Creamy Tomato Soup

4 cups peeled and diced tomatoes
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (2 cubes)
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 T sugar
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 T butter, divided
3-4 T flour
2 cups milk
cream, opt

Add tomatoes and seasonings to a large pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook onion in saucepan in 1 T butter until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add onions and garlic to tomato mixture. Then make a white sauce: Melt remaining 3 T butter in saucepan and once melted, stir in flour (enough to make a paste, it depends how much was left when you poured the onions and garlic out). Cook for a minute or two, then slowly add and stir in milk. Stir constantly and in between adding milk to avoid lumps. Cook until thickened. Pour into tomato mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add cream, if using--though I thought it was creamy enough without. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: http://www.littledairyontheprairie.com/fresh-creamy-tomato-soup/

Flourless PB Chococolate Chip Muffins

We gobbled these up! They are a great, healthy snack. (Or they would be if you didn't eat them with ice cream, like Andy did!)

• 1 medium ripe banana, peeled
• 1 large egg
• heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 
• 3 T honey
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt, optional and to taste
• heaping 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 F. Add all the ingredients except chocolate chips to a blender and blend until combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon by the heaping tablespoon into greased and floured mini-muffin tins. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until nicely domed and spring back when touched. A toothpick should come out with only a few crumbs and no dough. Let cool for 10 minutes for easy removal.

From http://www.averiecooks.com/ 

Zucchini Boats

• 1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed*
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
• 3 T tomato paste + 1/4 water, or some tomato sauce
• 1 cup diced tomatoes 
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 F and place the zucchini halves on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper for easier cleanup!). Cook for about 5 minutes or until zucchini begins to soften. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 F. Meanwhile, brown beef with onions and garlic. Season with Montreal Steak Seasoning (optional) as you cook it. Add Italian seasoning, bouillon, tomato paste, and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, then mix in the egg (I mix it in last so the mixture cools a bit before I add it. You don't want the egg to cook in the hot mixture!). Spoon mixture into zucchini shells and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the zucchini is tender. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes more. Enjoy!

*If it's a very large zucchini, you can remove some of the flesh to make the boat sides about 1/2 inch thick. Dice up the flesh you removed and add it in with the tomatoes, etc.

Smashed Potatoes

Such a fun, easy and quick way to cook potatoes. If I were doing this for a crowd I would skip the microwave and just bake the potatoes first, then smash and continue with the recipe.

5-6 small potatoes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary or other spices as desired


Preheat oven to 400. Pierce potatoes and place on a paper plate, being sure they do not touch. Microwave for 6-7 minutes and check with a fork to see if they are soft. If not, continue to microwave a couple more minutes and check again. When they are fork tender, dump onto a large baking sheet. Using the paper plate, smash each potato. Drizzle with olive oil and desired spices. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges look brown and crispy. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

These are a bit different than my Mom's recipe,  but I like them even better. They are nice and fluffy, and easy to whip up! When I'm low on milk, I substitute powdered milk. To equal 1 cup, mix 1 cup water + 3 T Non-instant powdered milk or 6 T instant (but check the package instructions if you have them, as especially the instant kind varies by brand). Recipe adapted from http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/whole-wheat-blender-pancakes/.

• 1 1/2 cups milk, divided
• 1 cup whole wheat berries
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter

Place 1 cup milk and the wheat in blender. Blend 2-3 minutes until thick and like mush. Add the rest of the milk (1/2 cup) and the remaining ingredients. Blend for 2-3 more minutes. Cook on a hot griddle. Makes about 18 pancakes if using 1/4 cup per pancake. 

Blueberry Buttermilk Whole Wheat Pancakes

These are such yummy pancakes! I made them a few times from this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but one day I was out of yogurt so I substituted buttermilk. You can use either buttermilk or plain yogurt, but you will have to add a few tablespoons of milk if using yogurt. Here is my adapted recipe:

Blueberry Buttermilk Whole Wheat Pancakes
2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk (I made my own with lemon juice or vinegar)

3 T butter, plus extra for buttering skillet

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 T sugar

1 T plus 1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp table salt

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Melt half of butter. Remove from heat and stir in second tablespoon of butter until melted. This keeps your butter from being too hot when you next want to add it to the wet ingredients.Whisk egg and buttermilk together in the bottom of a medium/large bowl (if using yogurt, you made need to add a few T of milk to thin it). Whisk in melted butter, zest and vanilla extract. In a separate, small bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet only until dry ingredients are moistened. A few remaining lumps is fine. Fold in blueberries.

Preheat your oven to 200°F and have a plate ready (to keep pancakes warm). Use an 1/8 or 1/4 cup per pancake and cook on heated griddle. Transfer pancakes to warm oven as they are done cooking, where you can leave them there until you’re ready to serve them.