Italian Wedding Soup

We had lunch with my grandma a while ago. She lives in a great home where we can join her for a yummy lunch. We were served Italian Wedding Soup, which I'd never heard of. It's full of veggies and sausage (my favorite!). I've made it twice now and think it's awesome. My kids likened it to chicken noodle soup the first time I made it. For me, I'd take it over chicken noodle soup anytime. For this recipe, I'm actually going to try to remember to prep a few things before actually cooking :).

1.5x this recipe served 6 last night. Homemade rolls would have been an awesome accompaniment.

PREPARATION--AND START EARLY ENOUGH (5 pm?) THAT THE SOUP ISN'T SCALDING WHEN IT'S TIME TO SIT DOWN TO DINNER :)
Do some chopping and set these aside:
1 c chopped carrots 
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
any other veggies (I've done zucchini)

Form 1/2 inch balls out of:
6 oz turkey sausage (or was it chicken sausage that I bought?)

COOKING:
Saute your veggies in olive oil in your soup pot (or skip this step and cook veggies in the broth). Vegetables do need longer than the meat and pasta if you want them tender (see bottom note).

Add and bring to a boil:
4 c chicken broth (if watching salt intake, use low sodium)

Add your sausage balls and let simmer for 4 minutes or until just cooked through.

Add and simmer for 12 minutes:
3 c baby spinach, chopped if desired
1/2 c Acini di Pepe

Use fresh parsley and shredded Parmesan for garnish.

Update: I made this soup again just for myself without the Acini and without sauteing the veggies. It was great. The very first time I made it I added pepper, but the sausage is spicy enough for me. No pepper needed. Since I wasn't doing pasta in it, I just cooked the sausage balls for 15 min or so with the veggies and everything was perfect. Another note: carrots and broccoli are really good after 12 minutes, but I prefer my celery a little more cooked, so I'd saute celery and onions very first and then add everything else. And, if you cook the acini di pepe separately you can choose how much you want and avoid the noodles soaking up too much of your broth! Next time I make it I should just redo this whole recipe write-up, huh?

Apple Oat Pancakes

Found this happy pancake recipe.

Goodness Hot Cocoa for One

Hot Cocoa is so satisfying. It might be my favorite drink in the whole world. This is how I like it lately.

Fill a mug halfway with coconut milk (from a can) and the rest with whole milk. Put in 2 or 3 pitted dates. Microwave that for 1 1/2 minutes. Let the dates sit in there to soften. Dump your mugful in the blender, add unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao--sorry, I've never measured but use a regular little spoon) plus some sprinkles of turmeric, if desired. Blend and strain back into your mug. It's delicious and frothy and creamy. Add maple syrup if you want it just a tad more sweet.

Update: lately I do half coconut, half almond milk for a lighter version.

Maple Coconut Granola

I tried a new combination for granola and was very pleased.

Preheat oven to 300.

Mix up:
3 c oats
1 c unsweetened coconut
1 c nuts, chopped however small you want
1/4 c other mixins (I did a mixture of flax and quinoa--could do sesame seeds.)
1/2 tsp coarse salt (maybe less)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add and mix well:
1/4 c coconut oil (warm up so it's liquid)
1/2 c pure maple syrup

Spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake for 40 min., stirring 2 or 3 times (is stirring really necessary?)

Add raisins if desired (I like them fresh; they get bitter when toasted, I think).

Notes: Ali hates nuts, and Hans and Ali don't like the quinoa in it--it is a little bitter.

Healthier Brownies

So, I've been looking for a healthier brownie recipe. I've tried lots of recipes with black beans, others with avocados, but have never been really happy with them. I think I've finally found what I'm looking for. I took an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bar recipe and just added cocoa (well, actually, cacao powder). It's not the healthiest thing out there because it has brown sugar. I haven't tried it with honey or another substitution, but it's miles ahead of regular cookies and brownies, right? And the best part is that I've made these a few times and my kids have no idea they have beans in them. Update: the last time I made these, I wasn't too excited about them. I did find another healthier brownie I like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine in food processor:

1 can beans (I used white this time), drained and rinsed
1/4 c. cacao powder
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 dates, pitted
1/8 cup applesauce
1 1/2 TB oil
1/4 tsp each salt and baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Then add 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips and stir them in by hand.

Put in a square baking dish; bake 35 mins.

Tortilla Soup (vegetarian!)

This is a recipe that I am excited to make again and again. So much goodness, smells amazing, and is yummy. Max loved it too. Thank you for sharing, Lizzy!!!

Instant Pot Refried Beans

I basically followed this recipe but changed a couple things.

Add to instant pot:
1 1/2 pounds dry pinto beans, rinsed (but my family prefers black beans)
8 cups water
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 jalapeño, cored, seeded and finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced (or equivalent amount of granulated or dried garlic)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 TB olive oil

Instant Pot high for 40 min. This makes a really good "just bean" soup--this is my lunch today. I plan to blend them (the recipe says to drain but reserve liquid in case some needs to be added back in) tonight for burritos with homemade tortillas for the family. The original recipe says low-sodium broth, but I didn't have it, and I left everything else the same, and I like the salt content.


Another recipe for black beans:

2 cups black beans

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sprinkled garlic powder

3 1/4 cups water

40 min and natural release