Tortilla Soup

 There are a million versions of this. Even though there are a lot of components it comes together pretty fast. I combined GrowingupSarita's and AbbyThome's recipes from instagram. I can adjust to whatever I'm using that day. This time I just happened to be making bone broth on the stove so I used that. 

Basic gist of the recipe:

Chicken Broth (4-6 cups or so)

Shredded chicken (about 2 cups)

1 large can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 large can diced green chilies (mild or to preference)

3 stalks celery (can do more) rough chopped

1 large onion, quartered

3-5 carrots, rough chopped

tomato boullion

ground cumin

garlic salt

onion powder

sprinkle of dried oregano

can of beans or instant pot mayacobas

Mexican rice or just made white rice with tomato boullion

Toppings:

shredded cabbage

cilantro chopped

lime wedges

avocado slices

tortilla chips or strips 

salsa verde

Directions:

Basically you need to make a broth, you can start with two bone in chicken breasts but I just used shredded rotisserie chicken and was making bone broth on the stove. I added the chopped onions, carrots and celery. I put the tomatoes and green chilies in the blender and added the carrots, onions, celery and blended it with a couple big ladles of broth. In a different pot I dumped the blender mixture and added chicken broth until it was the soup consistency I wanted with room to add rice and beans. I added a couple teaspoons of tomato bouillon, at least a 1tsp or so of cumin and probably 1/2-1tsp of garlic salt and onion powder. Season the broth to taste and bring to a low boil. Once you're happy with the broth put in the shredded chicken. We serve the beans and rice on the side and top it with all the toppings. 

Growing up Sarita makes this by dry roasting her tomatoes, jalapeños and onions and blending those. 

Can also flavor with taco seasoning if you feel like it. 

Crab Boil

 https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/seafood-boil-recipe/

This is something we’ve done quite a few times now and it is super fun to pour it all out and eat a ton of it. Family style. I will say the potatoes are best just roasted on the side. They get mushy. 

Basically you need:

A bunch of crab, cleaned and processed

Corn on the cob shucked and brown in half or thirds

Onions 

Garlic

Fresh parsley 

Shrimp

Clams

Mussels 

Andouille sausage

A TON of crab boil seasoning

Fresh lemons and herbs 

Easy Chow Mein

 A recipe my family actually always loves. 

https://laurenslatest.com/15-minute-chow-mein-noodles/#recipe

• ▢ 4 packages ramen noodles* or yakisoba noodles
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 small onion diced
• ▢ 10 oz shredded cabbage
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger or grate in a little fresh ginger
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• ▢ 1/4 cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sesame oil

• Cook ramen noodles in boiling water until chewy and *just* cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, cabbage, salt, pepper, ginger together until tender. 
• Toss together with cooked noodles, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil until heated through.
• Serve hot.

Feel Good Zucchini Muffins

I found these from Aliferromscratch on insta. They were super moist and yummy. I just need to soak my dates next time since they’re a little dry. 

 https://pinchofyum.com/feel-good-zucchini-muffins?fbclid=PAAaafncmMnvD--IaRgK2Rll7sFd72BVyXLIU1xDp4HjHyDi4g_1UBbw6lxPo_aem_AeBP1K5W6BAuKc6L0aYqEefuC0YcHrcCbWj7eitTAIn3eU8vCtcOYEAIfJl3BeeFsZk%23tasty-recipes-54783-jump-target#tasty-recipes-54783-jump-target

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 8 medjool dates, pitted (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1–2 zucchini, grated (about 2 cups total)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of sea salt and/or cinnamon(optional)
• chocolate chips (optional, for topping)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a blender until a chunky batter comes together.
3. Pour batter into a greased or lined muffin tin. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the tops gently spring back when you press into them.
4. Sprinkle warm muffins with sea salt if you’re into that kinda thing. Serve warm or cold ALL DAY LONG. 

Pecan Praline Zucchini Bread

 This is a new recipe my mom found and it is a HIT! I will say I do use the regular recipe our family uses for zucchini bread because this recipe is a little too oily. I will say too this makes a TON of topping and pre-read the recipe because you layer the topping in the first half of batter. Other is you have enough topping for another batch. 

Bread

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated fresh zucchini wet - do not dry it out first

Pecan Praline Topping

• 1 ½ cups of chopped pecan pieces measure pecans before chopping
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup butter melted

INSTRUCTIONS

Step One

• Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Next, coat two loaf pans (I used 4 ½“ x 8 ½“ pans) really well with the cooking spray of your choice.

Step Two

• In a large bowl, beat oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
• Next, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until everything is well combined.
• Now, gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix until well combined. (The batter will be thick.)
• Next, add the shredded zucchini to the batter and mix again until everything is completely mixed together.

  Step Three

  • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, mix together the pecans, brown sugar, flour, and butter until well combined and a “crumble” forms.

  Step Four

  • First, fill half of each loaf pan with batter and top each pan with ½ cup of the Pecan Praline Topping.
  • Next, divide the remaining batter between the two pans and divide the remaining praline mixture over the tops of each loaf.
  • Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Allow the bread to cool completely on a wire rack prior to serving.

Easy Pumpkin Spiced Nuts

 These are SO easy! And they’re really really good especially with plain Greek yogurt and the cooked pumpkin stuff from this last fall. A fall staple

https://www.alattefood.com/pumpkin-spice-candied-nuts/#wprm-recipe-container-9620

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw almonds, whole
• 1 1/2 cups raw pecans, whole
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground all spice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine all ingredients except nuts. Stir until all sugar and spices have dissolved completely.
2. Add in almonds and pecans, making sure all nuts are coated with the sugar mixture.
3. Once coated, stir constantly (on med-low heat) for about 7-8 minutes, or until there is no more liquid in the pot. Remove from heat immediately (otherwise the sugars might burn).
4. As soon as the nuts are done, pour nuts onto a sheet of parchment paper to cool (make sure they are flat and in a single layer, otherwise the nuts will stick to each other). If you want to sprinkle with cinnamon sugar to give them a 'sugared' look (as pictured), do it while the nuts are cooling so the cinnamon sugar will stick.

Perfect Aebleskiver Ebelskiver

I usually make these for breakfast for new years morning or whenever we return from traveling home for Christmas and we have our own kinda of new year/ Christmas morning. We love these and I’ve made a bisquick/pancake mix for years but thought I’d try one from scratch. These are 1000% the best we’ve ever had. We loved them dipped in a tiny bit of melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon/ sugar. We serve them with chunky home canned peach syrup and fill them with apple pie filling if I have it. Dusted with powdered sugar and dipped in buttermilk frosting is a must. So SO good! 

 https://houseofnasheats.com/aebleskiver-danish-pancakes/

• 2 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour (242g)
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons salted butter, melted + extra for the pan
• ▢ 2 cups buttermilk

• In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
• In a separate, large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar.  Stir well, then add the egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk and mix just until combined.
• Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.  Batter will be fairly thick.   
• Heat your aebleskiver pan over medium heat until hot.  Brush each cup with a little melted butter using a pastry brush, then fill each cup with about 2 tablespoons of batter until almost full.  
• As soon as the aebleskivers begin to bubble around the edges, use a wooden skewer, chopstick, knitting needle, or fork to flip them over half way, letting the batter slide around to fill in the bottom of the cup. 
• Continue cooking, turning the aebleskiver again to let the batter fill in the remainder of the sphere and continuing to turn until golden brown all the way around and cooked through.
  • Transfer to a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar, then serve with jam (traditional), honey, cinnamon honey (my favorite!), or even just syrup.

Giant Cinnamon Roll

 I saw this on Sally’s instagram and had to try it. It’s the best cinnamon roll I’ve made yet. The dough was lovely and filling perfection. We do like it with buttercream frosting or cream cheese instead of the glaze. I will say this would be very good as a regular cinnamon roll as the baking time would be significantly shorter but it was fun to make such a big one for thanksgiving. I used a glass pie pan so I could see the bottom. I will say that I’ve been wanting to try Ambitious Kitchena cinnamon rolls and this recipe is very similar. So i can try hers next time. 

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/giant-cinnamon-roll-cake/#tasty-recipes-76001

• 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star (1 standard packet)*
• 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

Filling

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Vanilla Icing

• 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk or heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Make the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside. Heat the milk and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch, between 100-110°F, 38-43°C. Pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the egg. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment, or using a rubber spatula and mixing by hand, beat/mix the mixture until a soft dough forms. The dough is ready when it gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is pretty sticky, beat/mix in 2-4 extra Tablespoons of flour. (Keep in mind that you want the dough to remain on the softer side.)
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3 minutes (for a visual, watch me knead in the video above). If you’d rather use the mixer to knead it, beat the dough on low speed for 3 minutes instead. After kneading, poke the dough with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, the dough is ready for the next step. If not, keep kneading.
Form the dough into a ball on your work surface. Cover it with a clean towel, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, then let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Alternatively, the ball of dough can rest in a covered and lightly greased mixing bowl.
Make the filling: After 30 minutes, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 15×12 inch rectangle. Evenly spread the softened butter on top. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle it all over the buttered dough.
Grease a 9-inch round pie dish or 9-inch round cake pan with butter or nonstick spray.
Shape the cinnamon roll cake: See the video tutorial and my step-by-step photos above for a visual of this shaping step. Using a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into six 2-inch wide strips. Roll up one strip and place it in the center of the pan. Coil the remaining 5 strips around the center roll, starting each strip at the end of the previous one to make one large cinnamon roll. Some of the filling may spill out as you pick up the strips, so just sprinkle it on top of the cake when you’re done shaping it.
Loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a relatively warm, draft-free environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: Rising at room temperature is usually fine, but on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the shaped cake inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
Bake: After the cake’s dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. If you notice the top or edges browning too quickly, tent the cake with aluminum foil. While the giant cinnamon roll cake is baking, some spots may rise up more than other spots. That’s completely normal and expected from something this large. Simply remove the pan from the oven and, with the back of a spatula, press down the spots that are rising taller than others to help keep them even. Return to baking.
Remove the finished cinnamon roll cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the icing.
Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. If you want a thicker icing, whisk in more confectioners’ sugar. If you want a thinner icing, whisk in more milk or cream. Drizzle all over warm cake and serve.
The cinnamon roll cake is best enjoyed the same day it’s made, but will remain fresh covered tightly for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.