Carrot Soup

I had a lot of garden carrots to use this year.



1 medium onion diced
3 large carrots cut into slices
1 TBSP parsley
1 TBSP basil

sauté in 1 TBSP olive oil

Add:
2 cups chicken broth

Boil for about 12 minutes. Purée in batches. Set aside.

In same pan

Melt 2 TBSP butter. Add 2 TBSP flour. Mix well.
Add
1 cup milk.
Whisk together until starting to thicken.

Add Carrot purée.

Mix together.

salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup butter softened
1 package spiced cake mix (the two layer kind)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

mix well

Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. The dough is more cake like. Scoop dough onto sheets. A generous teaspoon works well.

Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.

Filling

1/2 cup butter softened
1 package cream cheese (8 oz)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix well. (My kitchen aid worked great for this0

Spread filling on one cookie and sandwich with another.

Delicious.

Linked to Foodie Friday

Sweet Potato Bread

I like pumpkin. But I don't like buying things in a can. And I get overwhelmed at the thought of buying a pumpkin and making my own purée. No good reason for that, I just do.

I find Sweet Potato Purée really easy to make. So I substitute.
Just peel your potato. Cut it into peices, and steam for ~ 20 minutes. Then purée.


I am also trying to substitute honey for sugar in my baking. Where do you buy a big bucket of honey? At the Farmer's Market. Honey does not go bad, but it does crystallize. So if it is not liquid, then heat it in the microwave or put the whole container in a pot of water on low heat until it's liquid again.



Sweet Potato Honey bread

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2tsp baking powder

mix dry ingredients together.

In separate bowl mix wet ingredients

1 1/2 cup honey (melted)
3 eggs beaten
2 cups sweet potato purée

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.


Divide batter evenly into 2 loaf pans.


Bake at 325F for ~ 50 minutes

Watch closely for burning as honey tends to burn easier then sugar.

This bread turned out just the right sweetness, and very moist!


Shared at:Designs by Gollum Foodie Friday
and The Grocery Cart Challenge

Green Tomato Bread

I came across this recipe at The Fajdich Times I thought it looked interesting so I gave it a try.

For the green tomatoes I grated them then put them in a colander with a bowl on top to drain the liquid.


Green Tomato Bread, adapted from the Fajdich Times

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the middle.

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1 cup grated green tomato, drained(3 to 4 medium tomatoes)

1 cup apple sauce/olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

I substituted applesauce for oil. I take a measuring cup and fill it with applesauce, then top it off with olive oil. Try to make it a bit healthier:)


Combine above ingredients and bowl and mix well. Pour into well in the flour bowl and stir together.



1 cup chopped, toasted pecans (I left these out.)

1 cup raisins, optional

Add raisins to mixture.

Pour into greased bread pan and bake at 350F for 1 hour.



And how did it taste? Delicious. And using apple sauce instead of oil did not make it too dry. It was still nice and moist.

Grandma's Rhubarb Muffins

I found this in Grandma's recipe box. Easy to make and very tasty.

Batter:
mix together
1 1/2 cups Brown sugar
2/3 cups vegetable oil (I used apple sauce)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Then add
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
2 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda

mix together
then add
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb

Put into muffin tins.
Top with Struessel

1 tsp butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup nut meats (I used rolled oats instead)

Bake at 350F until toothpick comes out clean. ~30 minutes.
Makes ~16 muffins

Fried Green Tomatoes

We lived in the south for a few years. And we fell in love with green tomatoes.

1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
~or~
1 cup cornmeal
1 TBSP sugar
salt and pepper.

2 eggs

2-3 large green tomatoes (I find beefsteak tomatoes work best)

Cut tomato end off, then continue to cut in thick slices to other end.

coat in cornmeal mixture, then dip in egg, then into cornmeal again.

In large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. When oil is hot, place tomato slices in frying pan. Fry each side until golden brown.


Serve with Apple Cider Vinegar for dipping.

Chicken Fingers

My toddler is not such a big fan of meat. But if I make these chicken fingers, he eats them right up.

1 egg
~1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

~2 cups Panko Bread crumbs
~1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless/skinless)

Whisk egg and soy sauce together

Mix Panko and Parmesan cheese together on a plate.

Cut chicken breasts into strips.

Dip each chicken strip into egg mixture, then coat in bread crumb mixture.


Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes

Who knew something so simple could be so delicious!!