Creamy Tomato Soup

My mom makes a soup similar to this and everyone loves it. So today I played around in the kitchen and came up with a pretty good soup. I hope you all enjoy it.

Ingredients

2 cans of whole tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 onion chopped
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp Epicure's Paris Bistro
1 pinch of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Butter
*add coarsely chopped fresh basil if you like in stead of spinach however reduce the amount to 1/4 cup

In a large pot,  melt butter and fry onions until translucent. Remove the tomatoes from the can, and chop in a food processor, as chunky or not as you'd like. Pour the tomato juice into the pot, let cook for maybe a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and seasoning. Let simmer. Add the tomato paste, stirring it in until smooth. Add your heavy cream at this point and your spinach. Season with salt and pepper.
As Always,
Happy Eating!

Banana Protein Cookies

Just to change things up and add a different taste here is the banana recipe.

Ingredients

- 2 bananas pureed

- 1/3 cup peanut butter

- 3/4 cup applesauce

- 1 scoop of vanilla protein

-1 1/2 cup quick oats

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Combine bananas and peanut butter until smooth. Add applesauce and mix. Then add protein powder and mix well. Mix in quick oats and let stand for 10 minutes. Spoon on to baking tray. These don't tend to expand so you can put them closer together. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

As an option you can add chocolate chips, nuts or raisins. 

As Always, Happy Eating!

Pumpkin Protein Cookies

I've been playing around with healthy cookies. I know ironic, healthy cookies. But I need something for my oldest as he is in full swing for wrestling season. Plus we can all use some sugar free baking!

Ingredients

- 1 cup of pureed unsweetened pumpkin
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp cinnamon (feel free to add more based on taste)
- 1 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1 scoop vanilla protein

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin and yogurt, mix well. Add apple sauce and cinnamon. Mix until combined. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well then let sit for 10 minutes. Spoon on to baking sheet. These cookies do not expand so you can have them fairly close together. Flatten slightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
As an option you can add coconut or ground almonds.
As Always, Happy Eating.

Chicken Pot Pie of Goodness!

I love this recipe. I love making it and more importantly I love eating it. I remember making this in University when my one co-worker/friend was sick. He would ask me to make him some. Its a total feel good food!

Ingredients

- Left over roasted chicken, the more the better. Or to make it easy, buy a roasted chicken from the grocery store and tear it apart

- 2 cups of veggies, mixed is best. More colour, more flavour, more healthy benefts

- 1 cup of chicken broth 

- 1 tbsp butter

- 2-4 tbsp flour

- pinch of the new Epicure Paris Seasoning

- pinch of Garlic Aioli 

- pinch of Herb and Garlic Dip

- Season with pepper and salt to taste

- 10 bisquick biscuits uncooked

Preheat oven at 350. Make your roux using the butter and flour, add the chicken broth slowly to make sure your base stays fairly thick. Add the chicken, veggies and seasonings. Let simmer for 5 minutes. 

In an oven safe glass dish power your chicken and veg mix. Top with the uncooked biscuits as closely together as possible. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until your biscuits are cooked. 

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As Always, Happy Eating!

Burrito Bites

Sometimes I don't want a lot of dishes to do in the evening. Sometimes I just want finger foods. Something easy and still yummy. This the Burrito bites

Ingredients

• 1lbs lean ground beef browned

• 1 package of Epicure Burrito Mix

• 1 cup water

• handful grated cheese

• couple spoonfuls of salsa

• diced pepper

• handful of spinach

• tortilla wraps, cut into small circles (use a large cup, the circles need to fit into a muffin tin)

Preheat your oven at 350. Brown the ground beef. While its browning, use a large cup to cut your wraps into circles small enough to fit into you muffin tray. The will fold slightly on the sides that's ok. In the bottom, add a bit of spinach, a small dab of salsa some diced peppers. Set aside. To you ground beef add 1 cup of water and the Burrito Seasoning mix. It will thicken up quickly, keep mixing until it does. Spoon some beef into your tortillas. Top with some cheese. Place in the oven for about 10-15min or until your cheese is nice and melted.

Remember you can substitute the beef for chicken or turkey, however make sure its white meat. Often times the ground chicken or turkey is both white and dark together.

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As Always, Happy Eating! 

One potato, two potato, three potato.... chowder

Every time I see the word chowder I think of the Simpsons and laugh.
Its cold out, like really cold, close to 50 below every day. Nothing seems to warm a person up like a soup does. It must bring back memories of childhood fun, spending hours in the snow and coming in to warm up with Mom or Grandma's soup.
Today, I made chowder. I wanted something a little thicker to keep our tummies warmer, longer.

Ingredients

6-8 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
2 celery stalks sliced
1 onion sliced
1tsp Rosemary
1/2tsp pepper

2tbsp flour
4 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable)

4 large potatoes cubed
1 tsp thyme

1-2cup of milk

In a large pot, cook your bacon, drain, keeping your grease. Toss sliced onion and celery into the grease and cook until the onion is translucent. Add rosemary and flour. Let your roux cook for a minute. Add 1 cup of broth, whisk together and let cook for a minute or two. Add the potatoes, and the rest of the broth. Cook potatoes. Slightly mash in the broth after they have cooked. Add the thyme and bacon back in at this point, let stand for a minute before adding milk. Add seasonings if required.
As Always, Happy Eating!

Crazy moist Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I received this recipe from a friend when I lived in Ottawa. I love Parm crusted chicken, or even asiago crusted. So so yummy. For me though, chicken has to be moist. When ever I think of dry poultry "Christmas Vacation" comes to mind. This recipe, is the most moist parm crusted chicken I have ever had. However, note this is not the "healthiest" option.

Ingredients
1/2 cup light mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman's, however use what you like)
1/4 cup fresh grated parm (or asiago, romano, or other cheese you'd like to try)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tsp bread crumbs. I buy the plain and then season the way I like

Preheat oven at 425
Combine mayo, and cheese in a bowl. In an oven ready pan place the chicken, spoon the mayo and cheese mixture on top, spread it evenly over the entire breast. Sprinkle your seasoned bread crumbs.
Bake for about 20 min or until your chicken is cooked.
Serve with rice, and veggies or with pasta and sauce.
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As always, happy eating!