Roz's Cheese Soup

I must admit, I have a favorite cookbook. It's one that my extended family (great-grandparents and down) put together when I was just a little girl. I used my mom's copy when I was a kid, and was given my OWN copy when I got married. I've only been married 8 years, but this cookbook is ratty and tattered from overuse. (Especially the chocolate cake page, but that's a recipe for another day.)

Anyhow, I found this recipe for cheese soup in this old family cookbook. I knew it would be good, because 1) It's in the family cookbook, and 2) It was submitted by Roz who made EVERYTHING yummy. So I made it. Easy, delicious, and quick. Win Win Win!!! I've since added a few more veggies (hello, have you met me?) and we eat it at least once a month.

Cheese Soup
1/2 c (one stick) real butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 to 2 c carrots, diced
1 c celery, cut thinly
1 c Bisquick
4 cans (about 5 cups) chicken broth
2 c milk or cream
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Optional: fresh or frozen broccoli, cauliflower, peas, or other yummy veggies

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery over medium heat in the butter until the carrots are the texture you prefer (I like soft). Stir in the Bisquick. Add the chicken broth. Cook, stirring frequently until the soup thickens. (This is when I add my other veggies as well, so they cook in the broth.) Turn off heat, and add milk/cream. Stir in cheese until melted.

Then, eat.

Depending on how many veggies you add, this makes about 8 REAL people servings. If your family is made up of light eaters, it's probably closer to 12 servings. The whole process seriously takes half an hour (unless you quadruple it). Now, I realize Bisquick is processed, but I haven't experimented to make this "real" food, yet. I'm betting someone could use whole wheat flour in place of the bisquick, cook it for a few minutes, and have the same result. If you try it, let me know if you are successful!!!

This is a nice, thick soup, great for serving in breadbowls, or regular soup bowls. Paired with a salad and some bread, this makes a great meal!!

Quick Whole Wheat Waffles

My kids love waffles. I love waffles. Joe loves waffles. I have a handy-dandy waffle maker. Therefore, today was waffle day. (The hooligans didn't even whine that they weren't cold cereal...that I heard.)

I have previously posted about overnight whole wheat waffles. These are delicious, and worth the time. However, I didn't think about making them last night, so this morning was quick waffles. The kids like to "help" by wearing their aprons and playing in their bedroom. Sometimes they stir. Either way is fine by me :). This recipe takes under 10 minutes to put together, and then however long to make the waffles. I have a neat-o double waffle maker, so it goes quickly. This made 14 Belgian Waffles in my waffle maker. This was enough to feed 2 starving children, and 2 hungry adults with some left over.


2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground is best)
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup oil (or melted butter)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 T sugar (brown or white)
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Beat the eggs with a wire whisk. Then add all the other ingredients, and beat just until smooth.

Put into the waffle maker, according to directions.

Add butter, syrup, and a fork. Devour.

These waffles are best right out of the waffle maker. If you wait too long to eat them, the delicious crispy part gets squooshy. Which is still decent, but not as tasty as fresh.

Weekly Meal Plan Jan 24-30

I got another bountiful basket today. AND I got the juice pack and the Italian Pack. In case you are wondering, that's a LOT of veggies. Pretty much enough veggies that we may not eat meat this week. (Joe likes meat.) But they are yummy veggies, so that's a good thing.

The regular basket contained: 2 stalks of celery, 4 huge carrots, 2 green peppers, 3 ears of corn, 6 jalapenos, 4 lemons, 4 pomegranates, 2 tangerines, 5 tomatoes (I also inherited my sisters 4), 13 potatoes, a head of cauliflower, and 2 heads of napa cabbage.

The juice pack contained: 2 stalks of celery, 3 huge carrots, a beet (which was gifted to my sister), kale, 3 apples, 2 lemons, 2 oranges, and some ginger

The Italian pack contained: an eggplant, 1 zucchini (the teeniest one I have ever seen!), a head of garlic, 2 yellow onions, parsley, 2 lemons, 2 red peppers, 2 green peppers, and 2 yellow peppers, and a pineapple (Unless the pineapple was in the juice pack... I can't remember!)

Needless to say, I am drowning in vegetables. My entire table is COVERED. Therefore, my creativity was stunted, and I headed to facebook land and the interwebs to find new recipes for the week.

Breakfasts:

• Saturday: Whole wheat waffles with syrup. Kids were disappointed that it wasn't strawberries. (I have great kids!) 
• Sunday: Omelets or scrambled eggs with veggies (well, mine will have veggies... Joe's will have ham and cheese.)
• Monday: Leftover Oatmeal Bake from last week
• Tuesday: Muffins (leftover from Saturday) and Hard-Boiled eggs. (I boiled up a bunch on Friday last week, and Roni loves them!)
• Wednesday: cold cereal. The kids will be beyond thrilled. I might have toast and eggs. 
• Thursday: leftover muffins or toast. 
• Friday: cold cereal or leftovers

Lunches: 

• Saturday: Carrot Applesauce Muffins, Cauliflower Cheese Soup
• Sunday: Sunbutter Sandwiches
• Monday: Finger Food (ants on a log, anyone?)
• Tuesday: Mac and Cheese
• Wednesday: Quesadillas
• Thursday: Grilled Cheese
• Friday: Finger Food 

Dinners: 

• Saturday: Napa Cabbage Salad with Lemon Dressing (replace the pistachio oil with olive oil, and the pistachios with pumpkin seeds.)
• Sunday: Ratatouille , spaghetti with marinara, salad, and lemon bars for dessert 
• Monday: Stuffed Pepper Casserole (With real tomatoes instead of canned stewed tomatoes)
• Tuesday: Leftovers
• Wednesday: Zuppa Toscana, salad, whole wheat breadsticks 
• Thursday: Chicken Scallopini, Ginger Rice
• Friday: Turkey Cabbage Cups (This is a recipe from my friend whose daughter is also allergic to nuts.) 

School Lunches: 

• Muffin and String Cheese
• Waffle Sandwich (leftover waffles with cream cheese and jam between them)
• Finger Food
• Sandwich
• Homemade Lunchable

baked macaroni and cheese

I have a great recipe for mac and cheese that a friend gave me at my bridal shower many moons ago. It is simple, and uses every new cook's favorite ingredient: cream of chicken soup.

Now, I still use cream of soup in a few things, but yesterday, I also forgot to buy brick cheese, which my recipe called for... And so I began to improvise.

I started by boiling water and cooking a box of penne whole wheat pasta.

While that was happening, I made Emily's cheese sauce. (http://thatswhatieat.com/easy-peasy-cheese-sauce/). I used whole wheat flour, and preshredded cheese.

When the pasta and the sauce were finished, I mixed them, dumped them in a 9x13" casserole, topped with more shredded cheese and some breadcrumbs, and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Served with steamed broccoli and salad, this made a great weeknight meal. My sister (a connoisseur of mac n cheese) likes this better than the original recipe. It takes just a little longer to make the cheese sauce, but it is DELICIOUS!!!

Weekly plan January 18

I did NOT get a bountiful basket this week, and that makes me just a little bit sad. However, we took advantage of an extra-long weekend and got in a little family vacation. It was lots of fun! My menu is less-than-inspired this week, but the food will still be yummy... I just have to remember to BUY and use veggies from the grocery store!

Breakfasts:

• Waffles (my husband made these while I got some extra sleep! Go Joe!)
• Eggs and Muffins. We liked the applesauce carrot muffins from last week so very much that I am making another double batch with the carrots from last week's bountiful basket. DELISH! 
• Oatmeal bake. Again, the last batch was snarfed, so I will be making this again. 
• Leftover muffins
• Leftover Oatmeal bake

Lunches: 

• Finger Food
• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (I like to add spinach, tomatoes, and pears!)
• Leftovers
• Quesadillas
• Finger Food/Leftovers/Sandwiches depending on what's in the fridge

Dinners: 

• Homemade Mac and Cheese
• Orange Chicken and Veggies over rice
• Taco Casserole (made by Joe!)
• Grilled meat (whatever is on sale at the grocery store, LOL) and roasted red potatoes
• Pasta Salad with veggies. (I cook up some whole wheat pasta, dice up whatever veggies I can find, some cheese, a can of sliced olives, and then pour some italian salad dressing over it... my kids both like it, and so do I)

School lunches (for this wonderfully short 4-day week!) 

• Sandwich, tomatoes, apples
• Muffins, String Cheese, peppers, oranges
• Finger Food (crackers, meat and cheese), apples, peppers
• Sandwich, oranges, carrots

Oatmeal Bake

Oatmeal bake is like eating cake for breakfast. It's delicious, chewy, and baked in a cake-shape. Everyone in my family likes it, requests it, and asks for seconds. There are VERY few recipes for any type of meal that EVERYBODY actually likes!

The texture of baked oatmeal is kind of between a nutrigrain bar and a cake. It is chewy, cakey, crispy on the edges a little, just sweet-enough, and delicious. It is not mushy or runny like traditionally cooked oatmeal.

You could probably make this healthier by using honey or maple syrup to sweeten this. Or just leave out the sugar all together. The original recipe has quadruple the sugar that my modified recipe uses. But it was just too sweet for breakfast. Yikes!

Ingredients:
6 c oatmeal (I use regular oats, but quick cooking will work. Steel cut will not.)
1/2 c packed brown sugar (more sugar if you prefer very sweet. Joe likes it with 2 c)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
4 eggs
2 c milk
1 c applesauce
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan

Mix all ingredients together. (Yeah, it's really that hard.) Pour into the 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center is set.

Top with fruit, raisins, chocolate chips, etc. My kids usually eat this with milk or applesauce poured over it, and chocolate chips. (A bag of mini chocolate chips will last us months, because a teaspoon goes a LONG way on the top of this.) I usually top it with fruit (bananas are great.)

Some variations:
I have replaced the applesauce with pumpkin and the spices with pumpkin pie spice
I have used pureed banana instead of the applesauce
I have (accidentally) doubled the applesauce and halved the milk
I have used fresh apples, peeled and diced instead of some of the applesauce

This isn't a picky recipe. You could add fruit to the mix and bake it in, but some of my family would balk at the cooked fruit. You could probably use soy or almond milk or even water instead of the milk. It's pretty yummy no matter what!

German Pancakes (Joe style)

Joe's friends gave him this recipe when he was single. It is a yummy breakfast that isn't too fussy. The first time I had it, I was a little surprised that it wasn't cakey, but it is still delicious. Joe loves the custardy middle part, while the kids and I enjoy the puffy edges. The bonus is that if it is easy enough for a bachelor to make, it is easy enough for a sleep-deprived daddy to make (and he did!) Of course, I whipped the cream, so I can say I helped, right? 

This recipe is not in our regular rotation, but we eat it often enough that I HAVE made it with whole wheat flour and it turns out just as yummy, although not quite as fluffy. The kids and I don't mind, and Joe doesn't usually complain about what I cook. 

German Pancake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

German Pancake: 

Preheat oven to 425-450 

Put a big old hunk (1-2 Tbs) of butter in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan

Place pan in oven to melt butter

6 eggs--beat the snot out of them

Add:

1 c flour

1 c milk

1 tsp salt 

Beat gently just until the flour is mixed in

Pour butter into (hot) buttered pan

Back 13-15 minutes until done (browned) but not burnt

Serve with favorite toppings

I  like fruit and whipped cream

Joe likes butter and real maple syrup 

Weekly Meal Plan

I've been a little under the weather the last couple of days, PLUS my daughter had two baby teeth pulled, the car has been in the shop, and I have been playing stay-at-home mom! Sheesh, that's hard work.

The puker

The toothless 

The crazy one

Anyway, I got another bountiful basket (2 of them in reality,,, which is probably excess, but I would rather have TOO MANY veggies, than not enough.)

This week we got: 2 clam-shells of strawberries 10 oranges, 2 grapefruit (I traded the rest of them to my sister for extra tomatoes), 3 clam-shells of baby tomatoes, 20 of the hugest carrots I have ever seen, a heap of both orange and red bell peppers (which I adore), 2 broccoli, a bag plus a few loose red potatoes, 2 big zucchini, 4 English cucumbers, and 4 beautiful big yellow onions,

Here's the breakdown of the menu:

Breakfasts:

cereal (my kids' favorite)

German pancakes with strawberries

Omelets (probably made in the waffle maker.)

2 extra large eggs with ham and peppers thrown in a Belgian Waffle maker turns out SUPER yummy (add cheese after!) 

baked oatmeal

leftover muffins and eggs

cereal

leftover oatmeal bake

Lunches:

Carrot Applesauce muffins (from http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/10/25/recipe-whole-wheat-carrot-applesauce-muffins/), with oranges and cut up veggies 

Leftovers/quick food after church

Finger Food (crackers, cheese, lunch meat, veggies, fruit)

Grilled Cheese and Salad

Cheese Soup (I will add this recipe later, but it's delicious and easy!)

Leftovers

Quesadillas

Dinners

Ham, Potato, and Corn Chowder (with added carrots!)--because with all the craziness of the week, I didn't make it yet, and everyone likes it a lot!  

Casserole @ my mom's house. We will take fruit salad and green salad

Cordon Bleu Casserole (chicken, rice, ham, and cheese, YUM!) with zuchinni

Stuffed peppers/meatballs with smashed red potatoes and broccoli

Finger Food

Grilled Cheese

Out to dinner!

I am super excited for all the yumminess going on this week. I will try to keep adding recipes as I cook, but no guarantees. 

Healthy Real Food Whole Wheat Waffles

I found a delicious, easy, and real-food waffle recipe. You mix it up in the evening, and then cook it the next day. It looks really weird for waffles, since it bubbles up because of the yeast. It truly bakes up super light and fluffy, and crispy on the inside. We had it with strawberries, whipped cream (from real cream!) and/or maple syrup. Again, no picture, because I was busy cooking waffles (in my deluxe, new, 2-waffle Belgian waffle maker), and the kids were too busy eating.

http://www.food.com/recipe/healthy-whole-wheat-waffles-346707

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 ounce active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Basically, you heat the milk, water, butter, and honey until the butter melts. (120 degrees) and then mix everything together in the kitchen aid. Store in the fridge overnight and mix it down once in a while. Plop it into the heated waffle maker, and enjoy the deliciousness,  (I doubled the recipe and got 14 beautiful, whole waffles)

Bountiful Baskets 1/3 and Weekly Meal Plan

I got a bountiful basket today for the first time in over a year. I am very excited for the ;produce haul we got. (I actually get 2... we eat lots of produce) And many thanks to the volunteers at the site, who held our basket for a few extra minutes, since the alarm didn't wake Joe up, and the baby (actually) slept past 7 a.m.

Veggies: Lettuce, Rainbow chard, Spaghetti squash, Red potatoes, Broccoli, and Orange bell peppers
Fruit: Blueberries, Oranges, Grapefruit, Strawberries, and Pineapple

The only thing in  here I don't like/won't eat is the grapefruit. Not too bad!

So here's the weekly plan,

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (just use whole wheat flour in the traditional recipe), sliced peppers, Orange slices, string cheese, yogurt
• Lunch: Pita pizza. Take pita bread, spread with sauce (tomato paste with one can water mixed in), shredded cheese, and toppings. the orange peppers will definitely be used here
• Dinner: leftovers/finger food... hubby has to work, and the kids love cheese, crackers, fruit, and cut up veggies. 

Sunday: 

• Breakfast: Waffles with strawberries. Church doesn't start until 11, and I can't fast when I am nursing. Anyone who does fast can have their waffles after church or on Monday. 
• Dinner: At my mom's house. Dad is cooking a roast. I am taking spaghetti squash (and if the youngest minion will allow it, homemade bread.)

Monday: 

• Breakfast: cold cereal (Let's face it, Monday's are hard enough without adding elaborate breakfasts!)
• Lunch: Ham and Potato Chowder http://slowjoelikestoeat.blogspot.com/2014/12/ham-potato-and-corn-chowder.html
• Dinner: Leftovers 

Tuesday: 

• Breakfast: Omelets with ham, peppers, and cheese (and toast)
• Lunch: box mac and cheese. (My son and husband love this. I think it's nasty)
• Dinner: Finger Food

Wednesday: 

• Breakfast: leftover waffles
• Lunch: Grilled Cheese (my son's favorite,,, I add peppers and lettuce to mine, and it is delish)
• Dinner: Grilled meat (pork chops, steak, chicken, whatever is on sale today), roasted potatoes (http://slowjoelikestoeat.blogspot.com/2015/01/roasted-potatoes.html), and swiss chard with orange (http://www.marthastewart.com/334381/sauteed-swiss-chard-with-orange)

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal or leftover muffins (hopefully there are some leftover muffins if I freeze them right now!)
• Lunch: Quesadillas/wraps (Again, I load mine with veggies)
• Dinner: Spaghetti (or Spaghetti Squash) with meat sauce, broccoli, and pineapple

Friday: 

• Breakfast: cold cereal (my children's favorite!) 
• Lunch: Finger food (use up all the leftover fruits and veggies.)
• Dinner: Crockpot BBQ chicken, Spaghetti Squash, and some kind of starch (potatoes if there are any left, or pitas, or biscuits)

Also, I add salad to many meals. 

Lunches for the first-grader:

• Muffins, String Cheese, Orange Rounds, Sliced peppers
• Sunbutter and Jam on pita, carrots, apple slices
• Crackers, sliced cheese, lunchmeat, peppers, oranges
• Grilled ham and cheese (cold), apples, craisins, carrots
• Quesadilla (cold), strawberries or pineapple, carrots or peppers

Roasted Potatoes

No picture this time, because, well, we ate them too quickly. And I refuse to serve cold food because I was too busy taking photos. Go figure.

Anyway, these are super easy and delicious.

Preheat oven to 425
Cut 10 red potatoes into quarters (or smaller... I like steak fry size), then put them in a large bowl
Drizzle olive oil (about 2-3 T) over the potatoes
Sprinkle Lipton Onion Soup Mix over that. Stir (I put a lid on and shake) until coated
Dump into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan
Bake until browned and tender (45 min?)

Yum.