Curried Sweet Potato Soup

I made this soup about a month ago and have been meaning to get a post up since then. I am so busy these days that I haven't had much time to blog. Things just seem to be getting busier, so I decided to just hunker down and get some recipes posted.

This soup was made in response to an overflowing bowl of sweet potatoes that sat on my counter for about two weeks. Those spuds just sat there almost taunting me "Make something new! Make something new!" Finally I gave in and this soup is the result. Enjoy.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup (serves 4 - 6)

3 small sweet potatoes (or 3 C cooked)

1 T flour

1 T butter

3 C homemade chicken stock

1 T dark agave nectar (or brown sugar)

1/4 t ground ginger

1/8 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t ground nutmeg

1/2 t curry powder

1/2 t salt

1 C milk

Heat over to 400. Slice sweet potatoes horizontally. Place on cookie sheet cut side down. Bake in hot oven about 30 minutes or until soft.

While the potatoes are cooling, melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a light caramel color. Add broth and agave syrup and bring to a boil. Scoop the potato pulp into the stock mixture and add spice. Stir to combine and turn heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend soup in the stockpot until smooth (or use a blender and process in batches). Add milk and heat to desired temperature. Ladle into warm soup bowls and serve.

Beautiful Baked Meatballs

I have been craving meatballs lately. I don't really want the spaghetti, but I really, REALLY want meatballs. Maybe it is the weather? Am I anemic? I don't know and I don't care because I just want meatballs.

Tonight I gave into my craving (full disclosure: I had some out last week but they were only fair) and made my beautiful baked meatballs. This recipe is my compromise between proper meatball technique (frying then simmering in sauce) and easy (baking then coating with sauce). It combines the ease of baking with the slow cooked flavor of fried. They are an excellent quick no-fuss meal and were so good. They were exactly what I have been craving.

Beautiful Baked Meatballs (makes 5-6 generous servings)

1 pound ground beef
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/3 C whole grain bread crumbs
2 T flax seeds (optional, but very good for you and you won't even notice they are there - promise!)
1/3 C milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 t crushed garlic
1 T Italian seasoning blend
1/2 t seasoned salt (or salt and pepper)
1/2 C Romano cheese (with additional to sprinkle on top of final dish)
2 C of your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 425. Spray baking dish with non stick coating spray and set aside.

Place both meats in a large bowl and set aside. Add breadcrumbs, flax seeds, milk, eggs, garlic, seasoning blend, seasoned salt and cheese to bowl. Stir to combine well. Combine the bread and the meat mixtures and mix well (but lightly) with your hands.

Using an ice cream scoop, portion you meat mixture into 15 good sized meatballs. Arrange meatballs in baking dish so that there is a small amount of space between each meatball.







My little meaty soldiers all in a row.







Pour the marinara over the meatballs to fully cover. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until firm and bubbling.






All dressed and ready for the oven.








Serve with a side of pasta (Dreamfields, of course!) and enjoy.

Waste Not Want Not Chicken Stock

When we started buying organic protein, I was overwhelmed at the price. $17 for a whole chicken? Really? After I got over the sticker shock, I realized that if I utilized the entire bird, $17 wasn't too bad after all. For that $17, I get one dinner (for 4), two lunches and 6-8 cups of chicken stock (which will turn into 2 family dinners worth of soup later). When I start to do the math on a per serving basis (in this example, $1.22 per serving) the price becomes a lot more palatable.

As I make a lot of soup during the fall and winter (I love making soup: dump in ingredients, stir, walk away), chicken stock made from the carcass was the logical thing to do. I used to purchase Trader Joe's Chicken Broth, which contains 600 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving. That is 25% of your daily sodium intake in one cup of soup! My stock has no added sodium, although I suspect there will be some small amount of sodium present due to residual seasoning. The broth is flavorful and colorful, the later from the addition of onion peel (yes, the peel). You can either strain off and use just the stock or you can pick the carcass and use the meat (I only do this when I am making chicken noodle soup but I leave the decision up to you).

Waste Not Want Not Chicken Stock (makes approximately 8 cups)

1 chicken carcass (from a roasted chicken)
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, unpeeled, roughly chopped
8 cups water

Add chicken carcass to large stock pot. You want to totally submerge the bird in water, so if you may need to break the carcass in pieces depending on the size of your pot. Add the carrots, onions and water. Set over high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook at a low boil for 1 hour. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cooled, strain the liquid from the pot into a large zip top bag. Label and freeze for later use.

The SG Challenge Part 2 - Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

A few weeks ago I asked everyone to vote on what new black bean recipe I should make. The winner was Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili and I was ready to go with the recipe. Then summer reappeared. Now, I am not complaining about 75+ degree days in October, but that is definitely not chili weather. Yesterday, fall finally arrived and tonight so did the chili.

You'd never know that there is pumpkin in this chili if you didn't see it go into the pot. The remaining ingredients alone would make a fairly light flavored chili, so that is where the pumpkin comes in. It adds a richness and a depth of flavor to the pot that would be sorely lacking without it.

The recipe is adapted from this recipe found at Taste of Home.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili (makes 8 - 10 generous servings)

1 medium onion, diced fine

1 yellow bell pepper, diced fine

1 1/2 lb ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 C low sodium chicken stock

2 cans (or 4 cups) black beans, rinsed

1 can (15 oz) solid packed pumpkin

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 t dried parsley flakes

2 t chili powder

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1 1/2 t ground cumin

1 1/2 t salt

1 t black pepper

In a large skillet, saute onion, pepper and turkey until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to slow cooker.

Be sure to cook off all of the liquid from the onions and peppers.

Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to combine well.

Everybody in the pool.

Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or until heated through and bubbly. Serve with sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream, or to taste.

The SG Challenge: Turkey Black Bean Burgers

After my last post of how to cook black beans, my friend, SG, asked what I did with them once I cooked them. I pointed her to a number of recipes on this blog; Lentil and Black Bean Salad, Quick and Easy Turkey Soft Tacos, even The Amazing Black Bean Brownies. I started thinking about these recipes and the other that I make using black beans and I decided I needed to try something new. It was time to break out of my black bean rut and find some new and interesting recipes. I have dubbed this recipe search (drum roll please.......) The SG Challenge.

I found this little gem on the Taste of Home website. I made it tonight and it was a hit. Even the kids ate them, although they both initially resisted because they could see the red bell pepper in it (shame on me - I thought I diced it finely enough). Chris and I both loved them too. One note on the TOH recipe, theirs makes 4 servings. I found that with one lb of turkey I got six good sized burgers. As we ate them, these come in at 335 calories (including the whole grain sandwich thin and all of the toppings) and only 247 m of sodium.

Turkey Black Bean Burgers (makes 6 patties)

3/4 C black beans
1 egg white
1/2 C zucchini, finely shredded
1/2 C red bell pepper, finely diced
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t salt
1 pound ground turkey
1 T olive oil

In a small bowl, coarsely mash beans. Add all remaining ingredients and mix lightly. With a wet hand, shape lightly into 6 patties. In a large skillet, cook burgers over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side or until a meat thermometer reads 165 and juices run clear.

Serve as desired (we served on sandwich thins with mayo, mustard, chili sauce (Chris), lettuce, tomato and onion. Yum!)

I am Full of Beans

Congratulations. If you are reading this, you are thick skinned enough (or just down right curious) to keep reading after you saw the title of this post. But the title is perfect; I am full of beans, both literally and figuratively.

I have mentioned on this blog before how much I love beans. I cook with beans all the time. Beans are an inexpensive, versatile source of protein and fiber and are sooooo good for you. We eat so many beans in this household that I used to buy them in cans by the case. Then I started reading labels.

It turns out that beans, like almost every other processed food, start as health food and in the hands of food processors become junk. We eat mostly black beans, so I will give you a little nutritional comparison using them:

Bush's Best canned black beans (regular) - 1 cup

Calories: 210

Sodium: 860 m (36%)

Trader Joe's canned black beans (low sodium) - 1 cup

Calories: 220

Sodium: 350 m (15%)

Home cooked black beans (no salt) - 1 cup

Calories: 227

Sodium: 2 mg (0%)

So then, you can see what my problem is with canned black beans. You think you are making a healthy choice for your family by serving them beans, but in every cup you are giving them nearly 900 m of sodium in a food that is naturally sodium free. Why do food processors do that? It makes me so mad!

Now that I know the truth about canned beans, I won't use them anymore. Instead I cook my own and freeze them in 1 can size portions. Beans are insanely easy to make and freeze beautifully. Go ahead and give it a try.

Freezer Black Beans (makes 12 cups cooked, or 6 2-cup portions)

Note that I make 2 pounds at a time because my large pot holds 2 pounds fairly well. Increase or decrease the amount you make as your pot demands.

2 pounds dried black beans, picked over

water to cover and cook

Add dried black beans to a large bowl and cover with cool, fresh water. Cover with a tea towel and let sit overnight.

In the morning, drain the water from the bowl and rinse the beans in cool water. Add the beans to a large pot and cover with as much water as you can get in the pot. Cover and set over high heat. Once the pot comes to a boil, boil until just tender (not mushy), about 45 - 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the beans rest until they are cool enough to handle. Once cooled, drain beans and gently rinse with cold water.

Pack your cooked beans in 2 cup portions (this is roughly equivalent to one can of prepared beans) in zip top bags and freeze.

Homemade Almond Milk

A few months ago I noticed a change in my husband. He started eating salad, lots and lots of salad. Then he began asking for almond milk. We tried lots and lots of different brands and finally decided to make our own. Making our own almond milk isn't any cheaper (it runs about the same price as commercially prepared), but the almond pulp that remains behind is an excellent baking ingredient (I use it instead of almond meal - it is the same texture, but removes some fat and flavor from the meal - all of which is good in my baking) so it is cheaper for us in the long run.

Before you decide to give almond milk (or any other alternative milk product) a try, it is important to understand the differences between the various kinds of milk. Here is a handy chart that I found on a a blog called Noshtopia.











What you will notice from this chart is that cows milk wins, hands on, on the protein front. If you are using milk as your main source of protein, then stick with the moo juice. However, if you are getting enough protein from other sources, then non-dairy milks have lots of advantages. For us, choosing almond milk (it wins for this family on taste) means lower calories, carbs and sugar while still providing us with plenty of calcium. It is also easy (and fun) to make. I hope you give it a try.

Almond Milk (make approx 7 cups)

2 C water (to soak almonds)
2 C raw organic almonds
6 C filtered water
2 T agave syrup (or 4 pitted dates)
pinch salt, if desired

Add almonds to bowl and cover with 2 C water. Refrigerate almonds and let them set overnight.

When you are ready to make the milk, drain the almonds and rinse with clear water. Add 1/2 of the almonds to a blender along with 3 cups of filtered water and 1/2 of your sweetener of choice. Turn your blender on liquefy and process for 2 minutes.

Once the milk is blended, pour your mixture into a nut milk bag which has been set over a large bowl (if you don't have a nut milk bag, use a few layers of fine cheesecloth). Slowly squeeze the almond milk out of the bag. Keep squeezing gently until there is no milk left in the bag (you will have almond pulp leftover). Repeat the blending/squeezing with the second half of the ingredients. Pour milk into a pitcher and taste. If needed, add a pinch of salt to taste.

Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. The almond milk will keep, refrigerated, for 4 days.

Here's a nifty YouTube video (its not me, but they do a good job explaining the process)