Taco Soup

 I brought this soup to a staff luncheon, and it was a big hit. Lots of great flavour, and it teams well with my cornbread recipe. I add jalapenos and corn chips to mine with a dollop of plain yogurt for extra protein that's low-fat.This soup will fill you up and warm the soul. It's so good! Recipe is from The Pioneer Woman. Link is HERE. This recipe serves 6-8

                                              picture credit: Caitlin Bensel

Ingredients

1-1/2 lb ground beef (you can also use ground turkey)

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, chopped (you can remove the seeds for less heat)

2 (14.5oz) cans fire roasted tomatoes

1 packet taco seasoning

1 (4oz) can green chiles

1 qt. chicken broth

1 (15oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can of corn, drained

Kosher salt, to taste

Sour cream (or plain yogurt) for serving

Extra add-ins if desired: corn chips, chopped cilantro, grated cheese, pickled jalapeno

Directions

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the beef and onion and cook, stirring to break the beef into small pieces, until it is no longer pink and the onion is softened, 6-8 mins. 

2. Stir in the garlic and jalapeno, if using and cook, stirring for two mins. 

3. Stir in the tomatoes, taco seasoning, green chiles, chicken broth, corn, pinto beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce the heat to med-low, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavours meld, about 20 mins. Season with salt to taste. 

4. Serve with desired toppings. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Streusel

I stumbled upon this muffin recipe because I did not want a traditional banana muffin. These are now my go-to banana muffins. They are so good with the streusel in the middle and on top. Yum. Everyone who has tried them has loved them as well. You can find the original recipe HERE from Sally's Baking. You should really try them! 

Streusel

• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• optional: 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts

Muffins

• 1 and 2/3 cups (208g) all-purpose flour (spooned & levelled)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
• 1/4 cup (60g) plain yogurt or sour cream (I use nonfat Greek yogurt)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside. 

2. Make the streusel: Mix all the streusel ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  Add the egg and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the mashed bananas and yogurt, and then beat on high speed until combined; mixture will look curdled and that’s ok.

2. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The batter is thick. Do not overmix.

3. Layer a large spoonful (I use a small cookie scoop) of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with 1 scant Tablespoon of streusel. Layer another large spoonful of batter over each, using up the remaining batter, then finish by sprinkling the remaining streusel on top of each muffin. With a toothpick or knife, gently swirl the streusel topping with the batter.

4. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–21 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling, or enjoy warm.

**Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Croissant Breakfast Casserole

 I had some croissants leftover that we got from Costco that were getting a bit dry so I thought I would see if I could use them in a breakfast casserole of some kind. I came across this recipe and thought it looks very yummy.....and it was! My initial reaction was that it was a bit sweet but my family loved it. You could probably cut down on the sugar if you wanted. You can get the original recipe from the Chunky Chef the link is HERE

INGREDIENTS

• 5 large croissants cubed
• 1 1/2-2 cups mixed fresh or frozen berries of choice ( I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries &blackberries)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)
• 1/2  cups granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon

Vanilla Glaze: 

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat over to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. 

2. Cut up croissants and to a large bowl along with the berries. 

3. Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat with beaters until smooth. Add milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until combined. 

4. Pour mixture over croissants and berries and toss until covered and coated completely. (The original recipe has you put in the fridge overnight but I did not do that and it came out great)

5. Bake covered with foil for 40-45 mins then uncovered for about 15 mins or until set and knife comes out clean and slightly brown on top. (it will be a tiny bit wet still just because of the moistness of it but you don't want it soggy.)

6. Combined Glaze ingredients and pour over the casserole once it is finished baking. 

Bisquick Breakfast Casserole

I wanted to use some of the Bisquick I had on hand and came across these breakfast casseroles. I also have ThriveLife dehydrated products so I wanted to use some of those I had on hand.  I modified the original recipe a bit but you can get the recipe HERE. The picture is from THIS site as it was more like what I came up with from my changes. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of ThriveLife sausage (or 1 pound of breakfast sausage)
• 1/4 cup ThriveLife diced onion (or fresh diced onion)
• 1 heaping Tbsp ThriveLife green onion (or 2 green onions, chopped)
• water needed to rehydrate Thrive Life products according to directions
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder, add to sausage while rehydrating. 
• 1 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
• 4 Large Eggs
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheese of choice (I used Tex Mex Mix from Costco)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Hot Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven 10 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside. 

2. Cook and drain sausage or add dehydrated sausage and veggies to a bowl and add water. Pour into the baking dish. 

3. In a large bowl mix together the Bisquick mix with the eggs and milk until well combined. Fold in the cheese. Stir in the maple syrup and hot sauce if using. 

4. Pour the Bisquick mixture evenly over the cooked sausage. Bake the casserole for about 35 mins or until set and golden brown.  

Note: You can add 2 cups of shredded hashbrowns to the Bisquick mix before baking if desired. 

Orange Cardamom Loaf

 My niece had made these and brought one over. It was pretty good so I wanted to find a recipe for it. Not sure if this is the one she used but she did say it was Orange Cardamom. I made this for work and had lots of people say they really enjoyed it.  I had some oranges so this recipe came to mind. It is moist and so full of orange flavor. This recipe came from thegoldlininggirl.com. You can get to the original recipe HERE. 

INGREDIENTS

For Orange Cardamom Loaf Cakes:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/4 tsp. cardamom

2 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. whole milk

1 c. vegetable oil

3 large eggs

zest of 1 large orange about 2 tbsp.

2 tsp. orange extract (I didn't have this so I didn't add it - I added more zest)

2 tsp. vanilla

For Orange-Honey Glaze:

zest of 1 large orange about 2 tbsp.

juice of 1/2 orange about 1/4 cup

3 tbsp. honey (I did not add this it was sweet enough for me)

3 c. powdered sugar

For Orange Cardamom Loaf Cakes:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and cardamom.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, oil, eggs, orange zest, orange extract, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Divide batter evenly between two well-greased or parchment paper-lined 8x4-inch loaf pans. (The loaves are sticky, so I prefer parchment paper, so they lift right out after cooling.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until edges are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 15 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.

For Orange-Honey Glaze:

Whisk together glaze ingredients, adding a little water if needed to achieve desired consistency.
Spread cakes with orange-honey glaze. Cut and serve.

Creamy Herb Chicken

 Made this for my family and it was super quick and super yum.  Especially leftovers the next day! We had this with a side of fresh steamed artichoke (Costco had some huge ones which we were thrilled about!)

I got this recipe from cafedelites.com if you want the original recipe it is HERE. 

Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

For The Chicken:

- 4 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise 

 - sprinkle each side with onion powder, garlic powder, and herb combination of your choice. I used Herbs de Provence from Pampered Chef which includes a combination of thyme, basil, fennel seed, savory, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, and lavender. You certainly don't need all of these. Basil and rosemary or marjoram or parsley would be good enough

 - salt and pepper, to season

For The Sauce:

 - 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)

 -  1-2 tsp of herb combination again

 - 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup cream or you can use half and half  *I did more to put on pototoes

 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 - 2 tsp of Better Than Boullion, chicken paste 

 - 1-2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with enough water to make it smooth

INSTRUCTIONS

 - Coat chicken breasts with onion and garlic powders and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

 - Heat 1 tablespoon of oil a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until opaque and no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness). Transfer to a plate; set aside.

 - To the same pan or skillet, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with the herb combination until fragrant. 

 - Stir in milk (or cream); season with salt and pepper, to taste.

 - Bring to a boil; making sure to scrape up any chicken bits on the pan for flavor.

 - add the cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan, quickly stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly.

 - Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more.

 - Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

 A co-worker brought some zucchini's to work so I grabbed one and made this recipe and brought it back to work. It is sooo .... not dry. :) It's so chocolatey and a great way to use up that zucchini. I got the recipe from HERE on allrecipes.com but I did my own tweaking so I wasn't using so much oil and added a spice ganache. I also baked it in a bundt cake pan. 
You should try this one...it's seriously so good! YUM

• Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
  2 cups white sugar
  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  2 tsp baking soda
  1 tsp baking powder
  1/2 tsp salt
  1 tsp ground cinnamon
  4 eggs
  3/4 cup veg oil
  3/4 cup apple sauce
  3 cups grated peeled zucchini 
  3/4 cups semi-sweet choc chips
  3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  
  Ganache
  6 oz of semi-sweet choc chips (if you have a food scale use it otherwise it's about a cup)
  3/4 cup heavy cream (I kicked this up a notch and used full-fat egg nog) 
• Directions
  *Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan or 10 cups bundt cake pan.  
  *In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the eggs, oil, and apple sauce and mix well. Fold in the nuts, zucchini, and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan. 
  *Bake for 50-60 mins in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting. 
  
  Put choc chips in a small heatproof bowl like a cereal bowl. 
  Put cream or eggnog in a microwave save glass and heat up carefully in the microwave. It took me about 70 secs to heat up. Watch carefully because it will boil over quickly if it gets too hot and all microwaves are different. You could do 20 min intervals then stir in between each time. 
  Once the cream is hot but not boiling pour over chocolate chips, don't stir, and put a saucer over top and let sit for 30 secs. 
  Using a whisk take the saucer off after 30 secs and whisk chocolate and cream together until combined and smooth. Set in fridge for about 10 mins to cool and thicken slightly. Pour over the cake once the cake is cool. 
• You can garnish with chocolate chips or chopped walnuts if desired. 
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