Cream of Mushroom Soup

   Found this recipe and was excited to make this since cream soups are one thing that you cannot find overseas. This turned out pretty well and wasn't a whole lot of work. If you need a cream of mushroom soup recipe, try this one out!

Original recipe credit: www.passionatehomemaking.com

Yield: 2 10-oz "cans"

18 mushrooms

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (for gluten-free, use potato starch)

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1. Take the stems off of the mushrooms, peel the "skin" off the mushrooms, and finely chop the mushrooms. (Mushroom stems gross me out. If they don't gross you out and you want to use them, you can use just 12-14 mushrooms.)

2. Heat butter and oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When butter melts, add flour or potato starch and salt, stirring to make a roux. Add mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes or until soft (mixture will be very thick). Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (3-4 minutes after it starts to boil).

Minestrone Soup

I think that I may have finally perfected my minestrone recipe! Chock full of healthy veggies, this pairs well with grilled cheese sandwiches, garlic bread, or a great big salad. Yum.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups diced celery
8 cups chicken broth

1 cup red wine
1 large zucchini, diced
1 large potato, washed and diced
2 1/2 cups (2 large handfuls) cut green beans
8 large carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 pound torn spinach
1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; sauté until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

*For vegetarian option, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth*
*For gluten-free option, omit pasta*

Morning Glory Muffins

Now that Lane likes to help me in the kitchen, I find myself baking almost every day. We had a bunch of apples and carrots, so Morning Glory Muffins it was! These are just sweet enough and pretty healthy, too! Throw in some flaxseed or wheat bran if you have it for added nutrition.

yield: 18 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups finely shredded carrots

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup apple juice

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze off extra water.

3. In a large bowl stir together flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in carrots, apple, pecans, raisins, and coconut. In a small bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla, oil, apple juice, and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

4. Coat 18 muffin cups with cooking spray. Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Apple (Walnut) Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Mmm. These are a great autumn breakfast recipe to add to your repertoire! When my friend Kecia posted on facebook about making these, I was quick to ask for the recipe. Here it is (with a few modifications for those of us living overseas and/or just to my personal taste). Try these NOW...you won't be disappointed!

yield: 14 pancakes and a lot of syrup (enough for 2-3 batches of pancakes)

Original recipe credit: Kecia over at Kecia's Journey

Cider Syrup:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 tsp each of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon)

2 cups apple juice (use cider if you can get it)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

1. Combine sugar, corn starch, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Add apple and lemon juices; stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter.

Apple (Walnut) Pancakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1 large apple, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional, but oh-so-yummy)

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in egg and buttermilk until well combined. Stir in grated apple. Pour by 1/3-cupfulls onto a hot griddle, flipping them when the middles begin to have small bubbles.