The best tomato soup ever...no really, it is!

As promised, here is my all time favorite tomato soup. I made it last Sunday and it is the bomb.com

Do people still say bomb.com? Oh well...I do

I got the recipe from P dub's aka The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen website.

Steamy Cream Dreamy Tomato Soup

Just click on the picture and it should take you to the recipe.

It's perfect for those days where you just want to put on your sweats and curl up on the couch and watch a movie, or take a nap or catch up on all your reality tv aka all the Real Housewives.

Bon Appetite!

Blueberries

Did y'all know that July is national blueberry month??

I love me some blueberries. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, blueberry crumbles...yum yum yum.

In fact I love anything berry. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry berry( I realize this is a frozen yogurt place, but still).

Thought I would share with y'all a healthy Blueberry recipe. Blueberries are super good for you too, they are full of antioxidants, only 80 calories for a cup of blueberries(fat free btw), they are packed with vitamin C, fiber, and manganese(which helps with your bones).

I know these things, I have a bachelor's degree in Nutrition ; )

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon sugar

  Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. Stir in blueberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, rind, and egg; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
  • Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Amount per serving

Calories: 164

Calories from fat: 22%

fat: 4g

Saturated fat: 2.2g

Monounsaturated fat: 1.1g

Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3g

Protein: 3.5g

Carbohydrate: 28.8g

Fiber: 1.1g

Cholesterol: 26mg

Iron: 1.1mg

Sodium: 209mg

Calcium: 66mg

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Can I just just say I love the 5th of May...I love a day that pretty much gives me permission to drink Margaritas and eat chips and salsa ALL. DAY. LONG. Holla!!

Am I going to be able to do this? No. I have to be an adult and work. I am just guessing that it is probably highly frowned upon to drink Margaritas while working all day. Just a guess. Wouldn't that be an awesome job though, to work and drink a few margaritas.

So, since the majority of us have to be stuck at work not being able to consume said beverage, I have a solution for you. Behold Margarita cupcakes...not just any but Vegan. Vegan, because you know I can't have dairy...which totally sucks. My two favorite things...cupcakes and margaritas have paired up and the union could not have been any better.

and

Vegan Margarita Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed

1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest, freshly grated

1 cup soymilk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons tequila

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Icing

1/4 cup margarine

1 tablespoon soymilk

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon tequila

tiny drop green food coloring

2 -2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 pinch kosher salt or 1 pinch coarse salt

1/2 cup large crystal decorator sugar (to decorate edge of cupcakes)Directions

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2 Beat together lime juice, zest, soy milk, oil, tequila, vanilla and sugar.

3 Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine into the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

4 Fill liners about 3/4 fill. I use an ice-cream scoop. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5 Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and cook completely before frosting.

6 Icing: Blend margarine until soft and fluffy; stir in soy milk, lime juice, tequila and food coloring. Use only the tiniest bit of food coloring.

7 Sift in 2 cups confectioners sugar and blend until smooth and creamy. Add additional confectioner sugar if the icing appears too liquidy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

8 Spread icing on the cupcakes spreading all the way to the edges.

9 Roll the outer edge of the cupcakes in the sugar crystals.

P.S. I have no idea why the font and everything came out looking like this.

Hasta Luego Senoras!

Is there such a thing as too much strawberry?

Happy Tuesday loves...it is cold, really cold. Too cold for the third day in May. I had to turn my heater on...why is this happening Mother Nature?. I am not a fan. So, I almost didn't write anything today...I just couldn't think of anything blog worthy.

It's not that I don't have ideas, I just didn't feel like writing. Weird. I know. Then I got to thinking, if the Pioneer Woman didn't feel like writing one day, she may have never become The Pioneer Woman, a cookbook would have never been published, A love story would have never been told, the mischievous happenings of a certain basset hound would never make people laugh, a cooking show would have never been started, so you see....I have to blog. You just never know what could happen.

( I realize I am no Pioneer Woman, but a girl can dream, right?)

I subscribe to the magazine Cooking Light and I get emails with new recipes, one of the emails was all about Strawberry recipes. OMG...Strawberry is like my 2nd favorite fruit. Pineapple (fresh) is my number one, then Strawberry and then Kiwi...followed by all other fruits. I am so sure you  so wanted to know the order of my favorite fruits. Anyway, these recipes look amazing, I haven't had the chance to try them out, but I can't wait until I do.  I am thinking about having a strawberry dinner party...you know, strawberry salad, an entree with strawberries, a strawberry dessert, too much strawberry?? I think not : )

Don't these look sooo good!



Strawberry Shortcake

Serves 6

• 3 1/2 cups halved strawberries, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
• Whole strawberries (optional) 

Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 270
• Calories from fat: 24%
• Fat: 7.2g
• Saturated fat: 1.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.7g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Protein: 4.3g
• Carbohydrate: 47.3g
• Fiber: 3g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 1.7mg
• Sodium: 183mg
• Calcium: 93mg

Chicken and Strawberry Salad

• YIELD: 4 servings
• PREP TIME:20 MINUTES
• COURSE: Salads

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salad:
• 4 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 4 cups arugula
• 2 cups quartered strawberries
• 1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion
• 12 ounces skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted cashews, halved
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.

2. To prepare salad, combine romaine and next 4 ingredients (through chicken) in a bowl; toss gently. Place about 2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cashews and 2 tablespoons cheese. Drizzle about 4 teaspoons dressing over each serving.

 

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 333
• Fat: 16.4g
• Saturated fat: 4.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Protein: 32g
• Carbohydrate: 14.8g
• Fiber: 3.5g
• Cholesterol: 83mg
• Iron: 2.5mg
• Sodium: 347mg
• Calcium: 156mg

Strawberry-Avocado Salsa on Pork Tenderloin

 

• YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup)
• COURSE: Sauces/Condiments

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped strawberries
• 1/4 cup finely chopped peeled avocado
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; toss gently. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 34
• Fat: 1.6g
• Saturated fat: 0.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.9g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3g
• Protein: 0.6g
• Carbohydrate: 5.4g
• Fiber: 1.5g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 0.3mg
• Sodium: 2mg
• Calcium: 11mg

Ok, well I have to go now...because these recipes are making me hungry...good thing it's almost lunch time.

 

Peace out loves!

 

Dinner and Dessert for a Valentine's Day Girls Weekend

I put on my best Chefs/bakers hat this last weekend and whipped up a home cooked meal for my lovelies...Miss Football and Bestie. I had originally planned on making PW's fettucini Alfredo, but that went out the window when the non-dairy business showed up. Stupid non-dairy. So, with that I decided to make my favorite pasta dish from the Olive Garden, Capellini Pomodero-a light and healthy pasta. Now, for some reason the grocery store was out of fresh basil...so I had to improvise and kinda just threw in a bunch of stuff that I had in my spice rack. I also used whole wheat linguini instead of Angle hair pasta. My version probably wasn't quite like Olive Gardens. Here is the recipe for the Olive Garden version.

Photo courtsey of Miss Football, editing courtsey of picnik and myself.

Olive Garden's Capellini Pomdero

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) good quality diced tomatoes, or about 2 pounds fresh peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups fresh chopped basil leaves
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 12 ounces dry angel hair pasta, cooked

Preparation:

Heat olive oil and add garlic; cook until garlic is tender. Add tomatoes and pepper and heat through, stirring constantly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer hot, cooked pasta to large bowl. Toss pasta gently with tomato mixture, the fresh chopped basil, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and pass remaining Parmesan.
Serves 4.

Super duper easy.

Now for dessert, I made some yummy Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes in honor of Valentines Day. My mom makes these all the time and they are seriously delicious. So moist, best Red Velvet I have ever had


Decorations courtsey of moi



Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
Makes 24 cupcakes

2 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 ounces red food coloring
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Add vinegar to soy milk, and set aside to curdle.
• Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add vegetable oil, food coloring, and vanilla extract to the curdled soy milk, and mix.
• Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix.
• Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
• Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes or until

Now, I cheated and just bought cream cheese frosting from the store, but here is a yummy version of Vegan Cream Cheese frosting

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup margarine, room temperature
½ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar

• Cream margarine, cream cheese, and vanilla extract.
• Slowly mix the confectioner’s sugar into the creamed sugar, and then beat until smooth and fluffy.
• Frost cooled cupcakes

I also, served this wine with dinner one of my favs...Galo wine's Moscato.

Nutrition Thursday

I really need to find a better name for this. Nutrition Thursday just doesn't have that WOW factor...and I need a WOW factor...thoughts?? Any and all ideas are welcome.


After Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday of Healthy Recipes and Snacks...I decided I would make Thursdays my go to day of all things nutrition and health. I love everything about nutrition ( I should, it is where all my money or my parents money went for four years of my life, studying it at college) so why not put some of that knowledge to good use and share it with all y'all!! I love to cook, I don't cook that often...I don't really have an excuse as to why I don't...its just hard sometimes to cook for one person, you know? Plus, sometimes I work late and just don't have time to cook. Now that I "supposedly" have -- I may or may not be in denial about this--a dairy allergy, I have to be more cautious in what I am eating. I can't just rely on my lean cuisine's anymore and fast food...which is not healthy anyway--I shouldn't have been doing that in the first place. Cooking my own food is really my best option to insure I am dairy free--at least until Feb. 17th when hopefully the doctor tells me I can have cheese again...fingers crossed people.


So, I will posting my favorite healthy recipes, nutrition facts and exercise tips, though I don't have many exercise tips...so anyone fill free to give me some : )


I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine, I get a ton of my favorite recipes from here. I love it because it lists the nutrition content for every recipe and they have a variety of recipes to choose from. I also love the Hungry Girl cookbooks and Ellie Krieger--she is a chef on the food network, an RD and has a great cookbook.


This is a recipe from Hungry Girl...its is a breakfast cookie. I love these. So filling and easy to make. Just grab and go with you for breakfast or a snack later. They are not the most attractive cookies, but looks don't matter...its all about the healthy goodness. Recipe below:


Hungry Girl Grab and Go Breakfast Cookies





Ingredients: 1/2 cup regular oats (not instant) 
6 tbsp. whole-wheat flour 
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor 
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 
1/3 cup Gerber Peaches (or another brand of pureed peaches, found in the baby food aisle) 
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin 
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original) 
1 tbsp. golden raisins 
1 tbsp. Ocean Spray Craisins (original) 
2 tbsp. brown sugar, not packed 
2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1/2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 
1/8 tsp. salt 


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop raisins and Craisins into small pieces. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, dissolve Coffee-mate into 2 tbsp. hot water. Add all other wet ingredients (pureed peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute), and mix well.

Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don't all stick together.

Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray, and spoon batter into 4 evenly spaced circles. Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon. Place pan in the oven for 12 - 14 minutes (until tops of the treats are just slightly crispy). Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then grab 'n go


Nutrition Information:


PER SERVING (1 cookie): 154 calories, 1.5g fat, 166mg sodium, 32.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 5g protein


I think I need to make me some of these tonight.