Bean & Bacon Soup

While visiting my dad a few weekends ago he whipped up this little dish for us.  It's perfect for an easy weeknight meal, full of protein, and my kids gobbled it up like nobody's business!  It's way better than Campbell's version of Bean & Bacon soup!

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
1 can corn, undrained
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup bacon, cooked and diced (I'll admit I buy the big bag of real bacon bits from Sam's Club)
1 can Rotel - optional, but it gives it a bit more "kick"

Rinse beans well then throw everything in a pot and heat through.  Easy Peasy!  

Breakfast Casserole

This is a great casserole to prepare the night before in your slow cooker and let it cook all night and in the morning you have a delicious breakfast. This turned out really great and it made enough that we had enough for two days in a row (the kids didn't seem to mind having it reheated in the microwave the second day.)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag 26 oz. frozen hash browns (or make your own)
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 16 oz. roll sausage
• 1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of shredded cheese

Directions:
Spray your crockpot or use a liner. Layer the hashbrowns  at the bottom.  Then put on a pretty good layer of cheese.  Cook the sausage, drain, and layer on top of the cheese (you could also easily use diced ham, or cooked and chopped bacon)  Spread the can or soup, undiluted, on top.  Mix everything together. Then crack 12 eggs into a separate bowl, add the milk, ground mustard, salt and pepper and whisk together.  Pour the egg mixture over the contents of the crockpot.  Then turn on low for 6 - 8 hours and you wake up to a yummy, hot breakfast in the morning.  I wouldn't advise cooking it for longer than 8 hours or it will be to dark around the edges. 

I did have a picture of this but can't seem to locate it.  But I got the recipe from HERE and she has lots of pictures.

Roasted Cabbage

I got 2 large cabbages in my Bountiful Basket and I really don't cook a lot with cabbage.  So I went looking for a new recipe to try.  This was so easy and turned out really good.  Just slice your cabbage into about 1/2 inch thick round sections.  Spray a jelly roll pan and place the cabbage on the pan.  Then either drizzle olive oil on the cabbage rounds or put a dab or two of butter on each round.  Then sprinkle your favorite seasoning salt, or garlic salt, and ground pepper on top. (I actually did a no-salt seasoning mix on mine which is why there looks like a lot.  You probably wouldn't want to put it that thick if your seasoning contains a lot of salt)

Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes until slightly browned and tender crisp. 

Egg Muffins

Lately I've been trying to do better at making my kids breakfast.  I tend to feel kind of guilty when I  slap a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of them for the 5th (or 7th, or 10th) day in a row!  These egg muffins are super easy and if you cook them the night before you can pop them in the microwave for about thirty seconds the next morning and you have a quick, easy and delicious (well, if you like eggs...which I don't.  But everyone else in the family does so I keep making them!) breakfast.

Directions:  Whip together 12 eggs.  Add any ingredient you like to put in an omelet.  Mine had 4 green onions, shredded cheese, diced ham, and 1/3 cup of fresh salsa I had left over from dinner, and salt and pepper.  Then pour the mixture into a well sprayed muffin pan.  You can fill the cups almost to the top but then put a jelly roll pan underneath to catch any spills.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and set. If you make them the night before then let them cool for about twenty minutes and then refrigerate. 

Whipped Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Okay, so I never do this, but I'm adding a recipe I haven't actually made yet.  I did have this the other night but it was made by a friend of mine.  I thought it was so good I had to come home and find the recipe and put it on the blog so I have it handy for the next time I'm craving cupcakes with AMAZING frosting.  This recipe comes from AnniesEats.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups, plus 2 TBSP unsalted butter (that's 3 sticks plus 2 tbsp.), at room temperature
3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
2 TBSP heavy cream
1 TBSP vanilla extract

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high speed until smooth, about one minute. Add the confectioners sugar and mix at medium-low speed until just incorporated. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod (if using one) into the bowl and add the pinch of salt. Continue to beat at medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Mix the heavy cream and vanilla in on low speed just until incorporated.  Increase speed to high and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.

*Yields enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes

Sweet Potato Bread

I also got a bunch of HUGE sweet potatoes in my Bountiful Basket last week.  Normally I just mash them with some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, which I love, but you can only do that just so many times! Then I ran across this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.  It is absolutely delicious and tastes a lot like pumpkin bread or pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  I doubled the recipe so I had 12 muffins for breakfast the next morning and a loaf of bread for snacks.  Though I almost hesitate to call this a muffin.  At what point does it become a cupcake instead of a muffin?!  These are so tasty they have to be considered more of a dessert than a breakfast food, don't they?

Sweet Potato Bread
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked sweet potato puree (I just boiled them until soft, then pureed them in my blender)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
***It's easy to sneak a bit more nutrition into these without the kids noticing.  I added about a TBSP of Wheat germ.  You could also add a TBSP of flax seed or bran. I won't tell if you don't! :)

Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl, beat until creamy. Add eggs and puree. Beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and beat. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350' for about 1 hour.  For muffins bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Original Recipe found here.

Chicken Noodle Soup

The other night I made Chicken Noodle Soup. I tried to make my own egg noodles but I wasn't 100% happy with them so I'll have to perfect them before I post a recipe. They weren't bad, just a little too thick. I loved how my vegetables looked all lined up on the cutting board so I had to take a picture. I got rainbow carrots in my Bountiful Basket so I decided to use those to add some fun colors.

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP Butter
1/2 Onion (I used Leeks because I needed to use them up)
4 celery Stalks, cut
4-5 Carrots, sliced
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth or homemade stock*
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
Egg Noodles
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in carrot, onion, and celery and simmer until  the onions turn soft and translucent, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add a little water if it seems to need it.
3. Season to taste with basil and oregano, black pepper, and salt, if necessary; stir in egg noodles and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in cooked chicken breast meat and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.

*Homemade stock is SO much better than store bought chicken broth.  It makes a huge difference in the taste of your soup, though it does take a little time.  I had a rotisserie chicken from the night before with most of the meat picked off that I covered with water, added 3 cloves or garlic, some diced onion, salt, and 2 bay leaves.  Let it simmer for a few hours.  Then strain the liquid into a couple of mason jars and discard the chicken bones and vegetables.