kick and is SO EASY and SOOOOOO NUMMY!

Whole wheat bread

Avocado

Tomato

Balsamic vinegar

Olive Oil

Italian Seasoning

In advance soak sliced tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Italian seasoning. Broil bread until toasted. Put sliced tomatoes and thinly sliced avocado on top. Put your favorite cheese as a topper and broil again until cheese is melted.

We LOVE this!

Sauteed Zucchini with Cherry Tomatoes

2 med zucchini, sliced

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 tsp salt

pepper

Heat pan on med-high. add oil, garlic and zucchini. Cook until zucchini is slightly browned. Add tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook until tomatoes are warm.

Turkey Avocado Melts

This would be an AWESOME thing to make with your Thanksgiving leftovers

Have you tried the new sandwich thins??? I didn't think I would like them but I am IN.LOVE! We use them for sandwiches, hamburgers and...well anything else. They are actually cheaper than bread in some cases. These were scrumdillyumptious!

We used left over roasted Turkey we had in the freezer. You can use any kind of turkey your family likes (I am not big into lunch meats).

Avocado

Tomato

Slice of cheese

Laughing cow cheese (wedges of soft cheese we use in the place of mayo, they are 60 calories for each wedge, we used one wedge on 4 sandwiches)

Your choice of mustard

Just pile it all on there and broil until the cheese is melted. If you like crispier bread rather than soft bread just broil the bread until it is crispy before you add the other toppings, then RE broil it once the toppings are on.

Organize Your School Lunches

I loved this idea for healthy school lunches...and I LOVE her blog because I am also an organize FREAK!

Check her out at IHeart Organizing

Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

This is one of my hubbies FAVORITES! I actually REALLY love it too and it is SOOO easy! You gotta try it!

1 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
3 cups veggies cut into bite size pieces
(broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions)
¼ cup peanuts, chopped (optional)

Peanut Sauce:
2 Tblsp creamy peanut butter
1 ½ Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp fresh garlic or ginger, minced
¼ cup water

Directions: Prepare rice. Prepare peanut sauce: place peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic, ginger and water in microwave safe bowl. Microwave 30-60 seconds and then whisk until combine.
In a large skillet, heat oil at medium heat. Add chicken and sauté. Add veggies to pan and sauté in an additional 3-4 min. Serve over prepared rice and top with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Easy Apples for Kids

Burger King (shockingly) inspired me! They have/had the option of doing apples that look like fries. I thought it was genius. My kids love anything that looks like a fry.

I have had the problem, and maybe you have too, where EVERYTHING that is healthy is hard for a baby/toddler to eat. One of my little guys has hated apples because they are hard for him to eat.

Soooo, as I was moseying around Ross one day, I ran across this fry cutter!
I.LOVE.IT. I actually use it. It gets my kids excited about everything (because they look like fries!) It has mad things so much easier for my kids to eat, and even better, they eat it quickly!

Penne Pasta with Veggies

This is going to sound terrible but I have no idea where I got this recipe but I LOVE IT! My kids love whole wheat noodles! I would just recommend not OVER cooking the veggies.

¼ c balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup diced onions
1 sm eggplant, diced
1 sm yellow squash diced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
2 cup diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or basil
1 Tbs olive oil
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried thyme
8 oz. Whole Wheat Penne pasta


Directions: In a large skillet over med-high heat, cook vinegar and garlic for 3 min. Add onions, eggplant, squash, and peppers. Cook for 3 min. Stir in oil, parmesan, salt and thyme. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce mixture and toss well. For a more assertive flavor, substitute chopped fresh basil or parsley.

Green Bags

Have you ever seen these before??? Can I just tell you that if you eat lots of produce, these.are.a.MUST!!!! I am 100% in love with these!

There are 10 "small" bags (really not so small, like normal produce bag size) and 10 BIG bags. They are reusable up to 10 times....and probably even beyond.

We eat LOADS of fresh produce and we haven't even used all of these once yet.

You wanna know HOW amazing these are??? Well, usually when I buy parsley, it is bad within a day or 2....mine has been sitting in my green bag, in the fridge...FOR OVER a week! No joke!

I bought strawberries, again, I didn't wash them just dumped them in to the bag, they were getting kinda ripe so I was worried. We ate them (after about 1 1/2 weeks in the fridge) before they got too ripe!

Spinach has been sitting in one of my large bags, oh...for about a month now. It STILL isn't bad! I just use it when I want to. Green onions, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes....seriously, SO.MANY.THINGS!!!!!!

I have found that there are some things that really don't work in there and usually they are things that you have to peel, like oranges and banana's. They ripen just the same for me.

Have you tried them???

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (Roof's Recipe)

These were.....ahem.....absolutely amazing! YUM! They don't look NEARLY as delicious as they were. I have found the best price for these mushrooms at Sam's Club...if you know a better place, PLEASE let me know!

I got this recipe from ksl.com's website. Check it out!

1/2 c. diced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. diced yellow squash
1/2 c. diced zucchini
1/2 c. diced eggplant
1/4 c. diced Roma tomatoes
1/4 c. tomato puree (I just used tomato sauce and it worked out great)
Salt & pepper to taste
6 Portobello mushrooms
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. Asiago cheese (I used feta)

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:
Sauté onion and garlic in the butter and oil until onion begins to brown. Add the squash, zucchini, and eggplant and sauté until the squash is tender, but don't let it cook too long (about 2 min). Add the Roma tomatoes and the tomato puree. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the stem and ribs from the Portobello mushrooms. Spoon about ½ cup of the squash mixture into each mushroom and sprinkle with Asiago cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese become golden brown.

This dish is best served with a zesty marinara sauce.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

This is an excellent recipe to FREEZE so make doubles (or triple) and freeze for another day! This is an awesome way to have a quick healthy meal when you don't have time (instead of buying fast food!)

It was SO yummy. I love broccoli...and so does my boys! We will definitely be having this one again soon

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb beef sirloin steak or roast, THINLY sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups broccoli florets

4 green onions, thinly sliced (i used my frozen ones)

2 Tbs light soy sauce

Cook rice according to directions. In a frying pan, brown beef with garlic and oil over high heat (do not cook too long or beef will be firm). Stir in broccoli and onion. Stir for about 5 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add soy sauce and cooked rice.

This is an excellent recipe to FREEZE so make doubles (or triple) and freeze for another day! This is an awesome way to have a quick healthy meal when you don't have time (instead of buying fast food!)

Greek Couscous Salad

1 cup couscous (cooked)
1 1/4 cup boiling water
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
7 Greek olives, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and pepper

Directions: Boil water and add to couscous. Cover for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate for at least and hour before serving.

Zucchini Chicken Nuggets

I don't know who has seen Cheeky Kitchens blog but I LOVE IT! Every once and a while she has some healthy recipe's. This is one of hers that you can find here. My kids LOVE it AND it is so easy to make.

1 ½ cup Zucchini, grated
1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
1 tsp onion salt
1 ½ cup crushed corn flakes,bread crumbs or crushed crackers

Directions: In a large bowl, mix together the zucchini, chicken, egg and onion salt until well combined. Form 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into small balls, then press until ½ inch thick and coat in bread crumbs. Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Once all nuggets have been formed and breaded, spray a light layer of nonstick spray over the nuggets. Cook in an oven preheated to 400 for 13-15 minutes, or just until nuggets have cooked thoroughly.

Spinach Packed Spaghetti

We eat LOTS of spaghetti...if you haven't noticed. This one is just like our other recipe sans the meat and instead we PACK it with either fresh or frozen spinach. I usually chop it up a little so we don't have loads of chunks....cause then the boys notice, otherwise they eat it up like crazy (just like usual)

Pan Fried Zucchini

In our house we LOVE us some zucchini almost every day if we have it. WE LOVE IT! Our kids LOVE it! Our 20 month old runs around the house saying "NEE NEE, NEE NEE". Is he won't eat something else that is green, my husband says "try it, it is like zucchini". They get SO excited when they see it in the fridge, getting cut up or on the table.

Directions: Cut the zucchini however you want. Sometimes we do strips and sometimes we do circles. Just depends on how we are feeling. I heat the pan to medium and lightly spray with a pan spray. I VERY lightly coat with some salt and pepper. Place them down and when they look slightly brown OR translucent you flip them (about 8 minutes on each side). THEN EAT!

YUMMMMMMM!

Black Bean Quesadillas

½ cup bell pepper, finely chopped

½ cup black beans, cooked

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 wheat or corn tortillas

¼ cup salsa

¼ cup lettuce, chopped

Directions: Heat pan over medium heat. Spray pan with vegetable oil and place one tortilla into the pan. Place ¼ bell pepper, black beans and cheddar cheese onto the tortilla. When the cheese begins to melt, fold the melted tortilla in half. Press down slightly to seal the sides together, and then flip the quesadilla over to brown both sides. Repeat process with remaining tortillas. Spoon a little salsa and lettuce on top and enjoy.

Freezing Veggies

I often buy a whole bag of green onions or sweet onions or garlic and don't use all of it. I don't like letting things go to waste OR I find a REALLY good deal and I want to stoke up but veggies don't last. SOOOO, I freeze them.

So far in the last couple months I have gotten garlic, green onions, green, red and yellow bell peppers, sweet onions, red onions and strawberries.

How do I do it? I cut them into pieces, or with garlic I separate them and put them on some tinfoil (pictured below) put them in my freezer for about 5 hours and then take them off and put them in freezer bags or ziplocks. Stick em in your freezer and use them as you need. I LOVE THIS!

Taco Crepes

Lately I have had issues with tortillas. Sometimes we forget to buy them and sometimes I can't find ones that aren't made with lard or crisco type stuff. Soooo, we make our own crepes in a matter of minutes and I LOVE them with tacos! I can actually taste the taco instead of just the tortilla! YOU GOTTA TRY IT!

Sandwich Crepes

Sandwich crepes. I prepped everything for these the day before. I cooked the chicken in the crockpot and then shredded it. I like the chicken cold. Then we just put everything we would put on a normal sandwich. I broke my rule though. I NEVER use iceberg lettuce. I would normally use spinach. These were delish and my 3 year old kept saying how much he liked them.

Dessert Crepes

These are my fave...obviously. You (again) can put whatever you want in these. These two examples are my fruit syrup and frozen fruit with a little shake of powdered sugar.

This crepe has fat free, sugar free pistachio pudding.

Breakfast Crepes

Breakfast crepes. Seriously, you can use these babies for anything. For holidays we like to make crepes for breakfast. See the crepe post for how to make the actual crepes. This time we put eggs, cheese and used 2 pieces of bacon for 8 breakfast crepes. They were DELISH.