French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is my favorite slow cooker soup for Fall. It is the first soup I always make when 60 degree weather hits and no matter how big of a batch I make we never seem to have enough leftovers!

My old recipe is listed here: French Onion Soup 

However, searching through Pinterest the other day I found another great recipe - although they are basically the same I think this one is the best one we have tried yet! Of course I changed it around a bit so feel free to look at the original recipe link.

French Onion Soup: original recipe 

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup EVOO

3 large onions (sliced) w/ a pinch of salt
1/4 cup flour
1 cup dry sherry
8 cups beef broth
2 cloves garlic (chopped or use Garlic Garlic)
croutons and swiss cheese slices for topping  

Directions:
1. Heat EVOO  in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and salt and cook slowly at low with the lid on until golden brown and caramelized, about 45 min, stirring every 15 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, stir to combine and let cook until it starts to caramelize.
4. Add the dry sherry and deglaze the pan.
5. Add the broth and garlic to slow cooker - then add onion mixture.
6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours

7. Serve with croutons and cheese!  

Pinterest: Monterey Chicken and Pumpkin Poppers

I love all that Pinterest has to offer! There are so many creative ideas and recipes out there and having a place to categorize them together is helpful and fun. It can be addictive but I have also learned so much and use it not just for personal but for my Tastefully Simple Business as well.

Now that I am 28 weeks I am stocking our freezer with great meals for after Lucy is born. I have started to pull lots of recipes from Pinterest to broaden our menu a little bit. We had been craving pumpkin desserts and soups lately so as I find great recipes I "pin" them to our "Add to Menu" board. Make sure to check it out!

Please note that I will post a link to the original recipe but in my kitchen I can't just stick to a recipe so the ones you see here are my own variations!

Monterey Chicken: original recipe

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I used Honey Apple Grill Sauce from the Tastefully Simple line)
1/4 cup bacon pieces (cooked)
1 cup shredded cheese (Daiya)
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilis, drained
sliced green onions

Optional Marinade for Chicken:
soy sauce, EVOO, garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound chicken breasts to flatten, or cut larger ones in half length wise. Grill chicken until no longer pink (marinaded or not) then place chicken on a foil lined baking sheet. Top each chicken breast w/ the remaining ingredients. Please cheese on last to hold all ingredients together. Bake in oven for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

*** Kitchen Notes: these turned out amazing and were really filling. I just served with a side salad but potatoes, rice or pasta would also go well with it.


Pumpkin Poppers: original recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup milk (used almond milk)

For Coating:
1 cup butter (earth balance, melted)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
(I used Carmel Cinnamon Sprinkles, from Tastefully Simple)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray min muffin tins w/ non-stick cooking spray. Combine all main ingredients and combine. Fill muffin tins and bake for 10-12 minutes. Melt butter in small bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate small bowl. Let poppers cool for a few minutes then dip in butter and roll in sugar mixture. Enjoy!

*** Kitchen Notes: these didn't have as much of a pumpkin flavor to them as I wanted because we used fresh pureed pumpkin and left out some of the spices. They were still amazing though!!!

The Joys of Nesting!

Nesting has for sure set in at our house as we have 13ish weeks until Lucy's arrival. I feel her move constantly all day long - I am not even sure she really sleeps much. Moose lays on my stomach any chance he can get as I think sometimes he feels like he has to keep her warm and hatch her like an egg. She often kicks him, hard. He use to jump up and growl at her but now he just looks at me and rolls his eyes. I can only pray they become best friends sooner than later!

Lucy's room is starting to come together. We still need to pick up a few things like a crib mattress, pack n play, storage bins w/ lids for her closet and storage under her crib and of course some more clothes and diapers! Our neighbors are hosting a baby shower this weekend. I can't wait to spend the afternoon with them on Sunday. We are blessed by such wonderful neighbors and the #1 reason we decided to resign our townhome lease for another 12 months. I couldn't bare to think of leaving this community of dear friends as I work from home during Lucy's first year of life.

I deep cleaned our entire house room to room back in August before we had our garage sale. These days I am just maintaining and keeping the rooms clean. We thankfully aren't nick-nack or clutter people but it also means that I often find that I want something to organize and clean and can't find something! So I had to find something else to start keeping me busy along with wrapping up my Tastefully Simple business for maternity leave.

Cooking! 

I have cleaned out both freezers and made lists of what each one holds that are posted on the door. I am more than thankful for the large freezer we have in our basement that Kevin's mom gave to us several years ago. I keep it stocked with veggies, bread, fruits, and meat that has gone on sale. It has saved us so much time and money in the long run.

Now that I have cleaned out the freezers it is time to start stocking them with our favorite meals for when Lucy comes. I know we will have other priorities once she is born and I want to make sure we are still eating healthy and dairy free as much as possible.

I already have it stocked with Vegan Lasagna - Pizza Beer Bread Loaves (2) - Chili - Beef Stew - Millet Muffins - Banana Bread. Today I am adding to the stash with Pumpkin Enchiladas - Chicken Enchiladas - Potato Soup. (click on the item to be taken to the recipe)

Here are today's recipes:

Pumpkin Enchiladas 

Chicken Enchiladas

8 oz of cream cheese (dairy free - found at whole foods) 

½ cup of Sweet Jalapeno Dip Starter - Tastefully Simple Spring/Summer product 

2 – cups of chicken (cooked and shredded)

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (Daiya Brand) 

4-6 tortilla shells (fajita size or larger) 

Mix cream cheese and sweet jalapeno dip starter, set ¼ of mixture aside (will use on top of enchiladas).  Add chicken and 2 cups of shredded cheese to cream cheese mix.  Fill tortilla shells with desired amount of chicken and cream cheese mixture.  Place in greased glass casserole dish.  Top with the cream cheese and sweet jalapeno dip starter that was set aside.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with remaining shredded cheese.  Put back in oven until cheese is melted.  Top with tomatoes, lettuce, onions and salsa (optional). 

Potato Soup - from Pinterest! 

3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 chopped onion

4 cups chicken broth

garlic - salt - black pepper

1/2 cup sour cream (I used Green Valley Organics Lactose Free) 

1 cup shredded cheese (Daiya Brand)

green onions and bacon crumbles

Place potatoes, onion, broth and seasonings in slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5 hours. When potatoes are soft mash and mix in sour cream. Garnish with cheese, onions and bacon. 

(photo credit) 

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