Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

7:05:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

My mom in front of her tree - 1956.  My niece in front of my mom's tree - 2012.

Put 2 cups of water in a soup pot and bring to a boil.  Add cooked onion, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and reduce heat to low.  Cover and let cook for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, add beans and let cook for an additional 15 minutes.  If you like more of a stew consistency, drain excess water from pot.  I did this twice while making this soup because I like a thicker consistency.

Start to make sauce while soup is cooking.  Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add tomatoes, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and cayenne.  Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.  When your 15 minutes on the soup is up, stir tomato mixture into it and let it cook for another 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Lighter Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

3:45:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

The title of today's post sure doesn't sound like something healthy - but I decided that today could be about making something healthyer (and yes, I know that's not how you spell healthier).

Browsing through Hungry Girl's website, you can find many tips on how to lighten up desserts.  I decided to try the trick of using non fat greek yogurt in a cake mix in place of the oil and eggs.   I had been craving the lemon-blueberry combo for a while and decided to put the cake mix that was in my cupboard to good use.  This recipe makes 12 servings and is 10 points per piece of frosted cake.



What you will need:

1 moist-style Lemon Cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Lemon Supreme)
1 cup non fat greek yogurt (I used Chobani, but another brand is fine)
1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Combine cake mix and 1 cup non fat greek yogurt in a large bowl.  Then, add 1 cup water.  Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Put mix into a greased pan - I used two 9 inch round pans.  This mixture is almost brownie like in consistency, but don't worry, it will bake like a cake.  I was pretty skeptical as I scooped it into the pans.

At this point I remembered I wanted to add blueberries, so I took some out of the freezer and quickly rinsed them in a strainer.  Then, I just placed them throughout the batter that was already in the pans and then smoothed the batter over them with a spoon.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  For me, this was sooner than the bake time listed on the box when using oil and eggs - so just be sure you keep and eye on it/check it after about 15 minutes.

Now - on to the frosting (which is REALLY good, by the way).  I followed the recipe from The eMeals Blog but halved it - which was still enough to cover the cake.

What you will need:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a stand mixer, beat butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and milk with a mixer until creamy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.  Spread over top and sides of cooled cake.

The verdict?  The cake was SO moist and the frosting was really refreshing.  I don't think I'd ever make a cake using oil and eggs again.  Not only is this version less fattening, but it tastes so much better!  No one will know it's from a mix.  I would make it again, but only if I was expecting company.  This time around we had to ration it - one piece a day for my husband and me.

Kale Salad with Avocado and Lemon

11:45:00 AM Anna 0 Comments

Have you been looking for a way to add more nutrients into your diet, but find yourself unwilling to buy that big bag of dark green kale from the grocery store?  This is a very quick and easy way to disguise the bitterness of kale but still get the benefits from eating it, including high amounts of fiber, iron, vitamins K, A, and C, calcium, and antioxidants.  Plus you get the added health benefits of avocado (heart healthy, helps lower cholesterol, shown to reduce the appearance of certain types of cancer) and fresh lemon juice (aids digestion, lowers blood pressure).



ALL you need is:

2 large handfuls of kale, rinsed and de-stemmed (enough kale to fill a medium/large salad bowl)
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 lemon, juice of

After you have rinsed the kale, remove the leaves from the ribs and put leaves into your salad bowl, discarding ribs (stems).  I used a bag of pre shredded kale from Trader Joe's, but if you are using whole leaves, make sure you tear them into bite sized pieces.

Add avocado and lemon juice to bowl and mix ingredients with hands, much like you are kneading dough.  This allows every bite of kale to be covered in the avocado and lemon, unlike many salads where you only get the dressing in certain bites.  The avocado does a great job balancing out the bitterness of the kale.  Enjoy!

Pear with Gruyere Pie

9:07:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

Ever since I saw "Pushing Daisies" I have wanted to try a pear pie with gruyere baked into the crust (it's one of the pies they make in the show).  So, for Thanksgiving, I finally made one.  It was actually very easy - but that may be because I used a pre made frozen pie crust from Trader Joe's.  It was a big hit, fun to make, and not too sweet.  After searching Pinterest for a recipe, I ended up following this one.

Double Cranberry Apple Sauce

8:01:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

Now that things have finally settled down a bit, I thought I'd start to share some of my favorite recipes from this year's Thanksgiving.  Instead of a cranberry sauce, which I often find too tart, I made double cranberry apple sauce.  It was nice and sweet, but not too sweet.  It's also a great Thanksgiving side dish because you can make it days in advance and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it.


What you will need:

5-6 large apples, peeled and diced (I used 1 fuji and 4 granny smith)
1 (12-ounce) package of fresh cranberries
1 small lemon (or 1/2 large lemon), sliced and seeded
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

In a large pot/saucepan, stir together apples, cranberries, lemon, sugar, and water.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often.

Reduce heat, continue to stir, and let simmer 15-25 minutes or until cranberries pop.  Remove from heat and stir in sweetened cranberries (optional).  Cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.