Baked Potato Soup

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE SOUP! I don't care if it's blazing hot outside I always enjoy a bowl of soup and it's one of the most versatile and inexpensive meals there is. Soup is also a great meatless option and there are always puh-lenty of leftovers for the husband to take for work lunches. What's not to love? This particular soup is creamy, filling and oh so delicious and the torrential downpour outside made this an extra cozy dinner at the Brown house! 

What you need (adapted from Annie's Eats)

- 5-6 small potatoes (I used yukons)
- 4 T unsalted butter
- 1/2 C GF all purpose flour, divided
- 6 cups milk (I used 2 cups half n half and the rest almond milk)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 C shredded cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
bacon
green onions
sour cream

*NOTE: Please ignore the onion in this picture. I was going to use it but ended up using onion powder instead to keep the texture as creamy as possible.*

Directions

- Cook the potatoes until almost fork tender, drain and set aside. You could use regular baking potatoes if you have those on hand as well. I like to under-bake the potatoes a little because they will cook some more once you add them to the soup.

- In a large stockpot or dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat

- Add in 1/4 C of the flour and whisk to form a paste. Cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes

- Add in the milk, whisking constantly so it doesn't scald

- Add in the remaining 1/4 C of flour and cook until thick, about 8-10 minutes

- Add in the onion powder and garlic powder

- Chop your cooked potatoes into bite size pieces, and add to milk mixture

- Add in the shredded cheese and a bit of salt and pepper. Stir until melted

- Add in the cayenne pepper (You can omit this if you don't like spice...I think a little heat is nice in such a rich soup)

- Prepare your toppings

- Taste the soup to check your seasonings and add more if needed

- Serve with a nice salad and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I love hummus! It is such an awesome snack and/or meal and can be eaten with practically anything. The other day at the store, garbanzo beans were on sale so I bought a bunch. I put them in salads a lot but had never tried to make my own hummus. I also had a couple of red peppers to use up so it seemed like a no brainer to experiment with them! What better way than to make my own hummus? This came out really delicious despite not having all the ingredients for a "proper" hummus and it is WAY cheaper than store bought. Do any of you have a favorite hummus recipe?

What you need

- 1 1/2 C garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 C roasted red peppers *see below*
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T sesame oil (not pictured, sorry!)
- 2 T water
- Salt and pepper to taste








Roasted Red Pepper Instructions
Yes, they sell jars of already roasted red peppers but it's super easy to make your own!

- Rub each pepper with coconut or vegetable oil. Don't use olive oil because it will burn.

- Place peppers on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until they start to blister and blacken

- Carefully flip the peppers over and return to broiler until the other side blisters and starts to blacken

- Let the peppers cool completely before touching them! They will be very hot!

- Gently remove the stem, seeds and ribs and peel off the skin. It should remove very easily. Cut in half and make sure all the seeds and ribs are removed.

- And there you have it! Roasted red peppers!


Hummus Directions

- In a food processor, add the beans, peppers, garlic, cumin, cayenne, water, salt and pepper

- Put the top on and pulse the processor a few times just to get the ingredients combined. Stream in the olive oil and sesame oil until it reaches desired consistency. Taste to check seasonings and adjust if necessary.

- I served mine with GF crackers and topped the hummus with some paprika, parsley and feta cheese. This was my lunch today along with some fruit. Yum!

Shepherd's Pie

This was one of the first recipes I made when then husband and I were just married. I was trying to embrace his love of casseroles (I don't like them much) and come up with one dish dinners that were easy and tasty. That's all a newly married woman wants really...and easy and delicious dinner that her husband will ask for again and again. Well, this is mine! Next to a good steak, this is usually the husband's dinner request. It's on our menu at least once a month and is also a great meal to have stored in the freezer. Now for all you purists out there, I know Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb, but we don't do lamb in the Brown household so technically this would be called Cottage Pie. Call it what you like and hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we do!

What you need

- 4 large baking potatoes or 5-6 small ones
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 C carrots
- 1 C peas
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T white rice flour
- 1/2 C broth (I used chicken)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley



Directions

- Start by making the mashed potatoes. I used small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed and then boiled in salt water until fork tender

- Add whatever you like in your potatoes and mash until desired consistency. I used a bit of milk, sour cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

- In a large skillet or Dutch Oven, heat 1 tsp oil of your choice (I used coconut) over medium heat

- Add in the onions and the sugar and stir well. This will help the onions to caramelize

- When the onions have caramelized (about 7 minutes) add in the ground beef and brown

- Add in the garlic, carrots and peas and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender

- Add in 1 T of white rice flour and the rosemary. Stir well

- Add in the chicken broth (or you could use beef or vegetable...whatever you have!) and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. That's lots of good flavor! Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to your liking.

*NOTE: When I'm making this for the husband I sometimes will substitute a dark beer for the broth. He LOVES the flavor it adds but I don't care for it (I HATE BEER!!) So that's definitely an option too!

- When the mixture becomes thick and bubbly, transfer to a greased baking dish

- Top with the mashed potatoes you made earlier

- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and top with cheese and dried parsley

- Return to oven for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese melt and starts to bubble

- Serve up a big plate for the husband and enjoy!

Freezer Meal Instructions
- Follow recipe up until baking. Instead, layer in a freezer safe dish (I like using the foil pans) and cover  tightly with foil. When ready to serve, thaw out completely and then bake for 25 minutes, add the cheese and parsley and bake for another 10 minutes. Easy!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I absolutely love goat cheese. If you've never tried it (or are afraid to try it) don't let the word "goat" scare you! I've been searching for a while for a way to use goat cheese and still keep it easy and not involve a bunch of weird ingredients. Then I remembered a stuffed chicken recipe that I made a couple years ago and decided to try it with goat cheese. It turned out great and the husband (who isn't normally  a fan of anything with the word "goat" in it) really liked it! I hope you like it too!

What you need

- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 C chopped onion (I used dried)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 oz herbed goat cheese
- 4 basil leaves, chopped
-








Directions

- Chop up your spinach and garlic

- Add to a skillet over medium heat with just a bit of oil

- Add the onion and a bit of salt and pepper

- Just cook until the spinach begins to wilt. It will finish cooking in the oven

- Put spinach mixture in a bowl and add the goat cheese and chopped basil. Stir well

- Pound out the chicken breast until they are about 1/4 inch thick

- Season both sides of each chicken breast with salt and pepper and italian seasoning (if using)

- Spoon the spinach and cheese mixture over the chicken evenly

- Roll the chicken and secure with toothpicks

- Repeat with other chicken breast

- Season well with salt and pepper and the italian seasoning

- Place in a baking dish or on a sheet pan and cook for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees

- Remove toothpicks and serve! We had green beans and salad with ours. Delicious!

*NOTE: I recently made this again and instead of pounding out and rolling the chicken I simply butterflied the breasts to create a sort of "pocket" and stuffed the spinach and goat cheese mixture in it, then folded the top of the breast back over. No need to secure it with toothpicks and I think it was much easier and cut down the prep time a bit.

Basil Chicken Stir Fry

Hello readers! I'm sorry about the lack of posts lately! I just returned from a fabulous girls only trip with my mom in New York City. We had the best time and I will be attempting to duplicate some of the wonderful things we ate there. Until then, here's a recipe for you that I threw together and turned out well! I love when that happens. Best of all, the husband enjoyed it and requested it again. I also love when that happens. This recipe was loosely based on my recipe for lettuce wraps. You can find the full recipe for those here. Hope you enjoy it!

What you need

- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1/2 of a large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Assorted vegetables (I used broccoli, snow peas, carrots and green pepper)
- 2 1/2 T gluten free soy sauce
- 1/2 T water
- 1 T creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 T honey
- 1 T rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 can diced water chestnuts
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped


Directions

- Do all your prep work first, this cooks fast! (chop the onion, cut up the chicken and chop your vegetables if necessary)

- Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large skillet or wok

- Add the chicken, onion and garlic

- Add a handful of salt and pepper

 - Once the chicken is cooked through, stir in your vegetables

- Cook for a few minutes, just to soften the vegetables

- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and honey. Microwave for 20 seconds and then stir well

- Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetable mixture. Add the basil and water chestnuts and stir

- I topped ours with some chopped green onion and chopped peanuts. Serve over rice and enjoy!