Avocado Hummus

4 avocados
2 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
2 big garlic cloves (add more to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2+ tablespoons lemon juice (more to taste)
1 can white beans, drained
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Blend all together in the food processor until smooth and creamy.

Pantry Peanut Sauce

natural peanut butter (about 1 cup)
1-2 large garlic cloves
about 1 inch of fresh ginger
big splash of fish sauce
big splash of GF soy sauce
splash of rice vinegar
rooster sauce to taste
pinch of brown sugar
splash of EVOO
chicken broth to thin

Put all in Vitamix. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Clean Out the Fridge Fiesta Soup

William is just amazed that I made soup without a recipe and insists that I share my "recipe" on the internet. So here it goes...  CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE FIESTA SOUP!

In to a large soup pot add:

• frozen uncooked back bone and wings from a chicken that was previously butchered
• 2 boxes of TJ's organic chicken broth
• water to cover

Simmer for 2+ hours

Drain broth in to a large bowl and set chicken/bones aside to cool.

Put pot back on medium heat and add:

• a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large chopped red onion
• almost a whole package of wilty TJ's green onions, chopped in to rather large pieces by an eager 8 year old helper
• 4 large kind of bendy sad carrots, chopped
• 1 wilty celery heart, chopped, including the leaves
• 2 containers of salsa that need to be used

Cook until onions are starting to soften and add:

• the strained broth
• chicken picked from the bones
• a couple of slices of cooked chicken breast, chopped up small
• 3 different partially full bags of frozen corn that were unearthed from the freezer
• about 1 cup of frozen spinach
• a can of tomatoes
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• a can of black beans
• leftover roasted broccoli from lunch
• 4 chopped zucchini
• the bottom of a bag of stale tortilla chips

Simmer for at least an hour. Eat.

Raspberry Dump Cake

Raspberry Dump Cake

1 box of Trader Joe's vanilla cake & baking mix
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance Margarine
2 6oz boxes of fresh red raspberries
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup raw turbandino sugar

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease or spray 8x8 baking pan - bottom and sides
wash, shake dry and dump raspberries in bottom of 8x8
top with 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
top with cake mix
top with melted EB
top with turbandino sugar

Bake for ???  until golden and gooey goodness.

Pumpkin Coconut Flax Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons TJ's pumpkin pie spice
1 scant cup brown sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup melted organic coconut oil
3 eggs
big glug of natural vanilla extract

turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375

Grease muffin tins with coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients together

Mix wet ingredients together

Add wet to dry and stir to combine

Divide batter into 12 muffin tins

Sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar

Bake at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes

Creamy Italian Dressing

Modified from - http://www.antihousewife.com/2012/01/the-og-ish-italian-salad-dressing/

• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp garlic powder use less next time - maybe 1/2-2/3 tablespoon
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder use a little less next time - maybe 1 teaspoon
• 1/2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp celery salt didn't have celery salt - used just a smidgen of celery seed instead
• 2 eggs, beaten
• The juice of one small lemon (between 1 to 2 tbsp) omitted
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar subbed with about 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 and 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil oops, I just noticed this was 1 AND 3/4 cups - I used 1 cup
• 1/2 cup water omitted

Put all ingredients except oil and vinegar in Vitamix - mix until well combined. VERY slowly drizzle in olive oil. Once emulsified drizzle in vinegar. Next time use the correct amount of oil!

Bean, Barley & Beef Soup

BBB Soup

Good thing it tastes better than it looks!

2 packages of Trader Joe's bean & barley soup mix (just beans and, uh, barley - no spices or ickies)
1 lb of ground beef
1 large red onion
6 carrots
2 celery hearts
Better Than Bullion Low Sodium Organic beef broth paste
TJ's 21 Season Salute
sea salt, fresh ground black pepper

Put beans in big pot. Cover with 3x as much water. Bring to a low boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off and let sit while you go pick up your car from the shop, make dinner, and get the kid ready for bed.
Before going to bed drain the beans, put in the crockpot on low. Cook on low about 12 hours or overnight.
In a big pot cook the beef and vegetables until beef is browned, salt & pepper the beef.
Add beans (not the cooking liquid) to the pot. Cover with fresh water.
Add a lump of beef broth paste. Add 21 season salute to taste.
Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.