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Carrot soup revisited

· Lauren

I first shared this recipe back in January 2012 because, in spite of my lack of love for carrots, I absolutely adored this carrot soup. I initially tried this recipe due to an abundance of leftover carrots in my fridge and I am so glad I did! It’s easy, doesn’t take long to complete (the prep might be the longest part), and tastes like heaven in a bowl. Plus, my ex-husband really liked it so it was a healthy dinner that was guaranteed to make him happy.

A few weeks ago a couple of close friends and I decided to do a soup swap. We would each make a few different soups and give them to each other for easy lunches or dinners to accommodate our busy (and sometimes medically difficult) lives. One of the requests was for vegetarian and vegan options, which isn’t my usual fare, but I was willing to adapt. In order to maximize my chance of success I decided to simply adjust my current favorite soup recipes to be either vegetarian or vegan rather than trying anything completely new. I wasn’t 100% successful making the final products vegan, but I definitely made some big strides in that direction.

For the carrot soup I substituted vegetable broth for the chicken stock, and replaced the heavy cream with canned coconut milk. I figured because curry was involved in this recipe coconut milk was appropriate, but I really wasn’t sure how it was going to taste. One thing I didn’t swap out was the butter, so this recipe is vegetarian, but not vegan. However, I see no reason you couldn’t simply use all olive oil for sautéing the onions and carrots rather than a combination of butter and oil. I’m sure it would turn out just as good. Also, I quantified the amount of salt and pepper rather than leaving it open ended. I’ve never liked when recipes do that so I made sure to note how much I used this time. Once I finished making a batch of this carrot soup last week I tried a spoonful to make sure it wasn’t terrible. The verdict? It was incredible! Surprisingly so, even. I recommend this vegetarian version of carrot soup even more than the original recipe!

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 c diced yellow onion (about 1/2 large onion)
3 c (1 lb bag) sliced baby carrots
3 c vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 c coconut milk (canned)

DIRECTIONS:
In a stock pot, melt the butter and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and saute until transparent, about 5 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Add the carrots and stir well to coat with the butter and oil mixture, adding more oil if needed. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid browning, until the carrots are soft, 12-15 minutes. Sprinkle curry powder, salt, and pepper over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, until spices are very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are completely soft, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and, using an immersion blender, carefully puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk (use a whisk if it’s clumpy) and return to the stove over low heat just until the soup is warm. Enjoy!

NOTES: Makes 4 servings (1 c each), but can be easily doubled!

Based on Senegalese Curried Carrot Soup from Serious Eats.

Holiday recipes – Roasted butternut squash

· Lauren

In an effort to give my healthy, homemade lunches more variety I’ve been looking for different carbs/starches to substitute for my usual roasted potatoes. I’ve never been much of a potato enthusiast, but I love simple diced and roasted white potatoes and sweet potatoes. I ate a lot of them when I was doing my Whole30-ish diet in October. But as much as I enjoy them, I need other options for my weekday lunches so that I don’t get completely burned out on potatoes. While I was in Tallahassee for Christmas I tried out a recipe for mashed butternut squash and it was only semi-successful, mostly due to the fact that I was too lazy to use a food processor. (Note: Mashing roasted butternut squash with a fork doesn’t really work, nor does blitzing it with an electric mixer.) But in spite of its weird texture, the flavor of the partially mashed butternut squash was outstanding, so I saw some potential for a tasty and less complicated version. I basically just used the same ingredients, olive oils and minimal seasonings, but didn’t do anything else after the roasting step. What could be simpler? I make this every couple of weeks and it’s the perfect side dish for just about any meal.

INGREDIENTS:
12 oz diced butternut squash
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put the diced butternut squash in a large bowl. (I buy pre-diced butternut squash for convenience. My time is valuable-ish and this helps make my healthy lunches more achievable.) Add the olive oil, salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper and stir to combine. Bake at 375 deg F for about 30 minutes, stirring once about halfway through, or until tender and slightly browned. The duration required will depend on how large the pieces of squash are. The Green Giant variety that I usually buy is a small dice, less than 1 inch per piece, so it took less time than the recipes I researched. Enjoy!

Based on Momtastic’s Roasted Butternut Squash.

Three Little Piggies Chili (2017 chili cook-off recipe)

· Lauren

I’ve posted a lot of chili recipes over the years and I like every one, but some have greater mass appeal than others. Judging by my successes and failures at the annual chili cook-off at work, the common factor in my most popular chilis is bacon! My co-workers fall all over themselves for a taste of anything with bacon in it. So as easy as it is to whip up a batch of chili that I’ll enjoy, this year I challenged myself to make something that folks would absolutely love. Of course was going to include bacon, but why stop there? I started with the general concept of my bacon chili, but I replaced the ground beef with ground pork. However, there still seemed to be something missing. Two kinds of pork just wasn’t enough! So in order to turn this recipe up to eleven, and also make the texture something different from my usual chili, I decided to add some delicious homemade carnitas. The spices in the carnitas are complimentary to my chili seasoning so it seemed like the perfect fit. So I ultimately ended up creating this triple pork chili, aptly named Three Little Piggies chili by my friend Anjanette, to take to work for the cook-off and the rest is history! Second place in the judge’s favorites was a much better showing that I ever expected. Not bad for a mild chili. I’ll have to come up with something even crazier next year!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 lb maple-flavored bacon
1 lb ground pork
1 medium bell pepper, diced (I like to use a red one for color uniformity)
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes
2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
3/4 lb carnitas

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine the spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, allspice, cinnamon, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cocoa powder) and set aside. This will save you time and trouble later. Cut the bacon into 1/2 in pieces. In a large pot (I have an aptly named chili pot that I love), cook the bacon over medium heat. Use a splatter guard if you have one because that bacon grease is hot! Once the bacon pieces are crispy (watch carefully because they can burn quickly!), remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Add the ground pork, diced onion, and diced pepper to the pan with the leftover bacon grease and cook over medium heat until the pork is cooked through. Add the bowl of spice mix from earlier and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and reserved bacon and stir to combine. Finally, add the carnitas and stir to combine. I am not exactly sure how much I added, but I’m guessing about 3/4 lb. Add more or less to your taste. Bring the chili too a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot, but leave it propped open a bit so steam can escape. Cook for 90 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Based on My Amazing Bacon Chili and My Cincinnati-Style Chili.

Carnitas (NaBloPoMo day 7)

· Lauren

Before I can write about my prize-winning Halloween chili I first have to share this carnitas recipe because I put some if the pork in the chili. I don’t want to diminish the importance of this recipe, though. Not only is it Whole30-compliant due to being sweetened only with fruit juice, but it’s also incredibly simple and delicious. I ate this meat for many lunches during the month of October with roasted sweet potatoes and vegetables on the side, but it would be delicious in tacos if tortillas and cheese are included in your diet. When you don’t have a lot of free time your Crockpot can be your best friend. Slow cook a batch of carnitas either on the weekend or one day while you’re at work and you’ll have protein for days. Now that my Whole30(-ish) experiment is over I might add some BBQ sauce to the leftovers I have in the freezer for a little change of pace. I get tired of eating the same thing more than two days in a row so variety is important. I encourage everyone to customize this recipe any way they see fit.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
3-4 lb pork shoulder (or pork loin, which I used instead)
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 onions, quartered
3/4 c orange juice
2 limes juiced

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, paprika, and pepper. I did this the day before to save time. Once you’re ready to put the pork roast in the slow cooker, rub the spice mixture on all sides. I cut my roast into two pieces to make this easier and to have more surface area for the spices. Put the onions into the bottom of the slow cooker, place the pork roast in next, and evenly distribute the garlic cloves on top. Pour the orange juice and lime juice over everything. Cover and cook on low heat for about 8 hours.

Remove pork shoulder from the slow cooker and shred the meat in a large bowl, removing any large fat deposits that remain. Add some of the cooking juices from the slow cooker if you want. I did this because my batch would be refrigerated and reheated for lunches and I wanted to keep it from getting too dry. Add additional salt and pepper, if desired. I added a tiny bit of salt to my lunch portions and it was divine. Enjoy!

Based on Damn Delicious’s Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.

Ultimate pumpkin bread

· Lauren

After the usual ordeal of preparing for air travel I finally made it to LAX and sat down at my gate with my laptop expecting to be able to connect to wifi and update my webpage. Due to several factors yesterday was just too busy, and by the time I was able to think about blogging it was really late and I needed sleep a little before my flight today. However, when I got to the airport today my laptop wasn’t recognizing the LAX wifi connection for some reason. And then I discovered that internet access on my flight was $24! Needless to say, I didn’t pay that hefty price. So that brings me to the present, sitting in my Disney World hotel room for a few minutes to charge my phone before heading to Magic Kingdom for the Halloween party. After such a long day I’m taking advantage of this brief window of down time to publish this post.

All throughout October I knew how busy Halloween was going to be for me. Not only was it the day of the annual chili cook-off at work, but I figured I’d be scrambling to finish getting ready for my trip to Disney World. Add a 12-hour workday on top of that and I barely had time to eat dinner last night! I’ll write more about that tomorrow. The point of this little rant is to explain why I planned ahead of time to share this year’s pumpkin bread recipe on Halloween rather than writing a more extensive post. So here it is!

I mentioned this pumpkin bread last year, but didn’t deem it worthy of a formal recipe post at the time. This year I’ve used it twice and it’s absolutely the most delicious pumpkin bread I’ve ever made. The amount of spice is perfect and the combination of the pumpkin puree and pudding mix makes this bread incredibly moist. I took half a bundt cake to my Galloway running group’s end of the season breakfast a few weeks ago and they devoured every single crumb. Since I was doing Whole30(-ish) at the time I shared the rest with my co-workers and it disappeared in record time. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like pumpkin bread, and this recipe is so easy to make and perfect for fall and winter. Just remember to grease the bundt pan or, as I learned firsthand, your cake will be ruined!

INGREDIENTS:
5 large eggs
1 1/4 c canola oil or extra light olive oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
2 packages (3 oz each) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 c all-purpose flour
2 c granulated sugar (or half white sugar, half light brown sugar)

DIRECTIONS:
Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Add the oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, pumkin pie spice, cloves, ginger, allspice, cardamom, and salt and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla pudding mix and baking soda and beat until combined. Lastly, add the flour and sugar and beat until combined. Pour the batter evenly into a 12 cup bundt cake pan with every nook and cranny coated with cooking spray. This is important because you don’t want the cake to stick! (This happened to me the last time so I speak from experience.) Bake at 325 deg F for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Based on Taste of Home’s Delicious Pumpkin Bread.

Day 18 – Homemade taco seasoning

· Lauren

As a follow-up from yesterday, the turkey taco meat I made with homemade taco seasoning was delicious! I’ve always used packaged taco seasoning, but being able to mix my own version without any weird ingredients was very appealing. At some point in the past (I need to check Pinterest to remember exactly when) I tried another recipe for do-it-yourself taco seasoning and I was underwhelmed, but this one is a real winner. The only thing I changed was replacing the 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper with 1/4 tsp of black pepper. If you combine the ingredients in the amounts below it yields about 3 Tbsp of seasoning, which is perfect for 1 lb of whatever ground meat you have on hand. I used turkey because I had some in my fridge that needed to be used in relatively short order. I’ll try it with lean ground beef next time to see if it works just as well.

1 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Based on The Garden Grazer’s Taco Seasoning.

Note: I browned the turkey in a skillet, added the seasoning when the turkey was done and cooked for a couple of minutes, and then poured in an 8 oz can of tomato sauce. This yielded the perfect taco meat. If only I could eat it with a tortilla and some shredded cheese!

Today’s meals:
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs and breakfast hash (sausage, butternut squash, onion, spinach, and apple)
Snack #1 – Apple
Lunch – Turkey taco meat, roasted broccoli and carrots, and roasted diced sweet potato
Snack #2 – Banana
Dinner – Salad with shredded garlic chicken, red onion, red bell pepper, shredded carrots, nuts, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Famous peanut butter bars

· Lauren

I wish I had a video compilation of people’s reactions when they taste these peanut butter bars. In my experience their eyes get wide and they exclaim something like, “Oh my god!” Then they ask me for the recipe. These are seriously the most delicious and addictive treats I’ve ever had. Once I start eating them I have trouble stopping. One time back in high school I received a marriage proposal when a friend of mine tried one. I think I can safely say that if you like peanut butter, you’re going to love these peanut butter bars. I first wrote about them back in 2011, but I halved the recipe and it just wasn’t the same. But since I needed a boatload of goodies for holiday parties and other get-togethers this week I whipped up a full batch (a whole jelly roll pan’s worth) and served them on three different occasions. I ate more than my fair share too! Didn’t I say they’re addictive?

INGREDIENTS:
1 c (2 sticks) melted butter
16 oz (1 jar) chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1 lb powdered sugar
8 oz Hershey bar (I used two 4.4 oz bars)

DIRECTIONS:
The original recipe, which is handwritten on an index card in my mom’s recipe organizer, simply says “mix together all ingredients except Hershey bar.” But I’ve found that it works best if you stir together the melted butter, peanut butter, and graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl first. You can just use a wooden spoon for this. When those ingredients are thoroughly mixed add about half of the powdered sugar and stir to combine. At this point you’re going to wonder how in the heck you’ll ever be able to get the remaining powdered sugar to mix in, but it will work. Dump the rest of the powdered sugar into the bowl and stir in as much as possible with the wooden spoon. I always have to resort to using my hands near the end before the mixture gets so thick. I promise if you work at it long enough you can get all of the powdered sugar incorporated! Press the peanut butter mixture into the bottom of a large jelly roll pan (mine is 15x11x1″), using whatever you can find to smooth it out (a rolling pin or round glass works best, but I used the bottom of a measuring cup).

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the Hershey’s chocolate. This should take about 1-2 minutes on high. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture with a spatula. Put the whole pan in the refrigerator to cool. Wait until the chocolate has solidified to slice into squares. Enjoy!

Based on Jane’s Peanut Butter Bars (written on an index card).

Crockpot cranberry BBQ meatballs

· Lauren

When I was looking for this recipe to make for this year’s annual holiday potluck at work I realized that I never shared it on my webpage. I first made these holiday-themed meatballs back in 2010, which is when the above photo was taken. I’ll take a new one the next time I have a chance. My only complaint about this recipe six years ago is that I didn’t like the meatballs I used (Italian style), so this time I used Foster Farms frozen turkey meatballs and they worked really well. I also increased the amount of meatballs, BBQ sauce, and soy sauce. If I hadn’t needed to open another can of cranberry sauce I probably would have added more of that as well! Of course I tested the meatballs before I put them out for public consumption during last Friday’s lunch, and I loved them. It seems everyone else enjoyed them as well because they disappeared quickly! Mark this recipe as a winner. It’s incredibly simple, holiday-appropriate, and tasty. What else could you ask for? Next time I might try some whole berry cranberry sauce in place of the jellied variety, and maybe some sweeter BBQ sauce, but otherwise I have no suggestions. Make these for your holiday party this year!

INGREDIENTS:
1 c BBQ sauce (I used Bull’s-Eye Original)
1 can (14 oz) jellied cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 lb frozen turkey meatballs (beef would work too)

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl stir together the BBQ sauce, cranberry sauce, and soy sauce. It just needs to be roughly mixed so I used a fork. Pour half of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the Crockpot, preferably with a liner to make clean up a breeze. Then dump the frozen meatballs in the Crockpot and top with the remaining sauce. Cook on low for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally to ensure even sauce coverage, or until the meatballs are cooked and sufficiently hot. Enjoy!

Based on A Year of Slow Cooking’s Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce.

Welcoming fall with pumpkin bread

· Lauren

When September rolls around it means that it’s late enough in the year for me to bake with pumpkin again, but somehow I waited eighteen days to take advantage of that freedom in 2016. What a shame! But I think this pumpkin bread was worth the wait. I first tried this Taste of Home recipe over a decade ago with great success, but one of the ingredients was a tad problematic. Finding cook-and-serve vanilla pudding in 3 oz packages was impossible! I had to buy a larger box and just roughly guess at the right amount to pour into the batter. It was annoying so I found other recipes to try instead. But this year I was browsing the grocery aisles and found the little 3 oz pudding packages! It was a sign that this tried-and-true pumpkin bread recipe needed to make a comeback this fall.

As I was baking today I did make a couple of minor changes to the Taste of Home recipe. Actually, they were more like augmentations. The original recipe called for just 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as seasoning, but one of my other go-to pumpkin bread recipes (see my spiced pumpkin bread recipe here) calls for a host of other spices as well. So I also included nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice in today’s baking endeavor. Similarly, I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla because it makes everything better. The result was absolutely fantastic. In spite of being on a diet I tried a piece this evening. This may be the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever tasted! The perfect fall treat to share with my co-workers tomorrow!

INGREDIENTS:
5 large eggs
1 1/4 c canola oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 packages (3 oz each) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 c all-purpose flour
2 c granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Make sure it’s a really big bowl because this recipe makes 2 loaves which means a lot of batter! Add the canola oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla pudding mix and baking soda and beat until combined. Lastly, add the flour and sugar and beat until combined. Pour the batter (it’s pretty thin and easily pourable) into two 8×4″ loaf pans coated with cooking spray. (I only have one loaf pan at the moment so I used a 12 cup bundt cake pan instead. If you go this route make sure that every nook and cranny of the pan is coated with spray because you don’t want the cake to stick!) Bake at 325 deg F for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before inverting the loaves (or cake) onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Based on Taste of Home’s Delicious Pumpkin Bread.

Belated Foodie Friday – Brown butter and molasses chocolate chip cookies

· Lauren

My chocolate chip cookies were a hit with both my East and West Coast co-workers last week. The three batches I ended up making weren’t quite what I originally intended, though. The notable difference was these brown butter and molasses chocolate chip cookies. I started out planning to just make some brown butter chocolate chip cookies based on a request from one of my co-workers, but as I was mixing the dough I decided to add some molasses on a whim. So this is the third time I’ve tried molasses in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I’m glad I was persistent because the result was absolutely perfect. Something about the combination of the brown butter, molasses, and potentially the little bit of bacon fat I threw in there for good measure made for some of the best cookies I’ve ever baked. Of the three different varieties that my co-workers sampled last week I got the best feedback from this recipe. So if you’re looking for a chocolate chip cookie that’s just a little bit different, definitely give these a try. They are amazing!

INGREDIENTS:
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c dark brown sugar (light brown works too)
1/2 c (1 stick) salted butter, browned
2 Tbsp bacon fat (optional)
2 Tbsp molasses
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl combine the sugar and brown sugar. Set aside. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan. Make sure not to burn it! (If you need help with this step refer to this post on Serious Eats with a great tutorial.) As soon as the butter is browned immediately pour it over the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Add the bacon fat at this point if you want. I had some left over after cooking bacon for another batch of cookies so I threw it in just for fun. Add the molasses and eggs and stir to combine. Add the baking soda and flour and stir until almost all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Fold in the chocolate chips and stir until the flour is completely combined. Spread the dough into a 13×9″ pan lined with aluminum foil and coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 deg for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy!

Based on Framed Cooks’ Molasses Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Something Swanky’s Bacon Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies.