Lasagna Soup

I saw this recipe in one my my very favorite food blogs, Closet Cooking and my heart skipped a beat! It's not at all low carb but I really wanted to try it! I made it a little healthier by using turkey sausage, whole wheat pasta and low fat broth and cheeses. It turned out delicious! It was one of those times I had to make myself stop eating because I was just continuing to eat because it tasted so amazing. Thanks, Kevin, for this awesome recipe!


Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (I used turkey Italian sausage)
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, depending on your taste
4 c. low fat chicken or vegetable broth
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 lb. small shaped pasta (I used whole wheat rottini)
1 c. low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
2 c. low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil, chopped (for garnish)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, over medium heat, cook the sausage until lightly browned, about 10 minutes, breaking it up as you go. Add the onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Next, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and Italian seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the three cheese and set aside.
Bring the soup back up to a boil, add the pasta and boil until al dente, about 7 minutes. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with a heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture. Garnish with fresh chopped basil if desired. Makes 6 servings.



1 year ago today: Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

New year, new look! And my 250th post!

You like the new look?? I thought if I updated the look of my blog and shared it with a bunch of people it might keep me motivated to post more and to keep up with cooking and trying new recipes.

It's pretty sad...as you can see, I only posted 67 times last year compared to 152 posts in 2010. I really do love blogging but I definitely slowed down last year. Could be the fact that I was pregnant half of the year and had a newborn the second half. Maybe. :)

I have to give photo credit to my awesome husband. All the photos you see on the left side were taken by Randy on his iPhone. Same thing goes for the banner photo. They're pretty good, huh?

I've officially been blogging for 2 years and 3 months and I'm hoping that 2012 will be my best blogging year yet! Thanks for coming along for the ride!


-Chloé

Spiced Honey Chipotle Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

I recently discovered how much I really like chipotle peppers! And I absolutely love sweet potatoes so when I saw this recipe in another food blog and knew I wanted to try it.  It.was.delicious. The spice of the chilies with the nutty sweetness of the sweet potatoes was an awesome combo. It was pretty stinkin' spicy so of course, Randy loved it. And even though I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy food, I loved this dish as well. The only thing I changed in this recipe was cutting the amount of cumin in half (glad I did! It was a bit over powering) and left out the cilantro.

Ingredients:

4 small or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mined

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the diced sweet potatoes in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, chipotle peppers, garlic, honey, vinegar, salt, cumin, and cinnamon.  Place 2 teaspoons of this mixture in a separate bowl and mix with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss with the sweet potatoes. Spread the coated potatoes on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, marinate the chicken breasts with the remaining chili mixture. Stir the potatoes then place the chicken on top of the sweet potatoes, and continue to cook until the chicken is just cooked through, about 15-20 minutes longer. Divide the potatoes and chicken evenly among serving plates and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Is it just me...

...or does anyone else think this would be so neat to do this?? I keep coming across pictures of empty frames hanging together on a large wall space. I love it! I wish I had the space in my house to do this. It seems so simple and really fun..like putting a big art puzzle together on your wall. Maybe I should start collecting cool, cheap frames whenever I see them?

Here are some pictures I saved for inspiration in case I ever get the opportunity to do this:

Here's a neat tutorial I found in someones blog. You should check it out! You can see how cheap and easy this project can be. I'm saving all these ideas in hopes that I can do it one day. I just love all the different options...colors, sizes, shapes. Even using them as little shelves like the last picture I posted! So fun!!

What a year!

Today may be the second day of 2012 but I've been thinking a lot about this last year and I wanted to write a little about it...

The major event (obviously!) was the birth of our second daughter, Amelia in July. We gained a couple new family members. We also lost a couple family members. We had some huge changes at our church. Randy became a manager at his job. We finally tackled potty training with Margot! We finished our 2 year long kitchen renovation. These are just a few things that stand out when I think back on 2011.

As far as 2012 goes, we're not really sure what God has in store. Randy really isn't happy at his job and would like to continue pursuing a career in music which we know won't all happen this year but we're hoping to take a few more steps towards that goal. We'd also like to travel...to Boston to visit some friends and to Nebraska to visit my family. I'd like to kick it up a notch to get to my goal weight. I lost 22 pounds and still have 13 to go! I want to start a "school" time with Margot in the mornings. I'm really intimidated by this idea...so we'll see!

Whatever happens this year, I hope I can learn to really, truly and completely trust God with our life and our future. We've felt like we're on the verge of a big change for several months now and we're still waiting! I think God's still working things out (and working on us!) before anything happens. I want to go into this year being willing to let go of my plans and my ideas for what life should look like and be totally open to what God has planned. Should be exciting!

For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Merry Christmas!

Margot 2 1/2 - Amelia 5 months

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2012!

Spiced Pork Chops with Butternut Squash

I've had this recipe saved for a while and I wanted to make it before squash totally went out of season. This is totally a me recipe but I wasn't sure if I could get Randy on board. But he ended up loving it! The flavors were awesome and I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow.

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork chops, about 3/4 in. thick

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1-1 1/4 lb. butternut squash

1/2 an onion, diced

1/4 c. water

Directions:

Mix together the pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on both sides of the pork chops. In a large skillet, over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and spray with cooking spray. Add the seasoned pork chops and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked. Remove from pan and keep warm. Leave any drippings in the pan.

Meanwhile, place the squash in the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin. Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds and dice into 1 inch cubes. Using the same skillet as before, over medium-high heat, add the squash and water. Bring to a bubble and cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow any remaining water to evaporate. Turn the heat down to medium. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add onions. Saute the squash and onions for 5-7 minutes, or until both are tender. Place pork chops a bed of whole wheat orzo or quinoa and top with the squash and onions. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken and Biscuits

The other night I was totally in the mood for warm, yummy (unhealthy!) comfort food. Pot pie sounded good but I don't really like pie crust. Chicken and dumplings sounded good but it was going to take too long. So I came up with this! It's kind of a mix of the two of them. It definitely hit the spot! It was delicious!  Perfect for a chilly, snowy evening. 

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cubed

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. diced celery

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. diced onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1 3/4 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. milk

6-8 unbaked biscuits (homemade or store bought)

Directions:Preheat oven to 350, grease a medium baking dish and set aside. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and place in the bottom of the baking dish. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and bring to a bubble. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Pour over the chicken mixture in the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits over the top over the casserole and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Recipe adapted from here             

What I've been up to....

I've taken a little break from my regular blogging (trying new recipes and posting them) because I've been busy with something else! I was a vendor at several different craft shows in the last month or so and I had my last show on Saturday. I sold yarn wreaths, knitted hats, hair clips, bobby pins and flower headbands. At my last show I added coin purses and gloves.


Here's my table at my very first show. This one was at our local high school to support their dance team. At this point, I had no idea what I was doing!

Here's my second show, at a church here in Rio Rancho. They've been doing their craft fair for almost 25 years! My booth was supposed to be outside but we got our first snow that day so they moved me inside...they only had really tiny tables available so I brought a shelf from home so I'd have more space.

Here's my last show from Saturday. This was by far my favorite! It was a fund raiser for my mother's group I go to called Bloom. I shared a booth with my sister-in-law, Jacki. I used a couple little Christmas trees to display some of my items.

Sorry the picture quality isn't that great. I took all the photos on my cell phone. Here's one my mother-in-law took of me at my first show (thanks, Jackie!)

The shows were a lot of fun....also a LOT of work. I haven't decided if I'll do it again next year or not.  I did pretty well though! I had lots of support from my friends and family who came to see me at each show. All the things I didn't sell will be listed in my Etsy shop over the next couple weeks.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

This was the perfect, simple fall dish! It's hard to believe I used to dislike sweet potatoes so much because I can't get enough of them now! The sweetness of the potato went really nicely with the spice of the chili. It was a great combo! Randy scarfed 3 of these down before I was even done with my first! So I think they were a hit ;)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

4 small sweet potatoes, washed and cut in half lengthwise

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and black pepper to taste

15 oz. can black beans, drained and lightly rinsed

10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/4 c. water

Shredded cheese and sour cream (optional as garnish)

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush the cut sides of the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place cut-side-down on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, while the potatoes are roasting, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium/large dutch oven or sauce pan. Add the onion and saute for about 8 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Next, add the beans, tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

To assemble, place the potatoes on a serving dish or on plates cut side up and top evenly with chili. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from here