Greek Yogurt

I've been a bit addicted to greek yogurt lately and decided to figure out how to make it myself since it's so expensive. We've had really good results with this easy recipe so I thought I would share.

This recipe makes a big batch, you are more than welcome to cut it in half, I just do it this way so I'm not constantly making yogurt.

1 gallon milk (I use 2%)

1/2 cup yogurt - whatever brand/flavor you want. I've used Chobani Plain in the past and liked the results but is up to you.

1. Heat entire gallon of milk in large pot to almost boiling (but not boiling)--about 180 degrees.

2. Let milk cool to about 110 degrees - until warm to the touch. You can either let it sit in the hot pot for a long while to cool down or pour into a large bowl to cool. I like to stir mine occasionally to avoid getting the skin on top.

3. Heat oven to 170 degrees.

4. When milk has cooled down, take out about 1/2 cup of milk into another bowl. Whisk in your 1/2 cup of yogurt starter and then whisk the whole mixture into the large bowl of milk.

5. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

6. Turn off heated oven and place yogurt mixture in warm oven. Leave overnight or at least 8 hours.

7. In the morning remove yogurt mixture from oven. Place a large strainer lined with coffee filters over a bowl. Spoon yogurt mixture into the strainer and let sit on the counter for 1-2 hours.

8. When strained. Carefully dump yogurt into another large bowl. Remove coffee filters and discard whey. Whisk yogurt until smooth and creamy. Place in jars and refrigerate.

9. My kids like to make their own flavored yogurt by mixing in a spoonful of their favorite jam.

10. Save 1/2 cup for your next yogurt starter.

Snicker Cookies

In mixer beat until fluffy:

1 cup butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

Add:

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Add:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Wrap about a tablespoon of dough around snickers candy bar (either 1 whole mini-sized per cookie or 1/3 of a fun-sized)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Drizzle frosting over warm cookies

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp melted butter

canned milk

Mississippi Mud Brownies

These are one of my hubby's favorites at our house and seem to become a party staple in the summertime.

Fudge Brownie Recipe

absolutely amazing by themselves, with frosting or as Mississippi mud

In Bosch or Mixer

Beat:

1 pound (4 cubes) butter (not softened)

Slowly add:

4 cups sugar

Add:

7 large eggs

4 tsp vanilla

7/8 cups cocoa

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 cups nuts, chopped (optional)

Mix and pour into a well-greased jelly-roll pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

For Mississippi Mud add

10 oz miniature marshmallows for the last three minutes of cooking time. Cool and frost with homemade chocolate frosting.

The recipe says you should let rest for 24 hours--good luck.

Chocolate Frosting

4 Tbsp melted butter

4 heaping Tbsp cocoa powder (sifted)

4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

dash of salt

enough cream, canned milk, or milk to make spreading consistency.

Beat with electric mixer and spread

St. Patrick's Day Rainbow

This is Hadley's idea for St. Patrick's Day. . .so cute.

Curried Lentils and Rice Casserole

I made this dish last night for dinner and it was the perfect wholesome-goodforyou-comfort-food. It has a creamy texture almost like potatoes and although Gaby thought it was a little sweet, I couldn't get enough of it. It makes a huge pan so I was happy there were plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. Anything Ali makes over at is fantastic, I changed up a few little things according to what I had on hand but this has definitely made it to our regular cycle. It has a long cooking time so you have to plan ahead in that way but it's a synch to put together.

a few Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger, or 1/2 tsp of powdered

1 tsp dried turmeric

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons sea salt

4 carrots, chopped or 1 yam peeled and cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups french lentils, or any lentil

1 cup brown rice

5 cups water

1 can coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add ginger, turmeric, spices, and salt. Continue to saute for another 2 minutes until fragrant.

Place onion-spice mixture into a large casserole dish. Add carrots, lentils, rice, water, and coconut milk. Mix together well. Cover and bake for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, turn oven temp up to 425 degrees F. Remove cover and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes to let excess liquid cook off. Stir and serve!

Rosemary White Bean Soup

I got this recipe from one of Ina Garten's books and I LOVE the flavor. For supper club my beans were quite done so it actually may needed longer cooking time than is in the recipe. I've also read that the sugar in the onions makes it hard for beans to go soft so maybe you could try cooking the beans first and then adding the onions.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried white beans
• 4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large branch fresh rosemary (6 to 7 inches)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1-inch (and 2 Tbsp of kefir or lemon juice to further break down the beans) and leave overnight. Drain.

In a large stockpot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf. Pass the soup through the coarsest blade of a food mill, or place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot.

Cauliflower Leek Soup

This is a super simple soup that I got from a friend just the other day and I made for supper club tonight. It has a lovely, mild flavor and seemed to hit the spot for me when I heard about it the other day. For me, the recipe lived up to expectations. Leeks are a yummy and often under-utilized veggie so this was fun to be able to use several of them. I've also never been a big fan of raw cauliflower but cauliflower in a pureed soup? Yummy! So, here is the recipe. 

CAULIFLOWER LEEK SOUP

2 bunches of leeks

1 head of cauliflower

2 T. butter

3 c. chicken broth

1 c. or 8 oz. Greek plain yogurt

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop up the white and light green parts of the leeks (I chopped just a bit of the dark green too). Turn soup pan on medium-high heat and add the butter. Sautee the chopped leeks in the butter for several minutes until they soften. Chop the garlic and add to the leeks and immediately add the chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to soften the cauliflower. 

Take the soup off the heat and let cool for a few minutes. At this point you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender to puree the soup. I used my immersion blender to puree the soup. If you do it in a regular blender, just do the soup in batches. (You may have to let the soup cool a bit longer before adding to the blender.)  Once the soup is fully pureed, add the Greek yogurt (or you could try just plain yogurt). If the soup is too cool at this point reheat for a few minutes and then salt and pepper to taste. Serve. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I got this from Sugarcrafter. I made a couple small changes.. and I felt like mine was a tad underdone. It was soft in the middle. But still pretty yummy!

For the graham cracker crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger
• 7 Tbsp butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 pounds cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup pumpkin purée

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Crush 2 cups worth of graham crackers into a medium bowl. Stir in the ginger, and then stir in the melted butter so that the mixture becomes moist.

Press the crust into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9″ springform pan. Stick the pan in the freezer while you make the cheesecake batter so that the butter will firm up the crust.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sugars and spices. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and pumpkin.

Pour the batter into the graham cracker crust and smooth out on the top.

Bake 15 minutes, and then open the oven door and lower the temperature to 200 degrees. Close the door and continue baking for about an hour longer or until the edges of the cheesecake are set but the center still wiggles when the pan is shaken. Cool the cheesecake on a rack and then refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

Serve drizzled with warm caramel sauce.

Pumpkin Muffins/Cupcakes

The inspiration for this recipe came from this Vanilla Bean Cake which was so yummy (particularly frosted with Nutella and topped with fresh strawberries) that I wanted to recreate it into some kind of pumpkin creation. Thanks to some dumb luck of accidentally leaving out the coconut oil they actually turned out yummy.

In a blender or food processor combine:

1 1/2 cups white beans (either use canned beans and rinse them or soak dry beans overnight and cook in the morning)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

6 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp vanilla creme stevia

1/3 cup honey

Blend until smooth and add:

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp salt (only a 1/4 tsp if using canned beans)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

Blend again

Pour into 12 muffin cups and bake at 325 degrees for around 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted come out clean.

Top with Elana's Cream Cheese Frosting for the cupcake version.

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

3 Tbsp agave

Half and Half or Cream

Beat cream cheese and agave until smooth and add enough liquid for desired consistency.

*This would make a great pumpkin cake if done in a square pan and topped with frosting.

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is actually Annie Ashton's grandma's and it is one of my favorite fall soups. At the bottom I will post some of the changes I made to make it dairy-free and gluten-free.

(This is for half of the original recipe which serves 10-12 people and my little family could never get through that much soup.)

1/2 cube sweet butter

3 whole slices of white bread

2 whole apples

2 1/2 lbs butternut squash

1/2 medium onion

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp tarragon

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

salt and white pepper to taste

Peel, core and chunk the apples

Peel and chop the squash (Annie cuts the entire squash into 1 1/2 inch slices then cuts off the rind)

Slice the onions

Melt butter in a soup pot over a low flame.

Saute the onions for a few minutes and then add squash and apples and saute until tender

Cut bread slices into cubes and add to the mixture

Add chicken stock, terragon and salt and white pepper to taste

Bring to a boil then cover and simmer over a low flame until squash and apples are fully cooked, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and food process until almost creamy. Stir in the cream. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

***Gluten-free, Dairy-free changes***

A few Tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 medium onion

2 - 2 1/2 lbs butternut squash

2 apples

4 cups chicken stock

1 tsp tarragon

1 cup white beans (already cooked)

1/2 - 1 cup fresh Apple Cider (or more cooked apple)

Salt and white pepper to taste

Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes.

Add squash and apples and saute until tender.

Add chicken stock, tarragon and white beans.

Bring to a boil and let simmer until squash and apples are cooked through.

Blend in batches

Add 1/2 to 1 cup Apple Cider (if using) depending on the sweetness you're looking for.

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with a swirl of light coconut milk and cilantro leaf.

Cake Pops!

I haven't posted on here forever! I've been neglectful! However, I did just do a fun Cake Pop post on my personal blog. But I'm lazy and I'm not going to redo it, so if you want to see it, you're welcome to check it out right here!

Favorite Macaroni and Cheese

I originally found this recipe in The Barefoot Contessa cookbook, but I have altered it for our tastes. (Note: the original makes a large 9x13 dish, while mine makes a nice 8x8 or similar size.)

1/2 pound large elbow macaroni, or pasta of your choice

2 cups milk

3Tbsp. butter

scant 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

1 1/2 cups extra sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella

1/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

2-3 small tomatoes (I use Roma)

1 cups fresh bread crumbs

olive oil

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat the milk in the microwave for about 2 minutes; set aside. On stovetop, melt butter in a large pot and add flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. While whisking, stir in hot mild and cook for a minute or two longer, until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and add cheeses, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Fold pasta into mixture and pour into 8x8 baking dish.

Slice tomatoes and arrange on top. Combine fresh bread crumbs with a little drizzled olive oil; sprinkle crumbs on top of macaroni. Bake 20 minutes covered with tin foil. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

Simply Recipes' Tomato Pie

Elise at Simply Recipes is one of my favorite food bloggers. When I saw her picture and recipe for Tomato Pie I knew I had to try it. The reviews last night seemed really good and my mom couldn't keep quiet this afternoon as she finished off the last piece. (It's on her menu this week.) I think the extra step of caramelizing the onions was certainly worth it as well as the splurge on Gruyere cheese--I love that stuff.

Ingredients
1 9-inch pie shell,
1 yellow or red onion, caramalized
3-4 tomatoes, chopped and juice squeezed out, approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced basil 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozarella) (splurge on the Gruyere)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden.

2 Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.

3 Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with caramalized onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.

4 In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

5 Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.

Serves 6.

Tuscan Tomato Soup

This recipe is from Chef's Table Restaurant. The soup is best made with fresh garden tomatoes; second choice would be canned diced tomatoes (which is how I make it all winter long). I have also used a combination of both.

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large onions, small dice

5 cups diced, seeded tomatoes, drained

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup basil pesto (Costco has a large bottle)

salt & pepper

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and cook over moderately low heat until completely translucent.

Add tomatoes and allow to warm to a simmer. Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Add whipping cream and pesto.

Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender and blend until desired consistency.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

**To easily peel tomatoes: heat a pot of water to boiling, turn heat down a bit, and drop the tomatoes into the pot. Remove them after about 1 minute, and place them immediately into a bowl of ice water.

**I usually use the pesto from Costco. You can also make your own by placing in a food processor the following ingredients: fresh basil leaves, pinenuts, parmesan cheese, and a little olive oil.

Lemon Cupcakes

For cupcakes use vanilla cupcake recipe changing out the vanilla for lemon oil.


Lemon Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract
juice of half lemon
3/4 - 1 tsp lemon oil (a must if you want a really good lemon flavor)
6-7 cups powdered sugar

Mix above ingredients and add small amounts of milk to make desired consistency.

Strawberry Cupcakes

My mom has been experimenting a lot with cupcakes the last little while and came up with some yummy versions. Here's a couple that I made for my niece's birthday party.

Vanilla Cupcake (can be tweaked for any white based cake) Makes 24 cupcakes

1 cup canola oil

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

4 extra-large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the oil and sugar until light, about 5 minutes
3. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. With the mixer running on low, add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition.
5. Add the vanilla
6. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry.
7. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
8. Fill each cup 2/3 full using all the batter.
9. Bake for about 16 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the baking time.
10. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a baking rack and cool completely.
11. Frost with your choice of frosting.

Strawberry Frosting

1/4 cup soften butter

1 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 - 10 oz package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed. Use 1/4 cup. OR 1/4 cup strawberry pastry filling (bought at your local bakery or cooking/candy supply store)

1/2 tsp strawberry extract

7 cups powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy
2. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the strawberry extract. (the leftover puree can be used for ice cream or smoothies, etc.)
3. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Raw Tapioca Pudding

Another Elana recipe.

(Chia Seed) Raw Tapioca Pudding
1 cup cashews
3 cups water
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
pinch celtic sea salt
¼ cup chia seeds

Place the cashews and water in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth

Blend in the agave, vanilla, almond extract and salt

Place the chia seeds in a large mason jar (½ gallon size), pour the cashew mixture into the jar and shake well (very well!)

Place in the refrigerator overnight

Serve
Serves 2-4 people

Update(from Elana): Per questions below, I have made this with a mixture of cashew and coconut milk and it is delicious. I have also used chia seeds to make my morning protein shakes more rich, creamy and nutritious. This chia pudding keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days. Enjoy!

Cobb Salad

Like Eden, this recipe gets all it's credit from Elana. Just make sure you use the Grapeseed Oil Vegenaisse and NOT regular mayo--it's not even close.

Salad:
Lettuce: romaine and spinach
Cooked chicken
Bacon
Hard-boiled Eggs
Tomatoes

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing
¼ cup grapeseed oil vegenaisse
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 clove garlic, pressed
⅛ teaspoon minced scallionpinch
celtic sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a small mason jar

Shake well to serve over salad

Or to use as a dip refrigerate to chill and thicken

Rosemary Apple Roast Chicken

I'm just going to acknowledge that most of the recipes I am posting are coming from one of my favorite food bloggers Elana at elanaspantry.com. Check out her website if you want more great recipes. 

This roast chicken is simple and easy to put together. Then you put it in the oven for 90 minutes to bake and when it comes out you have a moist, delicious chicken that will wow your family. 

Rosemary Apple Chicken

1 chicken (2 to 3 pounds)

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. celtic sea salt

3-4 apples, cored and sliced

4 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 Tbsp. of dried rosemary

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a 9x12 glass baking dish.

2. Drizzle with oil and vinegar, then sprinkle with salt. 

3. Arrange the apples around the chicken in the baking dish. 

4. Place the sprigs of rosemary under the chicken or sprinkle the dried rosemary on top of the chicken. 

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes, until browned on the outside. 

6. Serve. 

The BEST Guacamole...

Matt and I tried this guacamole at Dos Caminos, a restaurant in Las Vegas.  It was sooooooo good that I asked my waiter for the recipe, and he gave it to me.  It is so fresh and so yummy, you will probably want to make it all summer long...it's that good.  Enjoy!!

2 Tbsp Cilantro Leaves, finely chopped

2 tsp yellow onion, finely chopped

2 tsp jalapeno peppers, minced

2 large ripe avocados, peeled and seeded

2 Tbsp Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice (bottled is just fine)

Kosher or Course Salt to taste

Place the cilantro, onion, and jalapeno in a medium sized bowl and mash it with the back of a spoon.  Add avocado, tomato and lime juice and mash all ingredients together, don't mash the avocado too much, I think it tastes yummy with some avocado chunks in it.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.  (When I made it last night, to be honest, I just threw all the ingredients together and mixed it all up, I don't think the two steps are necessary).

You can add more jalapeno if you want it a bit spicier, and I add about twice as much tomatoes because I love tomatoes.  I usually add just a little bit more cilantro too, it makes it taste so fresh.  YUM!!