Low-carb Chicken Soup

So it has been a while since I posted anything.  I was kind of time-blocked from blogging while I was finishing up my masters degree and student teaching.  It was a very rewarding experience but extremely time consuming.  All is now complete so here I am! 

I'm sure everyone is battling these extremely frigid temperatures this week.  Here's a quick shot of my hometown report:

Siri told me that it's only 20 in Florida too.  There's something very wrong with that picture!  

This recipe would be perfect for anyone trying to thaw out in this weather but it especially helpful in my house.  Working in education, I sincerely appreciate the occasional snow-day to get caught up on things around the house.  But, my husband is a UPS driver and doesn't get "snow-days" or "inclement weather" days like I do. Poor guy!  He's freezing his tail off working outside in this craziness!  This is one of his favorite soups to thaw out on.  I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as we do!

Low-Carb Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 tbsp veg/canola oil

3 carrots (washed but not skinned)

3 stalks of celery

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup corn kernels

3 medium russet potatoes

4-6 cups of leafy greens (spinach or kale are my fave)

1 box of low sodium chicken stock

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp savory 

1 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

S&P to taste

First, you are going to need a very large pot.  This makes a lot of soup.  Chop the carrots, celery, and onion.  Make sure they are similar in size.   Throw them in the hot pot with the oil and let them cook for a minute.  Give them about 2-3 minutes alone and then add the garlic.  Do not add the garlic too soon or it could overcook and make the whole pot bitter.  Next, add in the herbs/spices and stir together.  Place the chicken breast on top of veg mixture and add the entire box of stock.  This may or may not cover the chicken but you are still going to need more liquid.  I add 8 cups of water to my pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil and let it boil (rapidly) for about 20-30 minutes.  While it is getting to that point, I peel and dice up the potatoes.  After the chicken is cooked thoroughly, I remove it and add the potatoes.  Chop up the chicken into similar size pieces as the veg and toss back in.  This is where I add the corn.  Let it simmer for about 30 more minutes.  The longer it sits, the better it gets!  About 5 minutes before serving add the leafy greens.  Kale is my favorite in this soup but spinach works just as well.  I have not used another green but if you do, let me know how it works. Once you add the greens, it will start to turn greenish if it sits.  It still tastes good but thought I'd give that heads up.  

This soup is wonderfully, delicious and really hits the spot on a cold day like today.  It could easily be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken with cannellini beans and the stock with vegetable stock. Also, anyone that knows me knows that I hate cooking to a recipe and measuring ingredients.  By all means, if use what you like in the amounts that you like.  Leave out the basil if you don't like it or replace it with something you like.  

The entire pot serves about 8 giant bowls of soup or 10-12 regular size bowls.  I plugged it into myfitnesspal application and posted a screen shot of the nutritional information for you.  This info is based on 8 giant bowls because, well, that is what we eat in my house! If you are on a low carb diet, it doesn't get much better, or filling, than this soup.  

Peach Cobbler

When you have a bag of fresh, Georgia peaches is there anything better to do than make cobbler?  I don't think so!  This cobbler is easy and delicious.  I used a recipe from Pinterest for inspiration but tweaked it slightly to take it up just a notch.  In my original recipe, I used blueberries too which made it totally awesome. This time I just used peaches because that is all I had.  One of the best things about cobbler is that it is anything in season can and will make it delicious!

I hope that you and your family enjoy it as much as mine did.

1/2 cup butter (unsalted)
5 peaches, sliced
Up to 1 cup sugar (may need less depending on sweetness of peaches)
1, 1/2 cup Splenda (divided)
2 cup water (divided)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Melt butter in baking dish (13x9).  I used stoneware so I put it in the microwave but if you are using metal do not melt in the microwave.  It will not end well!  

While that is melting, put the peaches, 1 cup Splenda, water and sugar in large sauce pan.  Bring this to a boil.  I recommend tasting your peaches first, rough I know, and then add the sugar based on the peaches.  If they are already really sweet, don't add all of it.  It's kind of up to your taste buds.  These peaches were fresh from Georgia so I did not need all of it.  I only used about 1/3 cup of sugar this time.  

As that is coming to a boil, sift together the flour, 1/2 cup Splenda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Then pour in the milk and water and whisk together until smooth.  It will seem like a runny batter but it is OK.  Pour the batter over the melted butter and DO NOT STIR!  After peaches are boiling for a couple minutes carefully use a slotted spoon to dip the peaches out and put them all over the batter.  

Once you have the peaches placed where you want, pour over some of the syrup.  The original recipe did not clarify but I do not use all the syrup.  These peaches were really juicy so I didn't even use half the syrup.  If they were still hard I probably would have used it all but I didn't want a runny cobbler.  

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and make sure you let it cool for a bit before cutting into it.  This is the hardest part but it if you cut it too soon, it will fall apart and not be deliciously beautiful.  

Serve with ice cream, homemade whipped cream or whatever you want but enjoy it!  I know that I usually include nutritional info on my recipes but I am not, in any way, claiming that this is healthy.  This is more of a guilty pleasure than figure friendly dessert.  Indulge yourself and enjoy!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Delicious!  I had a craving for some coffee cake yesterday so I played with my basic yellow cake recipe and tweaked it into what I think is an easy, moist coffee cake.  I've had coffee cakes in the past that were dry and tasted like cinnamon flour garbage but this cake is the opposite.  It was so soft and moist it was hard to stop eating it.  

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter (softened)
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup apple sauce (no sugar added)
2 1/2 cup AP flour
2 1/2 tsp BP
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk

Topping (or layer)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs in one at a time then vanilla.  Mix in the apple sauce.  I did not blend this part I used my spatula.  

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  

With the mixer on low, add a third of the dry ingredients to the wet.  Then add a third of the milk.  Repeat until all the dry is mixed with the wet.  

For the baking part I used a bundt pan.  If you use a bundt, pour half the batter in the prepared pan and then layer in the topping mix followed by the rest of the batter.  If you choose to use a 13x9, pour all the batter in the prepared pan and top it with the topping mix.  My bundt took about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Time would need to be adjusted if you use a different size pan.  

Black Bean Enchilada Lasagna

This recipe is super delicious and a favorite of my family. It's cheap, quick and super easy. Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (leaner the better)

1 small onion diced

1 green pepper diced

1 jalapeno diced

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 package enchilada mix

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 can black beans (reduced sodium)

Shredded cheese 

Low carb tortillas

1. Brown up 1lb of lean ground beef.  I actually used venison because we had it.  It makes it even lower in fat.  But lean ground beef is fine if that's all you have.  If you do use venison, you may need to use about 1 tbsp of veg oil since there is little to no fat.  It will keep it from sticking.  Rinse any excess grease if there is any.  
2. Add in the onions, green peppers and jalapenos.  Let them cook down for about 2 minutes then add the rotel tomatoes and enchilada mix.  Stir and let it simmer for a minute.  Sometimes you will need to add a little bit of water but not always so just make sure it isn't sticking to the pan and there is some sauce in there.  
3. This is where you add the corn and black beans.  In my house it is just my husband and I.  My daughter usually just eats some of mine.  We try to keep things as low-carb as possible around here but this is a good place to add more (cheap) sustenance to your meal if you have a bigger family.  It is just as good to add more black beans and corn.  
4. Give your corn and black beans a minute to marry with the sauce and then you begin to build the lasagna.  If you are serving a bigger family, you'll use a bigger casserole dish.  Since ours is so small, I build mine in 2 loaf pans and freeze one for a night when I don't feel like cooking (Reheat in 400 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes).  Most people though, will use the whole thing so it should fit perfectly in a 9x13 pan.    
5. Put a small layer of the sauce and meat mixture in the bottom of the pan.  Then a layer of low carb tortillas.  The tortillas are another place you can save some money.  You could just use a wheat tortilla or even store brand if you want to save the extra money.  In our house, we do low-carb so that isn't something we can do.  Just a $$ tip.  Anyway, on top of your tortilla, put another layer of sauce.  Then shredded cheese.  I use a combination of monterey jack and cheddar.  Repeat until all the sauce mixture is used.  I usually shoot for 3 layers.  Make sure you end with the sauce and cheese on top.  
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until everything is heated through and ooey-gooey!

This is a wonderful meal for the family.  I serve with some brown jalapeno rice and sour cream.  It's the perfect meal to double and freeze or make for a party.  You will not regret this one!

Beck's (Better than Manwich) Sloppy Joes

The "clean-eating" movement has been growing exponentially in recent history.  If you would like a good healthy lifestyle site, I want to direct you to Brand Fitness.  It is a blog/group that a friend of mine started.  She's a good source for clean eating recipes and healthy living in general.  She's also a good resource to point you to others if you need more direction for a healthy lifestyle.   

Another mom-blog doesn't have a specific angle to be healthy but it is something that should be considered important.  I believe in indulgences but only in moderation.  That being said, if I have the opportunity to give my family something a bit healthier, I'm going to take it. It is always better to know exactly what is going into your families food. And just like with this recipe, if it turns out to taste better than a can, even better!  So here it is, a can-free sloppy joe that will knock your families socks off!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 lb lean ground beef (I used 90/10 but if it is a lower grade, just make sure you rinse the fat off)

1 cup ketchup

2 tbsp brown spicy mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp cumin

a dash (or dashes!) of hot sauce

1/2 cup water

Start by  browning the beef along with the onions and peppers.  Once browned, drain any fat.  This is where it gets really difficult so pay close attention.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir.  I added several dashes of hot sauce to mine but we like things spicy in my house.  If you can't handle it, feel free to leave it out.  The water is just meant to thin out the sauce.  You may not need the entire 1/2 cup or you may need more.  Play it by ear and be flexible.  Let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes on low and serve and enjoy!  

Serves a family of 4: 298 cal / 27 carb / 10 fat / 23 protein / 20 sugar

My husband was so excited about this dinner, he reached for the bowl
as I was taking the picture.  He just couldn't wait! It really is that good.

Easy Fruit Torte

Looking for an easy, delicious dessert to carry to your next picnic?  This fruit torte is your answer!  It is very easy to make and it will definitely leave you with a happy crowd.

Start with a basic yellow cake recipe.  Here is the general recipe I use:

Basic Yellow Cake
Cream together: 2/3 cup butter (softened), 1- 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1- 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Sift together: 2- 1/2 cup AP flour, 2-1/2 tsp BP, 1/2 tsp salt
You also need 1-1/4 cup milk

Over about 3 batches, slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  After each dry bit added, add some of the milk.  Once everything is mixed together, pour batter evenly into 2 sprayed torte pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  I turned mine 10 minutes in to make sure they cook evenly.

Once tortes are finished, remove from pans and set aside to cool.  While they are doing that, you can prep the cheesecake topping.  You aren't going to believe how easy this is.  Mix 2 cups of cold milk, 1 box of sugar-free cheesecake pudding and 8 oz of cream cheese (softened).  Blend it together until it isn't lumpy and it begins to thicken the way pudding should.

Once the cakes are fully cooled, spread the topping and add whatever fruit looked good at the market that day.  I used strawberries and blueberries to be patriotic for the holiday but this would be great with kiwi, pineapple, raspberries, or really anything.

I refrigerated until it was time to serve.  Try this and you will get rave reviews! Feel free to share any comments!

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all veterans!

Great-Great-Grandma's Cookies

I recently inherited my great-grandmas recipe collection. It is so amazing to have her handwritten recipes. She was an amazing cook and an even better baker. Since baking is not my forte, I wanted to take some instruction from her little box. This morning I was looking through the recipe box and I found one titled "Mother's spiced oat cookies." Since her mother would be my great-great-grandma, I felt I had to give it a try. Sorry but there will be no recipe attached. This one holds too much nostalgic value to share outside the family. Any Witt's are welcome to it (message me if you want) but no one else! It may seem kind of hateful to share this moment without the recipe but I couldn't help but record it. Tasting these cookies has brought so many memories back to me. Baking with her recipe makes me feel close to her. Plus it resulted in some delicious cookies!