I find that in the winter I make a lot of soup. This soup recipe tastes great and is super filling. This one  is a keeper.

Potato and Leek Soup Recipe

What you need:

• 1 pound leeks, 4 to 5 medium, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
• 3 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small (Yukon potatoes keep there shape while the others turn to mashed potatoes in the soup)
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon snipped chives

How to make it:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat and puree the mixture in batches with a blender until smooth. Do not use the top on the blender the soup is to hot and it might brake, just put a towel over the top and pulse. Poor back into the sauce pan and stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.

Not sure what I would do without my morning cup of coffee, it’s what helps me to get moving. I’m fortunate that my coffee maker has a timer on it so that I can set it up the night before and have fresh brewed coffee when I get up in the morning. Being a self proclaimed “foodie” (someone who has an interest in food) I like to change up my morning cup of coffee.

Heres a few recipes to try out…

1. The first one I kinda made up so i’m not sure what to call it. Fill your coffee cup about 3/4 full and stir in a half package of hot chocolate mix. You can use any hot chocolate mix that you enjoy, it has your your dairy and sweetener all in one. Yumm!

2. Mocha Coffee Recipe – Start with 1 cup of black coffee stir in 1 Tablespoon of Cocoa, 1 Tablespoon white sugar and 2 Tablespoons of milk.

3. Viennese Coffee  - 1 cup of black coffee mix in 2 Tablespoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons milk, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.

4. French Vanilla Coffee – mix coffee creamer with instant French Vanilla pudding mix. Experiment with the amount of puddding mix to the creamer and adjust it to your taste.

5. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon (4 cup coffee pot) or 1 Tablespoon (8 Cup coffee pot)  to your coffee grounds before starting the coffee. After you’ve made your first cup you can adjust flavor accordingly for the next pot.

My daughter will be 3 this Sunday and can’t have eggs in her birthday cake, because of food allergies. Eggs are what make the cake fluffy, and help the other ingredients stick together. Heres a recipe that is equally as good without eggs.

Egg Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

Things you will need:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp. white distilled vinegar
1 cup cold water

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix  just until combined.
3. Pour into a lightly oiled 9-inch cake pan and cook for 30 minutes, or until sticking a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

This is my moms recipe, and I love it.

Heavenly Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Can be used as filling too

What you need:

1/2 cup butter  (you can also use 1 cup of butter flavored shortening to make this dairy free)
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk or milk substitute to make this dairy free)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter and place into a mixing bowl, begin mixing on medium, add cocoa, add powdered sugar, pour in milk, add vanilla extract, continue mixing on medium until creamy and spread able, add more milk if necessary.

OR if you want to decorate a cute cake

White Buttercream Frosting Recipe

What you will need:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

About 3 cups of icing

How to make it:

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

Sure you can make the usual pies to serve with Thanksgiving, but in addition to making Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Mincemeat Pie, Pecan Pie  mix it up a little and make one of these to serve too.

Black Forest Pie Recipe

What you will need:

4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 (9- or 10-inch) baked pie crust
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling, chilled
Toasted almonds*

How to Make it:

1. MELT chocolate with sweetened condensed milk in heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in almond extract.

2. POUR into large bowl; cool or chill thoroughly. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream.

3. POUR into baked pie crust. Chill 4 hours or until set. Serve topped with pie filling. Garnish with almonds, if desired.

MICROWAVE METHOD
COMBINE chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in 1-quart glass measure with handle. Cook on HIGH (100% power) 2 to 4 minutes, stirring after each minute until smooth. Proceed as above.

*To toast almonds: Place almonds in dry nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned.
Serves 8-10

Orange Chiffon Pie Recipe

What you will need:

Purchased or homemade 9-inch chocolate crumb pie crust
1 tablespoon (about 1-1/4 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup orange liqueur (optional)
1-1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

How to make it:

1. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the orange juice and lemon juice. Stir with a fork, and let stand for a few minutes to soften the gelatin. Add the sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, and salt and whisk until blended. Whisk in the milk.

2. Cook over moderate heat, whisking almost constantly. After 3 to 4 minutes, the mixture will become foamy. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer, until it has thickened slightly and you see wisps of steam rising; do not allow it to boil. Pour immediately into a large bowl. Refrigerate, whisking about every 10 minutes, until the mixture feels cool and a spoonful of it lifted and dropped back onto the surface leaves a small mound. Depending on the size and depth of your bowl, this will take 1 to 2 hours (longer than most chiffon mixtures). Stir in the orange liqueur, if using.

3. About 5 to 10 minutes before you anticipate that the orange mixture will be ready, in a medium bowl, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Scoop the cream over the orange mixture and, using a rubber spatula, fold the two together quickly yet gently, until there are no drifts of unblended cream. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust (if homemade, cool completely before filling), mounding it in the center. Chill for several hours before serving.

Award winning and super easy cookies that your family will love, might even repost this one with a list of other cookie ideas for December. These would be fun to do a cookie exchange with too.

What you will need:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
1 cup salted dry-roasted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

How to make them:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in cherries, chocolate chunks and nuts.

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (or use level 3 tablespoon-size scoop) about 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.

Note: egg can be replaced with 2 Tbsp of potato starch

We love this recipe!! We get asked to make them every year for Thanksgiving Dinner. They can be done without the Brandy and if you really want to simplify the process skip the orange cups and bake in a casserole dish. I have also added marshmallows to the tops of the orange cups. I really like the orange flavoring with the sweet potatoe flavor so instead of the prepared orange juice I use concentrate and reduce the amount to 1/2 cup. I hope your family enjoys this as much as ours does.

What you need:

7 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
4 large oranges
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh orange juice (prepared)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

How to Make them:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let rest until just cool enough to handle.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Make the orange cups by cutting the oranges in half and scooping out the pulp, leaving only the shell. Set aside.

Peel the potatoes and put into a large bowl. Discard the skins and any tough, stringy fibers. Add the butter, and with an electric mixer, beat out the lumps. Add the sugar, eggs, orange juice, heavy cream, and brandy, and mix until smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well. Re-season to taste.

Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the orange cups, mounding and smoothing the top. Bake until puffed and slightly golden, about 20 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

Super cute hats to serve after Thanksgiving dinner. The kids will go crazy for them.

Ingredients:

Fudge striped shortbread cookies
Mini Peanut butter cup
Chocolate frosting
Tube of yellow frosting

How to make them:

1. Turn the cookies over so the chocolate side is on top. Unwrap the peanut butter cups and use a dab of Chocolate frosting  to glue them on, top side down to the center of the cookie.

2. Use the tube of yellow frosting to make the ring around the base of your hat and to add a gold buckle.

I love, love, love this recipe! I first tried these a few years ago and have been making them almost every year since. There’s just something about the creamy pumpkin and chocolate combo thats addictive. Honestly i’m surprised that I haven’t already done this blog.

What you will need:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

How to Make them:
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in.

3. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

4. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

5. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

I remember my mom making wheat berrys when I was growing up, we loved eating them. I can’t wait to try this salad.

4 cups water
1/2 cup dry wheat berries
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp. Pompeian OlivExtra Plus (or Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine water and wheat berries in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 55 minutes or until wheat berries are just tender. Place in a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water to cool quickly, drain well. Combine the wheat berries with the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours in advance.

20 oz. fresh tortellini (cheese, or spinach and cheese filled)
16 oz. Kraft Seven Seas Viva Italian Dressing
4 oz. sliced black olives (drained)
5 oz. sliced green salad olives (drained)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh grated, no canned stuff)
pepper, to taste
 
Boil the chicken for about 20 minutes, depending on thickness. Set aside, cool, and cut into cubes.Boil tortellini for 4 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. (When it’s still slightly warm, the dressing will soak in better)!

In a large bowl, add all ingredients except the cheese. Mix well, cover and let set in refrigerator for 8 hours or over night. Stir occasionally.