Spicy Kale Soup

This is one of those recipes that The Honey calls "chick food".  He doesn't like split pea soup, either.  Or any soup that is pureed.  Or green.  What can I say - this is the man that loves Sloppy Joe sandwiches, remember?  However, the one time I convinced him to eat it for dinner, he admitted that it was surprisingly (he was surprised - not me!) tasty.  It may not sound like much of a testimonial, but it's the one I'm most proud of because it was the hardest to earn.

Although this soup looks remarkably like split pea soup, trust me when I tell you it tastes nothing like it.  It's a great blend of vegetables, including a couple of potatoes to make it creamy when it's pureed.  And the kale adds some great flavor to it, though I must admit that I'm not a big fan of kale by itself.  Add in your red pepper flakes and sour cream and you have a delicious bowl of tasty goodness that has a little kick to it.  And as an added bonus, has less than half the calories of a bowl of split pea soup.


Spicy Kale Soup
(Yields about 7 1-1/2 c. servings, about 100 calories each)

4 c. chicken broth
2 potatoes, peeled
2 carrots
1 large onion
2 crowns broccoli
1 bell pepper, red or green
1 bunch kale (about 6-7 leaves)
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
pinch of red pepper flakes
3/4 c. light sour cream

Pour chicken broth into a large soup pot (with a lid) and place over medium heat.  Chop or slice all of the vegetables except the kale as desired and add to the pot.  You don't have to make it look too pretty because you'll be pureeing the soup, but remember you want the veggies to cook quickly, so be sure to chop the tougher vegetables, such as the carrots, into thin slices to they'll cook faster.

While vegetables are simmering, wash kale and separate the leafy part from the woody stem.

Chop the leafy part.

Add to the pot on top of the other vegetables.  This should fill your pot up significantly.  Do not try to stir it in just yet.

Put the lid on the pot and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  See how much prettier it looks?

Now you can stir it in.  Add the minced garlic and salt/pepper.

Continue simmering veggies another 30-45 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

Now it's time to puree the soup.  I don't have a nice big food processor, but my blender works just fine.  I have to do about half at a time.

Puree for about 45-60 seconds, or until soup is smooth.

Return pureed soup to the pot and add red pepper flakes, celery salt, and thyme. Continue simmering over medium-low heat.

I'm kind of a baby when it comes to spicy things, so I just add a pinch of the red pepper flakes - maybe 1/4 teaspoon?  If you like hot, feel free to jump it up a notch and add more. You can also add the red pepper flakes BEFORE you puree it to release the spicy in the red pepper a little more intensely.  I did that once.  Never again.  I'm a wimp, remember?

Then stir in your sour cream.

When you don't see the creamy swirls any more you know it's mixed well and ready to eat.

If desired, add some cooked sausage to your bowl just before serving.

Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

I don't know what it is about men and beef, but when I say the word "steak" to The Honey, he gets a glazed, joyful look in his eyes.  And if I say the words "Sloppy Joe" he starts to salivate.

Huh??

But since I love my man, I try to accommodate him from time to time.  And since I'm not the kind of person that normally has cans of Manwich on hand, I needed a recipe for Sloppy Joe sandwiches.  After looking at a few, I found a good recipe by Laurie Hauser on allrecipes that I could work with.  I made some minor changes of course - I just can't make anything like it's written.  (Or that calls for 1/2 cup of ketchup - I had to use some vegetable juice instead!)  But either way, these turned out good enough for me to enjoy.


Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
(Yields 4 servings of filling, about 180 calories each.  If you're counting calories, don't forget to add in your bun!)

3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. vegetable juice
1-2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Brown meat and onion in a skillet over medium heat.  When cooked, drain and rinse with hot water.

Return meat and onion to pan.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium heat until it reaches desired thickness.

The traditional way to serve this is on a bun, but if you'd like to try something new you can spoon it over a little brown rice and serve with some veggies.

"Ritzy" Holiday Cookies

About 4 years ago my older sister and I took a day-after-Thanksgiving road trip to upstate NY to visit a younger sister and her family.  While we were there our younger sister was participating in a Christmas Bazaar and had a bunch of Christmas goodies for sale, including these.  I'm not sure who originally got the idea for them, but I know I can't take credit.  I just know I could gain ten pounds every Christmas just eating the things.  And since Horse Lover is also a peanut butter lover, they are her favorite that she requested this year.


"Ritzy" Christmas Cookies

2 sleeves Ritz crackers
Creamy peanut butter
24 oz. Almond Bark vanilla candy coating
Sprinkles (if desired)

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on a Ritz cracker.  Top with another cracker to make a sandwich.

Do this for all the Ritz crackers you are using and line them up neatly on wax paper.

Now it's time to melt the almond bark for the coating.  Some brands of almond bark are sold in big bricks (as shown in yesterday's post) and need to be broken up before placed into a bowl for melting.  However, some brands are sold in cubes as shown in this picture:

These are nice if you can find them because it is a whole lot easier to work with - especially if you're not using the whole package. Either way, you're going to melt the almond bark the same way.  Start off by microwaving it for about 1 minute, then stir.  Keep microwaving in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted.

 Drop a Ritz sandwich into the bowl of melted candy coating.  Using a fork, flip it over and make sure it's coated well all around.

 

Then pick it up with the fork and give the fork a couple of taps on the side of the bowl.  This gives you a smoother coat on top, and also knocks off some of the extra almond bark that you really don't need.

Place cookie back on wax paper to set.  If using sprinkles, be sure to put them on when the coating is still melted to they'll stick.

As you can see, my kids love to help out with these by putting on the sprinkles.

If desired, leave a few cookies plain.  I prefer them without sprinkles, myself.  But then, they don't look quite as festive, do they?

Holiday Bark

My original plans for today's post was for a sumptuous crock pot beef stew that we had for dinner yesterday.  In fact, I was going to blog about this stew when we first had it two weeks ago.  So where is the post about this lovely stew?  Well... you see... you make it in the crock pot.  And when I start it I take some great pictures of how you want to slice the carrots, lightly brown the meat, layer it in the crock pot, that sort of thing.  And by the time we eat dinner I am so rushed I don't even think about snapping a picture of the finished product.  Shame on me.  So, instead, you'll have to suffer by looking at pictures of more sweets: Holiday Bark.

As I told you in my last post, I made my family choose one item they'd like me to make for Christmas treats this year.  And since we seem to be on a roll with these, I guess I'll have to keep it up and blog about Horse Lover's Christmas goody request tomorrow.  Trust me - be excited.

I've been making this Holiday Bark for almost 10 years now.  Do you remember the old commercials for (I think) Rice Krispie treats where the mom stirs up this easy recipe, hangs out in the kitchen for a while, then pats some flour on her face and walks out with the plate of treats into the other room where her family is waiting?  Then they'd all think she slaved over this super-easy dessert and shower her with gratitude and affection.  That's kind of how I feel when I make these.  They are SO easy.

The original recipe I had for this came from a church activity where I received a printed booklet with favorite holiday recipes in it.  The ratio of pretzels to Almond Bark was a little low for me - I like more pretzel and less candy coating.  If you are one of those that prefer the sickeningly sweet variety, however, feel free to use less pretzels in the recipe.




Holiday Bark

24 oz. Almond Bark vanilla candy coating
12 oz. small pretzel twists
1 c. red & green M&M's

Break up Almond Bark and put in microwavable bowl.  Microwave for about 1 minute and stir.  Microwave for about another 90 seconds or until almond bark is completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds to check on it and prevent overcooking.

Once almond bark is melted, pour in pretzels.  Stir until evenly coated.

Add 1 c. M&M's and stir just until mixed evenly.  Do not  over-stir once you've added the M&M's or the colors will start to run.

Spread mixture out on wax paper to cool.

Once the candy coating has set (for me this it usually done after an hour) break into smaller pieces for serving.

Chocolate Crinkles

Lately I feel more like a chaotic cook than a "candid cook".  Maybe it's just that time of year, but I feel like I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth and everyone else is about 3 steps ahead.  Argh!

On the up side, I am cooking more than I have been.  I just updated my family budget and realized that we spent $6.41 on "dining out" in the first half of December.  And that $6.41 was for one large pizza from Little Caesar's one Friday night to placate the daughter who was very disappointed because she was NOT going to the slumber party.  A very worthy cause, in my humble opinion.  Otherwise, I've been cooking or we've been scrounging up what's in the kitchen.  However, because I feel like I'm doing a lot of "cooking in a hurry" these days, almost all of my meals have fallen into one of three categories:

1.  Tried something new, took a few pics, not worth your time or mine to post here
2.  Fabulous, but I didn't keep track and I'm not quite sure what I put in there
3.  Same old, same old stuff

Isn't that just the way it goes some times?

Christmas is now fast approaching,  and earlier in the month when I decided not to do as much baking this year I gave each of my family members the choice of what Christmas "goody" they'd like me to make.  The Monkey chose my chocolate crinkle cookies.  Although, really, it's not my recipe.  It's Better Homes and Gardens' recipe, though I did modify it to use unsweetened baking cocoa instead of baking chocolate squares.  But they are still so, so yummy.  Like brownies dipped in powdered sugar.  Since today was her school Christmas party, I decided to make these for her school festivities.  And as has been typical for me this month, I remembered that I needed to bake them about 10:30 this morning for a 1:30 party.

Chocolate Crinkles
(Original recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, 11th edition.  Printed here with minor modifications.) 

3 eggs
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 c. cooking oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for the flour and powdered sugar.

Beat until well combined and smooth.

 

Mix in as much of the flour as you can.  Because I am using powdered cocoa instead of the baking squares, I have reduced the amount of flour from the original recipe.  If you find that the dough is getting too thick before it's all mixed in, feel free to leave the rest out.  Or, if you feel like your dough isn't thick enough, add a little extra flour.  The dough needs to be firm enough that it can be rolled into balls.

 

Shape dough into small balls and roll in powdered sugar to coat.

 

Place balls on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

 

Bake at 375 for about 8 minutes.  See why they're called chocolate "crinkles"?

 

Remove from oven and let sit for about 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  In this picture, you can see why I am a huge fan of parchment paper.  I removed these cookies with my fingers, and look - no sticky sugar baked on the cookie sheet!

Mint Hot Cocoa Mix

Hot cocoa is one of the few things that I will never, ever be able to give up.  Ever.  I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't gamble.  I don't drink coffee or tea, and I don't even really drink caffeinated soda.  A girl's gotta have some sort of vice, right?  And hot cocoa fits right in with my healthy lifestyle as long as I realize it's not a beverage - it's a dessert!

If you are trying to skip a lot of the Christmas baking this year (like me) yet love to give out goodies to friends and neighbors without spending a bundle (also like me) then you may be very interested in this tasty concoction.  It's also super easy to make with your kids, and the only clean-up it wiping the dusty residue off your counter tops.  It's a no-brainer, right?

But really.  Whose kidding who?  Although I will give this stuff out for Christmas this year, I'm not making it for "them".  I'm making it for *me*.


Mint Hot Cocoa Mix
(Makes about 40 1/4-cup servings of 110 calories each.)

4 c. instant non-fat dry milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/4 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
1 1/2 c. non-dairy creamer
1/4 tsp. salt
1 10-oz. bag of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips

It's important that you are using instant dry milk for this mix.  You want this stuff to dissolve easily in hot water without having to whisk it!  Start off by putting your dry milk in a large, gallon-size ziplock bag.

Add all remaining powdered ingredients: powdered sugar, cocoa, creamer, and salt.

Put your kids to work shaking the bag to mix up the ingredients.  Horsie Lover figured it out without much help.

 

I thought The Monkey was going to rip a hole in bag the way she was squeezing it with her hands, so I showed her how to turn the bag upside down and right-side up over and over again to mix.  Much better...

Once you get it good and mixed, open the bag and dump in the Andes baking chips.  Snitch a couple.  Eat them slowly and savor the moment.  Then give the bag to your kids to shake up again.

 

And in case you need help finding them in the store, they should be in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips in a green bag, like this one:

 

This makes about 10 cups of mix.  If you're giving some out as gifts, you can buy a pack of 30 cellophane bags at Hobby Lobby for about $2-$3.  Since I'm not crafty, I just hopped onto the computer and downloaded a Christmas clipart background for our bag topper.

 Be sure to put mixing instructions on the bag: 1/4 c. per mug of hot water.  And trust me, this stuff is creamy enough without having to add milk!