Chocolate Cream Drop Cookies

Vintage 1950 from my Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book of the same age…a timeless favorite! I came across this cook book when I was browsing in a used book store about 4 years ago. I loved it! I finally had a cookbook like the one my mom cooked from! I was able to then find the recipe that was made year after year, and both my dad and my favorite: A chocolate cake-like cookie with chocolate frosting.

For this recipe for Chocolate Cream Drop Cookies click here to go to my new site: Altered Recipes

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Enjoy and happy cooking! ~Nancy

Yam and Carrot Soup

Bruce came home from a potluck one night – one that I couldn’t attend. He raved about his friend, Alfred’s, soup. Here is the recipe. I have been wanting to try but haven’t to date. Can’t wait to make and taste!

Yam and Carrot Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 cube of butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 carrots peeled and shredded
• 1 stalk of celery with leaves, chopped (2 if you wish)
• 3 yams
• 4 sprigs of fresh chopped cilantro
• 6 cups of Pacific brand organic free chicken broth
• 1 – 1/2 cups original coconut milk creamer
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Ginger
• Paprika to taste
• Salt to taste (though chicken broth is 24% sodium so I left salt out)

Directions:
Bake yams in skins at 400 until soft (about 50 minutes).
Melt the butter in a large pot, add onion, carrots, and celery – cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Scoop out yam meat and place in pot along with cilantro. Pour in broth and cook for about twenty minutes at simmer – stirring occasionally.

Using a 2 cup pitcher or similar size ladle soup contents into blender filling no more than 2/3 at a time.
Blend & then put puree into a second large pot (your ultimate serving pot).  Repeat process until all of soup is blended.  Stir in cream, add salt, pepper, ginger and paprika and reheat without boiling.
Serve hot with bread or crackers.

Serves ONE! (most likely more 😀 )
Blessings, Love, Laughter, Peace Everyday
Alfred

Note: Once again I suggest using organic produce and ingredients as well as buying from you local farmers.

Great Tasting Healthy Brownies

Shelly,  a good friend of mine, made these brownies for us one evening. I was shocked to find out there is NO flour in these – they are a real treat – cake like and wonderfully tasty. Talk about GUILT FREE dessert eating! This recipe from the book Healthiest Meals on Earth.

Real Food Brownies

or Guilt Free Brownies!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 ° F

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups (about 10 oz. ) pitted dates
• 9 Tbsp high-quality cacao or cocoa powder (I used Alaska Bakers Cocoa – Organic)
• 1/4 cup macadamia nut oil (I didn’t have Mac Nut Oil but I did have Sweet Almond Oil which I used instead. Any good oil should work).
• 1/2 cup agave nectar (or 1/4 cup maple syrup)
• 2 cups canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (one 28 oz can works)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Measure the dates into a liquid measuring cup and pour in hot water to the 1-1/2 cup line, turning the dates over with your hands until the water reaches all the dates. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. Pour off 1/4 cup of the liquid off the dates and process the rest in a food processor until it forms a smooth paste.

Put the date paste into a large bowl and add the cocoa powder, oil and agave nectar, mixing well.

Combine the beans and eggs in a food processor and process until very smooth. Add the garbanzo mixture to the date mixture, stirring well to combine. Add the baking powder and cinnamon, stirring to combine, and pour your batter into a 9-inch, non-stick pan. If using glass, grease lightly with oil. (I used an 8 x 8″ in the above photo which made a thicker brownie and took about 5 minutes more cooking time.)

Bake for 45 minutes.
Yield: 12 Brownies

Try to keep family members away from the hot brownies so they have at least 15-20 minutes to cool first (or they will fall apart). I say this because my husband always sneaks in and tries to eat the first few…and they crumble. He just cannot wait!

NOTE: All ingredients were organic and everything was found at a local grocery store, except the Macadamia nut oil. Also, with the difference in opinion regarding the use of agave nectar other suggestions might be coconut nectar, organic Sucanat or maple syrup.

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash – Gluten Free!

This savory dish is seasoned with cumin and sweet raisin, which together is a great compliment and with the added veggies and beans a wonderful whole meal. My husband, Bruce, gave it a 5/5 rating. We will be enjoying this again and again!

Modified from an original recipe, this is my version..

Ingredients
3 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional – I did not find this is necessary)
1 tablespoon organic butter or Earth Balance (if dairy free is needed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, *chopped
2 stalks celery *chopped
2 carrots, *chopped
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 vegetable bouillon cube (omit cube if using 2 cups chicken or veggie broth)
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
6 teaspoons shredded cheddar cheese (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender.
3. While the squash is baking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook five minutes. Mix in the kidney beans and raisins and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
4. Boil two cups water (or use the chicken or vegetable broth instead of water), one cup quinoa, and the bouillon cube together. Once this comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until quinoa is cooked. Season cooked quinoa with cumin, salt, and pepper. Then stir in the veggies and beans.
5. Stuff each squash half with about a cup of the quinoa veggie mixture. Optional: Sprinkle with one teaspoon cheddar cheese. Cook another five minutes or until the cheese is melted.

I found the original recipe found on “fitsugar.com.” And they had modified it from allrecipes.com Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash.

* Note: I decided I wanted my veggies finely chopped. My Pampered Chef Chopper does a great job with this!). I also ended up using more olive oil and butter than the recipe listed.

Buenos Dias Egg Breakfast

My daughter, Heidi, fixed this for breakfast during the Christmas holidays. It was a great meal – eggs all light and fluffy – for the handful of us joining together at her table for breakfast one morning…

10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp salt
2 cups cottage cheese
1 lb Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (or 1/2 lb Monterrey Jack cheese plus 1/2 lb Cheddar cheese, shredded)
1/2 cup butter
2 – 4oz cans diced green chilies

In large bowl, beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13″ baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Prep Time: 45 min
Yield: 12 servings (I think it feeds less, maybe 5-6)

Delish! Thank you Heidi!

We are very fortunate to have a local supplier of fresh laid chicken eggs – organically fed and free roam, too. We, also, buy organic when ever possible. I hope you can shop organic too! I’ll be using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour when I make this recipe this week just to test it out! (Some of our friends cannot eat wheat.) You can find gluten free flour in most grocery stores. ~~ Eat in good health!

Pumpkin Pie – Dairy and Gluten Free

My good friend, Jodine, gave me this recipe. It was her mom’s and she has modified it to be dairy and gluten free. I loved it! YUM!

1 unbaked 9” pie shell (gluten free)
2 c pumpkin (16-17 oz can pumpkin)
1 can coconut milk
1 egg (I used two)
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
¾ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup sugar or a bit less (Jodine added sugar because her mom used sweetened condensed milk in her recipe)

Mix all ingredients and turn into the pie shell. Bake at 375 until sharp knife inserted near center comes out clean (about 50-60 minutes). Cool. Refrigerate at least one hour.  And here is Jodine’s secret ingredient – use maple syrup, spread carefully, as a light glaze.

Thank you, Jodine!

Visit Jodine’s Website

Enjoy – Nancy

*For your health, try buying all organic! Support your local farmers and buy locally grown, too!

CALIFORNIA VEGGIE STEW (Soup) with Chicken

This is a favorite winter meal. Everybody I have made it for goes back for seconds. It is filling and thick with veggies including sweet potatoes which gives it a wonderful flavor.

California - Veggie - Chicken Stew

(Adapted from Carolina Vegetable Soup Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

Serves 6
Total Time: 1 Hour

In a large soup pot, warm the oil on medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and celery and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the green beans, red kidney beans, stewed tomatoes and thyme.
Stir for a minute and then add the chicken broth and black pepper.

Cover and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cook for 30-40 minutes (until the sweet potatoes and green beans are soft. Sprinkle the basil over the top prior to serving.

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots (diced)
• 1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (diced)
• 1-1/2 cup chopped fresh green beans (cut into about 1 ” pieces)
• 1-16 oz can red kidney beans
• 1-28 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1-32 oz  chicken broth
• 1/2 tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil (optional)

Optional – chicken
I use 2 chicken breasts or 3-4 chicken thighs. Simmer for about 20-25 min. Cool a little then cut up and add to soup.

I also add chopped cabbage and any other veggies that I have around that sounds good.

Enjoy!

NOTE: I typically dice the carrots, sweet potatoes and celery into large chunks and then use my Pampered Chef Food Chopper to really dice the veggies small so you get a wonderful mouthful of everything in each bite! (Any good food chopper will do. I love my Pampered Chef though, it is really sturdy!) I also use ORGANIC when ever possible.

Tuna Burgers – A Quick and Easy Lunch or Dinner

• 1 (7 oz) can of albacore tuna, drained and flaked
• ½ cup fine fresh bread crumbs
• ½ cup celery – finely chopped
• 2 Tbps onion – finely diced
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp chili sauce (find near the ketchup at the store)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Optional if too wet: 1 egg; additional ¼ c breadcrumbs
• 4 hamburger buns (I use whole wheat)
• Condiments, lettuce and tomatoes

Combine first 4 ingredients. Stir into tuna. Form into 4 patties. If too wet add 1 egg and about ¼ c additional bread crumbs.  (If you have time let sit in the fridge for ½ hour to absorb the bread crumbs – optional).
Fry patties in a skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes or until browned.
Put a patty on each bun with your favorite condiments as well as a slice of tomato and lettuce.
Serves 4 (depending on what size you make the patties)

NOTE: For 6 patties I doubled the recipe. My patties were large enough to fill the big wheat buns. I also added 1/4 cup of diced red bell pepper to the recipe. Yum!

This is a quick and easy dinner, great for those that do not eat red meat or just enjoy a change from the regular hamburger. I try to use as many whole and organic products as possible. I hope you do too. DO experiment and enjoy!

Cook tuna patties on the stove, flipping over when browned.

Enjoy this quick meal for lunch or dinner!

Tuna Burgers are great with condiments such as mayo, mustard, tomato, and lettuce.

Granola – the best ever!

My husband, Bruce, makes the best granola ever! I am always counting calories, so I top my high fiber, organic breakfast cereal with a tablespoon or two for a little YUM, along with frozen blueberries, or add it to my yogurt or low fat frozen yogurt as a topping. What a treat!

Bruce writes:

I’ve been making this granola off and on since my college days; I think it might have originally been an Adele Davis recipe that my Mom modified, and I’ve created my variation here:

Ingredients: (fresh, organic preferred wherever possible)
Liquid Ingredients:

• 1 cup of honey (local if possible)
• 1 cup of non-hydrogenated coconut oil (or other veg. oil)
• Solid Ingredients:
• 5 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds (hulled)
• 1 cup sesame seeds

Optional Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans and/or your favorite)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, pitted dates, and/or your favorite)

Directions:
In a large oblong pan, thoroughly mix all the dry and optional ingredients.
Then mix in the oil thoroughly. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove (with hot pads  and thoroughly mix in the honey.
Bake at 300 degrees F. for another 20 minutes. Check again; if needed,
bake at 300 degrees F. or an additional 10-20 minutes. Allow to cool
and store in a covered container.

Enjoy as cereal, a topping on yogurt or by the handful! – Nancy