Pizza Soup

Tis the season for making soup in the crockpot! I tried a new recipe today and it was a success. Pizza soup! It has all the ingredients of a pizza but in soup form. I found this recipe online and changed a few things, namely making it in the crockpot. Also using canned tomatoes and mushroom just for simplicity sake, but next time I think I'll sautee fresh mushrooms and onions like the recipe called for. I also added peppers and of course, you could add olives or whatever 'toppings' you like. Here's my recipe as best as I can estimate (I'm really not much for measuring).


My Pizza Soup

1 small can mushrooms
3 sliced green onions
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 jar water
8 ounces sliced pepperoni, each slice cut in half
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Grated parmesan & mozzarella cheese

Dump everything into the crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Before serving, garnish with cheeses.

It's excellent with breadsticks, they're like the crust!

Puff Pancake

Funny coincidence, yesterday I recieved an email from Eat Better America and it featured a recipe for a "Puff Pancake." Just about identical to my 'Hootenany Pancake' I picutured in my last post, but supposedly a healthified version with less calories and fat. I'm anxious to try this version. I think it's a fun breakfast, especially around the holidays when the kids are home.

Here's my recipe anyway:

Hootenany Pancakes

3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter

Beat eggs, flour, salt and milk together in a bowl. Melt butter in a pie pan then add the mixed ingredients, bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve with jam, syrup or fresh fruit.

This and that

Busy-ness of the holiday season + computer problems = not much time for blog posting. But I have taken a few pics with the intention of posting so I'll do a quick summary of a few of my more notable creations.

This breakfast is not very healthy, but it tastes really good and it's lotsa fun. Especially for kids.

My cookbook calls it a "Hootenany Pancake," but I think it's called a German Pancake as well. It's basically just flour, eggs, milk and butter but when you bake it in a pan it turns and puffs into strange shapes. It's different everytime, with mountains and valleys and caves and all kinds of bubbly formations. It deflates quick so you have to watch closely while it's baking and shortly after. Then when the excitement is over, top it with jam or syrup and it's quite scrumptious!

Here's another sort-of breakfast food that I'm loving lately. It's just a veggie/egg scramble but I put tons of veggies in it. Usually zucchini, red pepper, onion and garlic.

It's so yummy and even with the egg-y fat and cholesterol, I think it's a good way to get your veggies. The kids love it wrapped in a tortilla with a little cheese and picante sauce.

Doesn't this look like a super greasy cheeseburger?

It's a black bean burger! I just tossed a drained can of black beans in the food processor with some bread crumbs, an egg and some spices then fried it up and served it on a Smart Balance toasted whole wheat bun with some cheese and other burger fixin's. I won't claim that it actually tasted like a hamburger but it looked like one and it tasted pretty good.

And since it's Christmas, here's a pic of my big guy with the gingerbread men we made a couple weeks ago.

Merry Christmas!!

Apple Fries

Okay, not really. I mean, they are apples but they're not fried. I just cut them up to look like fries and somehow that makes them so much more exciting. And I made a great dipping "sauce" from peanut butter, smashed banana, a little maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon and some milk to thin it just a bit. They received two thumbs up as a bedtime snack tonight.

Gazpacho...sort of

I started out with a recipe for gazpacho but kinda changed a few things. It turned out really yummy! I don't know if it's technically gazpacho since I cooked most of the veggies but we did eat it chilled. And I don't have exact measurements on how I made it, but that's the beauty of this kind of 'soup.' You can totally be creative based on what veggies you like. Here's what I did:

Chop up and sautee in olive oil:
red pepper
onion
minced garlic
zucchini

after everything turns limp and the house smells heavenly, let it cool.

Place in blender:
1 can tomatoes
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cucumber
sauteed veggies

blend it up, season to taste, then chill (you and the soup)

I baked some garlic bread and we dipped it in the soup. It was SOOOO good, the kids
loved it too. When all the veggies are blended like that beyond recognition they are so much easier for a kid (and certain adults) to eat! The dipping part makes it fun too.