Italian "Meatball" Soup

This is a great cold weather dish.  It's also a one-pot, super easy and healthy meal. 

Italian "Meatball" Soup

(adapted from here)

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tb olive oil
2 Tb tomato paste (no salt added)
4 garlic cloves, minced (or cheat like me and just scoop some out of the jar)
1 Tb oregano
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 cups water
16 fully cooked veggie meatballs (Morningstar makes awesome ones)
Sea reshly ground pepper to taste
Good Italian bread, cut into in to cubes
1Tb olive oil
Fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat and add vegetables.  Cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add tomato paste, garlic and oregano and stir well.

Add tomatoes, broth and water and bring to a simmer.  Cut meatballs in half and add to soup.  Simmer for 10 minutes more and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425.  Toss bread cubes with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with toasted bread cubes and chopped parsley and maybe a little (or a lot) of freshly grated parmesan.

I'm so bad about taking pics after I cook the food!  This is from the original website.

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

These are so yummy...just like everything from Gina over at Skinny Taste.  I seriously love her blog and cooking style.

"Skinny" Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones (via Skinny Taste)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cold low fat buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 stevia, 1/2 regular)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg (I used egg sub)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 Tb baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tb cold butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

2 Tb sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° and spray baking sheet with Pam.  Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Set aside.

Combine flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry cutter (I do not have a fancy pastry cutter, so I used 2 knives and it worked fine), until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Gently fold in chocolate chips. Add milk mixture to dry mix, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly with floured hands.  Form dough into an 9-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 10-12 wedges all the way through.

Brush egg white over dough and sprinkle with 2 Tb of sugar.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, until nice and golden.  Serve warm and try not to eat them all in one sitting.  They are soooo good with a cup of coffee.

We ate them all before I could get a picture:)  This is the pic from Skinny Taste.

Tips:

* When the ingredient says "cold" (the butter and buttermilk), make sure it is nice and cold.  This helps hold the dough together.

* The buttermilk makes a difference, so I did not make these dairy free (anyone know if there is even a "soy" buttermilk out there??).  I did, however, use Earth Balance for the butter and my chocolate chips were dairy free.  The minimal amount of buttermilk did not seem to upset my stomach too much.

* I am kind of a chocolate chip snob.  I like the Ghirardelli Mini Semi-Sweet Chips. 

* I debated about going straight whole wheat flour, but I think the mix of white and wheat gives them a nice texture, while still adding some fiber.  All wheat flour may cause them to be too dense.

Cake Batter Blondies

Ok, now this recipe is a must make.  Like, you will want to eat the entire pan in one sitting.  Try and refrain yourself though.  Or don't.  I actually had several blog friends post this recipe, so I figured it had to be pretty good...and it is.  They are pretty rich, but I did sub some of the ingredients to make them a little more waist friendly.

Cake Batter Blondies

adapted from here

Ingredients

1 box cake mix*

1/4 cup oil (I used applesauce)

1 egg (I used an egg sub)

1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Extra rainbow sprinkles for top

Frosting*** (store bought or homemade)

Directions

Combine the cake mix, egg and oil in a large bowl and mix well.  Slowly add the milk until you have a pretty thick batter.**  Mix in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.  Scoop the batter in to a 9x9 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with Pam.  Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  You want them to be a little gooey in the middle.  Remove pan from oven and let it sit on a wire rack for 30 minutes or so (or eat them warm if you aren't going to frost).  Once cooled, frost.  Sprinkle the extra sprinkles on top.

* The original recipe actually calls for Funfetti cake mix, which I have also used, and it's good, but I just prefer to use the Cherrybrook Kitchen brand because it's gluten and dairy free.  Their yellow cake mix is my favorite for pretty much any cake recipe!

** This should be a pretty dense batter.  You want to be able to stir it, but it shouldn't be to the point where it would just pour out of the bowl. 

*** You can use however much frosting you like, and in whatever flavor you prefer.  Since the bars themselves are pretty rich, I personally like just a very thin layer of frosting.  I cheated and just used a container of whipped strawberry frosting.

Image from here

My Favorite Veggie Chili

This is hands down my favorite chili recipe.  Although I feel like it's a little different every time I make it, it's always good!  I may vary the veggies depending on what I have on hand and what's in season at the market, but this is the basic recipe I follow.  You may be skeptical of chili without meat, but I promise you won't miss it with all this other goodness.  Sometimes if Matt is wanting some "meat" in his chili, I'll add a cup or so of Boca crumbles.  The best part about this meal, it's done in the crock pot...a great fix-it-and-forget meal!

Veggie Chili

1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen edamame
2 heaping Tbs. minced garlic
20 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
28 oz. can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 packet chili seasoning mix
1/2 Tbs. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
Salt/pepper to taste

Just mix everything in a large crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours.  That's it!  I like to eat mine with warm cornbread.  Matt likes his with shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.  It's good both ways:)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don't know why, but I had a serious craving for this the other day.  I was specifically craving that gooey, syrupy, brown sugar goodness that is on the top.  Well, and those maraschino cherries.  I had a box of gluten free pound cake mix, so I decided that I would take the "short-cut" route with a recipe I found in my Joy of Cooking cookbook.  This was so easy, but the presentation makes it look like you spent a lot of time on it.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2 Tbs. light butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 can pineapple rings, in their own juice, drained with juice reserved

1 small jar maraschino cherries without stems

1 box pound cake mix

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. ginger

2 eggs (an egg sub works fine)

3/4 pineapple reserved juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray, coating completely.  Dump the butter in the pan and place in oven for a few minutes until melted.  Remove pan from oven and swirl the butter around so it completely coats bottom of pan.  Evenly sprinkle brown sugar over butter.  I had to use a fork to break up the sugar and make sure it was blended into melted butter.  Place one pineapple ring in center and then add the other rings around it (you won't use all the rings).  Place a cherry in the center of each ring, and if you like cherries as much as me, add the extras in any other open space.  Set pan aside.  In a medium mixing bowl add cake mix, spices, eggs and reserved pineapple juice.  Using an electric mixer, beat on low to incorporate ingredients.  Turn speed up to medium and beat for 2 minutes.  Carefully pour batter over the pineapple rings.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Make sure you check it at 35 minutes though!  Once nice and golden, take it out and tilt pan side to side to loosen the edges (don't skip this step, it helps for when you have to invert it).  Let cake cool for a few minutes.  Now comes the trickier part.  Place an inverted serving platter or cake stand over top of cake.  Holding platter with one hand and cake pan with other (using a hot pad of course), invert the cake on to the platter.  Carefully slide the cake pan off.  If you greased the pan well and loosened the edges you shouldn't have any problems.  You can serve cake warm, but after it's cooled, I like to stick it in the fridge.

My Favorite Banana Bread

I've tried many different recipes for banana bread...full fat, low fat, vegan, sugar free, you name it.  If I see a new recipe, I try it.  This is my favorite one.  It is so moist and full of flavor, but low in fat and sugar.  I love the addition of the chocolate chips, but of course you could leave those out.  Seriously though, why would you do that?!

My Fave Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large bowl beat the following together:
3 ripe bananas, mashed*
1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt (vegan versions work well)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce**
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar (I use Stevia)
2 eggs (I use an egg sub)
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, stir together the following:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda + another 1/4 tsp

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.  Do not over mix!  Gently stir in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I like the non-dairy ones).  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.  Place in preheated oven and bake for about an hour.  Do the toothpick test to check for doneness.  Let cool on wire rack, but cut you a little piece because it's amazing right out of the oven:)

* As soon as a banana gets a little too ripe, I pop it in the freezer.  I always have frozen bananas in there.  They are great for smoothies and banana recipes like this...just let them thaw on the counter for 15 minutes or so.
** The applesauce is really a sub for oil.  The difference in using the 2 is that the oil makes the bread more fluffy and drier and the applesauce makes it more dense and moist.  Obviously I use the applesauce because it pretty much eliminates all fat in the recipe, but if you prefer oil, use 1/2 cup.

Lemon Blossoms

I'm not entirely sure if these are considered muffins or cupcakes, or maybe a muffcake?  We usually eat them as a dessert, but they would certainly make a yummy breakfast.  They are insanely good either way.  Don't skimp out on the glaze...it's what makes them sooooo good.

Lemon Blossoms

1 box yellow or lemon cake mix
1 small box fat free/sugar free instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup egg substitute (equals 4 eggs)
3/4 cup oil (obviously I use 3/4 cup baby food pears....you won't know the difference!!)
Glaze (see below)

Mix everything up in large bowl.  Beat with electric mixer for a few minutes until smooth.  Pour into muffin tins that have been filled with paper liners or sprayed with Pam.   Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-17 minutes.  While baking, make the glaze: whisk together 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 Tb. vegetable oil and enough water (4-5 Tbs) to make a nice glaze.  When the muffins come out, dip them into the glaze (cover the entire crown) and set on a baking sheet to dry.  Let them sit for at least hour so the glaze hardens up nicely.

* When making the glaze, add the water 1 Tb at a time until you get the desired consistency.  If it's too thin, it won't coat the muffin crowns very well.
** Definitely start checking the muffins t 15 minutes.  I prefer these a little on the undercooked side.
*** Although you probably won't use all the glaze, save it!  It's awesome on pancakes, waffles, vanilla ice cream, or just straight from the container.  I also like a little drizzled on apples:)