White Bean Cake (gluten free)

I know a few of you will appreciate this recipe (my MIL especially)! It was adapted from this recipe for White Bean Cake, but I had to modify it because not only did I not have coconut flour, but coconut flour is way to expensive (and I have never seen it here). So... not having any other flour to replace it with and also wanting it to be a grain free recipe meant I...just left it out. And it was still really good! My judgement might be slightly off since i really haven't had any real "dessert" in about a month but that's okay. I'll eat it all and you don't have to have any!!;)

Vanilla Bean Cake:

2 1/2 cups cooked white beans (very well cooked or canned...must be soft!)
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3-1/2 cup honey

Puree well in food processor or use immersion blender.

Add:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Puree again.

Bake at 325-350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Very moist and dense cake, but its very filling. Pair with a glass of raw milk for an almost nutritious dessert!

Making homemade playdough

We made homemade playdough today! It was one of the fun Christmas activities I wanted to do with the girls (I know its not really a "Christmas" activity, but wanted to do it for fun while we're cooped up:)

Homemade Playdough

I am sure she tried to eat some, but it is very salty! The pink color and delicious smell came from pomegranate tea! Such a great idea from Tammy's recipes.



We also made the yummiest homemade chicken noodle soup. I used a smoked chicken carcass for the broth (along with my bag of veggie scraps from the freezer for the broth.) Delish!

Asian Ginger Salad Dressing

I should've taken a picture but we had the yummiest (healthy) dinner tonight! We picked lettuce and peas from our garden, used organic juice carrots from Costco and then marinated chicken on top. I made this yummy Asian Ginger Salad dressing, which was super easy and delicious!

Asian Ginger Salad Dressing

West African Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe comes from Owlhaven, and since as most of you know we'll be moving to West Africa in the next couple years I thought it would be appropriate to share here! I just finished my second bowl after making it for lunch today...it was yummy, easy and healthy (as well as vegan and gluten free:)!

Here is the link to the recipe @ Owlhaven and a picture of the deliciousness!

West African Sweet Potato Soup

Homemade Ranch dressing mix

Ingredients:

~2 TBSP dried parsley
~1 tsp garlic powder
~1 tsp onion powder
~1/2 tsp italian seasoning mix or dried basil
~1/2 tsp pepper
~1 tsp kosher or sea salt (regular will do too)

Mix together and keep in sealed container and add to sour cream, mayo and/or buttermilk to taste!

Freezer meals for post-baby update

Done!:
Chicken Divan
Pigs in a blanket X2
Dinner Rolls (made with pigs in a blanket rolls recipe) X1
Hearty Bean Casserole X2
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (1 batch)

Yet to be made:
Tator Tot Casserole (cheap frozen broc at Albies this week!)
Lasagna or Italian Casserole

40-day Menu Plan

This is primarily for my friend Cindy, but I am excited to have a larger compilation of recipes that we like all in the same post (with lots of links!). Hope this helps others with ideas too:)

#1: Baked Spagetti, corn on the cob, peas, garlic bread

#2: Taco Soup!

#3: Homemade Baked beans in the crockpot, corn on the cob, hot dogs

#4: Tator Tot Casserole and a green salad

#5: Homemade Easy Pizza, carrots and tomatoes with homemade ranch dip

#6: Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, veggies

#7: Meatball subs, salad, chips

#8: Turkey Tetrazzinni, spinach salad

#9: Penne w/alfredo sauce, mushrooms and spinach, homemade breadsticks and broccoli

#10: Chinese Turkey and Rice

#11: Chili Dogs, Veggie Sticks, or hamburgers and fries

#12: Tacos, corn, spanish rice

#13: Split Pea Soup, cheesy biscuits

#14: Spinach Cheese Frittata with leftover salad and biscuits from monday

#15: Roast in the crockpot, with potatoes and carrots

#16: Taco Soup, Pumpkin Soup, peasant bread and a big spinach salad with feta and apples

#17: Enchiladas, brown rice, and cooked spinach

#18: Homemade Mac N Cheese, turkey sausage, green beens

#19: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup

#20: Italian pasta bake, squash w/olive oil and kosher salt

#21: Crockpot Chili and Cornbread

#22: Roast Chicken and Potatoes in Crockpot (carrots and onions too!)

#23: Homemade chicken noodle soup, peasant bread

#24: Fried Rice (using up whatever is on hand)

#25: White bean and greens soup, Potato or Artichoke Gratin

#26: Chicken Divan

#27: Tuna Croquettes or Tuna melts and canned soup

#28: BBQ Sloppy Joes, Carrot Sticks, French Fries

#29: Taco Salad and Layered bean dip w/chips

#30: Teriyaki Meatballs over rice with spicy bok choy

#31: White Chicken Chili and Cornbread (didn't get to this last week)

#32: Huge Baker Potatoes (crockpot) with leftover chili from last night and other toppings (bacon, broccoli, cheese, sour cream, butter), corn on the cob

#33: Baked Spaghetti Casserole, green beans

#34: Homemade Calzones, veggies and dip

#35: Steak, mashed potatoes, salad

#36: Tuna Melts, apple wedges, Chips

#37: Brown Sugar Meatloaf, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, veggies

#38: Chimichangas, fresh homemade salsa, chips

#40: Quick Lasagne, french bread, green beens

Chicken and Pinto Tacos w/Jalapenos!

I made a quick (ish) taco filling last night that we loved! In an effort to help my terrible memory remember how much we loved this combo, I am going to try to write it down here:)

Chicken and Pinto Tacos w/Jalapenos!

Corn tortillas, warmed
3/4 cups chicken, chopped
2 cups pinto beans, cooked
1/2 onion or more chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced tiny
2 tiny zucchinis diced tiny
1/2 packet taco seasoning or equivalent homemade
garlic & chili powder to taste
shredded sharp cheddar
Oil, TBS or so for skillet

Heat oil in frying pan or skillet. Add rest of ingredients and heat (actually it would probably work better to do the oil, onions, zuchinni and jalapeno first until tender and then just warm the chicken and beans and spices. Roll up filling in corn tortillas and top with shredded cheddar and salsa, s. cream as desired. I would say this was relatively healthy by most standards too:) We served with a little brown rice on the side and carrot sticks/dip.

Yum!

Lots of creative cooking (bean cookies) and time to myself

Back in our home country of the Puget Sound, Daniel and I shared our little Honda. I took him to work once a week for ladies' Bible study and some grocery/drugstore shopping. I think between that and a 2 hour shopping trip either alone or with just one little on on Saturday I was very content to stay home most of the time. Here, its a little different. We rent a car on the weekend, but the nearest stores are a decent ways away (and we pay for gas + mileage so it needs to be very planned). So during the week and on Saturdays I stay home. Cabin fever might get to me a little bit more while here I think;). Anyway, Daniel suggested (okay strongly encouraged) me to take the littles to the MK station for childcare this morning so I could get some time to myself. There wasn't room for Liv, so M went by herself. You've never seen a happier little clam going to "school"! She's a social one you better believe it:)

While Liv is napping and M is at "school" I thought I would post this fun recipe.

Thanks to my lovely mother-in-law for the recipe and the already pureed beans!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Daily Bean by Suzanne Caciola White

1-15.5 oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbs water

1 Tbs plus 2 tsp vanilla, divided

1 ¾ cups flour

¾ tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 sticks butter (I used one stick and then 1/2 cup oil/applesauce mixture)

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 large eggs

3 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats

6 oz bag chocolate chips (1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place beans, water, and 1 Tbs vanilla into food processor and process until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and blend until creamy. Mix in the bean mixture. Add butter and bean mix to the flour and stir until well mixed. Add the oatmeal and chocolate chips. Drop the dough by heaping Tbs onto a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 6-9 minutes or until light golden brown.

This makes a huge batch! And they are very filling with all that fiber/protein so you might not eat as many as you would with other cookies;)

High Protein Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is adapted (with changes) from "The Daily Bean" by Suzanne Caciola White.

High Protein Pumpkin Pie

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 eggs
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sugar or other sweetener (I used some white sugar, some apple juice)
1 cup canned pumpkin
crust (optional-I did not use)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Puree the beans until smooth. Add eggs and process until smooth and creamy. Transfer bean mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the evaporated milk, and then beat to blend. Add spices and sugar. Mix well. Add pumpkin and stir again. Pour into pie plate or crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 then reduce to 350 and bake for 45-50 minutes or more (the "or more" was definitely my experience) until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool for at least 2 hours. I actually did not like this when I first tasted it straight out of the oven. The next morning after refridgeration it tasted almost just like a pumpkin pie. Plus it fills you up in a way that regular pumpkin pie doesn't!

(thanks for the book mom-in-law Karen!;)

Lettuce Make Soup!

I can get by cooking. Not great at it, not terrible. One of my favorite things to do though is to get creative with what I have in the kitchen. Along with that is hating to see things go to waste that could be good food for our family! That's where Lettuce soup comes in.

Our fridge was set too cold the other day and we ended up with lovely, but frozen lettuce. What to do but make it into soup! I know it sounds gross, but this is the second time we've made it and it has a mild yet good flavor. I've made both a brothy and a creamy version. What did people do without google to tell them that you could do such a thing?!

The basic idea is that you gently cook/sautee all the same type of things that go into a salad! You will also need to add either broth, water or a creamy base, spices and then puree everything. Tasty and no waste!

Here is the general recipe I followed when we made this last week.

Have you been making any unique dishes in your kitchen lately?

Garbanz...er chickpeas

Whatever they're called, I love them. Chickpeas are super versatile and a dieters best friend (in my humble opinion). Special thanks goes to Karen, my lovely MIL for inspiring me to get out the bean/lentil recipes once again. My two pregnancies have made me swear off things of that sort for awhile (just didn't sound good for a long time), so again, I am back to the Beans half of the "beans & rice" love:).

Here's what I am cooking today:

Roasted Chickpeas

Thanks to my friend Lenora for mentioning roasted chickpeas as a snack! I can hardly wait to try these!

Peanut Butter Cinnamon Fudge

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cinnamon Fudge sound really weird, but good in a weird way. And its in my oven right now. Back later with the results. The batter tasted good at least. That's gotta be a good sign. Edited to add: these turned out more like a cookie than fudge for me. And I cooked it too long. But they tasted good. I used apple juice in place of the sugar and water and they were mildly sweet. More like a healthy cookie than a dessert.

Broccoli Noodle Casserole
And finally I am making a noodle casserole. But here's the fun part: I am using a little cream soup, but mostly pureed chickpeas and squash for the base! It's all done up now and looks really good. No cheese! I rarely make a casserole without cheese-but it can't be a bad thing for my waistline to skip it this once! I will report back on this one.

Sadly no pictures. The thing about always moving around is that something always gets left in the wrong place-such as my camera.

Are you doing any "creative" cooking this week?

Slow Cooker Tomato Bacon Pasta Dish

I took a gamble on this one. The idea came from a recipe we all liked for a baked tomato soup and bacon/pasta casserole. I added fresh tomatoes and zucchini for a little added nutrition.

Here's the basic recipe I used:

Slow Cooker Tomato Bacon w/pasta

2 cans tomato soup
1 can milk
8 oz. cheese
2 cups diced tomatoes (I used fresh)
2 cups diced zucchini
1 lb bacon (anything with this much bacon is going to be good;)
3/4 package penne pasta -half was whole wheat, half regular

Spray crockpot. Put all ingredients in the crockpot on low for 6 hours. Add pasta for last 40 minutes of cooking, depending on how hot your crock runs. I check it every 10 minutes after the first 20 when dealing with pasta. Add more liquid if neccessary.

Sick Lazy Mama's frugal chicken noodle soup

Too bad there are no "mom sick days". Thankfully, God gives us the grace we need to get through each day, even when feeling icky and juggling too many things on our plate! We don't really have a mom's-sick-let's-get-take-out budget right now so I threw together some soup instead, which has some of those wonderful healing properties but was almost like convenience food. Short-cuts can be a good thing!

Sick Mama's frugal chicken soup in the crockpot


Here is the short-cut I used: 2 cans of progresso chicken noodle soup from my spring stockpile! It was about $0.33/can so its a cheap way to start the soup. I chopped some veggies on their way out of freshness (tomatoes, carrots, zucchini) and added some chopped frozen chicken breast from the freezer (about 1 1/2 cups). More water, and a few whole wheat noodles about an hour before dinner and we'll be good to go! The great thing about this is that it doesn't taste canned. Nothing against canned soup, but well-it tastes canned.

15 favorite meals

Toni from the Happy Housewife has challenged readers to come up with a list of 15 family favorite meals to have on hand. The timing is a little funny for my world because it may be a few months yet before I have a normal kitchen to cook these 15 meals in-but I love dreaming, so I will get ready for that day when it comes!

1. Chili and Cornbread (or some other bean based meal with cornbread)
2. Turkey Tetrazinni
3. Hamburgers, garden burgers, or bean burgers with spicy fries
4. Stuffed green peppers- fresh and crispy style (but I usually make these with spicy ground sausage, not quinoa and beans:)
5. Meatballs and Rice
6. Whole Wheat Easy Pizza and veggie sticks/dip
7. Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet
8. Frittata
9. Taco Soup and Garlic Cheese Bread
10. Eggplant, Zucchini, or Chicken Parmesean with Garlic Bread
11. Really Good Beans & Rice
12. Crockpot BBQ Pork Roast
13. Taco or Southwest Salad
14. Crockpot Perfection Baked Potatoes with all the goodies on top
15. Crockpot Enchiladas (or in the oven works too!)

What family favorites would be on your list that I forgot?

Cooking with just a crockpot challenge

Like I've said so many times before, I love my crockpot! Next week I will be borrowing my mom's medium sized crockpot-and that will be my only heat source for cooking in our new house for a week (or two or three?). I am brainstorming ways I can make simple meals with very little prep with only a crockpot.

Breakfasts will be cold cereal or zucchini muffins from the freezer. Lunches will be various types of sandwiches (tuna, chicken salad, cheese or PB & J) with crackers, carrot sticks and fruit. Dinners are the tricky part. So I need your help if you have any to give! I will have little if any counter to chop things-so minimal prep is essential and my pantry full of normal staples will still be packed away for awhile. So I will be starting from scratch with my menus for the most part.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Roast with potatoes and zucchini (all in the crockpot)
2. Use leftovers to make beef noodle soup (cut all up and add beef stock and noodles)
3. Make Salsa Chicken in the crockpot and use as a filling for tacos (will buy shredded cheese, sourcream and pre-cut lettuce at the store)
4. Crockpot Chili with a loaf of french bread from the store and leftover salad from the previous night
5. Crockpot Perfect baked potatoes with leftover chili, carrot sticks & ranch

That's as far as I've gotten. Any ideas for me?

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

This dish is quick, easy, and so healthy. Versatile too if you want to add ingredients or make it different ways. Make it budget-friendly by stocking up on cheap boneless skinless chicken when on sale (mine was $1.79/lb) and buying the salsa in bulk, using coupons/sales or making your own with garden tomato abundance.

Its only four ingredients, too!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
32 oz. salsa (any kind, be creative!)
2 cups frozen or 2 cans corn (add a little extra water if using frozen)
1 can black beans

Put all ingredients except for beans in the crockpot for 8 hours on low. (or 4 hours on high should work too). Add beans when chicken is done. Serve over rice or in tortillas if desired. I've read variations on this recipe adding sour cream or cream cheese to make it creamier, but I am doing the old weight watcher's core program so not so much for me:)


(this is the ready to be cooked picture)

This recipe is very forgiving on amounts, so using less salsa or less chicken or whatever is not going to ruin it. You may want to shred the chicken before adding the beans if using on tacos or in another mexi-dish. Yum!

URS is here.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Since I was a little one I have disliked rhubarb. Its still not my favorite, but when I was given a bunch of organic rhubarb by my doula, I decided it was time to try again!

I made a yummy rhubarb cake that I used whole wheat flour and apple juice for some of the sugar and it served as a not-super-healthy breakfast when my parents visited:) Oh and I used yogurt for some of the sour cream.

Here is the recipe I used- easy and tasty! Rhubarb Stir Cake:)

Super Power Muffins

From Karyn, who left this recipe on Money Saving Mom.

These are almost like an energy bar in a muffin. Not light and fluffy, but very moist and filling. All 3 (almost 4!) of us loved them.

Super Power Muffins

1 cup brown sugar (I don’t pack it!)
¼ to ½ cup peanut butter
1 banana
*optional ½ cup of apple sauce or carrot puree
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
*optional ¼ cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients well and set aside. Blend everything else and then sift in dry ingredients. (I just mixed it all in the same bowl!)Spray muffin tray. Bake for 15-18 min. Makes 12 - double for 24.

These are so good! I made them yesterday with the added applesauce, less chocolate chips, used apple juice in the place of some of the brown sugar and added shredded carrot (1 large) and 1/2 cup of raisin bran to the batter. We've almost eaten all of the 15 muffins it made in 24 hours!

Baking up a storm

Last week we needed some reasonably healthy things for breakfast, but I wanted to use up some ingredients I had in abundance. The ingredients I had? Carrots and peanut butter. Nothing immediately came to mind that combined the two. I ended up making two separate recipes and they both turned out well: carrot coconut bread and three ingredient peanut butter cookies.

I read the comments on the peanut butter cookies and they all suggested a few additions (which of course made them into "more than 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies":)

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar (or more, but I would suggest trying it this way first)
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup brown sugar

Cream all ingredients, drop by spoonfulls onto baking sheet and flatten with fork.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Yum!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday is hosted at Tammy's Recipes!