Tomato Basil Soup

 Tomato basil soup is one of my favorite soups. I've experimented with a few different recipes but this recipe is probably my favorite and is very easy to make and doesn't require many ingredients or cooking time.

Ingredients:
4 cups canned whole tomatoes
4 cups tomato juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
14 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sweet unsalted butter
black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Combine whole tomatoes and tomato juice in pan. Simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

2. Carefully pour tomato mixture into blender or food processors and add in basil leaves. Blend well for 2 minutes.

3. Return mixture to pan and add in heavy cream, butter, and cracked black pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat for an additional 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

You can garnished with shredded cheese which I didn't do this time around since it was just a quick lunch whip together for the two of us (with lots of leftovers).

Makes 8 servings

Enjoy! 

Baked Pesto Salmon & Tossed Balsamic Salad

Baked pesto salmon is one of my favorite dinners to make during the week because salmon cooks very quickly. We usually eat it with a side of veggies such as broccoli or zucchini but this time I tried it on top of balsamic tossed salad and wanted to share the recipe because it's a quick and healthy meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp. pesto
1 tbsp. minced garlic

Tossed Salad:
 Romaine lettuce, chopped
Raw pecan halves
Dried cranberries
Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Light balsamic vinaigrette



What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash salmon in cold water and cut in half to make two 1/2 lb fillets.
3. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, pesto and minced garlic. Use basting brush to evenly spread pesto mixture on top of the salmon fillets.
4. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and bake salmon for 18-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon fillets.
5. While the salmon is baking, prep and toss salad with all the ingredients listed above.

Enjoy!

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Balsamic Glazed Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza is one thing I never make at home so this is actually my first pizza made from scratch. When I saw the whole wheat pizza dough at Trader Joe's, I really wanted to try it along with some toppings that you can't typically order from a pizza restaurant. 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pizza dough

3 chicken sausages, sliced

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup goat cheese

3/4 cup pizza sauce

1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning

20 basil leaves, chopped

1 tbsp. Olive oil

Balsamic glaze

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll the pizza dough onto pizza stone or baking sheet. Using a basting brush to baste dough with olive oil.

2. Cook the dough by itself for about 7 minutes and remove from oven. Evenly layer pizza sauce on top of the dough and sprinkle with Italian seasonings and black pepper. Next add mozzarella cheese, chopped basil leaves, chicken sausage, and finally sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until crust edges are browned.

3. Remove pizza from the oven and top with balsamic glaze going in a zig-zag motion (optional). Let cool for 5 minutes before using a pizza cutter to cut into slices.

Enjoy!

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Jalapeño Popper Dip

A friend of mine grows all sorts of herbs, spices, and vegetables at home and often comes bearing gifts since she knows I love to cook. Last week she brought me a bag of jalapeños so I decided to make a spicy dip over the weekend. I recommend using reduced fat ingredients as you see necessary so the dip isn't too rich tasting, especially with the sour cream, cheeses, and mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

5 small/medium jalapeños, seeded & finely chopped

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese

4 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

 1 sprig of green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

Topping:

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp butter, melted

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Place block of cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and soften in the micro for 30 seconds. 

3. Add sour cream, jalapeños, green onions, mayo, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon to the cream cheese and mix well. 

4. Lightly grease a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray and then spoon the cream cheese/jalapeño mixture into the dish while spreading evenly. 

5. For the topping, gently mix Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together with melted butter. Evenly spread over the top of the jalapeño dip.
6. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the topping becomes golden brown.

Serve with chips or warm bread and enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp Diablos

This dish is for the spicy food lovers out there. For those that don't like spice, I recommend only using the adobo sauce and eliminating (or using less) of the chipotle peppers. I found the original recipe here and adjusted a few ingredients to my liking.

Ingredients: 

2.5 cups chicken stock

1.5 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/4 cup dry red wine or marsala wine

1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

1-2 cups brown rice

What To Do:
1. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium heat and stir in bell peppers, onion and chipotle peppers. Cooking approx 3 minutes or until onions and peppers are softened. Add garlic and continue cooking for another minute. 

2. Pour Worcestershire sauce and Marsala wine into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 5 more minutes or until shrimp is fully cooked. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until the mixture thickens. 

3. Serve with white or brown rice.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Spicy Pork Tacos

I swear I've been killing it with crockpot recipes lately and I'm sure this won't be the last. The original recipe was found here and I changed it up to my liking which turned out great. You can also adjust the heat factor by using more or less chipotle peppers. I usually aim for medium spicy meals.

Ingredients:

1 (4 lb) boneless pork shoulder
1 (12-oz.) can of beer 

1/2 can chipotles in adobo sauce, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp white vinegar
Juice from 1 squeezed lime
1 tsp ground cumin

black pepper (to taste)
small flour tortillas

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, chunky salad, chopped avocado, shredded lettuce.

Cook time: 4-5 hours on high in slow cooker

What To Do:

1. Place pork roast in the crockpot and set timer to 4 hours on high (or 8 hours on low).

2. Add onion, chipotles in adobo sauce, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, chilli powder, garlic powder and black pepper to food processor and puree the mixture.

3. Pour mixture over pork roast and then pour can of beer into slow cooker and toss until the pork is evenly coated.

4. Stir in the beer until it is evenly combined.  Then pour the mixture on top of the pork, and toss until the pork is evenly coated.

5. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours until pork can be easily shredded using two forks.

6. Serve of soft or hard tortillas with optional toppings listed above.

Enjoy!

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Pesto Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage

Special thanks to Trader Joe's for making this recipe extremely easy to whip together.  I bought the frozen gnocchi and the roasted garlic chicken sausage from TJ's and kind of just made up the recipe over the weekend. The creamy pesto sauce mix can be found at your local grocery store, mine being Publix.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz bag Gnocchi al Gorgonzola

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1 packet creamy pesto sauce mix

1 12 oz package chicken sausage, sliced

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup olive oil

I love these roasted garlic chicken sausages from Trader Joe's and will definitely use them again in the future to create different recipes.

What To Do:

1. Cook gnocchi according the directions on the package.

2. Cook pesto sauce in a small pot with milk and olive oil according to directions on the packet.

3. Combine all ingredients in dutch oven and simmer for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are fully cooked. The chicken sausage is already fully cooked so it just needs to heat up.

This meal can feed about 4-6 people and takes 20 minutes to prep and cook so I recommend it if you're looking for an easy recipe to whip together for dinner during the week or whenever your strapped for time. 

Enjoy! 

Crockpot Thai Red Curry Chicken

I know curry is a flavor people either love or hate but I happen to be a big fan especially Thai curry dishes. I found this recipe that requires cooking it in a crockpot and I knew I had to try it. I modified the recipe to my liking and it came out amazing.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons red curry paste

2 12 oz. cans of coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp peanut butter

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp green onion, chopped

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1tbsp lime juice
Cooked white or brown rice

What To Do:

1. Chop and prepare all veggies.

2. Mix the red curry paste, chicken stock, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and peanut butter in your crockpot bowl. Place the chopped chicken breast, bell peppers, ginger and onions in the crockpot, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

3. Let the frozen peas thaw which curry chicken is cooking. Add in the peas and cook for an additional 1 hour. Stir in lime juice and serve over white or brown rice. I used brown rice.

Enjoy!

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Breakfast Sausage Crescent Casserole

I've made several different breakfast casseroles before but never with crescent/croissant pastry to make a crust. I slightly burnt my crust so I've adjusted the temperature and baking time below to hopefully perfect this dish in the future. This recipe is perfect for breakfast or brunch and you can modify the meat/veggie ingredients to your liking. I went with maple breakfast sausage and orange bell peppers this time around and we loved the end result. Other ingredients I recommend are mushrooms, green peppers, chopped ham and shredded Swiss cheese.

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crescent/croissant dinner rolls

1 cup cooked breakfast sausage, chopped

1 medium orange bell pepper, chopped

1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

6 eggs

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent dough and press onto the bottom of an ungreased glass baking dish. Use your fingers to press dough together and prick all over with a fork.
2. Bake for 7 minutes or crust is cooked but not brown.
3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and then stir in chopped pepper, breakfast sausage and shredded cheese.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center of the dish and the crust is browned.

Enjoy!

Jalapeno & Swiss Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Lite Balsamic salad dressing

4 slices swiss cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, deseeded and sliced

plastic wrap

toothpicks

What To Do:

1. Cover individual chicken breasts in plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness. Place chicken in a shallow bowl with Balsamic dressing and marinate in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.

2.  Place marinated chicken on a clean piece of plastic wrap and top with swiss cheese and jalapeno slices. Tightly roll the chicken using plastic wrap to secure. Remove plastic wrap and use 4-6 toothpicks to hold the chicken in place.

3. Preheat the grill and lower to medium heat. Place chicken on grill and cook for 20 minutes rotating with tongs every 3-4 minutes.

4. Remove toothpicks and serve with your favorite side.

Enjoy!

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Spicy Jalapeno Coleslaw

This is a great side dish for Summer BBQ's and coleslaw is ridiculously easy to make when you buy the already prepared dried coleslaw because seriously why would I torture myself any other way. 

Ingredients:

8 oz. dry coleslaw

1 cup light mayonnaise

1-2 jalapeños, minced and deseeded

1 tsp white vinegar

Black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. (I only ended up using 1 jalapeño because I found it to be spicy enough)

2. Ready to serve immediately or can be refrigerated for a couple hours before serving. 

I paired this side item with Kristen's Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches to create a delicious weekend meals for the husband and I.

Enjoy!