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.