Cauliflower Soup

This soup is one of my favorites (and the rest of my family really likes it too).  It comes together pretty quickly so it can be ready if I only have an hour before dinner.  I love to make cheddar and garlic biscuits to go with it (like the ones from Red Lobster - see my other post from today).  So when cauliflower is on sale, pick one up and make this yummy soup!

4 Tbs. margarine

2 med. onions, chopped

2 med. carrots, grated

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lg. head cauliflower, chopped (I chop mine really fine so it is similar in size to the other veggie chunks)

6 cups chicken broth

¼ cup dried parsley

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. dried tarragon (I never have this so I leave it out)

6 Tbs. Butter

½ cup flour

1 cup milk

¼ cup sour cream (optional)

Sauté onions, carrots, celery and garlic in 4 Tbs. margarine (I saute in the pot I will be using for the whole thing).  In a 4-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, simmer chopped cauliflower, sautéed vegetables, chicken broth, parsley, salt, pepper, basil and tarragon for 20 minutes, covered.  Make a medium white sauce by melting 6 tablespoons butter in a small pan and stirring flour into butter.  Gradually add milk.  Cook until thickened.  Add to soup.  Right before serving, stir in ¼ cup sour cream, if desired.  Do not boil.  Makes 4 quarts soup.

**Notes:  For a lower calorie version, omit the white sauce part of the recipe.

two-ingredient ice cream (no machine needed!)

Maybe I'm the last person on earth to find this recipe, but just in case you've never seen it before, I thought I'd share.

You can see some amazing add-ins at the website Kevin & Amanda. I know it's cold and nobody's in the mood for ice cream, but I saw it on Our Best Bites several months ago and just got around to trying it finally. I was amazed at how easy and tasty it was!

2 Ingredient Ice Cream
Recipe from Eagle Brand

Ingredients
2 cups heavy whipping cream
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Instructions
Combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in large bowl. In a separate bowl, pour 2 cups heavy cream into bowl and whip until soft-medium peaks form. Slowly fold whipped cream into sweettened condensed milk mixture in 3 additions. Add-ins can be mixed in at this point. Fold until well combined. Pour into container and freeze for at least 6 hours or until firm.


I thought that one small cream carton and tiny can of condensed milk can looked too tiny, so I doubled it. Obviously the cream puffs up after being whipped, so it trippled in size and I ended up with a ton of ice cream (which I'm not complaining about...). I was also lazy and didn't do 3 additions, but mixed it all in at once. It still worked, but it would probably be even better if you follow the directions :)

Super Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (or Muffins)

OurBestBites posted this as an easy pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe.  The muffins were great, and this is the cookie form that was just as good.  I've changed it just a bit from their recipe to work with ingredients I usually have on hand (i.e. a yellow cake mix instead of a spice one).  I've even made it with a gluten free cake mix for my sister-in-law and they turned out fabulous too.  With only four ingredients, you will be done in no time.  Plus, before adding the chocolate chips, a large cookie (or one muffin) only has 1 weight watcher point (not that I'm doing weight watchers, but I thought that inquiring minds might like to know that tidbit of info that was on the ourbestbites recipe.)  The original recipe called for a 30 oz. can of pumpkin and two spice cake mixes.  I half the recipe and use yellow cake instead with some pumpkin pie spice added in.  If you choose to make muffins, you can fill the cups almost full as the muffins will not rise very much.  Also, to make the muffins prettier you will want to smooth out the tops - a finger dipped in water works as a great tool for that.

15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 yellow cake mix
1 to 1 1/2  teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (add 1 tsp and then taste the batter to see if it needs more - since there are no eggs in the batter it is safe to try it) - if you don't have pumpkin pie spice, to get about one teaspoon you can substitute: 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg
6-8 oz. chocolate chips (as many as you would like - I think I added about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pumpkin, cake mix, and pumpkin pie spice together until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Scoop rounded tablespoons onto greased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes for large cookies, or 15-20 minutes for smaller ones.  To make sure they are done inside, you may want to break one open to check for doneness (and then pop it in your mouth and enjoy!).  What a great way to welcome Autumn!

Peanut Butter Whole Wheat Waffles

Yum Yum. I made these this morning and they were REALLY GOOD!! A friend in my ward gave me the recipe. For those of you who have a wheat grinder she also gave me a really good tip. You can freeze your ground wheat to keep it fresh. So every time I make bread now I grind a bunch of extra wheat and keep in the freezer. That way I have it on hand for cookies, WAFFLES, pancakes... or whatever I need it for. I don't like grinding wheat just for a cup or two.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used my frozen home ground hard white wheat, but I am sure you can use whatever you have)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups whole milk ( I am sure you can use whatever you have though)
1/4 cup vegitable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon French Toast

I made this for Alex's birthday breakfast and it was so good!

1 loaf kneaders chunky cinnamon bread cut into 8 slices or you could use any store bought cinnamon swirl bread

8 eggs

3 c milk

1 TBS brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 TBS vanilla

2 TBS butter

Butter a 9X13 glass baking dish generously. Place the bread flat in to baking dish. Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into small pieces and dot over top. Refrigerate overnight or at least one hour. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350.

Kneaders Caramel Syrup

1 c brown sugar

1 c heavy whipping cream

1 c light karo syrup

blend together and heat on stove top until sugar is smooth

pasta and bean soup

This soup was really good, even though it was a little too hot in my tiny kitchen as I cooked it. It will be great in the winter! I adapted this from a Family Fun recipe.

Ingredients:
3 14-oz cans reduced-sodium broth (I used two veggi, and one chicken, since that's what I had)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried (I only had dried, but wished I had fresh because it was hard fishing the rosemary out later)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 15-oz can white beans, rinsed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup medium pasta shells (I only had spirals, and it worked fine)
2 C individually quick-frozen spinach (I only had fresh baby spinach, so that's what i used)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Combine broth, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper in a 4 to 6 quart soup pot, bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer over medium low-heat for 20 minutes to intensify flavor. Meanwhile, mash 1 cup beans in a small bowl (I was going to skip this step, then decided "what the heck" and just did it. I'm glad I did, it made the soup a little creamier)
2.Scoop garlic cloves and rosemary from the broth with a slotted spoon (I had a mesh scoop that worked great). Add mashed and whole beans to the broth, along with tomatoes; return to a simmer. Stir in Pasta, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pasta is just tender, about 10-12 minutes (I actually put my spinach in here, too, but whatever).
3. Stir in spinach, cover and cook just until spinach has thawed, 2-3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.

We all liked this soup a lot, and it was great as leftovers for lunch today!

peanut butter cookie dough balls

I got this recipe from Oh She Glows and adapted it a little. It doesn't make a big batch, but they taste SO good, and they don't need to be cooked (and they're healthy, too!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch Cookie Dough Balls

Yield: 12 balls

• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews (I used salted almonds because that was all I had on hand--then I just didn't add salt later)
• 1/2 cup regular rolled oat
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup (add gradually until desired consistency is achieved)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup diced peanuts
• 1/4 cup rice crisp cereal (I didn't add any cereal, and mine turned out fine.)

Directions:
1. In a food processor, process the cashews and oats until very fine, like a flour consistency.
2. Add in the flour, salt, and sugar and pulse until combined. Now add in vanilla and maple syrup gradually until desired consistency is achieved. Process until a dough forms. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Dough will be very sticky! If it is too sticky to make balls, you can add a bit more flour. The type of flour you use will alter the consistency so you may have to adjust it a bit.
3. Add chocolate chips and peanuts into processor and pulse. Scoop dough into a bowl and stir in the rice crisp cereal. Form balls with the dough (lightly wet fingers if necessary). Store in the fridge or freezer.
Note: If dough is too dry, add a bit more maple syrup. If too wet, add a bit more flour.

*Oh She Glows also added these cookies to a "blizzard" smoothie made out of banana. It was SO good!