Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled-Cheese Croutons

 When I was a kid, one of my favorite meals was tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side. So, why not combine them in a single bite? The tomato soup does take a little bit of time because you have to roast the fresh tomatoes and boil the soup for 40 minutes, but if you plan ahead and roast the tomatoes ahead of time, and chop up your onion and garlic, you can easily have a meal in under 45 minutes. This soup packed a ton of fresh, wholesome flavor, and tasted so much better than your sodium-preservative heavy canned soup version. Here's to preserving childhood favorites!

*this recipe came from a Family Fun magazine called Dinnertime . You can check out the original recipe from Family Fun website.

Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe

Serves: 5 Prep: 10 minutes Cooking Time:  1 hour and 20 minutes


3 cups (1 1/2-2 pints) of cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 TB olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TB butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped 
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 whipping cream (I used half and half, would work with milk as well)

1. Heat oven to 400*F. On a baking sheet, combine cherry tomatoes, 1 TB olive oil, salt and pepper. Coat ingredients evenly. Roast until they are shriveled, about 35-40 minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat over medium heat, butter and remaining 1/2 TB olive oil. Add garlic and onion, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes with their juice, broth, thyme and roasted tomatoes (include whatever juice comes off of the tomatoes). Bring to a boil, and simmer partially covered for 40 minutes.

 3.Using a blender or hand mixer, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return to pot and add the cream. Warm it up over medium heat, without letting it boil, until it is warm enough. Serve with grilled-cheese croutons.

Grilled Cheese Croutons Recipe

butter (optional)
6 slices of whole wheat bread
3 oz cheddar cheese, grated or thinly sliced (I like the extra-charp version)

1. Butter the outside of the bread. Place in a skillet of medium-high heat, buttered side down. Place cheese on top. Stack second piece of bread on top. Cook, turning once, about 3-5 minutes.  Cut into squares, and serve with Tomato soup.

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Plan and Prep Ahead 

Here are some helpful techniques to make life a little easier once dinner time hits. These tips will especially help those that work full-time and don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner. 

~Roast tomatoes ahead of time and keep in fridge until time to use. 
~Chop onion and garlic ahead of time and keep in fridge until time to use. 
~Grate or thinly slice cheese and keep in fridge until time to use. 
~Make the whole soup ahead of time, and just reheat when it's dinner time. 


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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP? 

~Instead of thyme try oregano or basil.

~Instead of cheddar cheese try monterrey jack or mozarella. 

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Crispy Tofu with Colorful Stir-fry Veggies

  This was as fun lunch meal I made for the kids and I one day when we had time to spare and I didn't have to run them to preschool, or gymnastics, or all the other million things we do during the week. The kids helped me press the water out of the tofu, dredge each tofu piece in the different coatings, and they each got a turn whisking up the stir-fry sauce. When you involve your kids in the meal process, it makes them appreciate the food that they are eating, and they feel a certain pride that they "helped" make their meal. We all really enjoyed the crispy, crunchy tofu squares, and dipped them in some soy sauce, mostly because we just couldn't resist dipping them into SOMETHING! Enjoy!

*this recipe came from a Family Fun magazine called Dinnertime . You can check out the original recipe from Family Fun website.

Crispy Tofu Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep: 35 minutes Cooking Time:  6 minutes

1 (14oz) pkg extra-firm tofu
2 TB soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice (see Change It Up below for alternatives)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp cornstarch
2 eggs, lightly beated
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (See note at bottom of post about panko)
1/4-1/3 cup canola oil

1. Drain the tofu, then remove the excess water by pressing it together with paper towels. Cut the tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.
2. In a 8-inch square dish, combine soy sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Add tofu cubes and turn them to coat all sides. Set aside for 30 minutes so they will marinate, turning them once halfway through. 

 3. For dredging, make an assembly line of three small dishes. First will be the cornstarch, next the egg and last the panko bread crumbs. 

4. Toss each tofu cube gently in each dish starting with the cornstarch. Set cubes aside on a plate until all of them are coated. 
5. Add oil to a skillet, and carefully fry tofu until golden crisp on every side. You should be turning them about every 2 minutes. Transfer cubes to a paper-towel lined plate. If you want, you can keep them warm in a 200*F oven on a baking sheet.

Veggie Stir-fry Recipe
Serves: 4 Prep: 10 minutes Cooking Time:  6 minutes

Sauce: 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/4 tsp cornstarch
2 TB oyster sauce (didn't have this...I just omitted it) 
1 TB soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp toasted sesame oil 
 
Stir-fry: 1 TB canola oil or toasted sesame oil

1 small bunch of scallions ( separate the whites from the greens, only use half of the whites and all of the greens. Chop them up, but keep separated. )

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
4 cups vegetables to stir fry (I used broccoli, bell pepper, and zucchini)

2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

1. Whisk together in a small bowl the sauce ingredients. Set aside. 
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, scallion whites and ginger. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add vegetables and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, until crisp-tender, not too soft. Add garlic, then scallion greens, and sauce, stir frying until mixture is bubbly, 1-2 more minutes. Serve with rice and the crispy tofu squares.


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Plan and Prep Ahead 

Here are some helpful techniques to make life a little easier once dinner time hits. These tips will especially help those that work full-time and don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner. 

~Marinate the tofu ahead of time, and leave in your fridge until time to use. 
~Cut up vegetables ahead of time, and keep in fridge until time to use. 
~Mix sauce together, and keep in fridge until time to use. 


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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP? 

~Instead of lime juice in the tofu recipe, try lemon juice.

~Replace sugar in the tofu recipe with agave syrup or maple syrup.
~Try this recipe with cubes of chicken instead of tofu. 


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What is Panko?

 Panko is a type of bread crumb that is popular in the Asian cultures and is used often as a crunchy coating for fish, meats, and soy products. According to Wikipedia, "Panko is made from bread without crusts, and has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine." There you have it! You can certainly replace panko with regular breadcrumbs, but your meal just won't be as crunchy.

Christmas morning Cinnamon Rolls

Is there anything better than warm, fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls on a Christmas morning? The smell alone wafting through the house had us walking around the house in a trance. Boy, they sure hit the spot!  We decided unanimously as a family we would be adding these to our traditions, and have them every Christmas morning from here on out!  

Honestly, they weren't that hard to make. Sure, they take up a little time the night before because of the rising time but with the trick of letting them sit in the fridge overnight, and just "steaming" them in the oven before baking them the next morning, had me excited about making them every year.  So if you are craving those yummy, ooey-gooey cinnamon buns Christmas morning, give these a try! I know you won't be disappointed!

*found this recipe on Heidi Swanson's yummy food blog here.

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Makes: 12-14 Prep: 2 1/2 hours or more Baking Time: 14 minutes

4 tsp yeast, dry and active
1 cup warm milk (105F-115F) (I used fat-free milk and it turned out great)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 TB ground cardamom (see Change It Up section below if you need to replace this)
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour

Filling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TB cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 

Glaze:
1 egg, beaten with 1 TB of water (I forgot to do this part and it still looked great)
turbinado sugar for sprinkling or icing

Icing (optional):
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
4-5 TB heavy cream or half-and-half
1 tsp vanilla extract 

1. Heat milk to specified temperature, and mix in yeast. Add a pinch of sugar and stir. Let stand a few minutes until foamy. Add sugar, egg, melted butter and cardamom.  Stir until smooth. Mix salt into flour, and add flour slowly, 1 cup at a time, and stir well after each addition (If the dough becomes too stiff to stir, go ahead and dump on to floured surface and incorporate the rest of the flour as you are kneading).
2. Add dough to a floured counter top or cutting board and knead for 8-10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a oiled bowl (I used cooking spray), turn to coat, and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (I turn on the oven for a couple minutes to let it warm up to about 100 degrees, turn oven off, and let the bowl with the dough sit in the oven for one hour).
3. Cut dough in half on a floured counter top or cutting board and form each piece into a ball. Roll each piece into a rectangle that is 12 inches long and about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Mix cinnamon and sugar for filling in a small bowl. Spread half of the butter for filling on to each rectangular piece of dough, Sprinkle half of sugar mixture evenly across butter (I've got to admit, I didn't use all the butter or sugar the recipe suggested, so use as much as you think you need). Tightly roll the dough up lengthwise, and pinch the seams so they don't come apart. Cut each roll with a serrated knife into 12 equal slices (my rolls each only cut into 7 slices, so again, use your best judgement, each round should be about 1 inch thick).
5. After you cut the rolls, you have several options.
You can bake them right away on parchment lined baking sheet, in cupcake liners, or in a oiled/buttered baking dish. I put them in a cookie sprayed glass pie dish that worked out perfectly. You want to arrange each slice about 1/2" apart from each other, unless you are using the cupcake liners.
OR
you can freeze them on a baking sheet in the freezer and then place them in a freezer bag until you would like to use them. Once you want to use them, thaw them overnight on your counter top and pop them in the oven.
OR
You can arrange them in your pie dish or whatever you will be using, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, place dish in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan about two-thirds full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close door, and let the rolls rise about 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and shallow pan of water from oven. Bake as directed below.
6. Place rolls in a 400 F preheated oven, and bake for 15-18 minutes. Make sure you don't overcook these things. The last thing you want is DRY cinnamon rolls! :) Remove from oven, and eat hot out of the oven, or slather each roll with some icing. Enjoy their ooey-gooey goodness.

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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP? 

 ~Before placing in oven, add some raisins or dried cranberries.

~Add some chopped walnuts

~Instead of 2 TB cardamom add a mixture of 1 1/2 TB cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg  or cloves or all-spice

~You can try making these with a mixture of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour or spelt flour.

Pumpkin Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Hoping to find a special holiday cookie recipe? Well, look no further, because this one has a "pumpkin spice" twist to the well established oatmeal raisin cookie. I found this recipe in a cookie magazine under their "healthy holiday treats" section. Honestly, I wouldn't label this cookie healthy, because of the amount of butter and sugar in it...but, that said, it's probably healthier than most holiday cookies because of the oatmeal, pumpkin and raisins. You be the judge! :) I will probably play around with this recipe a little more to try to make it healthier. Although, who wants to eat healthy during the holidays anyways, right? :)

*this recipe came from Women's Day Holiday Cookies 2009 magazine. 

Cookie Recipe

Makes: 64 Prep: 20 minutes Baking Time: 14 minutes

(Printable Recipe) 

 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half all-purpose, half whole-wheat)
1 1/3 cup quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. 
3. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and light. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture, and mix well. Stir in walnuts and raisins. 
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP? 

~Swap out dried cranberries for the raisins

~Instead of walnuts, try pecans or roasted chopped almonds

~Add nutmeg, and/or cloves to the batter

~Swap out flaxseed for some of the flour to add fiber 

White Chocolate Pretzel Snowmen

 Since my kids are old enough now to help out in the kitchen, it's been fun trying to find new kid-friendly activities and recipes that we can make together as a family. When I saw these cute snowmen on the cover of a Family Fun magazine last year, I knew we had to make them! They were so much fun to make, that we added them to our list again this year. My daughter Hannah's favorite part was putting the mini-chocolate chips on...Oh, and of course eating the snowmen too!

*this recipe came from a Family Fun magazine. You can check out the original recipe here.

Snowmen Recipe

Serves: 8 Prep: 15 minutes Cooking Time:  0 minutes

 8 pretzel rods
1 cup white chocolate chips
mini chocolate chips

long sprinkles, orange decorator gel or orange gum drops
fruit leather
gummy rings
gum drops (large or small ones work)


1. With a scissors cut each fruit leather in half.

 2. Cut a small triangle on each end of the fruit leather.

3. Melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals until it has melted all the way through, and forms into a thick liquid. Make sure to stir after each 30 second interval. 

4. Carefully dip each pretzel rod in the melted chocolate and with a plastic spoon or metal knife spread the chocolate 2/3 of the way down the rod. Set the pretzels on a sheet of waxed or parchment paper and press on mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Place an orange sprinkle or use decorators gel for the nose. If you are using an orange gum drop, cut a small triangle out to resemble the carrot nose. 

5. Once chocolate has hardened or dried, hold the pretzel up and stretch a gummy ring over top. Add a small dollop of melted chocolate on the gym drop. Place on top of the gummy ring. 

6. Tie a scarf around the neck of the snowman and you are done! You can stand the pretzels in a mug or glass for a beautiful presentation.