Taco Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes to make this time of year.  It's so easy & makes so much that I can eat on it for days. 

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
2 14 1/2oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can kidney beans (drained)
1 15 oz can pinto beans (drained)
1 15 oz can black beans (drained)
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 1.25 oz taco seasoning mix

In a large pot, cook beef and garlic. Add onions when beef is almost browned.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes. 

Topping ideas:
shredded cheese
cilantro
sour cream
chopped avocado

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I made broccoli cheddar soup using this recipe I found on Pinterest.  It's probably safe to say I'm addicted to Pinterest.  As if I  needed another internet time sucker.  So far, every recipe I've tried on Pinterest has been good.  This soup was delicious and is definitely going in the rotation for dinner.

In my usual fashion, I did not follow the recipe exactly, but I stayed pretty close.  I used frozen broccoli instead of fresh and it worked just fine.  I just ran it under water to thaw and drained the water out of it. I left out the onions because Allen isn't a big fan.  I doubled the milk and omitted the half and half.  Also, I used all Colby cheese. And I didn't use cardamom because, frankly, I have no earthly idea what it is.   So with all those changes, it turned out great! 

Broccoli Cheddar Soup {my version of the recipe}
1/4 c butter
1 clove garlic
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
2 c chicken stock
1/2 lb frozen broccoli that has been thawed & drained
1 c shredded carrot
1/4 tsp nutmeg
12 oz grated Colby jack cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Saute garlic in the butter over medium heat.  Add in the flour, stirring constantly.  Add in the milk and chicken stock.  Bring to almost a boil.  Add broccoli and carrots.  Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Season the soup with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Stir in cheese and let simmer 10 minutes longer before serving.

We ate ours with baked potatoes.  I'm craving this dinner as I type.

Pretty Food {Black Bean & Cheese Nachos}

This is one of my favorite lunches at home.  Simple & delicious!  Cover tortilla chips with black beans, pepper jack cheese & colby cheese, then heat in the microwave.  Top with chopped tomato, red onion & cilantro.

Pretty Food {Grilled BBQ Chicken}

This is our chicken we raised and butchered on the YouTube farm.  We marinated it in our homemade bbq sauce and grilled it.  It was delicious!

BBQ Sauce
1 c ketchup {organic or make sure there's no high fructose corn syrup}
1 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy!  We store ours in the refrigerator in an old honey container.

What Can I Have For A Snack?

Lately, I hear this questions about 20 times a day!  Apparently, both kids are going through growth spurts at the same time because their bellies are little bottomless pits these days.  Someone is always asking me for food.  And if one kid asks, the other comes running in to make sure they don't miss out. 

Because of their huge appetites, I've had to expand what I have on hand for them to snack on.  Therefore, I've loosened up a little on what I'm willing to buy to add a little variety in our lives.  I've had to do a lot of digging & reading in the grocery store to find snacks with ingredient lists I approve of.  I try not to buy anything with these ingredients:

* BHT
* MSG
* High Fructose Corn Syrup
* Artificial Dyes

What I have been buying for them:

* Popcorn ~ This is my favorite snack.  It's good for you & the kids love it.  I buy kernels & pop them myself.  Just add a little melted butter & salt & it tastes delicious!

* Kettle chips ~ Everyone in the family loves these and no one can be trusted alone with an open bag.

* Organic apples ~ Sydney absolutely loves apples.  But only if they are peeled, but not cut up.  She's my picky child.

* Organic yogurt ~ Garrett loves yogurt.  Sydney won't even try it.  I wasn't kidding when I said she was picky.

* Organic granola bars ~ The kids like Cascadian Farms chocolate chip & peanut butter.

* Mini bagels ~ These are great!  Sydney loves hers toasted with Nutella on top.  Garrett & I like ours with cream cheese.  They also make great mini sandwiches or pizza bites.  They have become our new staple.  They work great for breakfast, lunch or snack. 

* Fresh bread drizzled with honey ~ The kids love my bread fresh out of the oven.  It's tradition that we all eat a slice drizzled with honey or topped with Nutella right when it comes out of the oven.

* Fruit ~ Garrett loves apples, bananas, blueberries & strawberries.  Sydney will only eat apples.

* Organic crackers ~ I buy Late July brand.  I love mine topped with my new addiction...Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedges.

* Annie's Cheddar Bunnies ~ The kids like them & Sydney finally quit asking me to buy Cheez-Its...after a year.

* Animal Crackers ~ Not too shabby.

* Cheese roll up ~ Melt cheese in a tortilla and roll it up.  I used to eat these as a kid.

* Coco Roos ~ Here's where I've budged a little.  These are the generic brand coco puffs.  The kids are excited to get some "crap" food.  I had to meet them in the middle a little.  These double as breakfast or snack.

* Jello Pudding Cups ~ Again, not the greatest, but they are a good treat for the kids. 

I also try to make homemade snacks pretty often.  I usually make muffins, breads or cookies. 

Sydney requested popsicles for summer.  I spent 10 minutes in the grocery store looking at every box of popsicles.  Let me tell ya folks, they're packed with all the horrible dyes.  Red # 2, Blue # 2, Yellow #5...you get the idea.  I refuse to buy them.  I bought Blue Bell all natural strawberry fruit bars, but guess who doesn't like them?  Yep, the picky kid who specifically requested popsicles.  So I'm on a mission to find something we both agree on.

Life would be much easier not caring about the ingredients in their food.  But I do care.  So, I spend 10 minutes in the frozen food isle, freezing while carefully inspecting the popsicles.  One day they will thank me.  Right?  Please tell me one day they will thank me! :)

Pretty Food {Bow Tie Pasta}

Boil bow tie pasta.  Brown ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper & garlic.  Add jar of Bertoli organic marinara sauce.  Drain pasta when cooked and add to meat sauce.  Sprinkle with paremsean and fresh chopped parsley.  Enjoy!

Pretty Food {Black Beans Topped With Avocado Pico De Gallo}

Black Beans:
In a saucepan, heat up a can of black beans.  Add chopped tomatoes, red onions, cilantro & salt. 

Avocado Pico De Gallo:
Rough chop & mix in bowl:
avocado
tomato
red onion
cilantro
jalapeno
squirt of fresh lime
pinch of salt

When Life Gives You Bad Bread, Make Croutons

I recently had my first bad batch of bread.  I think I got distracted in the kitchen, left what I was doing and when I came back, I could not remember if I had added the salt yet.  Well, it was a 50/50 chance and I guessed wrong.  A loaf of bread without salt does not taste that great.  But I hate throwing away organic ingredients that I spent some time on.  So I tried turning the bad loaf into croutons and it worked! 

I just cut the bread up into small chunks, put on a cookie sheet, tossed them in extra virgin olive oil & garlic salt,  and baked at 400 until browned.

You could also turn old, stale bread into croutons.  Making breadcrumbs is another great option.  Just put bread in food processor with some seasoning of your choice & pulse until you have fine breadcrumbs.

PS ~ That lovely lettuce is from our garden. :)

Pretty Food {Cheese Toasted Buns}

I work hard making all our bread products from scratch.  So you can bet your bottom dollar I'm not about to let any of it go to waste!  I turned these leftover hamburger buns into cheese toast.  Just butter, sprinkle with garlic & parmesan cheese & broil on low for a few minutes.  Just be sure to keep a close eye on them so they do not burn.

Pretty Food {Radishes From The Garden}

Baked Potato Potato Soup

I made this up as I went, loosely basing it on a recipe I had. 

Bake about 5 potatoes the day before.  When done baking, wrap up and put in refrigerator.
The next night, chop up 6 slices bacon & cook in large pot. 
Chop up baked potatoes & add to the cooked bacon.  Add a few pats of butter, salt, pepper & green onions or chives.  Mix well & let cook a few minutes. 
Add 5 cups milk & bring to a boil, stirring often. 
Mash up some of the potatoes in the pot, using a masher or large spoon/spatula.
Reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
When it's done simmering, add about 1 cup sour cream & 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese.  Mix well.
If your soup seems too thick, you can add in a little more milk or a little chicken broth.

This makes a lot of soup, which means leftovers!  Cook once, eat two or three times!

Pretty Food: {Salsa}

Sock Monkey Baby Shower

I recently hosted a baby shower for my Sister-in-Law.  She's having a baby boy & told me to surprise her with the shower theme.  I am loving sock monkeys lately so I went with a red/brown/white sock monkey theme.  I kept it simple & practical by making everything myself.  I think it turned out pretty cute. 

The cute little sock monkey doubled as a table decoration and a gift from my kiddos to their soon to be baby boy cousin.

I love making tissue paper puff balls for parties.  And a little tip, don't waste your money buying the Martha Stewart kit.  Guess what's in the box?  A stack of tissue paper & some crafting wire.  It's much cheaper to buy it yourself.  The only extra step is to cut the ends of the paper into a shape.  Either a triangle or half circle.

Tissue Paper Puff Balls
What you need:
A stack of tissue paper (about 10 sheets, depending on the size you want)
Crafting wire that bends easily
Scissors

How to:
Fold the tissue paper accordion style, with about a 1 1/2" thickness.
Place crafting wire around center of folded up tissue & twist into knot to hold in place
If you want small puff balls, cut the folded stack in half to make two small ones
Snip each end into a shape (triangle for a pointed edge, or half circle for a rounded edge)
Now fluff the tissue paper out, one layer at a time, until it forms a ball shape. Be very gentle so that it does not tear.
Hang with fishing wire or just set around for cute decorations

White cupcakes with chocolate frosting is my favorite combination.  Plus, it matched my color scheme. ;)  I made the cupcake toppers by printing the images on card stock, cutting out and taping to a toothpick.  Sydney helped me frost & decorate all the cupcakes.  She is such a great helper!  She also pays great attention to detail.  She coordinated her outfit to match the shower colors.

I love pinwheels!  They taste great & are so easy.  3 ingredients: flour tortillas, cream cheese & pace picante sauce.  Mix cream cheese & picante sauce.  Spread on a tortilla, roll up and slice.  Done!

This punch is my go to drink when hosting parties.  It's always a big hit.  I got the recipe from a friend years ago.

Punch
2 c sugar
1 c water
Bring these to a boil in a pot.
Then, in a cooler, add sugar water to a 10 lb bag of ice to begin melting.  Then add:
46 oz pineapple juice
12 oz frozen pink lemonade
12 oz frozen orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

The recipe says to let punch set in cooler 3 hours before serving,  However, I always make mine the night before.  The recipe also says it serves 50, but I promise you will need to double the recipe if throwing a large party. 

I can't wait to meet  my new nephew in April!

Pretty Food {Pasta With Artichokes, Mushrooms & Spinach}

Pretty Food {Salad}

This has been my lunch of choice at home lately.  Mostly organic & 100% delicious.  I love it when your food is so darn pretty you have to take a picture of it.