Cheddar Potato and Broccoli Soup

With the weather changing I have been loving soup lately. I found a recipe for potato, broccoli and cheese soup and decided to make it with some modifications. I was surprised how easy it was to make. It was very hearty and delicious and was perfect accompanied with some homemade pretzel rolls.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 1/2 - 3 pounds cubed potatoes

5 cups boiling water

4 cubes chicken (or vegetable) bouillon

3 cups fresh broccoli

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz block of cheddar cheese, shredded (we used white)

In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the onion in the olive oil. After a couple of minutes add in the garlic and saute. 

Add the potatoes, water and bouillon cubes. Cover, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. When there is 8 to 10 minutes left on the potatoes, add in the broccoli and recover the pot.

Once the potatoes and broccoli are cooked, spoon them into a food processor, blender, or Vitamix. Blend until desired consistency is reached.

Put soup back into the pot and season with salt and pepper. Add in the cheese and serve once it is melted and mixed in.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pretzels

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to make a snack to eat while we watched an ASU game. We had been talking about making homemade pretzels for a while so when I found this recipe and knew it would be a winner. It was so good and fairly easy that I ended up making a second batch a couple of weeks later.

Ingredients

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (not warm enough to burn your finger if you put it in the water for 5 seconds)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oils

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

kosher salt, for topping

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and the teaspoon of sugar in 1 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes. The mixture should be foamy (see picture below).

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, the rest of the sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. You will likely need to add a few tablespoons of water while mixing.

Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 or 8 minutes. Put dough in a lightly greased bowl and flip dough around so both sides are lightly greased. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about an hour.

Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape or a knot.

In a large bowl, dissolve the baking soda in 4 cups of hot water.

Dip each piece of dough in the baking soda solution and place on either a greased or tin foil covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt.

Bake at 450 degrees between 8 or 10 minutes or until brown.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Michael and I were with a friend today and we stopped in a really cool European/Middle Market to get some baklava. They had a great display of all kinds of nuts, which reminded us that we had been talking about making white chocolate macadamia nut cookies sometime soon. We had some white chocolate chips leftover from making carrot cake bites so we bought some macadamia nuts and started looking for recipes. I quickly found a recipe that was rated well and had several great reviews with different tips and tricks. The cookies turned out perfectly. This will definitely be a repeat recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup macadamia nuts (if they are whole you might want to chop them up into smaller pieces, depending on how large of chunks you would like in your cookies)

1 cup white chocolate chips

In a large bowl mix the butter, shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. While mixing the wet mixture, gradually add in the flour mixture.

Fold in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.

Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

{Vitamix} Chocolate Cashew Ice Cream

About a year and a half ago we went to a coffee and tea festival here in New York City. One of the first booths we came upon was a Vitamix booth where they were demoing different recipes. The sales rep made a healthy chocolate ice cream from cashews, ice, cocoa powder, and agave. It was amazingly delicious. From that point on I knew eventually I had to have a Vitamix. Michael and I decided whenever we moved to a new apartment that would be one of the first things we would get.

Flash forward and we are now in a new apartment with a new Vitamix. The first recipe we made was none other than the chocolate ice cream. This recipe makes plenty of enough for the two of us and is one that will likely be in our regular rotation of daily desserts.

Ingredients

1 cup of cashews (we used roasted, unsalted)

1 small tray of ice (we have the IKEA ice trays which are a bit smaller than a normal tray of ice)

about 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

about 4 tablespoons of agave nectar (can be substituted with maple syrup or honey and at some point we are planning to try dates as a substitute)

Load the ingredients into the Vitamix in the following order: cashews, cocoa powder, agave, and ice. Using the tamper stick and a high speed blend the ingredients for about a minute or until it has a creamy consistency. You made need to stop halfway through the minute to scrape the sides so everything gets mixed in well. It is now ready to serve. Feel free to garnish with some fruit or ice cream toppings.

Enjoy!

Ground Turkey and Beans Bowl

Igredients

2 cloves of garlic

2 slices of onions

1 package of ground turkey

1 can of beans (we used White Northern beans, but any kind will work)

a few handfuls of spinach (this really cooks down so you may want to use more than you would think you want)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Italian seasoning

Oregano

hot sauce (optional)

goat cheese (optional)

Chop up the onion slices and mince the garlic. While you heat up the olive oil in a pan on a medium-to-high setting on the stove.

Once the olive oil has had a chance to heat up, toss in the onion and garlic. Saute until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes or so.

Next, add in the turkey. Once it has been added to the pan, season it with the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and oregano.

Once the turkey is close to being done, add in the beans and spinach

As the spinach begins to cook down, add the hot sauce to taste.

Finally, serve in a bowl and top with goat cheese.

Enjoy!

Healthy Carrot Cake Bites

One of our favorite friends sent me a link to an article with a bunch of no bake dessert recipes. I immediately started going through the list and choosing which ones I wanted to make first. These carrot cake bites really stood out and I already had most of the ingredients around so I thought I would give them a shot. They are no match for the true carrot cake but if you want a healthier and bake-free alternative these are pretty good!

Ingredients

1/2 cup pitted dates, packed

1/2 cup golden raisins, packed

1 cup warm water

1 cup roasted cashews

1/4 cup roasted carrots, sliced or cubed

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of sea salt

1/8 cup white chocolate chips

2 teaspoons coconut oil

In a small bowl, soak the raisins and dates for about 5 minutes and pat dry. If the raisins and dates are already soft you can skip this step.

In a food processor, blend the carrots and the cashews until they are broken up into pieces.

Next, add the shredded coconut, two tablespoons of the white chocolate, the cinnamon and nutmeg, and the salt. Process the ingredients until it turns into a dough-like consistency. 

Rough the dough into balls and put in the freezer for at least 5 or 10 minutes. As the balls are in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave.

Once the balls are taken out of the freezer, drizzle the melted chocolate on top. You can serve as is, but likely you will want to put back in the freezer or refrigeration so the chocolate can harden before serving.

Enjoy!

Peach Raspberry Pie

Having found such an amazing apple pie recipe, I wanted to try out some raspberry peach pie recipes. Fortunately, I lucked out again in that the first recipe I tried was a winner! This will definitely be my go to recipe in the future.

Ingredients

about 4 cups of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

about 1 cup fresh raspberries

3/4 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I may have added an extra teaspoon or so)

2 pie crusts (I highly recommend this recipe)

2 tablespoons butter (softened and cut into pieces)

1 tablespoon coarse granulated sugar (regular white sugar works too)

If the peaches and raspberries have just been washed or are very juicy, let them dry on paper towels or in a colander for about 15 minutes or so. Once the fruit has had time to dry mix them in a medium or large bowl, gently mix with sugar, flour, and cinnamon. 

Transfer to a pie crust that has been placed in a pie pan. Dot with butter, and top with second crust. Feel free to do a lattice crust or use the whole crust, but cut some vents into the top crust. Sprinkle the top crust with coarse sugar. 

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Arizona Burrito

Before returning to New York from our latest trip to Phoenix we were sure to pick up two famous Arizona staples: Carolina's tortillas and Holy Moses Hot Sauce. Once back at the apartment, we were quick to combine them for some fantastic burritos. They just don't make them like this back east!

We kept it simple. Rice, beans, cheese, cubed chicken seasoned and tossed in a skillet, and topped off with Holy Moses prickly pear sauce. 

Nothing says Phoenix like Holy Moses on a Carolina's tortilla. 

Holy Moses Stir Fry

Thanks for following us all. Sorry we have been slow to post lately...things have been kind of crazy around here. Because we really appreciate your patience, our first recipe back we're giving you some fusion of southwestern and Japanese cuisine. Special thanks to the guys over at Big Red's Hot Sauce - your sauce rocks. This is the Holy Moses Stir Fry.

Becca and I were visiting Phoenix in April for the first time in a while. One of the things we were sure to do while home was to hit up the Scottsdale Farmers Market to stock up on some Holy Moses Hot Sauce - one of our favorites. While talking to the lovely people at the Big Red's Hot Sauce booth we mentioned phxculinaryadventures, and promised them we would include their hot sauce in an original recipe. After much discussion and brainstorming we came up with this - a delicious creation using the Holy Moses Tropical Hot Sauce. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 2/3 Cups white rice (uncooked)
• 5-6 eggs (beaten)
• 3 heads broccoli (just the florets)
• 1 can baby corn (rinsed and drained)
• 2 medium portabello mushrooms (cubed)
• 1/2 cup of edamame (frozen will do just fine)
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• garlic powder
• powdered ginger
• Holy Moses Tropical Hot Sauce

 Start by cooking your rice. This is made easier if you have a rice cooker. Partially stream the broccoli so it's cooked but still has a bit of a crunch. Set both aside.

In a large skillet heat sesame oil and scramble the eggs. 

 When the eggs have begun to cook but are still partially raw add in the vegetables along with more sesame oil. 

Cover in soy sauce and Holy Moses sauce and season to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes (until the mushrooms and broccoli are the desired doneness) and set aside in a bowl covered. 

Oh yeah - that's the stuff. You  can pick it up at the Scottsdale Farmers Market (if you're in Arizona) or order it in the mail. 

In the same pan heat more sesame oil and then the rice. We did the corn and edamame with the rice instead of the other veggies, but it really doesn't matter. 

Give the rice the same treatment as the veggies. Cover in soy sauce and Holy Moses, and season as desired. 

When done stir frying combine the rice int he bowl with the veggies and mix.

And that's it. Pretty simple. Makes for a sweet and fruity stir fry with a little kick. Thanks Big Red's Hot Sauce - always nice to cook with a taste of home.