Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

I made this soup a few weeks ago and loved it. Carrot & ginger is a great combo, but I needed something new as all the carrot / ginger soups are starting to taste the same. The coconut milk, potato, and red pepper add a lot of depth.


This takes a bit more time than the recipe alludes, but is well worth it!

Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes

I live near a place called Huckleberry who makes an amazing Israeli couscous. When I stumbled upon this recipe I was thrilled to have more of it in my life - and it turned out well. This takes some time to make but is light and could pair well with many dishes. I would up the amount of olives, and probably add some French (salty!) feta. I abhor parsley and will leave it out next time, even the slightest bit of it repulses me. Lastly, don't forget to use good olive oil in the dressing, I did and wish I had paid more attention. The dressing is awesome though, and I would use on a salad any day!

Chocolate caramel pretzel tart

I bookmarked this recipe a long time ago. I moved it to the top of the 'must make' list when I received a jar of Dulce de Leche. It was really easy to make, and received rave reviews.

Chipotle Mac & Cheese

This recipe comes from the Homesick Texan blog.  I wasn't familiar with the blog, but Mom has this cookbook in her collection. 

I liked this recipe a lot.  I used whole wheat noodles and no bacon (surprising, no?).  It comes together quickly, as you don't boil the noodles and you don't have to make a white sauce.  The sauce is made in a blender, and looks like a Chipotle milk shake.  I probably could have used more Chipotle, but it did have nice flavor and wasn't so spicy that T couldn't eat.  In fact, he ate a few servings of it.  Meanwhile, I ate the rest!

Mini Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins

Muffins for my muffin!  I made these muffins for T, since muffin is one of his nicknames; also, I am looking for more breakfast/snack options for the kid.  They are from a Cooking Light First Foods cookbook.  I really liked these and T does too.  They freeze well too.

~ 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
~ 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp grated orange rind
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 large egg white
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots (soak for 10 min before chopping)

1) Preheat oven to 375.
2) Combine flours, sugar and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. 
3) Combine buttermilk, and next 3 ingredients in a bowl stir with a whisk.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.  Fold in apricots.  Spoon batter into 24 mini muffin cups coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.  Remove from pans immediately; cool on wire rack.

Beet, Cabbage, Ginger Soup

Someone recommended this soup and I thought I would try it, even though I was hesitant about a WW recipe. I didn't have fennel as the original recipe requires. Instead, I made it with a little shallot, and a lot of ginger, and I also added in the beet greens and stems. 

This soup is delicious. It's also very red. Lastly, your niece loves it.

Here is the recipe.

Frosting utopia

I finally found the frosting of all frostings. And, it's so easy. I have always been intimidated by frosting recipes that call for egg whites or ones that you have to heat to a certain temperature.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen.

Here is the cake recipe. I have made this cake a few times and I really love it. The chocolate sour cream frosting that comes with that recipe is awesome, but only if you love sour cream.