Cheesy Chorizo Soup

When we processed our hogs we got quite a bit of Chorizo sausage. I made a dish the other night with a pack but only used 2 so that left me with 2. I have been on a soup craze for the last week and tonight's creation may have trumped them all! Hubby could not get enough of it. Super simple but oh so good!

Cheesy Chorizo soup

1/2 lb chorizo sausage, casings removed
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
5-6 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups chicken broth
4 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. colby jack cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Place chorizo in a pan and fry while braking it up with a spoon. Drain well. Add onion and garlic and cook about 5 more minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock and simmer until potatoes are tender. Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese. Slowly stirring to melt. Add shredded cheese allowing to melt. Enjoy!

Baked Lamb Meatballs

My original plan was to have lamb burgers for supper tonight but hubby had a sandwich at lunch and most days he prefers not to eat bread that much in a day. So, with lamb already thawed I decided to make these meatballs. They were light and delicious and when served along side of roasted veggies fresh from the garden were a hit!

1 lb. ground lamb
1 large spring onion finely diced
1 egg
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. cumin
1-2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
 Mix all ingredients. form into 12 meatballs and place in a greased muffin pan. Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes.

Tonight's roasted veggie medley was beets, fresh onion, new potatoes and broccoli, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and topped with fresh thyme sprigs!

Squash Tots

Another zucchini recipe this week since our refrigerator runs over with it! These are quick, easy and delicious. Yellow squash works just as well.

Grate 2 medium zucchini in a bowl. Pat dry with a paper towel. Add about 1/4 cup of grated onion (or more to taste). Toss in a handful of Parmesan cheese, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix well and put into 2 greased mini muffin pans. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes or until nice and brown. Makes 24 tots.

Zucchini Bread

Haven't posted in a while but it's not because we aren't cooking around here. Summer is upon us and with that comes zucchini. Lots of zucchini! We have been eating it almost daily off the grill, in stir fries and today I made this bread. Slightly sweet and delicious, it will be a perfect snack or breakfast for the week.

                                                                          Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. white flour
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. melted butter
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Grease 2 8 x 4 inch pans. preheat oven to 350*. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into pans and bake about an hour. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out of pans. Store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Black Bean Brownies

We are not gluten free around here but I had heard so much about using black beans instead of flour I just had to give it a try. Oh my! Awesome. And so easy! I used duck eggs because I have them and I love baking with them. However, regular work as well.

You will need:
1 15 oz. can of black beans rinsed and drained
3 duck eggs or 4 large chicken eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Toss all of these in a food processor or blender. I have a Vita-Mix and it mixed in a jiffy. Scrape down as needed and make sure well blended.
Then add:
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 /8 tsp salt
Blend it up and pour in a greased 8 inch square pan. Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I iced them with a cream cheese-peanut butter glaze. I didn't measure too much here but it was about 3 oz. cream cheese, a tbsp or so of vanilla extract, a big dollop of peanut butter whipped together and powdered sugar to taste, probably 1/2 cup or so. Spread on brownies while still warm. Store tightly wrapped in the fridge. Enjoy!

Kamut Banana Muffins

My oldest son dropped a huge bag of over ripe bananas yesterday. Today was a nasty,cold, rainy day so I spent a few hours turning those bananas into yummy goods. Of course, the first was a loaf of bread but the second was an experimental muffin.
A few days ago I had mistakenly ground some kamut flour and had tucked it in the fridge thinking I might make pancakes this weekend but after tasting the first batch of these muffins I made 3 more to freeze and share. They are awesome. Hope you think so as well!  

2 cups kamut flour
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
2-3 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup milk
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients until moistened. Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes.
The last two batches I sprinkled with a small amount of cinnamon and sugar. Oh my! Even better-

Easy Beef and Broccoli

This is so easy and so delicious! Because cube steak is always plentiful around here it is what I use. If the steak seems a bit tough I just pound it with a mallet before marinating.

You will need:
1 - 1 1/2  lb. cube steak cut into bite size pieces
6 cups of broccoli florets
Cooked rice

Marinate meat for about an hour in:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. oil

For the sauce mix together:
3/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp. brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. water or beef stock

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add broccoli and saute for 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan. Add meat and half the sauce and cook until done. Add broccoli and the rest of the sauce cook a couple more minutes. Serve over rice.
(If you find the sauce too salty you may use half soy sauce and half beef broth.)